One Direction – Oxford Regal - 2nd Feb 2011

Arriving at the Oxford Regal this evening, you see a lengthy queue of One Direction fans in a twisty line around the side of the venue, past a bus stop and a number of houses.
The light shower of rain, that had occurred about half an hour before the audience was allowed in to the venue, had not dampened the spirits of the 1000 strong crowd of girls (and some guys) as they waited to see the 5 guys that had made it to the final 3 in 2010’s X Factor.
As the queue started moving in to the Regal we made our way past people selling One Direction merchandise such as flags, posters and there even was a stall selling hoodys and mugs.

We entered the venue and got a wristband to say we are over 18 and could purchase alcohol, not that we did, and we made our way to where the fans we standing patiently waiting for their favourite boy band.

While the fans stood waiting, the man controlling the screens at the side of the stage, though it would be humourous to flash a picture of Harry, Louis, Zayn, Liam and Niall up for a split second, causing the crowd to scream. He did that various times throughout the night with different pictures of the guys, he did this while chuckling to himself, I think he got a kick out of it.

Out of the 5, yes, 5 support acts, (Zoe Kelly, Lattice Constant, Out of the Blue, Red Lights One and The Scarletz) the act that stood out most and really got the crowd on side were Out of the Blue.

Ben, James L, James K, Ollie, James, Nick B, Selali, Danny, Dave, Alexei, Nick F, George, Sam, Dom and Chris. Saying all those names is a mouthful, so as a collective their name is Out Of The Blue, they are Oxford’s premiere, all male a cappella group.
They really got the audience on side with their covers of such songs as, Lady Gaga’s ‘Poker Face’ mashed up with Justin Timberlake’s ‘Sexy Back’, Human League’s ‘Don’t You Want Me’, Blackstreet’s ‘No Diggity’, Alexandra Burke’s ‘Bad Boys’, the Mack Rice hit ‘Mustang Sally’ and the Kings of Leon’s ‘Use Somebody’.
Out Of The Blue’s songs can be bought on their website - http://www.ootb.org.uk/



After a long 3 hour wait, One Direction finally came on stage to performed their set, which I was shocked to find out was only 20 minutes long, at the most. It really didn’t feel like a short set as they performed some of their favourite songs they performed on the X Factor.



The first song they sung was Coldplay’s ‘Viva La Vida’.
The crowd of screaming fans were singing along to the hit record and the gaggle of fans right in front of the stage was moving as they were desperate to get closer to the 5 heartthrobs.
As the guys finish the Coldplay hit, Harry removed his jacket and they went on to do a new song, ‘Forever Young’, which was to be their winner’s single.



Since the final of the X Factor from the minute One Direction were announced as 3rd place runners up, their version of Alphaville’s song, was leaked immediately on to You Tube and instantly became a fan favourite, many people said it was better than Matt Cardle’s winners single AND Rebecca Ferguson’s ‘Distant Dreamer’.
Due to the song being leaked on the Internet and it being a cover, almost the entire crowd was singing along, apart from the few who were at the very front being squashed. It was obvious that if this song was released, it would go straight to number 1; it just makes you feel uplifted and good.



After they sang what would have been their first number 1 single, the 5 reality stars sang ‘Chasing Cars’.
When performing the Snow Patrol hit, the 5 teens just stood there, flawlessly, seeming like they were putting real emotion into the song, every girl in the audience was stood there watching, wishing their favourite member was singing it just to them.



When they were done with Chasing Cars, they did something that would not normally happen at any other gig on any other day; they got the crowd to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Harry, as he had turned 17 the day before. The guys sang along as well and Harry looked a bit embarrassed but over came that when he started singing ‘Happy Birthday to me’.
Harry blew air kisses and gave massive thanks to the audience for their song to him and the guys went on to perform a crowd favourite, ‘Torn’.



This song was the first and last song they performed as a group on the X Factor. As soon as they announced that they were singing Torn, the crowd erupted, as it has become somewhat of an anthem in the One Direction fan base, ever since they performed it at Judges Houses.
The final song they entertained the crowd with was their cover of Rihanna’s ‘Only Girl in the World’. The audience roared when they heard this was the song they 5 guys were singing (with the obviously gender specific lyric changes) and when getting to the chorus the crowd turned in to a mini rave, with Harry, Louis, Niall, Liam and Zayn getting into the song and joining in on the mini rave from their places on the stage.



As their final song ended, One Direction left the stage and so ended the 20minutes of their set, which left quite a few fans miffed as they felt they needed to perform longer. I don’t think it was only the fact that their set was really short that got to the audience members, but also One Direction came on later than they should have, so the crowd was left waiting to see their idols, longer than they should have, a lot longer actually as the gig was rescheduled to this date due to the finalist’s going on a last minute trip to L.A.

The all round gig was good and although One Direction were on for a small amount of time, they really entertained the crowd and proved that they are going to go really far in the business that is show, they might even do better than Matt Cardle. We will just have to see what treats for our ears their debut single and album brings us.

To keep updated on the latest happening of Britain’s newest Boy band, sign up for their newsletter at www.onedirectionmusic.com

Steve Brookstein VS. Louis Tomlinson

So, anyone else think Steve Brookstein is feeling a little bitter after not making it after winning The X Factor?



Does anyone remember the very first X Factor winner, Steve Brookstein? Well just to refresh your memory he won the very first series of the competition and a year after he was dropped by his label. He has since been gigging around England but recently one of his shows at a Cafe Nero had to be cancelled due to poor ticket sales.

The reason why I am talking about Steve is because it appears that he has made an enemy of One Direction’s, Louis Tomlinson.



He tweeted earlier that he got sent a link for the 18 year olds first audition and replied with ‘This guy came third!! WTF?!’
He then went on to say the following:
‘Louis makes Robbie sound like Marvin Gaye, his voice is worse than Wagner. I’m utterly astounded. My gasps are flabbered!’
‘I don’t think they can possibly get signed now that the YouTube video is up. It’s laughable.’
‘Off to bed, just hope I don’t dream of Louis Tomlinson singing, if so Freddie Kruger finish me off! Night.’

He also hit out at the X Factor, saying to a tweeter ‘Enter the X Factor and all you are doing is feeding the animal.’



He then went on to tweet ‘Congratulations to Louis Tomlinson on his record deal. Luckiest man in music.’ Adding on a link of Louis’ audition to the tweet. Somehow I don’t think his well wishes to Tomlinson were sincere.
Again he went and replied to one of his followers, saying ‘Have you heard his audition. There should be an enquiry over show fixing. He is shockingly terrible. It’s like Les Dawson comedy bad.’

He went on to tweet Louis’ Mother, Jay, after she sent him this ‘Hi, I’m Louis mum. My family have always liked you and bought your records. Why be so cruel? Check out his YouTube! Merry Xmas’
He replied with, ’If you are Louis’ mum. Get the poor lad some singing lessons for Christmas. A couple of dozen at least.’
Jay replied ‘Why shame him in public? He was sad about his audition. He was incredibly nervous. Listen to his you tube.’
Brookstein then said, ‘I’ve heard his YouTube. Autotune all over it. I don’t blame him. I blame Simon for putting him in the public eye.’
‘I also think friends and family should tell him that he can’t sing. Don’t blame me for his short comings.’
Jay went on to tweet, ‘I wasn’t blaming you for anything other than your cruel taunts. Did your parents never teach you to keep your thoughts private.’
Brookstein replied ‘Listen, if you are his mum. Take my advice. Get the lad singing lessons. He needs loads.’
‘If he was a builder he wouldn’t be able to work on a house. He would need to learn his trade. Why do you think this is ok?
Jay retaliated ‘All I was saying why do you think it is ok to put things like this? I suppose you are bitter! Good luck to 1D!’
The first winner then said to Tomlinson’s mother, ‘Listen, he is a rouge trader. A micky mouse cowboy builder. Don’t blame me for exposing his poor workmanship. End of.’ (By the way, loving the spelling Steve).
Louis’ mum then replied with, ‘I think he intends to improve with all the help he currently is being given.’
Steve finally said, ‘Ah that’s ok. I’ll let him build my extension and he can pick it up as he goes along.’



Tomlinson_team on Twitter, tweeted Brookstein saying, ‘Well when you won the X Factor ages ago you went in THIN AIR...we didn’t even think you were a great singer! GET OFF TWITTER.’
Steve simply replied with, ‘You’re deaf’

Steve Brookstein then got a tweet from the man himself, Louis Tomlinson,
‘Steve you’re my Idol!’. Now normally you can’t tell if someone is being sarcastic over Twitter, but I think there was a hint of it in Louis’ tweet.
Steve took this opportunity to offer the One Direction member some ‘constructive criticism’.
‘You have a great opportunity. Take singing lessons and become a proper singer. Work on your breathing and support.’



As Mr. Brookstein said something harsh about a member of one of the UK’s favourite new boybands, a backlash from the fans was expected, all defending Louis.
He tweeted, ‘Wow all this little Gilberts getting upset, I wish they would stop messaging me I can’t see the normal tweets.’
‘Where’s the child catcher when you need him.’

The first X Factor winner found out that Louis’ mum did an interview on Sheffield Radio, where she admits that her son never had a singing lesson in his life and she also apparently called Steve a prat.



A message to Steve.
If you want to publically badmouth a member of a popular band, EXPECT A BACKLASH!
Yes you are entitled to your own opinion, but next time don’t be so carless as to post it on your Twitter/Facebook/Favourite Social Networking site, because you will get loads of peeved fans tweeting you abuse, also, don’t ever take on their parents.
True One Direction fans will defend them to the ends of the earth.

*UPDATE*

So I just thought I’d give you all an update on the Twitter battle between Steve Brookstein and Louis Tomlinson (along with his friends, family and fans).

After I posted this piece on the happenings on Twitter, my link got retweeted by one of my followers, she called Steve an Idiot.
Another One Direction fan who said that she is shocked, she hates Steve and he is horrible.
Another follower called Steve an arsehole.
Quite a few One Directions fans’ parents have, apparently, let them call Steve many rude names over the social networking site

Steve then posted, ‘After seeing Louis Tomlinson's audition I feel for all those young talented kids learning their craft. Seems you don't need talent anymore.’
A Tweeter then replied, ‘mate you love the abuse. Seriously go back to Nero and sing in front of the 20 people that like you!’
He then went on to tweet, ‘Listen kids. You can give me grief cos I'm an adult and all your abuse doesn't bother me. Buy don't bully young people who agree with me.’

Steve described the entire war of words as being like the scene from Jurassic park with all those little dinosaurs biting at that bloke.
He said, ‘This is about X Factor and Simon inability to be fair. Many kids train hard and deserve an opportunity.’

Louis tweeted again, 'I’m sorry @stevebrookstein if you are not a fan of mine, without you winning the 1st X Factor I may never have had my opportunity, so for that I thank you. Have a great Christmas.
Steve responded, ‘Lol PR propaganda. Which of your PR team scripted that bollocks? You puppet.’
Comedian, James Corden, tweeted Brookstein, in Louis’ defence, ‘I know for a fact he wrote it. He's 18 and a nice lad, I first met him in 11 years ago. He's done nothing wrong 2 u or any1.’

Steve replied, ‘if you think he wrote that you are crazy. That's Syco PR spin. Don't tell me you're a puppet too? #invasionofthebodysnatchers’


Steve then went to hide on his private Twitter account.


Louis got a reply from Harry Judd, from McFly, after Louis had asked him how he was, ‘good mate. You guys busy? Can't believe that Brookstein douche bag. Ignore him.’

Steve heard about this and tweeted, ‘Just told I was called a douchebag by Harry McFly. Wait til I tell my nephew - he is gonna crack up. He loved them when he was 10.’

The final word, or I should I say picture in the battle was posted along with this tweet, ‘terrible weather. lots of snow. freezing. but still have a sense of humour!


Let’s see what Louis, One Direction, their families and friends and their fans, make of this.
I think they will not be impressed with this.

McFly Shepherds Bush Empire – 19th October 2010

The venue was packed, to get a good view you either had to be a Pioneer or get there extremely early.

The lights went down and Danny, Dougie, Tom and Harry came on and opened with the first single from their new album,’ Above the Noise’, ‘Party Girl’. The whole crowd are singing along, even though the song hasn’t been out for long.

The second song they played was ‘Nowhere Left to Run’, which is also the name of their 40 minute film.
It starts off simple with just guitar, joined by a subtle bass drum and Tom singing the verse and then it kicks in to the chorus with Danny on lead vocals and Dougie joining with the bass guitar. They then merged it into their very first hit single, ‘Five Colours in her Hair’. It started off slow at first in the opening verse and chorus; it then went to the normal fast paced tempo, everyone was singing along to the lyrics and you could definitely tell who the hardcore fans were, as they were not only singing the lyrics, but in the way that McFly do when performing live.



McFly have sort of gained a new sound, they have definitely progressed since their first album, ‘Room on the 3rd Floor.

As usual when the crowd is asked how they are, McFly are answered by a lot of screaming. Tom then welcomed everyone to the tour and then went on to play his personal favourite off of the album, ‘If You See Kate’, however part way through the song, they stop as Danny had to sneeze. After Danny had sneezed, ‘If You See Kate’ starts up again. It is a new song, so no one sings along, which is rare as quite a lot of the new album had been leaked a few weeks prior to the tour. People were clapping along; all you can see is a sea of hands and cameras. The new song got a good response from the fans, which is always a positive when you are premiering new material.



The next song is a classic from their album Radioactive, ‘Lies’. Of course everyone is jumping around, the entire mosh in front of the stage swarmed whilst singing along.
It then goes in to ‘Falling in Love’; everyone is clapping a singing along until the middle eighth where the song turns in the ‘Star Girl’ (from the album Motion in the Ocean). It is by far one of the crowds’ favourite songs, and instead of the lyrics ‘make a little love in the moonlight’ the last two words were changed to ‘Shepherds Bush’.

The audience was introduced to the backing band and a joke was made about one of the backing vocalists’ boobs.



They then went on to do a cover of ‘Dynamite’ by Taio Cruz, which they had recently performed on the Radio One Live Lounge. It was a rocked up version of the song and everyone knew it as the original version was already rather popular.

The next song was the first track on their new album, ‘End of the World’. Not many fans knew it, but a select few did as it was a song that was able to be downloaded by Pioneers of Super City, it has got the crowds approval.



The next performance was ‘Friday Night’, which is one of the best songs that these four perform live. It gets the crowd excited, which is why in previous tours, they have opened with it.

After ‘Friday Night’, Harry and Dougie go off stage and leave Tom and Danny to do an acoustic version of ‘Too Close for Comfort’. It was outstanding and just beautiful. They haven’t performed that song on a tour in quite some time, so it was nice to hear it again.



Dougie came back on stage for ‘All About You’, which was the Official 2005 Comic Relief Single. The crowd immediately sings along and Harry returns to the stage.
Tom admits he is a perfectionist and is proud of his songs and hopes the fans are too.

The next track was a bit slow but still rocky and is called ‘I’ll be Your Man’. Tom fronts the entire song, it is amazing and a very loving song, it could possibly be a new favourite amongst the fans.



There is a brief interval and the crowd starts to chant ‘McFly!’ over and over as soon as the band leaves for their small break. Anticipation fills the venue as everyone is waiting for their favourite band to come back on stage.



McFly returned to the stage and welcomed, yet again, by screams and played ‘One for the Radio’, which the crowd always enjoy, especially when they put their fists in the air and declare ‘WE DON’T CARE’.

Tom, Dougie and Danny play the backing to ‘Faith’ by George Michael and introduced us to Harry, as he spent the entire show at the back of the stage drumming. He says a few words and says that he can see his mother in the crowd singing along to every song.



Isaac (one of the backing band) plays ‘A Whole New World’ and everyone sings along. The guys then talk about Super City and how it has taken them 2 years to make and that is why they have been absent off the music scene since ‘Radioactive’. In the day that Super City opened its gates there were 10 million hits on the site in 8 hours causing the site to run slow and crash, therefore all citizens of Super City were ushered out of the site and the gates were shut until November 8th where they would re-open the site after dealing with all the glitches.

Seeing as the band played ‘Five Colours in Her Hair’ earlier on in the set, which is unusual (as every McFly tour, apart from Wonderland, ended with Five Colours), they end with their most recent hit, ‘Shine a Light’, which normally would involve Taio Cruz, but for the tour, Tom sang Taio’s parts.

The four definitely ended the show in style and all the fans left happy and with a renewed love of McFly.

Why you should vote for One Direction to win X Factor.

At the very beginning of this year’s audition stages Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson didn’t even know each other and would never have thought that at the end of 2010 they would be in a band together as finalists of X Factor.

Liam’s journey on the show started 2 years ago when he auditioned and got through to Simons house, but was sent packing when Simon decided he wasn’t ready. Fortunately Liam decided to come back at 16 and audition this year and show Simon how much he has improved and that he has got what it takes. His rendition of ‘Cry Me a River’ caused guest judge Natalie Imbruglia and Simon Cowell to stand and applaud along with the rest of the audience.
Cheryl said he’s definitely got it, whatever it is and that his voice is really powerful.
Natalie said that others in the competition should be a little bit worried about him as his was so impressive.
Louis was really glad he came back as it was a brilliant vocal and for 16 years it was so confident.
Simon said that 2 years ago he wasn’t quite ready and that if he came back in 2 years he would be a different person, and he got it right.
Liam got a unanimous yes from the judges and he was sent through to Bootcamp.

When 16 year old Chesire boy, Harry Styles first auditioned this year he was the lead singer of ‘White Eskimo’ and when they won a Battle of the Bands competition, it made Harry realise that he want to perform and sing because he got a rush from being in front of people doing just that. He auditioned in front of the judges with an acapella version of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Isn’t She Lovely’. From his audition he had the crowd on side already, but he still had to hear what the judges thought. Nicole said that for his age he has a beautiful voice, Louis liked the tone of Harry’s vocals but at 16, didn’t think he was ready. Simon disagreed with Louis, seeing some potential, saying that with some vocal coaching, Harry could be really good. Harry got 2 out of 3 yes’s and got through to Bootcamp.

Niall Horan is from Mullingar in Ireland and when he auditioned at 16 he wanted to be as big as Beyonce and Justin Bieber and sell out arenas, make albums and work with some of the best artists around. The day he auditioned would be the start of it all.
Niall auditioned with ‘So Sick’ in front of 4 judges (Simon, Cheryl, Louis and guest judge Katy Perry).
Katy said that Niall was adorable and should work on it as he was only 16.
Simon thought that he was unprepared and came with the wrong song, but he still liked him.
Cheryl said that for 16 he had a lot of charm but the song was too big for him.
Louis thought that Niall had something and that he was likeable.
He got a yes from Simon and Louis, a no from Cheryl which meant it was left to the guest judge to give the final decision. Katy did say he’s not ready and likeableness alone isn’t going to sell records, it requires talent, which she then went on to say that he had a seed of it. Katy’s yes put him through to Bootcamp.

Although Bradford based Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson from Doncaster have not got their auditions on The X Factor website, I have been informed that Zayn auditioned with ‘Let Me Love You’ by Mario and Louis sang ‘Hey There Delilah’ by The Plain White T’s.
Obviously there is no way of finding out what the judges said but seeing as they are where they are now, they were obviously good enough to go through to Bootcamp.

While the 5 were at Bootcamp, they learnt that they not only had to sing for their place at Judges Houses, but dance for it too. When the time came for Zayn to dance in front of the judges, he was nowhere to be seen and was sat backstage, too embarrassed to dance. Simon saw he was missing and went backstage to talk him round and finally got him on stage to dance.

When it came to putting through the acts that would sing at Judges Houses, all 5 of their dreams were shattered when they got a no, however the judges had a twist, an experiment if you will, seeing if these 5 boys would work as a boy band.
When they got called back to the stage they found out the judges idea and were put through to the next round, Harry described it as going from the worst feeling of your life to the best. On that day, 26th September 2010, One Direction were formed.

At Judges Houses, their mentor was Simon Cowell and they had to impress him, along with Sinitta, and show them that what he did was the right choice and that 5 solo artists could mesh together, form a boy band and win.
The song that they performed was Natalie Imbruglia’s ‘Torn’.
With Liam and Harry on lead vocals and Zayn, Niall and Louis on backing vocals, they sang for their future and it was delivered perfectly, with many One Direction fans wanting them to release it as a single.
Harry said, while waiting on Simon’s verdict ‘The hunger for it (getting through) grows and grows as you get to each stage in the competition and this is the biggest stage to be told yes or no. It’s one word that can change your life forever because it won’t be the same if you get a yes and if you get a no then you’re straight back to doing stuff that, kind of, drives you to come here in the first place.’
Luckily, Simon put them through to the live shows saying that when it worked, it worked.

The First week was Number 1’s Week and the newest boyband on the scene performed ‘Viva La Vida’ by Coldplay. They performed it well; it was just them, no fancy production, no dancers, just them and their voices. Cheryl said they had all the right ingredients and Dannii said it was the perfect pop band performance. Louis Walsh (who is famous for his boy bands) said that they were potentially the next big boy band. With those comments fresh in their mind, One Direction went through to Week 2.

The theme for week 2 was Heroes and the band sang Kelly Clarkson’s ‘My Life Would Suck Without You’ which sets hearts racing across the country, every fan thinking they were singing it for them.
There was now an obvious bond in the group and it showed on stage while delivering an awesome performance along with, what is now known as ‘Style Shoulder Shake’.
Cheryl had the quote of the night ‘I can’t even cope with how cute you are, seriously! I just want to go up and hug them...In a nice way.’
With a rocking performance they were through to Week 3.

For week number 3 the theme was Guilty Pleasures and One Direction were set to perform the Katy Perry hit ‘Teenage Dream’ but when they performed it in rehearsals apparently something didn’t sound right, so at the last minute they changed their song choice to ‘Nobody Knows’ by Pink.
With Liam starting off the song and joined by the rest of the band at the chorus, it was amazing and the ballad that Dannii had said she wanted. When it got to the middle eighth, Harry sang a small but perfect solo, winking at the camera to get all the girls on side, then on to the final chorus and Zayn ending the song.
Louis described them as 5 Justin Biebers, Dannii was unsure how Pink was a Guilty Pleasure, even though she knew that it was a last minute song change, Cheryl said that One Direction are her Guilty Pleasure. Thanks to the public vote the boy band were through to Week 4.

Week 4 was Halloween and One Direction sang ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’, one of the classic power ballads.
Liam started the song with occasional backing from the rest of the band and then they all came in for the chorus that everyone was singing along to and Zayn finishing the song off.
Dannii said that they are a boy band doing exactly what a boy band should do.
With that they were through to Week 5.

For the fifth week, the show theme was American Anthems and the guys sang Kim Wilde’s ‘Kids in America’ and although the song wasn’t an American Anthem (as Louis ’Rulebook’ Walsh pointed out many times), they still managed to pull off an upbeat performance along with loads of cheerleaders, quite frankly it was a miracle they didn’t get distracted and forget their words, but the fact they didn’t get sidetracked shows how professional and mature they can be. The performance really brightened up Cheryl’s night and Simon said that it was their best performance by far. The public agreed and put them through to Week 6.

The following week the theme was Elton John and One Direction looked very smart in their attire with the odd bit of glitz to go with the theme. They sang ‘Something about the Way You Look Tonight’ and although the song is originally dedicated to Gianni Versace, every single wanted the 5 heartthrobs (as Dannii had described them) to be singing it about them.
Harry had a full solo this time, making a lot of fans very happy, as they had wanted this for quite some time.
Simon said that this was the first time he genuinely thought a band if going to win.
The public loved the performance so much that they picked up their phones, voted and put them in to the next week.

The next week was Beatles week and the group sang ‘All You Need is Love’.
With the 5 guys standing on a raised stage, they put their own current twist on it, turning it into a slightly more poppy rocky song. Liam started the song of with his perfect vocal and then Harry got yet another solo, I don’t think the fans would ever tire of that, and then they were joined a whole group of dancers jumping around behind them below the raised stage like it was a gig. It was an odd thing to throw in at the last minute, but it worked.
Everybody loved their version of it and voted and put them through to the next stage of the competition.

Week 8 was Rock Week and One Direction had to sing not one, but two songs to secure their place in the Semi Final. They chose to sing the Bryan Adams hit ‘Summer Of 69’ and they pulled it off with pure rock style, I am sure Harry was happy about that to as it was his song choice, possibly due to the fact that he had performed it with his old band.
The second song may not have seemed like a rock song, but Simon assured everyone that Joe Cocker, who sang ‘You Are So Beautiful’, was a rock singer.
They sang it flawlessly, Liam sang, Harry sang and Zayn sang while Niall and Louis provided backing vocals. The cameraman either knew what he was doing, or had a crush on Harry as it seemed the camera was on him for the majority of the song, Harry however used this to his advantage and stared straight down the camera in to the eyes of everyone watching, hearts melted, tears were shed. Dannii described it as stunning and that is exactly what it was.
Louis described them as not just a boy band, but a brilliant vocal group.
Everyone who loved One Directions performances dried their eyes, to see the numbers on their phones, and voted them through to the Semi-Final.

Semi-Final was also Club Classics week. One Direction performed the recent hit by Rihanna, ‘Only Girl in the World’. The lyrics were altered of course as I think them singing that they want to be the only girl in the world, would spark gender confusion. They sang, they bopped round the stage, and yes, the ‘Styles Shoulder Shake’ returned. A brilliant performance that got everyone on their feet.
For their ‘Get Me to the Final’ song, they picked a beyond perfect song, Snow Patrol’s ‘Chasing Cars’. Liam sang the lead vocal while Harry took the lead in the chorus with Niall, Zayn, Louis and Liam backing him up. It was heart warming and just perfect. It came to Sunday night and you could tell how much they wanted to be through to the final, the first name was called ‘ONE DIRECTION!’ They are Finalists.

When they auditioned separately and not getting through as solo artists, Harry, Liam, Niall, Zayn and Louis all thought that their dreams were over, until they got given a second chance, to be a boy band.
They are 5 bright teenagers, who can be rather mature and dedicated when they need to be, also they can sing & entertain which is what this competition is all about.
In the short time they have been a band they have bonded and are now best friends, but even better than that, you’ve seen how good they have gotten in this small amount of time, just imagine what they would be like a year from now, they would all have progress massively. They will be, sorry, ARE one of the hottest boy bands in the country.

Vote 09016161103

Why you should vote Matt Cardle as the Winner of X Factor 2010

27 year old Essex Painter Matt Cardle has been performing for years, with his guitar and hat always with him. He blew the judges away at the London auditions with his version of ‘You Know I’m No Good’ with a good crowd reaction and Simon had that look on his face that says ‘we have found something good.’ With 3 yes’s Matt was through to Bootcamp.

At Boot camp Matt sang ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ and delivered a flawless performance, before he knew it he was singing in front of Dannii Minogue in Australia at Judges Houses.

At Judges Houses, Matt sang ‘If I Were a Boy’. His performance showed off his vocal ability perfectly and it was just the start of showing the world what an amazing singer he is.
He got through the Live Shows.

The first week of Live Shows was Number 1 themed and Matt sang ‘When Love Takes Over’ by Kelly Rowland. He gave the song more of a rocky twist to suit his style and the audience and judges loved it. Simon Cowell said that if Matt released that version of the song in a week’s time, he’d have a monster hit.’
It proved to be a hit as he was put through to week 2.

On to Week 2 and the theme is Heroes. Matt (without his hat) sang a flawless cover of Bruno Mars’ ‘Just the Way You Are’. It was perfect for him as it made girls at home fall in love with him, but it also gave him a chance to show off his range (especially his falsetto). It was a risky choice but he most definitely pulled it off. Sunday came and he went straight through to Week 3.

For Week 3 the theme was Guilty Pleasures and the song Matt chose to perform was the Britney Spears’ hit ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’. Matt brought his guitar out and did an amazing version of the song. Louis even said that that version could be a number 1 hit record. Matt came back on Sunday and before he knew it he was through to Week 4.

For the fourth week the theme was Halloween and Matt chose the sing ‘Bleeding Love’ the hit by former X Factor Winner Leona Lewis. This was always going to be a risky song choice as it will always be compared to Leona’s version, however this wasn’t a copy cat version and he pulled it off (high notes included) and he was now in Week 5.

Week number 5 and the theme was American Anthems and Matt did his own rendition of Roberta Flack’s ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’. It was heartfelt and emotional and completely stole the show. Matt, of course, was through to Week 6.

For Week 6 the Theme was Elton John (although he had expressed a dislike for the show). The Essex singer performed ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ and it made everyone go crazy; Cheryl said that he is getting stronger and stronger every week. It was a sure fire hit that sent him through to Week 7.

For the seventh week the Theme was The Beatles and Matt chose to perform ‘Come Together’. It was a proper rock ‘n’ roll performance, which led to Danni saying that it was ‘Dripping’. By the public vote he got through to Week 8.

Week 8 and the acts now had to sing 2 songs. It was Rock Week and Matt started off with ‘I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll’ followed by ‘Knights in White Satin’ where it, yet again, was just him and his guitar. The first performance fitted in well with the theme and with his second song, he just sold it to everyone that was watching and listening. The public voted and Matt was through to Week 9 – The Semi-Finals!

The Semi- Finals and the former painter chose ‘You’ve Got the Love’ as his first song. It was amazing and got a great reaction from the audience. Matt’s second song was ‘She’s Always a Woman’ and it was branded by Simon as a ‘soft option’.
As Sunday’s results were coming in through Dermot’s earpiece, Matt’s name was said. Matt Cardle is a Finalist!

Throughout the entire competition Matt Cardle has been consistent and has never faltered.
He can sing, he can play guitar, he can write music, he looks good in a vest, but most of all he is one of those contestants who you definitely would want to go and see and whose album you would buy, because he is a great entertainer and has the best voice.

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Why you should vote Rebecca Ferguson as the Winner of X Factor 2010.

When you think back to the first time we all saw 24 year old Rebecca Ferguson’s audition, she was a quiet auditionee who barely made eye contact and obviously needed a confidence boost. Then she sang and out came that voice of natural talent, a good voice, a voice that could win. Her rendition of ‘A Change is Gonna Come’ by Sam Cooke won the judges over and put her through to bootcamp.

At bootcamp Rebecca chose ‘Just like a Star’ by Corinne Bailey Rae leading Louis Walsh to say that she had blossomed and Simon Cowell and Nicole Scherzinger said that she has a recording voice.

She was put through to Cheryl’s house and sang in front of to 2 people that decided whether she would go through to the live shows or not, Cheryl and Will.I.Am.
Cheryl loved the toned of her voice and Will.I.Am said that she has a superstar voice.
This led her in to the Live Shows.

Week one was Number 1 themed and Rebecca sang ‘Teardrops’ by Womack & Womack leaving Louis Walsh to say that she is a class act. Simon Cowell said ‘you have enormous potential...I’ve got a feeling about you’. With that Rebecca was put through to Week 2.

Week 2 and Rebecca sang ‘Feeling Good’ by Nina Simone.
Her performance showed that since her first audition her confidence has grown massively. Cheryl said that she would buy her album tomorrow. Rebecca was through to Week 3.

The third week was the week of Guilty Pleasures and as Rebecca went for a Jessica Rabbit/1940’s glamour style with the clothing; her song choice was ‘Why Don’t You Do Right’.
She won the judges and the public over and got put through to Week 4.
Simon said that that was the night she turned in to a star.

In the fourth week it was Halloween themed and Rebecca’s song choice was ‘Wicked Game’.
As usual she pulled it off and was ‘Utter Class’ (as Simon said) and got through to yet another week of live shows.

Week number 5 was American Anthems and the mother of 2 sang ‘Make You Feel My Love’.
Every week she was growing more confident and blossoming in to a popstar and this performance wasn’t any different. It was a beautiful and classy performance and it secured her a place in the next live show.

The sixth week was Elton John week and the Liverpudlian performed ‘Candle in the Wind’ bringing an end to that nights show. It was emotional and moving. With yet another consistent performance Rebecca was, yet again, in the next live show.

With Rebecca coming from Liverpool, this week’s theme was especially important to her as it was Beatles week. She sang ‘Yesterday’ and although she was a bit nervous, she still managed to pull it off and make it through to the next show.

The eighth week was Rock week and the rising star had to sing 2 songs, U2’s ‘Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ and Aretha Franklin’s ‘Satisfaction’. Two amazing performances, which led to Simon saying that it was genuinely one of his favourite performances so far. With that Rebecca was through to the Semi-Finals.

Week 9 - The Semi-Finals. It was Club Classics week and Rebecca sang ‘Show Me Love’ by Steve Angello as her Club Classic. The second of her performances was the song that she thought would put her through to the final and that song was ‘Amazing Grace’.
Louis Walsh stated ‘You are my favourite contestant ever!’.
Rebecca Ferguson is a Finalist.

Rebecca Ferguson has had quite a journey to get to where she is right now. She is a 24 year old mother of 2, who had very little confidence in herself but one amazing voice reminiscent of Nina Simone with a hint of Duffy, but she brings her own style and intensity into every performance.
Rebecca Ferguson has come such a long way from the woman who looked at the floor when she sang and now she has really come in to her own and has been consistent throughout the entire series. Her voice is enchanting, everything about her is flawless.

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Why you should vote for Cher Lloyd as the Winner of X Factor 2010.

17 year old Cher Lloyd first auditioned in Birmingham and it was one of the most memorable and diverse auditions in the shows history, instead of opting for a nice ballad to show off her vocals or rocky number to get the crowd on side, she chose the Keri Hilson version of ‘Turn My Swag On’ and blew the audience and judges away with how different she was to all the other auditionees.

She proved her style was a force to be reckoned with as a boot camp she sang Coldplay’s ‘Viva La Vida’ in a way that was she thought was true to herself.
She got through to the ‘Judges Houses’ stage and although she had a bit of a disaster when performing her song choice to Cheryl and Will.I.Am, she still managed to get through to the live shows, this is where she would either fall to pieces or completely blow everyone else out of the water.

In the first of the live shows Cher did her version of ‘Just Be Good To Me’, as the theme was Number 1’s, which reminded the judges and audience just who she is and what she is about and earn herself a place in the second week of the live shows.

For live show 2, the theme was Heroes, Cher performed ‘Hard Knock Life’ and got praise from Simon Cowell ‘I see future here...you’re interesting, you’re different and I pray to God you are here next week. ‘
She got put through to Week 3.

The next live show was Guilty Pleasures week and Cher performed a mash up of ‘No Diggity’ by Blackstreet and ‘Shout’ by Tears for Fears. On to the stage she bought a gang of dancers (choreographed by Brian Friedman) and added in some diva attitude. Cheryl said ‘You’re everything a popstar should be.’
With that she would be in week 4.

The forth week was spooky as it was Halloween, therefore the theme was Halloween. Instead of the attitude, dancers, production and rapping, it was kept simplistic for Cher’s rendition of the Shakespeare’s Sister hit ‘Stay’.
The performance made not only Cher cry, but the judges, studio audience and the viewers at home on their sofas did too.
Simon said that it was the performance of the series.
Undoubtedly in to week 5.

The next week was week 5 and the theme was American Anthems. She brought back the production, attitude and stage presence in a big way, along with her rapping with ‘Empire State Of Mind’.
However due to the amazing performance from last week not all of the judges were thrilled by her performance, but she still got through to week 6.

Although Sir Elton John has said a few times that he may not think X Factor is good, the show chose week 6 to be Elton John week.
Cher sang ‘Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word’ and threw in a bit of ‘Mockingbird’ too. It was the perfect mixture of vocal and rap for that week, meaning she got through to week 7.

Due to The Beatles now being on ITunes, Week 7 was Beatles Week.
Although it was a Lennon hit(not The Beatles), Cher sang ‘Imagine’ on ‘The Staircase to Heaven’ that Simon didn’t think was necessary, however it was likely that Simon just wanted something to pick at, seeing he couldn’t find a flaw in ‘Imagine’ he lashed out at the stairs instead.
However this was the week that Cher saw herself in the Bottom 2 and singing for survival against Paije. The judges sent Paije home and sent Cher through to Week 8.

The next week was Rock Week and after seeing what it was like to be in the Bottom 2 and in the sing off, Cher knew that she would have to bring it this week, especially as all the acts had to now do 2 songs. Cher performed Avril Lavigne’s ‘Girlfriend’ and Aerosmith’s ‘Walk This Way’. Both were a huge production and won the audience and the judges over as she walked in to week 9 – The Semi-Final!

The Semi-Final week was Club Classic Week and a song which the act would think they would get in to The Final with.
The first song Cher chose was B.O.B’s ‘Nothin’ on you’ and then her second performance was ‘Love the Way You Lie’ which is perfectly suited for Cher’s voice and style, rapping and singing. However on Sunday Cher was yet again in the Bottom 2 along with Mary Byrne. Cher chose to cover the Britney Spears song ‘Everytime’ and the judges put her through to The Final!

Since the start of this years X Factor Cher Lloyd has come a long long way. Yes she has had quite a few bad comments about her in the press but Cher has never changed who she is despite what the judges and the public may have thought.
She has brought something very unique to the competition as I said before; we have never seen an act like her.

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