[D.M.N.]

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/xfactor/...over-vote.html

Simon Cowell consulted The X Factor's executive producer Richard Holloway before making his controversial decision to vote against Lucie Jones, a report has claimed.

According to The Sun, Cowell and Holloway were seen "in deep discussions" during an advert break following the announcement that Jones would compete against twins John & Edward in last night's sing-off.

A source said: "[Cowell and Holloway] seemed to be discussing what to do. Should they get rid of Lucie, who can obviously sing really well, or finally get rid of the twins?"

Without copying the whole article, it says Holloway also spoke to the other judges.

This would, for me, actually explain why Danni didn't go mad when Simon took it to deadlock, if I was her, I'd be tempted to walk out given that Simon is clearly not voting for the better singer.

[LudwigVonDrake]

Can't say I'm surprised that this supposedly went on.

[ellenpagerocks]

Well suprise suprise just sums up what many people have said on here, Simon knew the results, Lucie could have given the best peformance in the history of the xfactor in the sing off and she would still have been gone.

Cowell's plan has backfired though and the press aren't talking about the twins anymore they're talking about him and not in a good way

[NorfolkPoppy]

It's been fairly obvious that Simon knows the results and also the rest of the judges. It's why they take it to deadlock.

[KatrinaK]

This proves my point exactly.

Simon knew the result and decided to vote against Lucie before she and Jedward even opened thier mouths.

Lucie could have pulled out a Ruth Lorenzo purple rain performance but she still would have went home against those dire twins.

[ribtickle]

Surely if Simon knew the results beforehand he wouldn't be waiting until both acts were stood on stage during an advert break before choosing to consult the show's producer, and doing all this in front of an audience of witnesses.

He may have an idea which two or three were going to be in the bottom two before the show began, based on the voting, but he can't know exactly which way the cookie has crumbled until the end.

What this does confirm is that the show's producer obviously wanted to keep the twins, in order to create a huge controversy and publicity - ratings before talent. They're so desperate to trounce Strictly Come Dancing that they cannot lose the John Sargeant/Todd Carty dancing pair in the next edition of Strictly Dancing On X Factor Dry Ice.

[IsThisNameFree9]

The X Factor is a business and they made a business decision. It will only turn out to be a bad decision if viewers/voting numbers go down. I don't think they will.

[fizzybird]

I think all the Judges knew who was going to be in the bottom two at the beginning of the show. That's why Danni wouldn't predict who was going to go when Dermot asked her, and she looked upset throughout the whole show. It's as if she knew that Lucie would be sacrificed to keep John n Edward in.

[GetMeOuttaHere]

Originally Posted by IsThisNameFree9

The X Factor is a business and they made a business decision. It will only turn out to be a bad decision if viewers/voting numbers go down. I don't think they will.

There ladies and gentlemen is it in a nutshell.

Viewing figures won't drop, the last 2 weeks have had shock exits, people will tune in next week looking for another big name to be axed against a lesser act.

[cuza]

Yes, and Simon insisting he didn't know what the outcome would be when he let it go to deadlock. Yeah, right! This man is just a puppeteer and he's pulling all the strings.

[cath99]

Originally Posted by fizzybird

I think all the Judges knew who was going to be in the bottom two at the beginning of the show. That's why Danni wouldn't predict who was going to go when Dermot asked her, and she looked upset throughout the whole show. It's as if she knew that Lucie would be sacrificed to keep John n Edward in.

I think she definitely knew what was going to happen to Lucie when she introduced her sing off performance.

[Ryan-B]

let the downfall of Cowel begin

[ladygardener]

I think she definitely knew what was going to happen to Lucie when she introduced her sing off performance

And why she said afterwards that Lucie going was the reason she wouldn't predict who would go.

[wildyounghearts]

Is anyone surprised-
the only surprise was the the twins ended up in the bottom two at all- mind you- I didn't think Simon would save twins at first- it was always a given that if they ended up in bottom two they were gone-

but then I remembered deadlock (see Lloyd last week)- again, like with Lloyd- there was no way they were going to be bottom of voting (hardly need to consult anyone to know that)

it's a TV show- the right act was defintely saved in terms of entertainment value

Sorry if that's harsh in Lucie- she is a nice girl and has a good voice but she didn't really connect with the audience enough- song choices didn't help in this regard- she murdered 'sweet child of mine' and the song this week- from Camp Rock was irrelevant

If judges want to save their acts- they should chose them better songs and find a way for them to connect with audience better

[Silver Tractor]

The show is thoroughly contrived and corrupt. Cowell is an obnoxious scumbag.

[pavier]

Originally Posted by IsThisNameFree9

The X Factor is a business and they made a business decision. It will only turn out to be a bad decision if viewers/voting numbers go down. I don't think they will.

I hope they do go down, it's the only way the producers will steer it back to being a credible singing talent competition which is what I used to look forward to each year.

Granted higher ratings means Syco can negotiate a higher fee with itv for next year but there's somewhat a conflict of interests here.
Itv want the novelty acts, the controversy, the ratings, the add/phone revenues, (does anyone know if Syco's deal with itv includes a percentage or is just a flat fee?)where as Simon would like another Leona Lewis (perhaps a male equivalent).

If Simon ends up with Jedward or Lloyd as the winners, with their cds filling the shelves of Poundland a month after release, I don't think the itv bosses would shed a tear.

[DiscoP]

Well the only thing that surprised me about that article was that Simon isn't the boss of the show. I thought at first it was going to say that witnesses saw him talking to himself.

[doughnut8]

Simon Cowell should of consulted my arse and he would of found the same result a big piece of shit.

[Blue Aardvark]

Surely there's some sort of midweek production meeting where they decide their order of preference for the contestants, and then whoever is lowest on that who also happens to be in the bottom two gets the boot. There's probably some flexibility for changing the script based on performance or voting data in exceptional circumstances, but for the most part I imagine the audience vote and the judge's panel are pretty irrelevant in the larger scheme of things.

In a similar vein, does anybody believe the judges choose their own acts at the end of the audition process? I think they're much more cagey about their casting process than that!

The hilarious thing is even with four months of market research paid for by the public Cowell still can't find much genuine talent. Most winners of this series fade without a trace. Perhaps it's because the type of boneheaded shenanigans we see on a weekly basis are also rife during the auditions. Lucky he only plays a music producer on television...

I think this brand will soon be on the wane. These days it seems to know it's the biggest show on television and has bought it's own hype, even though the musical product is sadly lacking. Outside the context of the brand, most of these acts have little to offer, though occasionally the producers get lucky. The format is getting tired. It used to be silly but slick. Now it just feels pompous and overblown.

Sunday nights are just about shoving Cheryl Cole down our throats, pimping the Simon Cowell brand, and hyping number one singles for irrelevant mainstream acts who are mostly past their best, plus the occasional refugee from a past series. Once in a while they get somebody good and in their prime like Shakira or Beyonce, but that only exposes the gulf in class between karaoke and musical artistry.

[carolineglasgow]

Originally Posted by NorfolkPoppy

It's been fairly obvious that Simon knows the results and also the rest of the judges. It's why they take it to deadlock.

Absolutely.

[sHaK]

Don't be fooled into thinking that Cowell doesn't know the results. In his own autobiography he says he got one of the producers to tell him who had won Pop Idol (Gareth or Will) minutes before it was announced live on TV.

I would expect this has evolved to Cowell knowing the bottom two well before it is announced on TV.

[Agent F]

The audience peaked at 16.6 million last night when the result was announced. Like it or not the twins are an audience puller and this show thrives on publicity like this.

[FingersLily]

It's just ludicrous. Simon's been moaning about the twins since the start & has continually criticised Louis' decision to even bring them onto the show.

And then, when he had the perfect chance to get rid of them, he chose not to. He cannot sit there next week & slate them. They are there because of him.

I am just gutted for Lucie. I thought she was the 2nd best this week (after Olly). She is beautiful, has barely missed a note since the show began & is a natural talent.

Why on earth Lloyd gets to stay in is a mystery to me. He just cannot sing! Joe is sooooo boring & Danyl is the biggest egocentric the show has ever had. I just hope the public wake up soon. Keep the Twins in because they entertain. Lloyd, Joe & Danyl do not!

[trec123]

Originally Posted by ellenpagerocks

Cowell's plan has backfired though and the press aren't talking about the twins anymore they're talking about him and not in a good way

I don't think that would bother him to be honest - the focus is still on the X Factor, SCD seems to have been almost forgotten about, so it's a win win situation for him...I think he thrives on being disliked, anyway - all publicity is good publicity as they say.

[Wilkins III]

Originally Posted by trec123

all publicity is good publicity as they say.

Except when your name is Danyl Johnson, it seems.