The X Factor new season started on Saturday. Why am I not surprised nobody has commented on it? I didn't bother watching it, and I gather ratings were well down for this and Simon's other show, Red or Black.

I've never watched Red or Black so can't comment, but I do feel that these Pop Idol/X Factor/The Voice shows have now had their day.

Absolutely right Dixie - and I sort of thought I might watch it but couldn't be bothered and went to sleep instead.

I think the era has passed and dear Simon, sadly, begins to look like a One Hit Wonder.

Her reaction, "But you told me to sing Pink" seemed a bit odd at the time as clearly they hadn't. Believe who you will, it isn't the first time people have reported they've been set-up by X-Factor. If it's true it's very sad, ruining people's careers for a few seconds "exciting" T.V. is shameful. Having said that, the whole show does tend to be career wrecking:

Zoe Alexander Story Link

The era hasn't quite passed (it's still the most watched Saturday night show), but it certainly has peaked. I gave up on it a few years back when the manipulation got too blatant to gloss over, like a bad magician still asking you to applaud after you've seen how the trick was done... Tulisa seems to be as much an audience deterrent as attraction, Gary is just a neutral blur, Nicole is as overexposed as they come, and Louis Walsh being the longest-surviving judge seems to be some situationist gag gone too far... will be interesting to see if the ITV/SyCo PR machine can drum up the interest between now and (blimey) Christmas...

I assumed that it was the people who had originally auditioned her that suggested she sang 'Pink'.

Well I don't think they intended to ruin her but they certainly encouraged her to amp up
the Pink thing. You can clearly hear it when she keeps mentioning her own name when she tries
to move away from the Pink tribute bank. The producers set her up no doubt about it.
But I think they would have given her the pros and cons of doing it and possibly engineered
the whole meltdown as well.

The most annoying bit of the whole fiasco is the Tulisa (jumped up little tart) person's arrogant and
snide comments. Can we do something to save the music industry from destroying itself with drivel like this?

JK, Simon ' looks like a one hit wonder' ??? That is a surprisingly ratty, snide comment ! The guy has dominated TV in the UK for years! X factor, BGT, massive shows on a fading medum! I know you were hard on One Direction, but they are a worldwide teen phenomenon, and ' That's what makes you beautiful is still in A/heavy B rotation at the big CHR's in the US. I really thought you had warm feelings for the guy for what he's done for you in the past, but apparently things between you and him must have gone awry. Please please, I hope it's NOT jalousie de metier???

Nothing against Simon but it's starting to look like he's a one trick pony; huge trick, agreed, but just the one.

This was the stand-out.

Something a little different to the normal x-factor auditions.
Brilliant stuff and very current! Reminds me of Lily Allen, Kate Nash,
Newton Faulkner and Ed Sheeran.

Caught a few minutes - nice lad from Middlesbrough - adequate but received like the Messiah which, in a way, he was... he almost sang in tune. I never found the abominable efforts funny but can understand why the sort of people who laugh at banana skin jokes are amused. And then when a half decent contrast comes on - they seem superb.

What annoys me about these shows is the after care; winners and talented people should be nurtured and developed; that's where Simon's company fails.

JK2006 wrote:
Caught a few minutes - nice lad from Middlesbrough - adequate but received like the Messiah which, in a way, he was... he almost sang in tune. I never found the abominable efforts funny but can understand why the sort of people who laugh at banana skin jokes are amused. And then when a half decent contrast comes on - they seem superb.

What annoys me about these shows is the after care; winners and talented people should be nurtured and developed; that's where Simon's company fails.
Fuckin' code capture, I typed an essay here and lost it.

Basically the opposite is true here JK, they ripped the soul out of Cannonball last year because they do not know how to present this style of music and they'll do the same to him because what he does won't work during the live weeks.

The best thing that can happen to this lad is to drop out now, he's got his exposure now ditch the muppets who will dress him up, make him dance or swagger, choose his clothes, hairstyle, songs, make him look into the camera at exactly the right point etc.

They'll ruin him just like they did Matt Cardle.

K wrote:
JK2006 wrote:
Caught a few minutes - nice lad from Middlesbrough - adequate but received like the Messiah which, in a way, he was... he almost sang in tune. I never found the abominable efforts funny but can understand why the sort of people who laugh at banana skin jokes are amused. And then when a half decent contrast comes on - they seem superb.

What annoys me about these shows is the after care; winners and talented people should be nurtured and developed; that's where Simon's company fails.
Fuckin' code capture, I typed an essay here and lost it.

Basically the opposite is true here JK, they ripped the soul out of Cannonball last year because they do not know how to present this style of music and they'll do the same to him because what he does won't work during the live weeks.

The best thing that can happen to this lad is to drop out now, he's got his exposure now ditch the muppets who will dress him up, make him dance or swagger, choose his clothes, hairstyle, songs, make him look into the camera at exactly the right point etc.

They'll ruin him just like they did Matt Cardle.



He needs a dentist.

Ok this is really annoying me big time!

First of all let's start with the obvious. This guy is amazing and commercial, but the fact that
he has had to resort to the X-Factor is an indictment on the music industry and the record industry in particular.
You can shout as loud as you like in favour of the so called filter JK but it is the FILTER that has reduced
the major label record industry to the shambolic state that it is now. The concentration of the music industry to
a few decision makers is really bad news. Of course it is not just the majors to blame here but the biggest blame
lies with corrupt radio and Radio One in particular. Let no one deceive you, payola is alive and kicking, not to mention
the practice of DJs prioritising their own tracks. I want the music industry to die! I want the whole shebang to collapse
and piracy to decimate it. Then we can build it up again upon the right foundation. Even the worst released tracks from the 80s
Nelly The Elephant, Patsy Kensit, Black Lace and even JKs monstrosities (sorry JK) all had GOOD MUSIC. Now the music is
crap (no I am not being ageist or criticising the kids). The most annoying thing about this guy's audition is that he is going
to line the pockets of that awful Tulisa. Good song presented well.

we always have this "filter" discussion J&B but my filter is something that picks the right tracks out of all the crap, plays it to a huge audience (which comes because it knows it will hear great music) and therefore enables millions - not hundreds - to become aware of great talent.

For all its many faults that's what the old model (including - vitally - the Tip Sheet) did in the last century.

The reason why we always have it is because you always seem to wax lyrical about it
without acknowledging that the reason we are in this mess is because of the filter!
The fact that those who do the filtering have been bought in a pernicious and sly manner
is why it's all about major label priorities. At least in the old payola days, anyone
who had the money could get on the airwaves and as a result we had Aretha, Motown and lots
of other great artists and music.

MONEY has always and still is the filter. You are living in a dreamworld if you think the filter
brought only the best music. No it didn't it only brought the best music presented by its paymasters.
You talk as if this filter is this wonderful thing and then slag off the industry today which has
more than disappeared up its own backside thanks to the manipulation of the gatekeepers.

You are also out of touch with reality as well. The great filter is no more and thank God for that.
Not because I don't want quality material to rise to the top but because I am not stupid and know
that but for the almighty dollar, we would never have had Motown or any other black music make it big
in America, because the filter would have blocked them on whatever spurious grounds they could think
of. But because greed counts more for anything in America (and here too) those with money can buy
their way to the top and kick things off. This is how promotion works and should work. Let's not pretend
there is any other method.

Yes but it's not the FILTERS that were wrong (more than one; publishers; A&R; promotion; radio; TV; press; retail) but that they were allowed to become wrong. One after the other, they selected for the wrong reasons. Instead of filtering because the signs indicated that concentration, focus and filtering would mean budgets got concentrated on potentially populist material (i.e. Adele) but on priorities that had cost too much investment.

But the filter method, if done right, is essential.

The reverse is, as now, everyone can make music and be heard by a few people but nobody gets to hear the great stuff (because most is crap).

Seriously JK you could not be more wrong about how things are today.
Everyone can be heard but not everyone will be heard because most people are living
in a dream world waiting to be discovered by the gatekeepers of the old music model.
The FILTERS are artificial. There are no magical filters just PEOPLE who BUY other people off.
The fact that you refuse to admit or even acknowledge this is staggering.
If there is any filter it would be the record companies. They are the only ones who go out
to listen to those making music except of course in the real world that is NOT how it works.
Funny enough the most democratic and open system for fame and success in the music industry is
Cowell's machine. With open auditions, national TV exposure and heavy exposure it is the closest
thing we have to what you are referring to.

Right now the music industry has to adapt and become like every other industry. Indeed this has
been the case for a while but now more so than at any other time.
Self filtering is the order of the day. How is it possible that people like you somehow MANAGE to
filter their own material? How is it that you can balance business and art/music creation?
The answer is easy. You never fell for the bollocks that you preach. You used your ears and your
judgement and believe me everyone can do this.

If you think that audiences have fragmented that music to such an extent that great records cannot
be heard by millions, then sorry to say this, you have your head buried in the sand. GOTYE! That's
all I have to say about that. Blew up on the internet and then everyone jumped on it.
Rebecca Black Friday is another. Blew up online thanks to people sharing it with everyone else.
Outside the music industry this still happens. Everyone knows about Ray William Johnson's Equals Three show,
even your boy Alex Day and his mate Charlie is Cool thrive WITHOUT the filters so go figure!

The filter as you know it is dead. What we have now are a lot more outlets but still most are SHEEP
following the trend setters. Study dance music and understand how hit tracks rose to the top (before it
got corrupted by self interest and DJs pushing their own product or their mates products over better ones).

The problem with your argument is it is a load of bollocks. Great on paper and in theory you are right
but you and I know full well that radio played music by the highest bidder. Everyone producing a record for
radio knows what should be presented. What format, what a hit potential record is. The difference is
those with deep pockets got their priorities played first. Those without the same sort of money had to build
up from the ground up and play a clever strategic game to hype the charts and force the hand of the so called
filters. At their heyday SAW struggled to get airplay, despite dominating the charts. So much for the filter.

We are not stupid on this site and we know how marketing works and music industry deal making and strong arm
tactics. Michael Jackson would not be as huge as he was were it not for his label playing hardball with one
of your filters MTV who refused to play black artists on the basis of what? quality? talent? hits? NO!!!!
but due to racism and prejudice.

The problem with filters is simple. HUMANS MAKE THE DECISIONS AND EVERY MAN HAS A PRICE.

Lets do away with them all and let market forces, advertising and PR (to a certain extent) decide. You even
contradict yourself when you mention Alex Day. Tell me who is filtering his work? Which of the gatekeepers are
doing the filtering? You are confusing quality control (internal) with filters (external).
Of course we need quality control. This is easy to do today and requires artists to think like labels which
they will do when they start investing their own money in their product.

As for the externals they ALL should be customers of the industry. Do away with the promotional bollocks. You
want music for your audience, you pay handsomely for it.

Alex Day is an epitome of the new model which I would sum up like this:

YOU RECRUIT YOUR FANS/FOLLOWERS/DISCIPLES TWO BY TWO using word of mouth and online CPC advertising to recruit.
You then in turn send them out to do likewise. You recruit those with an influence and yes this includes
radio, TV shows, celebrities and even ordinary joe bloggs with hundreds of friends. Yes it's a lot more work
but with these things being automated you can run it on a set and forget it basis. This is the future so less
nostalgia about the filters coz dem days are gone. Word!

My definition of filters.
Filter 1 - family and friends. "You're great"... "You're not"...
2 - studios -
3 - labels, publishers
4 - executives on labels, publishers
5 - radio
6 - TV
7 - retail

All filter. Great hits pass all filters (Gotye) in some order or other. Some (Friday) pass some, fail others.

I need filters to kick out the crap because there is so much, and feature the great - and those filters need to win huge audiences because they pick the hits before you hear them anywhere else. These days 99% of potential hits never get to stage 3. The Internet is not a filter. Anyone can be on it, most are, and nobody has the time or inclination to hear everything from everyone in every country.