The X Factor - Bye, Bye Jedward!

We all knew it had to happen some time but I was still gutted to John and Edward leave The X Factor this week. The show just won't be the same with their very particular brand of entertainment. I miss them already!

Bye Bye Jedward
It seemed that no matter where you went over the last few months, everyone had something to say about Jedward. The comments were sometimes good, sometimes bad and, no matter what you thought of the twins' performances, you'd have to credit them with handling all the attention they received really well. It can't be easy to face constant criticism from the judges and booing from the audience and still get up there every week and entertain the audience at home, winning over more and more people each week. I wasn't a massive fan of the twins when they first auditioned for the show but as the weeks went on I really warmed to them. Every week I'd be dying to see what kind of routine they'd come up with, what they'd be wearing and what the judges would say to them. And I have to say that I think that lads deserve a lot of respect for just getting on with it all and ignoring the nastiness that they so often had to put up with. I don't think we've seen the last of Jedward! (Gutted too that we didn't get to see them demanding their lions for their next stage performance!)

Shocker!
What was Olly Murs doing in the bottom two this week? I can't understand why people aren't voting for him. If I could vote he'd get my vote every week. I think he's a brilliant performer. He's got the whole package - great voice, natural stage presence and some fantastic dance moves. Are the public just not digging him or did people think he was safe and didn't need their votes? Either way, I hope people vote for him next week. I'd love to see him getting to the final.

No more second chances
Next week it's all about the public vote, which is good in a way but it also means that there are no more second chances. Previously an act that was placed at the bottom of the public vote could have been saved by the judges, now there's no lifeline - so we'll just have to hope that the public get it right from now on and that there are no more shocks in store.

Getting better and better
For me Stacey and Joe are going from strength to strength each week. I loved both of their performances this week. Lloyd also impressed me this week. I thought that he was poor the last few weeks and looked like he was really struggling with the songs that he was given but maybe a haircut and a change of song was all he needed. He appeared to be much more comfortable this week, really getting into the performance and singing much better than he did any other week. Danyl's song choice was also good but I'm afraid I'm still not feeling it. Maybe he'll change my mind next week when he unleashes all his dance moves on us!

And a word or two for Subo, Mariah, Dermot and Holly!
Great to see Susan Boyle and Mariah Carey on The Results Show this week and thumbs up that they both spoke to Dermot after their performances! Speaking of Dermot, fair play to him for sticking up for John and Edward again this week. It's probably difficult for him to give out to the audience while they're sitting right there in front of him but he doesn't seem to care. And also we have to mention Holly - she's getting stuck in way more this year, asking the tough questions, not only to the judges but also to the contestants (poor little Lloyd seems to find the questions hard-going though). At first I wasn't sure about the new format of The Xtra Factor but now I'm loving the new elements, especially the judges' grilling! And a word for fashion... how gorgeous was that black dress that Holly was wearing on Saturday night? Far nicer than Cheryl's Minnie Mouse look I think!

Linda McGee