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Who really wins?
They can't sing, they can't dance, they look more like Thunderbird puppets than exiled Strictly Come Dancing celebrity contestant Craig Kelly ever did - and yet he got booted off that TV talent show, and on his own home turf, last weekend, while THOSE twins remain on X Factor.
And the verdict from the real experts... the great and good of Blackpool's entertainment circuit ... is that the twins John and Edward are likely to be the real winners of X Factor.
But will the Bros of dross be little more than an overnight wonder ... or could they last the pace long to switch on the Lights next year?
Shrewd Simon Cowell's got us all playing the guessing game.
Joey Blower, presenter of the annual Pub Stars quest, which hosts its final on November 22, at North Pier's Merrie England showbar, says: "Cowell knows just what it takes to get millions watching. My guess is he knew they had more votes than Lucie Jones. There's not a club in the country which doesn't want them. They're what the X Factor's all about. It's the John Sergeant syndrome."
X Factor's loss is already Blackpool's gain. After last year's X Factor coups, which included JLS, canny bartering has bagged The Syndicate nightspot first dabs on X Factor evictees.
An exclusivity deal delivers ex-X Factor contestants to the Syndicate, Blackpool's biggest nightspot, each Thursday night. Only Rikki Loney cried off, cancelling as it clashed with a Children in Need commitment.
Sexy showgirls Kandy Rain, first act booted off, kicked off the events, general manager Neil Jennings admitting: "They were nervous at first, but grew in confidence."
Girl band Miss Frank's been the big hit. In the Pink Leisure entrepreneur Basil Newby admits: "Even I turned out to see them – especially the heavily tattooed one! Lots of bedtime reading on that body! I'd love to get Jedward at the Flamingo because it's such a camp act. But I'm a big fan of Essex girl Stacey Solomon. She's got a fabulous voice and personality."
Tonight it's Rachel Adedeji's turn to shine at the Syndicate, on stage at 2am, having faced off the cute but off-key Lloyd Daniels,the blue eyed boy with the high school musical market.
The musical theatre-influenced Joe McElderry's a big hit with local theatre school kids too. But neither have nailed the pre-pubescent pop fans as effectively as Jedward.
Syndicate retail manager John Scriven admits: "Miss Frank went down a storm, we're delighted to get Rachel, and I'm really looking forward to lovely Lucie next week. Jedward? That will be the big event. They're the Smurfs of the X Factor."
Tomorrow's X Factor contestants could come from Thornton-based Barbara Jackson School of Dance. Owner-manager Lorraine Hill says: "There's real talent here. I'm angry at Simon Cowell. He's exploited the twins, I even rang to complain. The children at my school know about hard work. Most are in panto this year. Many are now rooting for Jedward although they wanted them out at the start. Simon and Louis are playing a game at the twins' expense. It should be about real talent. That's Joe McElderry. He's very musical theatre and that's right up my street."
Locals to fall at Boot Camp this year include former Bispham Beacon Hill High school pupil Stacey McClean who made it to Dubai but was sent home by Dannii Minogue. She's done a round of public appearances since, her latest being the opening of a new B&M branch at
Preston.
Other evictees are out to make it the hard way. Former chorister and classical singer Charlese Allen, 25, of Ansdell, who used to sing with Victoria (Little Boots) Hesketh at school, is through to the finals of the Open Mic 2009 in Salford on December 6.
Charlese at tried her luck at Pop Idol at 17, but fared better in X Factor five years ago, falling at Boot Camp, in the last 28, in the under-25s, out of 50,000.
She admits she was "devastated" at the time, but: "It makes you focus on what really matters, whether you want all that goes with it, or to be a pop star.
"I'm not in it for fame. I want to sing.
"Versatility can be a disadvantage. I can sing classical, jazz, disco, but soul and blues is my thing.
"I found the X Factor exciting but quite horrible. People don't realise you go before production teams two or three times before the judges proper.
"So all those terrible singers, who get laughed out, have had their confidence boosted at that stage, before being pushed through.
"It's quite a cynical process. Maybe it's part of testing your resolve.
I feel sorry for John and Edward. None of this is their fault. Louis Walsh was right to put them there because they are entertaining but will they cope?
"I'd love Olly Murs to win, he oozes charm and dignity and makes being up on that stage absolutely effortless! But it's not for me. If I can make it via Open Mic, selling my own tickets, doing my own press, getting my own fanbase, via Facebook and YouTube, I'll feel a real sense of achievement."
Charlese already has 150,000 hits to her YouTube site, and a fan club set up by former Blackpool, now Los Angeles-based, journalist Sandro Monetti.
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Wednesday 30 May 2012
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