X Factor UK contestants face double eviction this week, Gary Barlow organised dinner party for the judges and presenters, Gary’s putdowns written by a ghost writer, One Direction meet their dolls, Cher’s album reviews!
X Factor contestants to face a DOUBLE eviction as judge Kelly admits she feels ‘responsible’ for her girls being in the bottom two
X Factor bosses have announced that there will be a double elimination on the show this weekend.
The shock news will come as a blow to the remaining contestants as it seems that no one is safe in the competition.
Following last weekend’s sing off between Sophie Habibis and Misha B, judge Kelly Rowland has revealed that she feels she is to blame for the pair receiving the fewest public votes.
Read more: The Daily Mail
Gary Barlow’s bid to reunite X Factor rivals Tulisa and Kelly fails as they ‘row’ over the table at dinner party
She may have been away from the panel for over a week but it seems Kelly Rowland’s break wasn’t long enough.
The Destiny’s Child singer had only been back in the UK for a few hours when her rift with fellow judge Tulisa Contostavlos was reignited.
The pair were reportedly fighting over the dinner table after Gary Barlow invited them and Louis Walsh over to his house for a three-course meal on Wednesday night.
Read more: The Daily Mail
First listen: One Direction – Up All Night
IT might be for the best that Da Loife (Westlife?) are calling it a day because One Direction’s debut album is almost certain to win the chart battle when it’s released on the same day as their Greatest Hits collection.
Louis, Harry, Zayn, Liam and Niall’s record Up All Night will be lapped up by their young fanbase.
The X Factor band’s new single, Gotta Be You, is sure to have teenage girls singing along into their hairbrushes, while One Thing was brewed in a Swedish pop factory by blokes behind hits for Britney, ‘N Sync and Backstreet Boys.
The title track is a possible single reminiscent of Avril Lavigne and Katy Perry – who the lads namecheck in the lyrics.
Read more: The Sun
One Direction meet their dolls: Picture
One Direction came face to face with their biggest rivals today – doll versions of themselves!
As revealed last month, the pop fivesome’s fans will soon be able to get their hands on the dolls, which are being released later this month.
Read more: Digital Spy
The ‘fake’ Factor! Gary Barlow’s acerbic putdowns and puns ‘ghostwritten by James Corden co-writer’
He may be quick with his tongue on the X Factor but it seems that someone else is telling Gary Barlow what to say.
The Take That singer has been accused of conning fans with his jokes and acerbic putdowns as it’s claimed they aren’t exactly all his own work.
Apparently Barlow, 40, has the help of Ben Winston – a colleague of comedian, James Corden who helped write the ‘Smithy’ Comic Relief sketches.
Read more: The Daily Mail
Calls grow for Kitty Brucknell to be kicked off The X Factor after she apologises for racially abusing The Risk’s Derry
Trouble seems to follow Kitty Brucknell wherever she goes, and following the latest race row fans have urged her to quit The X Factor.
The former Britney Spears impersonator was forced to apologise to The Risk singer Derry Mensah after he claimed she made a racist remark towards him during an argument.
The incident took place when Mensah, 20, asked Brucknell, 26, to move from a sofa in a rehearsal room.
Read more: The Daily Mail
‘It takes five people to do his hair, make-up and styling’: Louis Walsh has a dig at vain X Factor judge Gary Barlow
As the ‘war’ wages on between Tulisa Contostavlos and Kelly Rowland, it’s catty Louis Walsh who should be watched.
The X Factor star has branded fellow panellist Gary Barlow as the vainest judge of all, saying it takes five stylists to prepare him for live shows.
He also had a jibe at the Take That singer’s weight, joking that he needs to take contestants running so he doesn’t pile on the pounds.
Read more: The Daily Mail
Better late than never: Frankie Cocozza hauled before X Factor bosses over ’12-hour booze bender’
He’s sworn and made crude comments on live shows, had countless liaisons with women leaving some in tears, and partied heavily when he should be getting rest for rehearsals.
And now it seems X Factor bosses have finally had enough of Frankie Cocozza’s antics.
A 12-hour ‘booze bender’ was reportedly the last straw and the 19-year-old was hauled before executives to face the music yesterday.
Read more: The Daily Mail
Friends or foes? Misha B poses with X Factor rival Janet Devlin at Cosmopolitan Awards, and comes face-to-face with Tulisa
Keeping up with the latest X Factor shenanigans is more dramatic than an EastEnders storyline.
While Misha B and Janet Devlin are technically ‘rivals’, competing against each other in the competition, they looked cosier than sisters tonight.
The singing hopefuls relished their new found fame with an appearance at the Cosmopolitan Awards, posing with their arms around each other.
Read more: The Daily Mail
‘My boyfriend keeps me sane’: Cher Lloyd credits her beau Craig Monk with keeping her feet firmly on the ground
Cher Lloyd is a rare gem in an industry where young stars are trained to give media-savvy answers that give little away.
The Malvern teenager is also a chameleon, with the art of reinventing herself which often holds the key for popstars and their longevity.
But despite her maturity, catapulting to fame before her 18th birthday is still a hard nut to swallow – and it’s boyfriend Craig Monk who she credits with keeping her feet firmly on the ground.
Read more: The Daily Mail
Getting your teeth sharpened for Kelly’s return? Tulisa pays a visit to the dentist ahead of X Factor showdown with rival judge
With gleaming teeth like that, let’s hope Tulisa Contostavlos doesn’t take a chunk out of rival judge Kelly Rowland if things turn nasty this weekend.
The young X Factor judge paid a visit to the dentist today and left with a radiant set of pearly whites that put Simon Cowell’s veneers to shame.
The N-Dubz singer was spied leaving the dental practice this morning, and looked eager to flash her dazzling grin tonight outside the Mayfair Hotel.
Read more: The Daily Mail
X Factor judge Tulisa forced to pull out of interviews due to illness… (or was she trying to avoid Kelly)
X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos was forced to pull out of a round of interviews this morning after flu resulted in an early hours visit from a doctor.
The N-Dubz star was noticeably absent from a promotional appearance attended by all the other judges – including a rejuvenated Kelly Rowland – at the BBC Radio 1 studios this morning.
Despite looking glam at an awards party last night, Tulisa, 23, was taken ill at around 4am this morning.
Read more: The Daily Mail
Louis Walsh’s false accuser Leonard Watters faces jail
THE man who falsely accused X Factor judge Louis Walsh of groping him in a nightclub has today been warned he could be jailed.
Unemployed dance teacher Leonard Watters pleaded guilty to making two false reports to Irish police that the pop music mogul sexually assaulted him in Dublin nightspot Krystle last April.
The 24-year-old went into the witness box in the city’s District Court to say sorry to Mr Walsh.
“I would like to sincerely apologise to Mr Louis Walsh for all the stuff I put him through. The allegation was false,” he said.
Judge Dermot Dempsey ordered a probation and welfare report on the defendant and adjourned sentencing to January 5.
Read more: The Daily Mirror
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Album reviews: Cher Lloyd – Sticks & Stones
Cher Lloyd: Sticks + Stones
Gobby X Factor finalist Cher Lloyd’s debut suggests her label don’t have a clue what to do with her, writes Alexis Petridis
Rating: 3/5
It’s hard to know how to react to the advance publicity for Cher Lloyd’s Sticks + Stones emanating from her management company and record label, Syco. “I have never worked an album which polarised public opinion to such an extent”, offered Syco’s managing director, Sonny Takhar. That’s a remark that could give you pause for thought. It appears to suggest that the X Factor finalist’s debut might not be the equal of Syco’s back catalogue, a matchless pantheon of unimpeachable classics, famed for attracting blanket acclaim, for uniting all who heard them in delight and awe: Joe McElderry’s Wide Awake, Il Divo singing The Winner Takes It All in Spanish and Helping Haiti’s Everybody Hurts, on which the REM classic was pitilessly brutalised for six harrowing minutes by Jon Bon Jovi, James Blunt, Mika and Michael Bublé. You read it and think: bloody hell, are you actually trying to gently deflate expectations by implying that this is a record less appealing than, say, Westlife’s last album? How unappealing can a record be?
Read more: The Guardian
We give Cher Lloyd’s debut album a spin
Sticks + Stones is one of those rare albums that you can listen to all the way throughout skipping a track. Despite her constant genre-hopping, it’s a surprisingly cohesive effort which cements her position as one of the UK’s brightest young stars.
Best tracks: Want U Back, Dub On the Track
Best lyric: “We’re doing stuff that we don’t ever have to tell our mums”
Rating: 5 out of 5
Read more: 4Music
Cher Lloyd: ‘Sticks + Stones’ – Album review
We’re often confused by today’s charts, but Cher Lloyd’s ‘Swagger Jagger’ topping the singles tally last month was one of the more puzzling events in recent memory. Yes, it has almost 16 million YouTube hits, but when your debut asks people to “get up out my face” and gathers more ‘dislikes’ than ‘likes’ (144,679 to be precise), we were almost tempted to slap her with a one-hit wonder tag.
Rating: 4/5
Read more: Digital Spy
CD REVIEW – CHER LLOYD: STICKS & STONES (SYCO)
IT seems to be a truism that to do well in the music industry you have to NOT win X Factor.
Cher was in the final but looks set to outshine winner Matt Cardle with her debut album which comes with No 1 single Swagger Jagger.
It’s really not bad at all which is as you might expect with the best producers and writers Simon Cowell’s money can buy turning out a variety of songs that veer from reggae-lite via rap to R’n’B.
Verdict: 3/5
Read more: Express
Cher Lloyd Sticks + Stones Review
A sassy, splashy modern pop album that’s much better than its dodgy lead single.
Cher Lloyd’s Swagger Jagger is perhaps the most unloved number one in recent memory. Understandably so – it’s not just a clunky bunk-up between Black Eyed Peas-aping beats and the melody from Little Donkey, but also strangely defensive for a debut single. “You can’t stop looking at me, so get up out my face” is not a line anyone wants to hear from an 18-year-old pop starlet who’s supposed to be Living The Dream.
Fortunately, it’s quite the worst thing on the X Factor scamp’s debut album. Her current single With Ur Love, a bubblegum RnB number that’s roughly as easy to resist as a pie sat cooling on your neighbour’s windowsill, is more representative. Featuring songwriting contributions from RedOne and sundry graduates of the Max Martin School of Hitmaking, Sticks + Stones offers a veritable clew of earworms wrapped up in glossy pop rap packages.
Read more: BBC
Cher Lloyd, Sticks + Stones’ – First Listen
Verdict
Well, it’s a bit of a dog’s dinner if we’re being honest, but there’s also enough good stuff on ‘Sticks + Stones’ to suggest Cher could have a bright future ahead of her as a ‘recording artist’, as Cowell himself would have it.
Read more: NME
Cher Lloyd album’s not one for the purists
BIZARRE had a first listen to Cher Lloyd’s debut album Sticks + Stones and it’s a real mixed bag.
There are solid pop songs on the album – due out November 7 – but her rapping won’t win over hip hop purists who listen to her idol Nicki Minaj.
The track Playa Boi, produced by Lady GaGa’s chief collaborator Red One, also unwisely samples Neneh Cherry’s Buffalo Stance.
Read more: The Sun
Cher Lloyd – Sticks + Stones Review
Overall I would have more fun banging my head against a wall for the entire length of the album then listen to it again (I’d probably lose less brain cells). This album is so bad it makes you question why music was even invented, why Mozart bothered creating his symphonies and why the Beatles bothered crafting pop music. It even makes you question whether Benjamin Franklin would have invented electricity if he knew it would one day lead to ‘Sticks + Stones’.
I’m certain that this album will go to number 1 and I will cry a little inside, but for the sake of your mental health avoid this album like it’s the bubonic plague. Now excuse me whilst I crawl back to the corner of my room.
Vantage Verdict – 15/100
Read more: Vantage Magazine
