Chris To Survive Latest Onslaught
Just as you’re trying to interpret what you have seen on X Factor, there’s a whole lot more arriving in the Sunday papers – you really need eyes in the back of your head this year staying on top of everything.
First we had this. Then we saw this. The key pull quote: ‘He has now broken an X Factor record by being the only act in show history to top the vote for the first seven weeks.
Christopher even extended his lead over closest rival Jahmene, 21, last weekend and is on track to pull off a landslide win at next month’s final.’
So, despite the take down attempt by the XF publicity machine by way of that shocking Sunday Mirror front page, we’re calling Chris safe again and we will be laying him for bottom 2 as cheaply as possible.
He got stitched up with his VTs too, which made him sound harsh and uncaring about Ella’s exit, and cocky. Then we had the usual vote-dampening efforts of The 3 Stooges – Louis, Tulisa and Nicole – the latter talking laughably about how poor the staging was, as if this was somehow Chris’s fault. The others wanted to hammer home the idea he has no star appeal. Dermot then tried his best to drag Chris into a cul-de-sac for a further verbal beating, but Chris fought them all off valiantly.
At least Gary sprang to Chris’s defence but the whole thing left a bad taste in the mouth and is debasing the show beyond words. Viewers must be able to see what is happening, and we’re pretty certain these tactics are continuing to backfire spectacularly.
Chris was, in truth, the stand-out vocalist of the night. He delivered his songs superbly well and you would have thought those song choices played well enough to his loyal fans. He would surely also have got another big sympathy vote and a further boost to his status as the anti-X Factor vote, after being on the receiving end once more and taking it all with such grace under fire.
We reckon the Sunday Mirror story would have come too late to dent his public vote this week anyway and with Cowell even taking to Twitter this weekend to desperately try and persuade viewers not to vote for him, the signs could not be any clearer they are seriously worried about the possibility of him winning this series.
Let’s get back to the show and, shock of shocks, we finally heard some proper Jahmene de-ramps. Thanks a lot TPTB – they’ve only arrived about a month too late for our Outright book! Yes, he got the full on sympathy VT with all the stuff about his mum but there was no escaping the feeling both his songs fell rather flat and the judges hammered home the point.
Louis is Cowell’s mouthpiece so for him to go lukewarm on Jahmene at this critical juncture does not bode well for him. James, meanwhile, got the mother of all ramps by way of great VTs and great comments, especially after his 2nd song which was a gem of a performance.
Our reading is, having been willing to sacrifice Ella to save James, they will now go all out in trying to push James to victory. He will get one almighty bounce and it is easy to see him carrying increasing momentum from this point on. James may have a chance of sneaking up on the rails assuming Chris and Jahmene continue to be de-ramped. We can certainly see James over-taking Jahmene. Chris may prove harder to pass.
Union J did what Union J do, as did Rylan, and it all went to script with the comments that followed – Union J being ramped, bar Barlow criticising them for not being Motown enough, and Rylan being de-ramped.
We think the Rylan/Union J bottom 2 remains most likely and are surprised it is not trading shorter than 2.56 at time of writing on Betfair, and 11-8 with Ladbrokes. We will have some of that and will also be partaking of the Jahmene/Rylan and Jahmene/Union J bottom 2 combo prices as there is a possibility Jahmene could be sucked down into the bottom 2.
There is no knowing how much of an anti-X Factor vote Rylan is receiving, and how far the multi-voting tweenies can get Union J in terms of vote share. They will likely both fall short of Jahmene but Jahmene is at his most vulnerable yet.
We definitely see Chris and James flying comfortably above the drop zone this week. While we have already backed Rylan at odds against, we still think the widely-available 10-11 is good value on him being next eliminated.
Do you agree with our analysis Chris is safe? What do you make of the show’s intentions regarding Chris – are they happily encouraging a sympathy vote now, or is it total incompetence on their part? Is Rylan the proverbial X Factor elimination good thing? Please do drop us a line with your thoughts below.
Rob Furber
The full Mirror story: http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/x-factor-star-chris-maloney-1455646
Read the comments that follow it – doesn’t look like its readers have been duped.
I’m probably neglecting his VT but thought Jahmene was dull and could be forgotten since everything was about James this time, so I did take the combo’s Jahmene with UJ and Rylan yesterday (covering with the UJ/Rylan combo). The fact Chris is still in the lead speaks for itself, although if Jahmene is still second he could switch places with James this week but it could be not enough to drop to bottom 2.
Agree with everything here. I don’t think producers believe they can get Chris out this week. They didn’t attempt as much as they could have done, giving him the second (and first) pimp slot which is very advantageous imo. That tweet from Simon Cowell was very telling – the leaks are still correct. This doesn’t surprise me. His sympathy vote will be increasing as the tactics get more obvious. I also think there also might be a Rage Against The Machine anti-vote materialising. The nobbling of Chris extends wider than the show and the press – I went to Heaven last night (to see Ella Henderson) and club promoter Jeremy Joseph couldn’t help jumping on the bandwagon with a dig, saying something like “We all know who I should’ve been introducing on stage tonight…” I can’t wait to see the c**t with egg on his face when he introduces Chris as the winner on 15th December…
James had his best night for me. Expensive as it is, I’m laying him for bottom 2 as I don’t want to have everything this week riding on Chris avoiding the drop zone.
Jahméne had a great first performance but I didn’t know his second song choice. No idea how well known it is. With James bouncing and Chris allegedly miles ahead, Jahméne should find himself in 3rd place this week, so close to the bottom 2.
As you say above, Union J were Union J and Rylan was Rylan. What struck me about UJ, apart from the intense red and black for their first performance was that neither of the themes suited and neither of their song choices will be particularly known by the tweenies. Rylan not singing a mash up for his first song was significant, with Gary even offering some praise. Everything suggests the end of his journey and I fully think the show is expecting and wanting to lose him tonight. Union J should be joining him in the bottom 2, but this series has provided so many shocks that I’m preparing myself for anything.
Looks like Chris is on the drift to land in the bottom 2, & the Rylan/Union J b2 combo has been well supported.
That was certainly my interpretation too, Boki, regarding Jahmene, though as you know, not really got the Jahmene love series-long.
Tim – enjoyed your post, esp. the bit about Jeremy Joseph at Heaven 🙂
You read it here first once more. Another great night for our readers:
Chris layed for bottom 2 again – LANDED!
Rylan/Union J – bottom 2 combo – LANDED!
Rylan to be next eliminated – LANDED!
Hope you are all a lot wealthier after tonight 🙂
Well done Rob and everyone else on another incredibly profitable week. I guess the big questions this week are a) whether or not Union J can bounce over one any one of the others despite 3 bottom 2 appearances and b) whether or not there’ll be a sing off at all. Can they get away with it with only 4 acts? I think at this point TPTB know they’re probably stuck with Chris until the final.
Cheers Rob and Tim, finally some rest from big shocks 🙂
Tim, don’t believe UJ can bounce anymore. Good point about the sing-off, I wonder WHEN are we going to know for sure if there is one or not?
Well done, chaps. Be interesting to see what they have in store next for Chris.
Hope he makes the final after what he has had to withstand, & not just for my Outright book.
A key aspect in all this, which has been missed by most, is that regardless of Jahmene being pimped to high heaven, series-long, & Chris being thrown under a bus countless times by way of poor VTs, staging, judges’ comments & tabloid coverage, Chris has still beaten Jahmene on every pv over the course of 7 weeks.
James’s vote percentage tonight will be pivotal regarding his & Jahmene’s treatment from this point on, but there were indications on Saturday they are starting to give up on Jahmene ever toppling Chris.
I think we maybe underestimating TPTB. Tulisas unexpicable behaviour must have been premeditated,, if not I imagine she would be in hot water with the producers. If they wanted him out the previous weeks overkill would have ensured this week comments would have been dampened. Tulisa single handedly kept Chris in the competition this week. She knew exactly what she was doing. They are obviously trying to maximise peoples voting and the best way to do so is push certain acts and pull others down to spur on support.
I actually really really enjoyed union J this week and thought they were safe but the boy bands have caused me bother all series. The fact they couldnt push union J safe makes me think they will be unable to push James that far. I was amazed to wake up and see on sundaay morning that James was favourite on betfair. Has the previous weeks b2 ever been fav to win the show the week after…def not. Id be surprised if its not a jahmene chris final 2.
Think the real dilemma, Jay, with this series is that voting numbers ratchet up big time from this point on, especially in the final, & it’s hard to call who is going to collect the bulk of those votes.
Looks like James is going to be pushed hard as TCO, & you only have to think of the likes of Ed Sheeran Tweeting to all his followers to vote for James, & all those other big names Syco can request in lending a hand, to see how his vote could potentially rocket.
Then the edit and song choices and order and big name duets will all play a part & we saw last year how they cleverly took Marcus down while cranking up Little Mix’s pv.
So all of their ploys will likely work. They are probably already thinking that in a final 2 situation they can definitely ensure Chris doesn’t win, & are relying on a big anti-Chris vote kicking in.
But overall, their sheer incompetence series-long hardly instills confidence in any of the above & what happens from this point on.