Why I'm rooting for Wagner to take the X-Factor crown

I'm not about to pretend I'm too cool for the X-Factor like a lot of journalists like to dupe you into believing but nor am I an addict. Having watched a few series in the past and being rather unsurprised at what had come out of the show, something about the current series really has me gripped. No, its not the quality of the acts and nor is it the judge's comments, rather the fact that the show has become so old, its now something of a bad joke.

Whilst it is true that not since the 2008 show that featured such contestants as Alexandra Burke, JLS and Diana Vickers, the X-Factor has produced such gripping entertainment, nor that there will ever be as popular and successful a winner as Leona Lewis, I wouldn't have thought that those involved in the show would have succumbed so openly to public opinion that the series really has become old hat.

You don't agree? Then let's look at the blatant bias and ignorance of the X-Factor by first looking at contestant Wagner.

The X Factor: The series really has become 'old hat.'

“He can't sing,” is often the cry of many who return to work on a Monday morning shocked that the alluring Brazilian has managed to escape the public vote for another week. To a point I agree. The songs that he has been given to sing, he cannot perform vocally but anyone who insists that Wagner cannot sing is just downright ignorant. What strikes me as odd is that the X-Factor is a singing competition, as music mogul Simon Cowell repeats on the show almost every five minutes and by vocal ability, Wagner is one of the best! 

Did you see him in the audition stages? He was not talking the words to a camp disco song in embarrassing style but instead, exhaling some of the finest, note-perfect opera that you are ever likely to hear from a non-established performer. Yet opera is apparently not popular with the Saturday night television-viewing public and so instead of singing what he wants to sing, Wagner is given camp disco songs and made to look as talentless and humiliating as Jedward, the jokes from the last X-Factor series. And yet, we know that Wagner – unlike Jedward – does possess a powerful, commanding voice but its an opera voice and according to Mr Cowell, that's not popular enough (despite the fact that he signed opera quarter Il Divo in 2004!)

Elsewhere, arrogant, self-loving Cher is allowed to sing whatever she wants on the show. Apparently, the X-Factor is a singing competition but that doesn't mean Cher isn't allowed to rap week in, week out. With all due respect to rappers – it isn't hard. Its fast-talking and you can easily notice when Cher does attempt to sing that her voice is less than average. So Cher is allowed to rap but Wagner can't sing his powerful opera?

Let's see the judges put Mary Byrne in colourful Lycra and have her singing Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini. OK, it wouldn't be the nicest sight ever but it would definitely make the competition a lot fairer. Yet instead, Mary, who does have an impressive voice, is allowed to sing her old fashioned big-bang songs every week, drawing nothing but praise from the judges for her vocal talents. Yet Wagner isn't allowed to sing opera? Are old fashioned big bang songs more popular than opera songs? I certainly wouldn't have thought so!

And so it is that poor Wagner, a potential opera star in the making, is forced to make a complete fool of himself on national television every week as he looks for a lucrative record deal doing what he loves most.

Wagner: One of few talent show contestants that actually has talent.

Elsewhere, Simon Cowell has turned his groups category into an equally poor joke. Instead of persisting with Pussycat Dolls – like group Hustle to the live finals, he chose the two groups he put together himself and as these are now the only groups left, he is choosing to put all his weight behind boyband One Direction, seemingly ignoring his girl group Bel-Amie, neither of which, by the way are particularly interesting, nor are they as vocally talented as Wagner!

Then you have Katie Waissal (or Katie Weasel) as I like to call her. Not only did she cause outrage after allegedly having a record deal over in the USA* before the show began, but she is probably as bland a singer as you can get. No spark, no stage presence and certainly no talent, Weasel should be thanked for finally making me realise that the show is a complete joke this weekend. For instead of coming out on stage and singing a reputable, interesting pop song she went traipsing round like a monkey, singing King Louie's “I wanna be like you” from something out of The Jungle Book stage presentation. Cringeworthy it was, entertaining it wasn't and yet somehow, the four judges (one of which has a failed music career, the other a career born out of marrying a footballer and the other two reputations as big-money label owners, not singers!) found it one of the best performances of the night. Add to that the judge's pathetic schoolboy spats and grudges and you have a programme that is well past its sell-by date.

And yet, I'm still watching. Why? Because there are some poor people in this show who are genuinely talented. No, not Cher Lloyd, not Katie Weasel but the likes of Matt Cardle, Mary Byrne, Rebecca Ferguson and yes, Wagner who should be given his chance at singing opera in a live show.

I'm no opera fan but I appreciate talent and see it in Wagner in abundance. So, whilst the X-Factor judges insist on making the entire formula of the show a joke, taking sides and favouring specific acts with rules for some and different rules for others, I'm one of the few that are trying to turn the joke back on them and actually create a worthy winner. Full credit to Wagner – he doesn't complain and returns each week with a smile on his face and bags of energy and passion, despite being made a mockery of. Wagner can sing and is more of a talent than these alleged talent judges can see – that is why I am rooting for Wagner to win the X-Factor!

*X Factor contestant Katie Waissel already has a record deal

What is the best thing about Bromsgrove?

So here's the situation - a colleague has to go and pick up a signed editorial confirmation from somewhere in Bromsgrove (Royal Mail has so far failed him). He cannot get time off work to go from Worcester - Bromsgrove in the week so wants to convince his girlfriend that Bromsgrove is well worth her spending a day at so that she can pick up his confirmation on his behalf.

We 'google' attractions in Bromsgrove and are given the following results: 

The Mailbox, Birmingham

The Pallasades, Birmingham

Earlswood Lakes - none of which, of course, are actually in Bromsgrove!

Gough PR - undisputedly the best thing about
Bromsgrove!

So I ask the question to my 274 Twitter followers, the majority of which work or live in the Midlands - surely someone will have knowledge of Bromsgrove? As always, I got answers but it seems that Bromsgrove is not one of the most exciting places the Midlands has to offer. Here's some of my favourite replies:

"The A448" - Peter Hitchman

"There's a chip shop. It does cheesy chips - that won me over!" - Caroline Ashton

"You'll struggle for sightseeing - although the Church is 'nice'" - Richard Harris

"We have a swimming pool?" - Natalie Adcock

"The only reason I ever go to Bromsgrove is to go through it on my way to Birmingham" - Lorien Adey

"We are based in Bromsgrove!" - Gough PR

So there you have it - the best thing about Bromsgrove is between a road, a chip shop, a swimming pool, a church, a train station and the Gough PR office! 

Thank goodness we managed to fix our fax machine!

"I give it six months"

It only seems like a week ago that the Birmingham Press were proudly announcing the launch of their website and the fact that it actually was only last week is evidence of the shocking downfall of the publication – an event that many joked about but never truly saw coming.

Born in April 2010, died in October 2010, six months hardly justifies an impressive business plan for the newspaper that was meant to rival BPM Media. Its 50p introductory price never actually changed from 50p meaning that the initial £1 retail value never saw the light of day. So what is it that belittled the Birmingham Press' claims that it will take readership away from BPM's Birmingham Post? Is it possible to rival a company so widely reputed as the Midland's biggest publishers or are newspapers in fact a dying breed of which only the established, traditional titles can expect to survive?

The Birmingham Press - even when pressed,
failed to deliver

The truth is, the Birmingham Press' independent publisher Chris Bullivant, shot himself in the foot when he announced upon the newspaper's launch in April 2010 that it was going to rival BPM's weekly Post titles. Its a bit like Bristol City gaining a shock promotion from the Championship and insisting that they are to challenge Chelsea and Manchester United for the Premiership title – not going to happen. And what was Chris armed with in his battle against Birmingham's most established and popular paid-for title? A host of redundant Post journalists and a couple of freelancers thrown in for good measure. In effect, The Birmingham Press became the Birmingham Post mark two from its very conception!

Had Mr Bullivant simply undergone his independent business away from the media spotlight and not immediately challenged BPM, who knows how long he could have traded? His Observer series has survived battle from smaller, city-wide BPM publications and even The Birmingham Independent and Midland Independent titles managed more than a year trading, without threatening BPM's business empire.

Of course, a business can develop too quickly. Within only a couple of months of The Birmingham Press being launched, Mr Bullivant decided to introduce a free title that was delivered to households throughout the West Midlands – The Birmingham Free Press. Again, this was only launched to challenge The Birmingham Post Lite – a free newspaper run by The Birmingham Post that was delivered to South Birmingham homes. Then, just six weeks later they launched their website, leaving a total of 1-2 months to really work on the brand identity for The Birmingham Press, undoubtedly not long enough. And let's be honest – their website was horrific to say the least.

The Birmingham Free Press was never
any competition for The Birmingham
Post Lite

As a personal web user I have issues with the navigation and presentation of the Birmingham Mail website but compared to the Birmingham Press the Mail have the most impressively designed website in the world. Let's be honest, The Press site looked as though a five-year old had designed it. Enormous tabs only linking to the contact us page and scruffy text and image boxes with no css input, all squashed against each other with no room to breathe. If I wanted to get up-to-date with Birmingham's latest news stories, I wouldn't be able to do it properly here! In fact, the very fact that this British business had a .com domain and used their .co.uk domain as a holding page told you that their web developer was anything but a senior.

Is it at all possible to release a weekly newspaper that can rival BPM's titles or is the newspaper industry just completely dead? These days, setting up a new printed product is a risky move with the launch of online news and in particular, video news and social media but it can be done. All you need is your own unique target audience and a firm social media presence. The Birmingham Press had none. Their readership target was the same as The Birmingham Post's as they looked to take readers away from a newspaper as opposed to bringing in a new market to Birmingham's weekly media industry. What's more, The Birmingham Press has never been anywhere near present on websites like Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin. Not only is social networking vital in the media industry to get to know your PR and business contacts, but also to develop your brand amongst those in the know. The Birmingham Press had no real brand – it was not allowed the time to develop any kind of reputation or prestige in the media industry.

And so I am reminded of the words of former Birmingham Post and current Business Desk Editor Marc Reeves . Upon the first ever issue of The Birmingham Press going on sale, Marc said five words which have rung true to this very day - “I give it six months.” Or perhaps PR Guru Chris Brown's quote on Twitter is more relevant: “What a waste of money.” Whilst it is always a shame to witness the destruction of any new form of printed media, you could not help but think that this was coming throughout the newspaper's small existence. As Bullivant complains to The Office of Fair Trading about BPM's alleged unfair advertising prices, he can only blame himself for his newspaper's failure after he seemingly did everything wrong.

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