The X Factor Final. Part 1.

Dermot starts by descending from some pole for no reason that I could fathom at all. The obligatory sing-a-long next with Luke looking a bit uncomfortable. Sing-a-longs aren't really his thing. Thereagain, they weren't James Arthur's either.

We then get a very long drawn out visit by Nicholas to Scotland with Louis. He eventually starts singing Candy from a silly balloon and an absolutely huge number of dancers and whoever on stage with him. He sort of disappears. Gary makes a good point about that performance not exactly showing off his voice very well. That was very average. I almost expected Robbie to emerge at one point.

Another long, long set piece of Sam in Leicester. She and Sharon doing karaoke at some pub more or less summed the night up. Oh dear. Sam is better than that. Maybe the producers aren't that bothered. They did get Peter Dickson to do the announcement at the Leicester Hall, though!! Unless it was a recording. Still, sounded quite impressive.

When Sam eventually gets going it's the splendid The Edge Of Glory. She is doing reasonably well but then very deliberately puts down the mic and grabs some fireman's pole. Terrible blue outfit and she did not look at all right doing the pole thing. Good voice but I'd rather watch Lady Gaga. That wasn't an obviously winning performance like some of her past have been.

48 minutes in and just two performances. That'll give you an idea of how tonight's going.

Luke does the Fun number We Are Young. Not the best of starts but once he gets going it's better. He doesn't have a pole but he has a train set. Looks good on TV. That was OK but no better really than Sam. Beat Nicholas, just.

The bookies started off with Sam 1/5, Nicholas 9-1 and Luke 11-1. Nothing seems to have changed half-way through.

Tom Odell is great - and actually if you listen to him you can see how successful Luke could be. Now it's Luke with Ellie Gould supporting him. Anything Could Happen is one of those songs that come true - remember what it did for Fifth Harmony? Launched them into outer space, chart-wise, although I suppose they did still come 3rd.

Nicholas gets Shane from Westlife. He only gets to sing a line before the compulsory intro. Whereas Ellie and Luke genuinely seemed together, Luke was quite dominated and outclassed by Shane in the annoying Flying Without Wings song.

Sam gets Nicole Scherzinger who is pretty amazing! She should do more like that. Actually , despite Sam's efforts, Nicole totally dominated the whole thing and that was quite a good reminder of how Sam, good as she is, is not stunningly good and may only just ever be an album artist doing good covers after winning. I hate to say that but I guess we needed the reminder as to just how powerful you need to be really to warrant the prize.

Unbelievably, Kitty JEdward, Rylan, TwoShoes, Diva Fever and goodness knows who else, oh, Johnny Robinson and the ghastly Wagner too, appear n some crazy reminiscence that reminds us how weird this show has been.

In complete and utter contrast, The Killers have a set and start with the marvellous Human. Second track Mr Brightside, also excellent and here is a band that set the whole place alight.

Nicole, Tom Odell and The Killers really have shown what the X Factor actually is. And, to be really honest, so far only Luke has shown a glimmer of that.

Dermot's results time: first through has to be Sam. Yes, of course. This is the big one, though. Luke or Nicholas? Grannies rule. It's Nicholas they vote through. That's going to be a tedious Final.

X Factor UK Big Band Songlist

Here's what the Top 8 will be singing on Saturday.

Abi Alton – That’s Life

Quite a chilled number normally. I can't see what she could do with this but no doubt she has something in mind. I am really not sure this genre will suit her and feel she is likely to struggle.

Hannah Barrett – This Is A Man’s World

Another big anthem-like number from the girl with the big round everything. She will belt this out with no regard for the well-being of those nearby and I'm not sure she will really get the words but if she gets the notes then she may well do OK this week.

Luke Friend – Moondance

Groovy tune but Luke is about as distant from Van Morrison as you can get - in mood and demeanour too. This is a tricky week for almost everyone and Luke is going to have to put all his personality and style into this to survive.

Nicholas McDonald – Dream A Little Dream

Oh dear this is a rubbish track. Still, Nick can sing and will warble through this just fine with all the notes in their proper places. It just isn't likely to be something I'd leap down to town to buy. Or vote for. He should be safe though. He has 4th written all over him.

Rough Copy – Hit The Road Jack

Now that's more like it! Yes, This should be good and they'll fly through to next week. Should be a popular number with everyone and may even actually suit them.

Sam Bailey – New York New York

Big voice, big number. Bit karaoke-sounding but so far Sam has managed to pull something extra out of the bag and make us look up from our pizza and take notice. This will not do her any harm and she'll ne safely through what ought to be her good week anyway.

Sam Callahan – Ain’t That A Kick In The Head

This young fellow has had almost as rotten a time, review-wise, as Abi so far in this competition. I think he'd do a lot better if he could sing and dance to the stuff that he actually wants to do as an artist long-term. So far he's been given numbers by Louis and none have really suited him. Unlike some acts in the past, though, he has just got on with things and has a reputation for working very hard in the background. He also has a massive fan base so anything is possible. The track sounds dreadful and it could be Sam's last week but you just never know.

Tamera Foster – Cry Me A River

What on Earth she was doing in the bottom two last week I do not know. Seems that some papers have got it in for her and some comments from the crew haven't been helpful either. As a singer, though, and a potential feature in our charts and someone who might keep up the tradition of cracking into the US charts too, she is streets ahead of the other eight in this year's competition. She has the best looks, the best voice, the best style and the best song. Hopefully, the press and having the worst back history will not bring her down.

Live Shows Week 3 Movie Week

It's time [pause] to face [pause] the movies. Hmmm. Not sure how well that worked despite Peter Dickson's best efforts! Dermot seems particularly animated tonight. Maybe they've all been told to do something to compete better with BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.

Rough Copy start. Gary seems to go a bit over the top in his support for these three. Like his attempt to balance the publicity as they haven't done so well in some newspapers. Ha ha! They're doing the Brian Adams big one Everything I Do I For You. Good choice as this is a pure vocal group and they are three of the best singers in this competition. This'll go down really well and get them back next week no trouble. Like a trump card, but maybe Gary has played it a bit too soon in the game?

My only thought is whether we need another croony tune band. They did have an edge but that has been well rubbed away. Gary tells us that the group actually chose the track so all credit to them for that move.

Sam Callahan is getting plenty of modelling work so when he gets kicked out he'll still have plenty of work.
The U2 number All I Want Is You is quite good. A great song that isn't played that much. His delivery is much improved on last week and you get the feeling he has worked very hard. I had expected him to be at risk this week.

Hannah tries Skyfall. There's a ot of fire and stuff on the stage but this shows just how good Adele is. Hannah's was a brave effort but not as good as she has been before. I don't know how she is going down with the public. I tend to feel that the judges are all trying to boost her with the comments they make. Hannah still doesn't look very happy but she may well survive.

Nicholas does In The Arms Of An Angel very well. A little without feeling but note perfect. He ought to be safe as grannies will love him and some girls too maybe. He does remind me of little Joe McElderry still. Bringing his godfather into the programme may not have been such a good idea though.

Poor Abi Alton. This may be her last week after an extraordinarily wobbly and painful Moon River. So sad to listen to. You just felt so sorry for her and wonder what on earth the judges will say to avoid being too upsetting. Everyone said she was good but I am really not so sure. She is clearly disappointed. I can only guess that she was very very nervous.

Nice to see Miss Dynamix back. They do need to perform and justify their place in the Top 11. Dreams is OK but nothing special. I think it's enough to keep them in but they'll be the first group out sooner or later. Lots of nonsense from one of them, like an early audition appeal. Bit late for that now. It's all down to performing well. Simple.

Sam Bailey is not going to be the third Over in a row to go. She's singing the Go On song from Titanic, not as well as Celine Dion but a good effort. A bit slow and boring but a nice change to hear all the notes in the right places. Pretty sure that'll go down well with voters.

Kingsland Road do Pretty Woman. That's a nice safe one too, like Sam preceding them. This a good band, very together and how they failed to get backing last week I do not know. Excellent stuff. A bit commercial but I can live with that from them. I am not sure they'll win but they do deserve to be around for a while.

Luke Friend is one of the few truly individual performers (Abi could be but hasn't been). He's singing Kiss From A Rose which is something I don't recall anyone doing on a reality show. It suits his voice well and he looks good with the guitar and that went down pretty well. He should be OK.

Tamera Foster is my favourite this year. She puts a lot into her performances and once again was spot on. The song wasn't great. A Beyonce number. I can't recall the title. It sort of passed by. Neither one thing or the other but she is great to look at and listen to.

So, who's going? Not Tamera for a start!

I'd say Abi, Sam and Miss Dynamix are those at risk this week. The voters choose a group again. This time it's Miss Dynamix. That'll be sad for them and they may have a bit of a struggle. Much depends whoever they're up against and if that's Abi, they may be going home.

Judges' Houses Pt 2: The Groups and Girls and tears

Gary has the six groups in New York.

Kingsland
Competent, youngish. Gary says they remind him of his group when they'd first started. As that was 23 years ago I would have taken that as less than a major compliment. I can see them being popular on Live Shows but not getting very far.

Brick City
Very tight and nice colour co-ordination. They're together and in tune but I just don't see them selling or actually getting votes.

Rough Copy
There's been an emotional halo around these guys since last year's visa problems and this year's seem to have only served to grow that rather than leave us all frustrated that someone somewhere didn't get their act together. For all that, they perform excellently and seem to have an endearing quality that you don't expect from a couple of street lads like these.

Xyra
They'd done well at Boot Camp and some of them were impressive but there was something missing in how they came across tonight.

Code 4
Nice performance with all the extras. These guys are so well-organised and they put on a really good show. They would be super-reliable.

Dynamix
The new girl group with a name change. Three very good singers who know how to weat short shorts and get men's attention. Brilliant voices and certainly they have talent but I am not so sure how they will come across on Live Shows.

Through to the Live Shows are Rough Copy, Kingsland and Dynamix. That's about right.

Nicole has the girls in stunning surroundings in Antigua

Temera
Very determined girl who is quite individual. A good performer and I can see her fitting in the Live Shows well. The make-up teams will have a field day and could make her really glamorous too.

Melanie
She is so desperately wanting to make it this time. Her performance wasn't that stunning this time. Good and there is something very likeable about this girl.

Abi
Just superb. It seems that everything this girl does is flawless yet seemingly totally made up just a few minutes before, if that. She's an absolute must for the Live Shows and totally 'today'. Winning would be good for the series.

Hannah
Looking a lot better than she did in her previous auditions but still not really what I want to have filling my screen every Saturday night. She sand brilliantly, though, pulling out every trick in the book and impressing Nicole and the guest judge, Mary Jo Blyth, a lot. Choosing Something's Gonna Change was a very good move.

Jade
Another contestant trying again, Jade has a great voice and control but just has no audience appeal. Ugly tattoos don't help either. She is very competent but I don't see her moving on this year either.

Relly
Pleasant girl who looks as if she should be in the Overs. The black and white hair is now just black and she sings well but she is not really in this competition with the other five being so much better.

The emotions run high and it is a very sad farewell to Melanie after all, which I hadn't expected. Through to entertain us are Temera, Abi and Hannah.

Now the competition really starts!

Boot Camp cont'd. Overs over, Boys and Groups

Carrying on from last night, Sharon seems to put almost everyone through but, of course, will have to throw some out. Lorna was a stand-out tonight with I Wanna Dance With Somebody with people on their feet afterwards. She takes Sabrina's place and there'll be another swap to come.

Emotion time as Mrs Devlin is also selected and, after a lot of strange moving around by Joe, she gets Katie's place.

Now it's Gary and the Groups. First Brick City get through with an average performance. Then we learn that Rough Copy have a problem - one of them has a visa issue and has to withdraw. Surely this is what happened last year? Am I watching some time-shifted programme or what? This is really weird. Anyway, the two remaining carry on and they get through too. I have no idea what happens to the other guy who was watching in the wings. Just what is it with these three and visas?

Kingsland were not so good but carry on through anyway as they have lots of audience appeal and should get a good few votes in future.

Code 4 are good and add to their impact with some classy dance moves.

The new girl group Stop, Look & Listen seemed way off key for me and I have to wonder whether the TV was broadcasting something different to what people there heard. They take the place of the big band of oldies who were pretty solid and very talented but they may not really suit the programme.

Next of Kin were not up to the same standard as they have been before in this competition and didin't make one of the six chairs.

Louis and the Boys. Sounds a bit wrong but there you go. Paul Callahan is great and straight in. We should see a lot more of him. Louis loves Paul who did a rather heavy-handed version of I'd Rather Go Blind.

The yodelling Barclay ruined Respect and was duly sent home. His voice was actually very good but I reckon all the compliments he'd had from people about the yodelling stuff must have made him think that's what the judges wanted. Louis can like the weird and wonderful we know but that was a step too far.

Ryan Mathie and his red face and Luke are through after average performances.

Giles looks better than he used to. Nice track. Pretty composed and string, clear voice. He's safe.

Nicholas doesn't start off so well but gets a bit better as he goes on. It's enough to get him in and to take Alejandro's place which will upset a lot of girls as the guy's seriously good-looking.

Boot Camp. Girls and some Overs in the Top 24.

Louis gets the Boys. Sharon gets the Overs. Gary gets the Groups. Nicole gets the girls. She's happy.

Dermot welcomes us to Boot Camp, well, in Dermot voiceover form, that is.

Apparently, last time Louis had the boys he won. (That was 2005 with Shayne Ward.)

This is always an emotional time and the producers lay it on pretty thick from the start. In fact the first ad break kinda hits you just as Stephanie was tearfully walking away and both Nicole and Sharon were looking as if they were about to burst out crying as well. We didn't get to hear more than a bar or two so have no idea how those, like Amy Mottram and Melanie McCabe who did get through compared to those who didn't. In previous years this has been a disastrous round with people put in groups and told to do stuff at short notice and that has certainly messed up the chances of some potentially good contestants. I'm hoping the new format will be a bit fairer and less annoying to watch too.

That on stage selection, I guess, was to sort out the 100 or so down to 50 and now we get to putting people on 1 of 6 chairs to make a final 24.

An ad for the Fifth Judge App. Wish that worked on something other than a phone or Android tablet.

Karen is first girl to make the Top 6 but she could be kicked off again later if there are better.
Lydia has a great 'Essex' personality but doesn't sound so good to me. She tries hard and the crowd seem really to go for her. I'd still say no. Nicole lives for a bit longer.
Hannah Sheares is one of my favourites. Doing River Deep Mountain High almost acapella was brave and I thought it worked but Nicole didn't. Now that's interesting as anyone who looked at my spoiler Top 24 would have seen the name 'Hannah' there and I thought it was her. Is there another Hannah? Or will there be some drama later? Surely not - doesn't make much sense.
Siana something fails on the vocals.
Crissie Rhodes goes. She'd been good so far.
Jade Rendle neither looked nor sounded the part.
Nicole goes and tells the remaining girls to grow some balls. I'm not sure they all understood that (or could).
Temera Foster is next. She'd better get it right this time, says Louis. I think we can rely on her to do well. She is one of those girls who looks completely different every day. She is very original and starts the Rihanna track in what was as close to being off key, off beat, off everything and yet, somehow, she brings it round and has some star quality about her. I can imagine she'll be hell to manage and may annoy us with some tracks later in the series. Oh, yes, she'll be around for a while yet.
Relley C is next. Dermot says she's 26 so the Overs must be over 28s. She makes the top 6 but we don't hear why. She does seem more Overs than Girls but never mind.
Jade Richards is back again. She's a big girl and puts a lot of passion into her singing. Takes a seat and may have the chance she needs.
Sheena McHugh plays guitar and sounds cool. Better than both of the first two Nicole gave a seat to. Again I disagree with Nicole's choice. I feel she'd painted herself into a corner in this format. Wow. Nicole changes her mind.  That was the right move. She can still change her mind. So there are six full seats. Some real talent - two potential winners in my book! - to come.
I am fascinated to discover who the missing 'Hannah' is. Could it, indeed, be a misheard or badly scribbled 'Sheena' after all?! I would ask the spy if I knew who it was. It all adds to the comparative excitement. This is a bit like Judge's House round. Far better than it was before.
Ah, this is Hannah. I don't remember her. Something odd about her mouth or make-up. She is not easy viewing at all. But she can sure sing and she'll definitely get one of those six seats. Looks like Sheena, Karen and Lydia will ahve to make way for this Hannah and a couple more.
Abi. She's cute and this will be emotional but she can be relied upon to perform.
'She's so good!' whispers Melanie McCabe to herself. That was brilliant. See the video here (Until it apears on YouTube).
Nicole is pretty good at deciding, not helped much by the others. I can imagine some previous judges struggling with this and wonder just how well the others will do. I guess they will decide their top 6 beforehand and play the rest by ear on the night. For all we know this may well be exactly what Nicole has done as well!
Last but not by any means least is my own equal favourite with Abi; Melanie McCabe. She is quite the opposite to Hannah in most respects. Pretty, slender, gentle-looking and with a delicate touch to her singing. She didn't do that good a job of The One That Got Away but may have done enough to pull through. She takes Karen's spot. I think it should have been Amy but they've got to be whittled down to three in a while anyway.

Now it's the Overs turn.

Sam Bailey is the rough and ready woman who kicked off the series this year. She is excellent and I would say a sure-fire Live Show entry. With her version of Clown I didn't see anything original but she seems to appeal to people generally and is one of not many Sharon can choose from.
Souli Roots looks fun but no Maloney time this year.
Jayson Newland sounded good but has his public behaviour already ruined his chances. He gets sent home. Wow. Straight away. Wasn't expecting that. Good decision, though. Well done, Sharon.
Sabrina is quite impressive - better than the young Hannah that went through. She gets a seat. I get the feeling Sharon has made up her mind already.
Joe Whelan has to be though this year after all the kid stuff and emotions so far. He's also pretty good and a nice change. Bit over the top on his singing characteristics but they may be able to train some of that out of him.

That's as far as the show goes tonight. More tomorrow!

Week 4 Last Stage Auditions

So that's a wrap for auditions for this year. That seemed to be over quickly. I am sure these were stretched out across more weeks in the past with both lots of idiot auditions and more full length airings of the decent too. I suppose that it's also possible that fewer people are applying in the first place and the numbers generally are down but the size of crowds in the hot summer queues around the country looked as big as any year and that needn't impact upon how many are shown in these run-up programmes.

Anyway, we should now have seen each of the Top 12 or whatever it's going to be (allowing for wild cards, judges' extra choices, the Xtra One, the Fifth Judge save or whatever new idea the producers have in mind!)

Getting through tonight on the main programme were

Brick City

Code 4

Giles Potter

Hannah Sheares

Joe Whelan

Ryan Mathie

Sam Callahan

Zoe Devlin

A load more also were put through to Bootcamp but I suspect that that is as far as they will go. Of the acts I've picked out above, the ones I see doing well, Ryan Mathie made the biggest impact with a cool version of the now song Get Lucky. Giles Potter messed up badly but the judges must have seen something during earlier auditions and appeared almost before he'd finished to be putting him through anyway.

Sam Callahan is the cute boy this year and Joe Whelan the dad with muscles and tatoos who will appeal to whoever doesn't like the cute Sam.

Zoe Devlin isn't, as far as I'm aware, Janet's sister. She has a curious stage presence and an appealing style. How that will translate to a range of material and how she'll cope with live shows I'm not sure. There is another quirky girl who is likely to get The Quirky One space this year.

Hannah Sheares is very, very pretty. She's the one who was picked out of The Daisy Chains. Nervous and not really any competition for the likes of Melanie McCabe, I feel.

Code 4 and Brick City are a couple of fairly bland groups in terms of what they've shown us so far. However, both are competent and should be in with a chance once they get more airtime. They do have to cope with the uber-confident Rough Copy, though.

Hopefully next week we should have a clear picture of just who makes it through to Judges' Houses and that's when it really starts to get interesting.

This week may see the end of the impressively massive mouth of Jason Newland. That massive mouth may have got him in trouble as some of his tweets have got into the public arena. They were there anyway but once you get on programmes like X Factor you need to be prepared for everything you've ever published or done to be in the papers before long. Seems like he's a rude and nasty bit of work with a violent temper that he may not always be able to control. Despite that all being in the past, I don't see him surviving that. No biggie, to be honest, apart from that mouth.

Week 4 - the last of the Room Auditions.

The last week of Room Auditions and we see Sam and Ryan through for the boys with some good performances. (Ryan is only shown on Xtra Factor).

Only one of The Daisy Chains gets a chance to perform but I don't think we'll be seeing much more of any of them.

A truly annoying performance by Green Boots goes on for far too long and is just shown for some misguided entertainment.

Duplex - two girls in the video but I missed them on stage. Obviously nothing to worry about there then.

Joseph Whelan is good, plays guitar and does Steven Tyler impressions. I know he'll appeal to lots of people and can certainly sing well and has a great personality. But how 'today' is he? I don't know. I can see him being included in the Live Shows because he'll be good tv. The little kid may well get to sit on Nicole's knee too. It's all a bit staged for my liking but good luck to him. He made it through to Judges' Houses last year and so is bound to get there again.

Some Chinese guy called Justin actually gets through. Oh dear.

Two more interesting acts are Jason Newland and Andrea Magee. We only get a bit of each but that's enough to make them stand out in my book. I would predict good things for both. Jason has the most enormous mouth and an amazing voice. He could do with some training, though, whereas Andrea is ready to go. They'll both be interesting to look out for.

Also through to perform on the big stage (but hopefully that'll be the end of the road for them) is a group called Nostalgics who are all ancient and sing things like Bring Me Sunshine. What programme is this?

Lorna Simpson does a presentable job and hits all the right notes in a tricky Whitney song. However good she sounds, though, I wonder why she didn't seem that memorable compared to some others. Can she repeat that on stage tomorrow and show something special?

Some promising first appearances and reappearances as X Factor UK gets under way

The first week of X Factor UK did seem to be full of filler, only slightly relieved by the madness of the Xtra Factor afterwards.

In amongst the ridiculous and the less than laughable, however were some acts which we should see more of.



Abi Alton - excellent and different.



Temera Foster - a little overrated in some of the comments but talented for sure



Luke Friend is an interesting guy full of character and with a decent voice




Melanie McCabe has been here three times before! Reaching Judges' Houses before too. She made Louis cry, genuine emotion, and Dermot O'Leary seemed to know her mother pretty well by now. This was a superb audition. I have a feeling she'll make the Live shows this year.

Semi final review Pt 1

Peter Dickson and Dermot were more entertaining than the contestants, apart from James Arthur, I suppose, although even he brings on suicidal tendencies in clowns.

This was a drab, sad and generally totally missable show. And I'm a huge fan. In contrast Olly and Caroline were so much more fun and we learned far more about the contestants - and a live, off the cuff track from James too on XtraFactor afterwards.

There is really very little to say about it. Jahmene brought back a couple of good wailies, At Last being the one he started auditions with and the one track that might keep him in. He's the bookies favourite to get to the final by a long way but I have my doubts. That personality can only get so many symapthy votes.

Old Baloney did a reasonable job of whatever he sang first but totally wrecked a Michael Buble number in a pathetic attempt to sound 'modern'. Useless, but with what has been reported pretty reliably as the top vote throughout the whole series, I can't see how he can fail now. Dreadful, but that's the way things look like going.

UnionJ are at the opposite end of the bookie's list, being clear favourites, 6-5 on at the time if writing, to go. They performed some tired old Westlife numbers and, although one guy tried hard to rescue things, it was pretty average and none of their previous excitement and appeal came through. In fact, during the first part of the second track, one of them was looking at the others as if something had gone completely wrong but they did manage to cover whatever it was well.

James had all his usual angst but did, at least, sound like a current artist and his second performance was a genuine 'moment', something there have been precious few of this series.

That, folks, was it. Really depressing and tiresome stuff tonight mostly. The judges were dull and, knowing there was nothing they could do now to make much difference, most comments were pretty mundane and not worth repeating. They were all, even Gary, agreed that James was the one with the X Factor and my guess is that he's the one they have all predicted will win. Baloney was talked about a fair bit but no-one gave him much by way of a compliment other than polite agreement that he'd worked hard and done a good job with the first track. They all panned the second.

I don't know what will happen tomorrow. It ought to be Baloney going home but we've been thinking that since the start. That Buble mess-up might just have upset a few fans, enough to dent his No 1 polling position, but whether it's enough to drop below two other acts I don't know. Jahmene may even top the poll this week, although he is my tip to go. That'll be a shock. UnionJ might just get in by massing all the teen votes, if teens are still watching, that is. James has to be in the final. So if UnionJ get in, who doesn't?

Between Baloney and Jahmene it should be Baloney but it could be Jahmene. So maybe there will be a bit of excitement tomorrow after all.

X Factor UK Week 2: Dermot Takes Charge

At least it's now even - with three in each category after Carolynne failed to impress voters sufficiently and found herself at the bottom of the pile last week. Louis got all the blame and Gary walked out but it's time to move on now.

I like the way Dermot's taking charge of the show. And there's a change of seating 'after nine years'.

Dermot lists the numbers. Cue the screams. On that basis, Union J win and Melanie doesn't. But let's see how they all do tonight.

Jahmene

Spot-on singing but no connection between the amazing voice and the lyrics. Great performance but lacking real emotion. One of Louis' 'favourite ever ever contestants'. What? Out of all nine years?

Nicole calls Jahmene 'Baby Cakes'. No-one quite likes to ask.

Dermot said he wouldn't but, yes, he does the heady patting eventually, despite Jahmene ducking out at his first try!

Christopher

Big ears looks like a football ref. Sings like one after a few beers. dreadful start. Oh, it's the Heart number again. Typical karaoke stuff. Solid voice but who'd going to buy this sort of stuff? He separates each word. Sounds odd. looks odd. He gets only modest applause. He needs to go.

Dermot doesn't heady pat Christopher.

Union J

Hope they get the song together better than they did their attempt at 'Team Louis' in unison. My God, it's bleedin' Bleeding Love. That works really well actually. An excellent arrangement. Brilliant. That'll go down well with the fans - and the voting fans too.

No heady patting though.

Ella

Can someone please leave her hair alone? She looks so good naturally. Are the 40s coming back? If so then release her album now and get it over with. This, though, is one of the most difficult songs ever. Loving You Is So Beautiful. OK, she hit the notes, amazing notes at that, but... but there was no emotion or connection at all. It was a bit clinical and, talented as she may be, that's not going to get her the most votes this week. Minnie Ripperton had the feeling and the notes and, whilst she didn't have any more success than that to my knowledge, if you dig out her version you'll see what was missing from Ella's. That might change the odds a little, especially with such a strong Union J performance. Doubt I'll get 25-1 on them again for a while.

So, will she get some heady patting from Dermot. With that hair? Perhaps not.

James

Nicole says 'This is my first time in a pub' during the preview bit.
James gets a call from Mary Blige and, unless he's acting really well, he handles that extremely well - he's looking and sounding very mature, not at all as I'd expected him to be coming across.

Now this guy can do feeling. No More Pain was delivered as if he meant every word. This guy's good. That was a 'moment'. Well done, James.

Nicole likes his trousers. No heady patting.

Lucy

After all the bad news she'd had in the week, and in 'Love and Heartbreak' week, she does a cheery song. Gold Digger. Remarkably well done as if she'd written it herself. Nice performance, totally natural and relaxed. That should be popular.

No heady patting for Lucy either.

District 3

They didn't like the song. I Swear. Heavy production. These guys have good voices and harmony and pull off this tricky number. Not bad but Union J get the boy band votes this week.

Nicole wants them like tabasco on apple pie. And baby oil, with all the actions. Well, not all of them but enough to make you wonder.

It'll be interesting to see how the votes total up - will there be enough for both to be safe? If so then when one does eventually go that could well seal the deal for the other. If not, they'll be out soon.

Jade

Forgettable song last week, despite an excellent makeover. Love Is A Losing Game. Accentuating the tone of her voice that distinguishes her but that also showed the notes that she didn't make which was a shame. I'm not a big fan and I'm not sure how many voters are. She seems very much on her own in this competition - that might help her but she needs to make her own space somehow, like Rebecca did.

Louis says she's in a tough category. That's right, for sure, and I think she knows it but there's nothing to stop two girls being in the final four. Unfortunately, I don't see her being one of them.

She gets a shoulder pat from Dermot instead of heady patting which sends her off before he's had a chance to read out the voting number so he has to call her back. Still no heady patting, though.

MK1

The bloke in the group puts on some sort of comedy act this week. Charlie's great but even her style makes this version of I Want You Back weird. That didn't work and even the dancers were totally irrelevant and mostly off screen. It was a bit like Jedward had returned in places. They may be in trouble.
they did make a good point themselves that they are aware that the people that like their style of music are not the type who normally watch X Factor, let alone vote! Fair comment and all credit to this pair for that.
They get hugs from Dermot. No heady patting.

Kye

This guy could easily be a future producer. Reminds me of Chris De Burgh. Great voice and production - I just wish he'd hit the high notes better in the first half. He may have rescued himself near the end when he was right in his best range and sounded good. He's a talented chap but may struggle. Christopher's and MK1's unpopular-sounding performances may just save him, as should the judges if it comes to it.

Rylan

Clear favourite to go at the start of the show but now looking safe with the bookies, at least! He doesn't wind up the show but he does wind up Gary by starting sing one of the Barlow numbers. Lovely. Starts then stops and is very relaxed in swapping from number to number in this weird mash-up and way OTT production. The budget's gone to hell. Groove Is In The Heart was never in tune in the 70s so he could get away with some dodgy bits but actually was not at all bad. It was weird but interesting and even included reference to Gangham Style and loads of references to the new wave of Korean stuff coming our way in there too. An informed production for which Brian gets all the deserved credit. I've no idea what to make of it and nor will many voters but it was bizarre enough to keep him in.

No heady patting as he towers over Dermot like a giraffe.

Melanie

White trouser suit. Flares. That says 1970 to me. Bond-style silhouette behind her is more interesting than Melanie. Two Worlds Collide was over sung but oversung pretty well. Not sure how that'll go down. I'd have given her a Righteous Brothers track.

Louis says the old school is now new school. OK? Whatever that means.
Tulisa, in an attempt to catch up with the million points already scored by Nicole this week, says Melanie was in MILF mode. No baby oil, though.

Nor heady patting.

So that's Week 2 done - apart from the results. It should be Christopher going home but might be District 3 or MK1 getting the close shave. Jade, Melanie and Kye should thank their lucky stars for another week.

Week 1 Result: Producers 1. Carolynne Didn't.

 

The first results show. Wow! If SYCO were looking for headlines in the tabloids, a mass of Twitter messages and to hit as many other publicity buttons as they could to boost ratings then they did a good job with this show.

Dermot raced through the acts that were safe - he had ten of those and calling out District3's name between Ella's and Lucy's was the first surprise. Union J, Christopher, Carolynne and Ryan were the four left standing. Being 'in no particular order', putting Union J on the safe side of the stage was predictable as they may well have had one of the biggest votes, despite a lacklustre performance last night.

That left us with Christopher, Carolynne and Rylan. We guessed that Christopher, having only just been brought back from obscurity with public wild card votes, was safe and it was, indeed, Carolynne and Rylan left standing as the two acts with the lowest votes.

That was quite a surprise. Both had put in reasonable performances last night. Both had been in tune and stronger than several of the others but this is all about who the people actually voting prefer and, certainly to me, Rylan had not garnered as much of an early following as I'd expected and Carolynne had just not impressed anyone with a song that her natural supporters may have recognised. She may have fared considerably differently with a safe standard as she was confident, looked really attractive and sang very well but just not in a way that appealed to enough people pressing the numbers on their mobiles on a Saturday night.

Their sing-off performances were both good. Rylan was in his element with an excellent choice of One Night Only which I wondered might be apt. He was in tune and it was a strong performance with a gorgeous background and everything just worked for him. Carolynne was faultless and produced a stunning performance which all her supporters must have wished she'd done the night before. As she finished to impressive applause from everyone, she was the obvious choice to stay if anyone was to be judged on those performances.

Betfair's odds showed Carolynne favourite to go at the beginning of the sing-off. As she sang those odds reversed and Rylan became the clear favourite to go instead.

Now the fun starts. You know that Gary would support her and Nicole would support Rylan so it was down to Tulisa and Louis. You can also be pretty sure that the judges had been tipped off beforehand as to the voting and would have chatted about what to do. My guess is the producers had told Louis to take it to deadlock and Gary to argue and do something like walk off in disgust.

So that is more or less exactly what happened. At the end of the day, Gary would have to accept that Carolynne's bottom place in the voting wasn't boding well for her in future weeks and Rylan does have that entertainment value too which, in the absence of a Jedward or Wagner this year, the show seems to insist on.

Louis played along brilliantly and got everyone annoyed, not least good old Dermot O'Leary desperately watching the clock and trying to get a decision out of him. In fact, Louis first said he was saving Carolynne and you really did have to feel sorry for her when he clarified that, well, completely reversed it if we're being accurate, and said that he wanted to leave it to the public vote - hence saving Rylan.

That gave us tonight's unexpected result of Carolynne falling at this first hurdle and Rylan living for another week. It may also have given SYCO  better viewing figures for next week by the time the headline writers have had their day!

Live Shows Week 1 Now We'll Find Out What The Voters Like

Here we go - the first of the real shows. The auditions are history. Bootcamp booted out all but about 30 and the judges in hotels, glorious resorts or country retreats chose the twelve acts. With little choice to vote for the sobbing Christopher got place 13 as a wild card. I think the voting figures were Christopher 6, Adam 3, Times Red 3 (they voted for themselves) and Amy 0 (she voted for Adam).

Now the public get a chance to have their say and we'll find out who those that vote prefer. We know who the newspapers like and who the bookies like, who the judges reckon will win too. This is where things can often change with seemingly brilliant acts stumbling and hopefuls losing nerve and then hope while someone who seemed average comes out and surprises everyone!

District 3

Someone must have had some faith in them to put this group on first. A very quiet start to Simply The Best and they might have made a reasonable backing act to Tina Turner. It was all very sleepy and uninspiring. Nice harmonies, which is what they're good at but, despite being the most experienced group, the stage did seem to dwarf them and they're vulnerable from the very start.

James

Sings What Doesn't Kill You Make You Stronger and starts fairly straight and then raps, now that we haven't seen before. No guitar, either. He looked confident on the stage, walking around and he's a natural performer. That track won't have raised his profile with voters, though, but he'll get through.

Melanie

With A Little Help From My Friends in Joe Cocker's day was slow and earthy. The Beatles wrote it as a cheery sort of number. This was just slow and Melanie seemed to be making just too much effort to be noticed and screamed quite a bit. Admittedly she did scream in tune but it was all a bit over the top and the end decidedly dodgy. She was looking good, the makeover team having done well and the Woodstock outfit was just the right shade of terracotta. She won't be a long-term act, though and could well be in the fateful Bottom Three. Not a good start to this show with two out of the first three performances headed for home.

Lucy

Now this was interesting. Performing her own song, very comfortable on the stage. It was as if she were as guest on the X Factor show, not a contestant. The song was clever, not as jokey as the drinking number she's famous for now, and will surely be an album track before long if her contract permits (which it probably doesn't) so it'll be nearer Christmas. She made a nice job, not spectacular, but that was the right move to make in this nervy and unpredictable first week. Those who were already going to vote for her definitely still will and she probably picked up some more fans on the way. So she's safe for a while.

MK1

Now I'd put this duo down as most likely to go first but I have to revise that now. Although I have no idea how many tracks they mashed up and rapped out they were extremely strong, confident and together. The girl, Charlie, is a good singer on her own and, although not to my own taste, their style is very 'today' which is more than can be said for most of the acts.

Tulisa would have been best advised to wait until the applause and cheering had died down before starting as  MK1 needed to bask in the love for a minute. They did themselves a lot of good and will now be around after all for at least another week.

Christopher

Hero was all very traditional. Nothing exceptional. Just 'OK' singing and in no way do I see him as a 'star' unless there's a Steve Brookstein market out there. He improved a bit as the song went on and is certainly someone who can belt out a tune but really shouldn't be around. He'll survive this week, just, but is one of the acts that has to go sooner or not so much later.

Union J

Who suggested they kick off with just one guy singing? Weak. they do finally get under way and had fun with Don't Stop Me Now. They finished a lot better than they started and there are some good singers in the band. There was a crazy dance routine going on that seemed to have nothing to do with the track and I was expecting the four pretty girls to hook up with the four pretty boys and who knows where that would have gone but as it was the boys remained on freshly painted blocks of wood lifting them a foot or so higher than the stage and making them even more nervous than they probably already were.

Louis got blamed for everything, of course. Actually, if the boys had let themselves go a bit and started a bit more confidently then we'd have been saying how good it all was. Anyway, they'll be through as there are lots of girls voting for them and they'll win the votes from District3 too.

Jade

She looked fabulous in blonde, the most impressive transformation - or restoration - by the makeover team. A very nervous start, though, to I Can Be Your Hero. Nor did it get a great deal better with no opportunity for her to show any of the style that presumably Tulisa had spotted at some point. Very disappointing and not the 'moment' I had been expecting. Indeed, we're still waiting for anything approaching a 'moment'.

Rylan

I had no idea what to expect from this chap. Yes, we may recall the rocking blonde-haired guy from the first audition show but since then we haven't really heard a lot more. We've seen plenty! He appears in a gold dress of some sort on a dramatic stage, surrounded by dancers. The song is Gold and it works well. actually very well and a hell of a lot better than many in the place expected. He's got a strong voice and held most notes and stayed in tune. That was a surprise. He'll survive another week, despite the negative attitude of quite a few commentators.

Kye

Man In The Mirror seems a popular track with the producers as I'm sure it appears every year. This time it's Kye's turn to do something with the Jackson number. Another weak, quiet start. Oh dear. But he does get into a performance of sorts quicker than most of the others managed and put in a decent effort, moving around the stage and saying hi to people in the front row. At times he got into some sort of stride and character but largely it was pretty average stuff. The ending was really crap. Not a clever job by Gary there.

Ella

Rule The World is, of course, a Gary Barlow song and I won't be giving anything away by saying that he was the first to hand out great praise by agreeing that she had sung it far better than he had. She was by far and away the best so far. There were some faults but you kinda forgave them as the rest was so good. Very very good. I don't see how anyone can beat her unless the range of types of performance move away from what she does best.

Carolynne

Keeping up the standard, carolynne is professional. A good start and you could sense that she was happy on stage and had been there, well nearly there, before. She looked good, naturally pretty and was just competent and spot-on notes-wise. Her 'country' version of a Nicki Minaj song I didn't recognise and it's no big attraction for voters but she ought not to have to worry.

Jahmene 

Jahmene gets to close the show with Imagine. Everyone knows this song. His voice is clear and he knows where the notes should be and hits them. then he starts finding a whole load more, almost making things up as he goes, but in a nice way. There were times when, like last year's Joshua, he tries almost too hard to impress and the notes wail into the air pointlessly but this guy is capable and really talented. Definitely safe for a long time yet. He could win but I don't see a market yet for what he'd do and we've yet to see that individual star quality emerge. Dermot O'Leary, finally back with a decent job there, is forever rubbing Jahmene's hair and the two seem to get along really well. Not that that influences anything.

So, Sunday brings the first Bottom Three, the first sing-off and the first sending home. I fear for District3's chances.

These are the odds at the time of writing at Betfair.com. Ella way, way out front. Carolynne and Rylan are regarded as least likely to win. 

District3 (shown as GMD3) are very much the favourites to go in Week 1 one, though (in charts not shown here). Second favourites to go are currently MK1 and Carolynne.

So Here Are Your Final 12 + 1

So now we know the Top 12 who will be performing in the UK Live Shows from next week. In fact it'll be a Top 13 with, presumably, Christopher, joining as a Wild Card. Although someone less like a wild card I cannot imagine. A beetroot that's been peeling onions seems closer to the mark.

Tulisa wouldn't have had to think for long for her first choice Ella who is the very clear favourite to win, currently 7-4 (with James at 15-2). Lucy will be fun to watch and will add some interest to the shows for a while but she must have seen something in Jade Ellis that I've missed. I guess we mustn't forget that Tulisa won last year with the girl band Little Mix, that she created out of several other 'mixes' and individuals, and that they have proved to be pretty successful (against quite a few predictions) so perhaps we'll see why she chose that Jade instead of the Jade Collins I'd hoped as the Live Shows get under way.

Ella

Lucy

Jade

Nicole was always going to have trouble with her third choice, James and Jahmene looking pretty certain, but the exclusion of Nathan, and not even ranking him 4th out of the six is the big surprise of the evening. Rylan will make good  TV for a week or two but he shouldn't plan to be around for much longer.

James

Jahmene

Rylan

Gary made exactly the right decision to give Kye a chance, Carolynne a second chance and Melanie is going to bring something with an edge to what is otherwise looking quite an inert line-up. He may well have gambled that Christopher would get the public Wild Card vote whereas Melanie wouldn't. Clever.

Kye

Carolynne

Melanie

Louis surprised many by choosing both of the young boy bands, which I'd predicted, but did, indeed, drop Poisonous Twin and brought in MK1 instead which I didn't. 

Union J

MK1

GMD3

In a twist at the end we discover that there will be a single Wild Card addition to the first Live Show. The public can vote for one of Times Red, Christopher, Adam or Amy to join the chosen twelve. So that's Christopher through after all then.

Times Red

Christopher

Adam

Amy

Hi Cheryl, my name's Brad. It's Decision Time at Judges' Houses.

It's Judges' Houses Week - the contenders who have survived this far have now had their makeovers and professional photos taken and get to spend some time with the judegs' teams at various expensive locations. Although they don't get to perform that much, just a selected few getting screen time for a start to finish performance and even those being remarkably short, we do get to see how they come across as individuals and how they relate to the judges whose decisions will make such a huge difference.

This is the week when the Top 12 (assuming there are no wild cards this year!) are chosen, three girls by Tulisa and Tiny Tempa, three groups by Louis and Sharon Osbourne, three boys by Nicole and Neo-Yo and three over-28s by Gary and Cheryl Cole. They each have their own preferences, which may not match the initial enthusiasm shown in the first audition and Bootcamp rounds, as now they're guided by advice behind the scenes on who would make good TV as well. This is the stage when mistakes are usually made, most memorably by Louis! Will Sharon Osbourne - seen tearing up and throwing one group's card into the pool restrain his temptation to put Posionous Twin (for surely it must have been theirs) through? Neither seem to get the accomplished but odd Duke or Mitsotu and the acts must have wished they had a Neo-Yo or Tiny making the choices instead of what looked a couple of old fogies on holiday.

My guess is that Union J are safely through - especially after Louis went to all the trouble of pulling back not only the three Triple J but also resurrecting George Shelley from the Boys rejected at Bootcamp. GMD3 ought to be in there too. There will be some debate about their similarity and splitting votes possibly resulting in neither getting as far as they could but that's the way Louis was thinking, from what I could tell. But who gets the third spot? MK1 seem slightly weak as just two and whilst the girl is really talented and a great performer, I don't see them making it. So it's between Times Red and, yes, you guessed it, Poisonous Twin. There's no way the Powers That Be will let the Groups be just ten guys so you can see where that's going.

Gary has a far better mix to choose from than Louis had last year with the Over 28s. Christopher is a near certainty. 'Viewers will love him', says Cheryl. He sang really well too. Not my idea of the best new act for the 2010s in British pop history but there can be no doubt he's in. It's also safe to assume that Nicole is out after a pretty poor audition and, despite all his efforts to put her at ease regarding his earlier comments that she was annoying (and the fact that she is the only act who received less than four yesses initially), she'll be going home. Brad Shackleton has had virtually no screen appearances at all which can't be good news. He has very strong, raw vocals and hits all the right notes and reminds me a bit of Bruce Springstein. But Brad just doesn't seem like someone who'll be going through. He comes across as one hell of a ladies man, being very forward with Cheryl when she arrived and I can imagine a lot of viewers cringeing at his style. He's also up against the nice Kye who, we keep being reminded, is a chimney sweep and seems a decent chap all round.

Both guys, though, have to contend with Melanie and Carolynne. Carolynne is trying so hard, putting in superb auditions and looking attractive too. Being rejected in favour of Johnny Robinson and JonJo last year can't have done her self-confidence much good at the time so you tend to think that a wrong needs to be righted this time around. So I'm giving the second slot to Carolynne and, unfortunately for Kye, I see Melanie getting the third slot. That'll be a touch decision to watch, whichever way it goes. But with the Boys group comprising comparatively older guys this year and Kye actually looking younger than some of them, I fear for his chances.

As for the Boys, Nicole may have a simpler decision to make. James Arthur is, to my mind, a front runner for this season. Nathan is good (although, strangely, we haven't seen much of him to date) and I have a feeling the Powers That be will insist on his inclusion anyway. The third place is likely to be between Rylan and Jahmene. Rylan for the etertainment value, perhaps, although he did put in one of his best auditions just at the right time. He's not going to win or anything close to that but will have a fan club develop and could be good for the ratings. The logical entry would be Jahmene on talent alone but he does seem ridiculously nervous each time and there has to be a doubt about whether he would really make it through the live shows. Jahmene has a remarkable singing talent and, whichever doesn't make it will be emotional television. The other two, Adam Burridge and Jake Quickenden are both good-looking mature guyswho look good on the screen and sing reasonably competently. I just don't think they'll make it through which, again, promises to be a real tear-jerker next time, especially with Jake using the very ill younger brother thing (which is genuinely sad but shouldn't influence their decision) to make us want him to succeed. I can't imagine Nicole choosing either of Adam or Jake over Rylan and Jahmene, though, which lands them in the 'going home' category.

Lastly, the Girls. Ella Henderson is my tip to win the whole thing and simply has to go straight through. Her audition even further emphasised that too. Choosing from the others is tough, though, and I'd hate to have to make that decision. Jade Ellis will have helped her cause with a great version of Stand By Me and you just have to have some sympathy for someone who admits that her little daughter 'shouldn't be in a pace where she's quite scared'. However, she hasn't really shone that much so far and needs more work on her appearance but I can see her making it.

Amy's hair annoys me but she is a good singer. The Adele style can get a bit tiresome. She may have to wait for another year, despite her talents.

Leanne does look attractive and seems to sing really well. However, we get such a short audition clip that it's impossible to tell what she's like or, for that matter, what Tulisa thinks of her.

Jade Collins, too, flies by and we learn almost nothing. I've been really impressed with her before but this time I simply can't tell.

Lucy Spraggan, in complete contrast, has had all the screen time and bags of publicity, creating a groundswell of popular support that makes her a pretty likely choice for the shows. I am not convinced the X Factor is what she's all about, though, and have doubts as to what she'd do in some rounds and, certainly don't see her naturally handling the 'let's all dance around' stuff.

So, if pushed, it will be Ella, Jade Ellis and Lucy but my choice would be to give Jade Collins a chance instead of Lucy, who may well succeed anyway.

All will, of course, be revealed in a few hours!

Bootcamp Pt2. The Top 24

Lucy Spraggan gets to start Bootcamp Pt2 as the judges look at individual performances and we see much more of what some of the contenders can do. She comes out with another of her own sparky little compositions. She ought to work with Dennis Potter on some series with that witty and delightfully accurate observation of daily life. She'll make the Judges' Houses, I'm sure and could be an entertaining act on the live shows but it will be as entertainment rather than a potential winner in the Girls category.

Rylan's track is far too loud to hear his voice and it's not an impressive performance. He's a likeable character, playing the Essex card as well as the gay card well. Again, an entertainment act, not a winning act. Gathan appears and then disappears. Odd bit of editing.

Jahmene has a melt down so we see what's left of MK1 instead. Pretty average and uninspiring. the girl can do better than that, I'm sure. Again, no winner there.

Triple J, Melanie Masson, Chris Maloney and Carolynne Poole come go, all doing kinda OK acts and you get the feeling they're safe enough. Kye Sones, though, is the first real act that really hits you and makes you think Hey, this guy's good!

From Above won't survive, way out of tune. Jade Ellis seems nervous but has some touches of quality in the performance. Not sure what to make of her at the moment.

Joe Whelan has a good vocal performance, as do Times Red, looking and sounding pretty good.

James Arthur, in glasses and looking big and much healthier than before, is relaxed and just excellent. He has to make the live shows on how he's doing so far - a really talented guy.

Leanne Robinson we haven't seen much of so far but she's attractive and hits all the right notes too, with signs of more than just natural talent but some sort fo training and experience too.

Adam Burridge sounds cool. Not so sure where he fits in but a decent act.

Ella Henderson is the last we get to see. She sings Believe, the Cher track that first introduced the world to autotune. This was a stunning performance of the track, totally different and this girl is going to be extremely difficult to beat. Only 16, too. This week someone had sorted out her hairstyle so much better too so she looked more 26 than 36. I reckon it could be between her and James Arthur. I know they haven't even made it through Judges' Houses yet but they are both that strong.

Now we get to learn the actual Final 24. This is the really important cut when 24 acts will get a chance to perform and get to know their mentor and make a real impression as to what they're really capable of and show whether they've the range of talents to get through to the live rounds and the personality and reliability needed for shows where emotions will run high and the public will expect to be entertained too.

We also learn, through a call from Simon Cowell in the States, just showing who's still boss, who gets to mentor which categories.

Nicole gets the Boys:
James Arthur
Jahmene
Nathan
Adam
Rylan
Jake

In Xtra Factor, Nicole gives a clear indication that she thinks James is the artist, is hoping that Jake will be the one for the girls and eithet Nathan or Ryland for entertainment.

Tulisa gets the Girls
Ella
Amy
Jade Collins
Jade Ellis
Leanne
Lucy

Tulisa sees Ella as the clear winner and admires Lucy. My guess is that she'll add Leanne to the mix. Whether one of the Jades replaces Lucy at the end of the day remains to be seen.

Gary gets the Over 28s
Kye Sones
Melanie Masson
Nicola Marie
Brad Shackleton
Carolynne Poole
Christopher Maloney

Gary has some strong acts. He favours Kye, Chris and will need the third to be either Carolynne or Melanie. Nicola and Brad, I fear, can assume they've got as far as they're going to go.

Louis gets the Groups
MITSOTU
Duke
MK1
Poisonous Twin
Rough Copy
GMD3

GMD3 won through a sing off with Triple J. That was a close call. You had to feel sorry for Triple J. I wonder if they'll get the call when Rough Copy can't travel to Louis' place?

This is one mixed bag and not the make-up I'd expected at all. Rough Copy would walk away with winning in this category but won't so at present it has to be GMD3 that are likely to make the running. Duke we have seen so little of but Louis has high regard for them. MITSOTU too seem to have caught his eye but will he, as usual include the novelty act to bring on the fun? If so then we'll have to put up with Poisonous Twin a bit longer.

So now we know.

Bootcamp Pt 1

Having remarked at how rubbish the production has been so far in this season, and not exactly looking forward to reviewing what is usually the most annoying set of programmes, I have to say that Bootcamp this time has started very well indeed.

200 candidates will be whittled down to a mere 24 to go forward to the Judges' House round over two days, of which we saw the first 24 hours. For about 70 or them that had made their way to the venue, the only good thing was to see JLS live for a few minutes as one-third got sent home. presumably the judges realised that they'd made some mistakes during the audition rounds. We could have told them at the time and saved SYCO a few bob but never mind.

Tulisa appears as a blonde - a distinctly custard tint or that may have been my telly. Nicole is now on board rather more seriously so there's no ex-Spice Girls or a somewhat lame Leona to interrupt debate at this stage.

At the start of the programme we're shown glimpses of all the familiar people which is a pretty good hint as to who we can expect to see more of as the weeks progress. Basically, there's about 130 we've never seen so far and probably never will, apart from a fleeting glimpse in a large room or prancing around on stage.

Gary tells the remaining people that they have 72 hours and a massive digital display starts to count down in tenths of a second rather ominously and, to my mind, pointlessly. We then see him telling them It's been four hours... and the huge display says 57 hrs something or other. Continuity guys just got fired but at least Tulisa's hair is still custard coloured. Louis' hair has changed but that's nothing unusual.

So off we go.

Joe Douglas and Jahmene get through in the first group. Jahmene has been one of the favourites so far but still looks odd in a jacket two sizes too small. maybe the trousers are similarly too small which accounts for the falsetto. He makes a poor job of the audition track but is forgiven by the judges who clearly have him marked down for the live shows. Not so sure about Joe.

A group called From Above  get through next, as do Times Red and the two comprising MK1 now, both of these last two putting on an excellent performance. A group called The Lightbulb Thieves ask why they're not put through and all credit to Nicole for an excellent explanation which put her several steps up in my estimation. She's been good on X Factor USA too last year, if a bit indecisive in the live shows.

Lucy Spraggit scrapes through in her group despite a lousy performance but, again, she's almost got a ticket for the live shows too.

There is then a string of people, most of whom we've seen plenty of before, flying through. Amy Mottram, Leanne Robinson, Harriet, Maisy Sylvester, Jade Ellis, Carla Jaye, Eli Cripps and Melanie McCabe. I'm really not at all sure about a couple fo those names who were entirely new to me and probably you too. My guess is we don't see them for long.

two more groups fight it out: GMD3 and Triple J. Both were excellent and it's beginning to look quite difficult for whoever has to choose which three will be going through in that category. Cue some heavy disappointment scenes for a few weeks' time.

Britt Love beats both the annoying Collagen and the nice Deirdre Lawlor. I am very glad not to have Collagen's collagen and cleavage on the screen any more. But why give the annoying and untalented girl yet more air time afterwards?

There is then a slew of rejections, but no-one we've seen before so nothing of interest there. Gary was very firm and, understandably, getting a bit fed up with some pretty useless performances. Now I know that it is really crazy to expect people to work together and learn something they may not even think suits them or like in a short time but several really appeared not to have made any effort at all. If they really talented then they can get away with that but they weren't, and didn't, we,,, mostly they didn't.

Finally two more groups come along and really excel. Rough Copy and Mr Xoto or something like that were very good indeed. Unfortunately, you'll find that Rough Copy, who might have been dead certs to appear in the live shows, get cut as one of them doesn't have a valid passport. Duh!

I'm thinking that we haven't seen many decent boys go through yet. Plenty of Overs, Girls and even Groups but not many for the Boys  category.

Poisonous Twin join the groups going through and could add some fun to the live shows if Louis gets to choose. they don't really deserve a place on their singing although they're streets ahead of most of last year's.

Finally we get some in the Boys category. Jo Whelan is the only one out of five to get through. Then James Vickery and another favourite and potential winner James Arthur show how this stage should be handled with some excellent performances, followed by an extraordinary trio of gays who could be a group if someone wanted. Rylan and Gathan are joined by an odd-looking new guy to the screen, Octavio. Gathan is pretty full of himself and doesn't associate much with the other two but nevertheless they manage to pull off an impressive show of talent although I reckon Octavio's days are numbered and is there really room on the screen for both Rylan and Gathan. That'll be an interesting battle to watch.

Amongst the girls, now, the  very reliable Hayley and a new girl Nicola Marie, get through nicely. More boys in the shape of Jake Quickenden, and Adam Burridge are easily through but poor Robbie Hance, one of my favourites and who I saw as a definite live show contestant, simply tries to wing it and fails. I was really impressed, though, by his honesty and lack of show. He simply made a sign of having shot himself, lay down the microphone and walked off quietly. Very disappointing and if I were the judges I would still rush after him and give him another chance.

In Xtra Factor we see some more successes: Brad and Shelley and someone who appears to be called 2BStream join the Overs with some good vocals particularly from an elderly and not exactly pretty Shelley. 2BStream is a black guy with a very high voice.

Eddie Spring and Mitch Summers go out on the tiles and hit the sack at 4am. Eddie has a great personality and I get the impression he's extremely bright from some of the responses he gives. he's bound to annoy a lot of viewers but I'd like to see this Jagger-esque figure in the live shows. He'll either sink or swim. My guess is that he'll swim. Anyway, for all that, his performance is great but his drinking companion's isn't. So Mitch is quite surprisingly out but he's only got Eddie and himself to blame. They perform on stage with the much straighter Kian who is also through and hoping he can get on on his own from here.

We get glimpses of Clapz Shazzahne, or whatever his silly name is, who chats up anything in a skirt. Mia & The Moon, who should get through just because of their name in my view, three groups Array, LMNY and Electric Punx. Not sure whether any of the last three get through.

Someone with a name like Corm Malloy is though. No idea who he is and then we get to see that four very, very reliable performers are safely through, and likely live show contenders too, being Carolynne Poole, Melanie Masson, Christopher Maloney and Kye Sones.

I think I've counted 40 getting through so far. That makes about 60 that didn't and still 30 or so that we haven't seen at all. Maybe tomorrow?

We'll see. Or not, as the case may be. My feeling is that we will have seen the winner today. But I'm not making any bets yet!