Cheryl Cole - is the nation losing its sweetheart?

Blogging about the X-Factor is not something that I enjoy doing too much - after all, anyone who is anyone seems to have a blog on the subject these days and the public are at risk of being X-Factored to death this year! I've done quite well. I've only blogged about it once (now twice) when I championed Wagner and do not consider it a secret that I am a fan of his. In fact, I was all set to write a moany old blog post about his departure on Saturday after he was left in the bottom three, only for the unthinkable to happen and him to be passed through to the next round.

However, what annoyed me more than if Wagner had have lost the public vote was the way that Cheryl confronted him on national television about a comment he made about her in the press. Why? Because there really was no need!

Do we remember Cheryl Cole? Apparently, she's the nation's sweetheart. Plucked from Girls Aloud to marry Chelsea footballer Ashley Cole, the country quickly fell in love with the Geordie lass. Why? You tell me? I never really quite got her. Is it because she likes to speak her mind? No, I've never really seen her do much on The X-Factor except agree with Simon Cowell as she looks to keep her job. Is it because she is a talented singer? A matter of opinion but, erm.....no. So why is it? More than likely, its because she married an England footballer and became the English-residing version of Victoria Beckham.

Regardless, all of a sudden everyone loved Cheryl Cole and she happily played up to the admiration, glancing sweet smiles towards every member of the press she happened to spot whilst out and about. Until Saturday, that is, when she thought it appropriate to blast Wagner live on air for a newspaper comment she read allegedly quoting her as a 'council estate girl who got lucky.'

Cheryl Cole: Pulling her 'happy' face again

In actual fact, Wagner's quote was heralding the dramatic rise to fame of a council estate girl who got a lucky break with her talent. He was actually praising the judge but because she feels his place in the competition is questionable, she felt it necessary to confront him during a live show.

Anyone who thought Cheryl was a sweetheart will have quickly changed their opinion of her, upon seeing Wagner's surprised face as she confronted him. Not only is it hugely unprofessional to air the private lives of a contestant on a show that is allegedly about singing talent, but for the woman who has been misquoted in the press over a hundred times, it is downright hypocritical.

Would I expect my boss to criticise something I said about him in passing in front of my editorial team? No, I'd expect him to take the matter behind closed doors to discuss amicably!

Of course, the press has also said it's fair share about Cheryl's contestant Cher Lloyd but would Cheryl ask her about her alleged sexploits in the house on live television? No. Would she ask her about allegedly womanising young boys live on air? No. For Cher is not Wagner.

Assuming that the X-Factor is indeed based on public votes then there is no shortage of Wagner fans out there - how else would he have eclipsed Paije and Aiden in the competition? Why is he so liked? Because he is great fun! OK, he's not the best singer (unless he is singing opera) and his rendition of The Beatles' 'Hey Jude' was shocking but at the same time it was hilarious and more importantly, great fun! And that is just what you need in a competition that is being taken far too seriously. 

Wagner: He's not here to be taken seriously 

Have you actually looked at Cheryl's face whenever another judge dare criticise one of her acts? She looks as though she has just been dealt a personal blow to the face. If she is to continue as a judge on the show then surely she needs to be able to handle criticism. Furthermore, did you see her face when it was revealed Cher was in the sing-off? She looked as though someone had taken her own daughter off her. The worst thing is, Cheryl and her acts truly do believe they are a family and that is why they have become so painful and dull to watch. The X-Factor is meant to be an entertainment programme - not a reflection on the fortunes of Cheryl Cole and she needs to understand that a vote against one of her acts is not a vote against her.

Upon confronting Wagner on the live show, she then proceeded to argue with the members of the public that phoned in the Xtra-Factor, questioning the professionalism of her actions - yes - Cheryl Cole ranted and argued with the very public that helped put her on a pedestal so many years ago! The very people that made her as famous as she now is! The very people, whose following actually helped get her a place on the judge's stool for The X-Factor in the first place. And then, she spat on them all, in favour of a bitchy tirade at someone who is only there to give the public something to smile about on an otherwise lacklustre Saturday night.

I'm not looking to vilify Cheryl Cole. She has done that to herself. I merely want to point out how dull the programme is becoming and furthermore, how dull it would be should Wagner be voted out. He and Louis Walsh are the only two in the entire programme who are not taking it too seriously. Judging by everyone else's reactions, anyone would have thought that the exiting contestant was put to a firing squad after each show......

That would certainly make it more interesting...................................................

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!