Monday, 17th October 2005.

"And to the studio..."

Thoughts on Saturday night's X-Factor:

1. Journey South have decent voices (although it was a bad choice of song) but the whole thing was a bit over-sincere. I can cope with the apparent earnestness, but screwing up your face in concentration and intensity is unnecessary. And the mad gesticulation (something that I have been guilty of myself, which gives me every right to criticise) is just waaay too much. I get the feeling that they write deep and meaningful poetry and really love their parents. At least they left the U2 alone this time.

2. It was totally unfair of The Sun to come down so hard on Chico this morning. He has a weak vocal talent but he's fun to watch, which is more than can be said for the lacklustre Conway Sisters. Dredging up his past as a stripper and porn star and claiming it as detrimental to his character is not only hypocritical on their part (given what's on the inside cover) but also fundamentally irrelevant: having a slightly sleazy (if entirely legal) background doesn't morally bar you from changing career direction.

Besides, what the Sun fails to mention is that even though Louis Walsh delivered the nail in the coffin of Addictive Ladies (earning most of the blame as a result), the public had already placed them in the danger zone through distinct lack of interest. They can't even sing, although apparently they want to be the new Destiny's Child. At least they have an equally silly name.

3. Following on from Thursday's diary rant...entry music for judges: O Fortuna. Entry music for every *sodding* contestant: Hotopei's Battle Without Honor Or Humanity, as used in Kill Bill. 'Nuff said.

An afterthought: is this really a karaoke contest, or just an excuse to let Simon, Sharon and Louis snipe at each other for an hour and a half? If it's the latter, I'm all for it...