X Factor 2008 - Week 8, Ruth Lorenzo out. What?

I'm slowly losing the will to live with the X Factor in 2008. The show is perhaps becoming a bit of a joke with the most talented acts being voted off each time. Austin Drage went far too early, then there came the Laura White mystery and now the most powerful act has gone, rock chick, Ruth Lorenzo.

Maybe the voting format has to be changed slightly. X Factor no longer seems fit for purpose. The X Factor now seems to have little to do with singing at all. What is the X Factor? Well... it's the ability to make the public feel sorry for you... great.

Anyhoo, the public has spoken, and Spanish diva Ruth Lorenzo is out. She didn't put a foot wrong during her two songs in Britney Spears week, but it seems that the performances in the competition were irrelevant anyway. If the public had voted without any acts performing, the result would probably have been the same.

An odd decision. Ruth Lorenzo was not the worst act and did not deserve to be voted out. The final looks destined to be between Diana Vickers and Eoghan Quigg, the two youngest acts left in the competition.



Ruth did not seem totally surprised by the result. Mentor Dannii Minogue, is the first to lose all her acts. So on to the Semi-Final...

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X Factor 2008 - Week 8, Who is going out now?

Ruth Lorenzo is the Evan money favourite to go out this week. It is certainly not a bet I will be placing.

If she finds herself in the bottom two sing off against JLS, I think she could blow them away with her power. The only way perhaps JLS could survive in this situation is if the Judges took it to deadlock with the decision resting solely on the Public Vote. JLS are seemingly more popular than Ruth.

Here are the full current odds on each acts chances of being voted out the X Factor this week.

Ruth Lorenzo 1/1
J L S 15/8
Alexandra Burke 5/1
Eoghan Quigg 12/1
Diana Vickers 14/1

The Market looks as if its shaping up to price a final of Diana Vickers verses Eoghan Quigg. There are still a few fences to be jumped yet, and anyone can take a tumble before the final run in.

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X Factor 2008 - Week 8, Alexandra starting to lose favour in the Market

Week 7 was Take That week on X Factor 2008. Alexandra Burke gave the kind of performance we have perhaps come to expect and went safely through to Week 8 avoiding the dreaded bottom two sing off. Mentor Cheryl Cole would have been pleased.

Unfortunately though, Alexandra is starting to lose favour in the betting market. It is not thought that she can win the contest. Very early on, she was Favourite to win. She was soon overtaken by Diana Vickers and this week, has slipped to third favourite behind Simon Cowells, Eoghan Quigg. This does not look good.

Although a powerful singer, you have to compare Alexandra to the other acts in the contest. What makes her unique, what makes her stand out. This is maybe a problem. The others you could hear on the radio and identify, Alexandra is not so easy. I wish her well, but progress may now start to get a bit tricky.

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X Factor 2008 - Week 8, Diana Vickers Still Favourite to Win

Diana Vickers remains the Favourite to Win the X-Factor at odds of 13/8. She has had her troubles having to miss a week through severe laryngitis and then singing the following week when still ill. Through all this, she has never once slipped from being the strong Favourite in the betting market. If anything, her battle against adversity has only gone to strengthen her support with the voting public who love a story to get behind.

Week 7, Take That week, Diana Vickers had clearly fully recovered.

Patience was a difficult song for Diana to sing, and like everything she performs, she clearly made it her own. In X Factor 2008, Diana will be tough to beat. Her biggest threat appears to be coming from the merging Eoghan Quigg.

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X Factor 2008 - Week 8, Latest Odds to Win

There are just 5 acts left in this years X Factor Competition. Just one act will go on to win the coveted recording contract... all though to be fair.. most of these Acts will now be snapped up by someone. Simon Cowell probably, no one can deny, that the X Factor is one of the best promotional tools ever devised!

Here are the latest odds on who will Win!

Diana Vickers 13/8
Eoghan Quigg 9/4
Alexandra Burke 3/1
J L S 5/1
Ruth Lorenzo 16/1

Diana Vickers remains steady as the Favourite. She has maintained favouritism for quite some time now. Oddly this may make her vulnerable. The Public generally like to see an underdog win and if she finds herself in the final against Eoghan Quigg, she could have a problem.

Eoghan moves Second Favourite for the first time and is gaining support. He probably has the weakest voice of the solo acts left in, but is arguably the most marketable in terms of potential record sales.

JLS found themselves in the bottom two sing-off last week, which would seem to indicate they may not have quite enough power to take the title. The very underrated Ruth Lorenzo remains at the back of the field at a staggering 16/1. In a one on one sing-off, Ruth can beat anyone act left, which will be a big worry for everyone else.

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X Factor 2008 - Week 7, Who will be the next to fall?

There are not many acts left in the X Factor now as we approach the Business end of the competition. This is where the real battleground lies. Each act is there by merit, each have a separate and individual quality.

Here are the current Market odds on who will be voted out this week by the Voting public.

Rachel Hylton 8/11
Ruth Lorenzo 2/1
J L S 10/1
Eoghan Quigg 16/1
Diana Vickers 16/1
Alexandra Burke 16/1

Diana Vickers should be fully recovered from her Laryngitis and will be firing on all cylinders once again. Alexandra Burke should be safe again. Eoghan Quigg and JLS are both gaining fan bases with the voting public.

The bottom two could be a battle of the powerhouses this week, Rachel Hylton verse Ruth Lorenzo... should be something special. Fasten your seatbelts!

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X Factor 2008 - Week 7, Eoghan Quigg to win?

Can Eoghan Quigg win this years X Factor?

As each week goes by, it's looking like he could.

Cheryl Cole's original acts of Laura White, Alexandra Burke and Diana Vickers were so strong in the betting market it was very hard to look elsewhere for the eventual winner. But, Laura White is gone, Diana Vickers is still recovering from illness and Alexandra Burke is now joint second favourite with the improving Eoghan.

Louis Walsh has always maintained that Eoghan would reach the final, but I seriously had my doubts... until now. He doesn't have the most powerful voice in the world, but a quality pitch and smooth tone. You could imagine him selling records and having Number ones.

I'm still behind Diana Vickers to win, but a final between her and Eoghan Quigg would be quite exciting to see. Down to just the Public Vote, guessing the winner would be extremely unpredictable.

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X Factor 2008 - Week 7 - The Latest Odds to Win

Last week we saw the exit of Daniel Evans after a bottom two clash with Rachel Hylton. Ruth Lorenzo escaped the sing off this time round so perhaps the British public are finally warming to her. Here are the latest quoted odds on who will win the X Factor 2008!

Diana Vickers 13/8
Eoghan Quigg 11/4
Alexandra Burke 11/4
J L S 9/2
Ruth Lorenzo 20/1
Rachel Hylton 33/1

Diana Vickers has had her troubles these last couple of weeks recovering from severe laryngitis and although still the favourite, she is not as strong as she was.

Most significant in the Market is that Simon Cowell's, Eoghan Quigg, has moved up to become joint second favourite with Alexandra Burke. That is an interesting move. Acts that improve like this historically have a good chance of winning.

JLS remain steady in the middle of the pack with Ruth Lorenzo and Rachel Hylton some way behind. These two have shown however, when caught in a bottom two sing off, are capable of beating anyone. Both girls would be dangerous to come directly up against.

This week should be a cracker!

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X Factor 2008 - Week 6, Diana staggers through

Respect has to be given to Diana Vickers in the X Factor Competition. She was looking good as the Favourite and then was struck down by severe Laryngitis. Unlucky is not the word.

Diana was forced to miss last week and this time, she was clearly still ill. Despite this Miss Vickers did a miraculous job. A very tough week for her to get through, but get through she did. Mentor Cheryl Cole will be mightily relived after losing Laura White last week.

With this performance of Coldplay's Yellow, Diana Vickers deservedly sails through to Week 7. Not only did she sing through the pain of Laryngitis, due to a last minute song change, she had hadly any rehearsal time. Simply amazing.

This Week was one to just survive and hopefully 7 more days can bring Diana to full recovery. The X Factor needs a unique singer like her.

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X Factor 2008 - Week 6, Which Mentor will win? The Current Odds !

The brightly lit path of the X Factor 2008 has been a bit controversial this year. Good acts that you think may have a chance of winning seem to quickly get shown the exit door. First Austin Drage, who didn't really put a foot wrong and then the following Week, the shock elimination of Second Favourite Laura White.

Who will go next? Who knows, the results at the moment seem completely random. Here is how the current market values each of the four mentor's chances of winning.

Cheryl Cole 4/11
Simon Cowell 5/1
Louis Walsh 5/1
Dannii Minogue 12/1

It's been a tough week for Cheryl Cole's acts. She unbelievably lost the talented Laura White and the unique Diana Vickers is still desperately trying to recover from Laryngitis. Despite all these problems, Cheryl is still quoted at odds-on to win. Cheryl should still do it, but at these odds is looking fragile, and it would be a brave person to take these on.

Dannii Minogue is the only Mentor to have all three acts left in the competition, but is quoted as the rank outsider at 12/1. Her secret weapon appears to be Daniel Evans, who has found some support with the voting public. To be fair, he is a long way off being the best act.

Simon Cowell has Eoghan Quigg and Louis Walsh, improving boyband JLS.

If Cheryl were to lose another act this week, then the X Factor would become very interesting indeed.

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X Factor 2008 - Week 6, Will Diana Vickers have to pull out of the Competition?

Due to severe Laryngitis, competition favourite, Diana Vickers was given a bye last week. This meant that although unable to perform, she was allowed to progress to the next round of the X Factor.

It is now Thursday and it is still very unclear whether Diana has recovered. We are just 2 days aways from the next Live round.

She has been to the Doctor's this week for a second check-up, but there is still no news of her progress. Such is Diana Vickers popularity, people are now asking,

Should Diana be given another week off if she is still too sick to sing?

No doubt, she would have got through any way, but is this exactly fair on the other entrants? The answer is probably no... it will be interesting to see how this one plays out.

It is an uncomfortable time for Mentor Cheryl Cole, who last week saw Laura White surprisingly leave and now faces the chance of Diana Vickers having to leave the show through illness.

Fingers crossed that Diana can comeback this Saturday. Last week she was certainly missed.

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X Factor 2008 - Week 6, The Next Elimination?

Week 6 of the X Factor 2008 is themed Best of British. With only 7 acts now left in and the shock elimination of Laura White last week, the remaining contenders are fully aware, that you are only as good as your last performance... and even then a huge chunk of randomness also gets tossed into the mix.

Here are the odds on each Acts chances of elimination from the contest this week,

Daniel Evans 4/5
Rachel Hylton 11/4
Ruth Lorenzo 4/1
J L S 20/1
Eoghan Quigg 20/1
Diana Vickers 20/1
Alexandra Burke 25/1

Daniel Evans is the odds-on favourite for the third week in a row. He seems to be living a charmed existence at the moment. The more the four judges slate his performance, the more home votes Evans attracts. Surely he can't escape again though can he?

Danni Minogue is the only Mentor to have all three acts left in the competition, but this time round they are first, second and third favourites to go out. If the bottom two end up being Ruth Lorenzo and Rachel Hylton, then Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Cheryl Cole will have an almost impossible decision to make.

For what it's worth, JLS, Eoghan Quigg, Diana Vickers and Alexandra Burke all look safe. However, I thought this before with Laura White. Still can't believe that she went. The voting Public, you can't really trust them can you?

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X Factor 2008 - JLS continue to make headway

If JLS were a racehorse, they would be the one you initially didn't notice loitering at the back of the pack. As the race unfolds, the horse moves with confidence through the others and is tracking the leaders coming around the final bend.

Can JLS kick on and win from here? From a point of almost nowhere, it seems they have created a chance of doing so. Their improvement throughout the X Factor competition has been nothing short of phenomenal. JLS have the important likability factor, can sing and are extremely marketable.

For Mariah Carey week, the boys sang One Sweet Day.

From a point of despair, Mentor Louis Walsh must be very happy on how this is working out. Second Favourite, Laura White is gone, the Favourite Diana Vickers is still trying to recover from Laryngitis and JLS are now third favourites to win at 5/1.

JLS are currently the biggest movers in the betting market.

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X Factor 2008 - Week 6, Latest Odds to Win

After a bizarre week, which saw the loss of Second Favourite, Laura White, here is how the odds have changed on who is to Win the X Factor 2008.

Diana Vickers 1/1
Alexandra Burke 5/2
J L S 5/1
Eoghan Quigg 5/1
Ruth Lorenzo 25/1
Rachel Hylton 33/1
Daniel Evans 50/1

Just seven acts left in now. Despite not even performing this week, Diana Vickers shortens to become the Even Money favourite to win. She missed the latest show due to Laryngitis. It may be a good idea for Daniel Evans to echo the move this week as surely he must go this time.

Louis Walsh's JLS are coming into play nicely. I'm really started to like these boys. It would be great to see them win against the odds to become the first ever group to win.

Eoghan Quigg holds steady at 5/1 while Ruth Lorenzo and Rachel Hylton are still at massive odds of 25/1 and 33/1. These odds are way too big in my opinion. We have seen that when either one lands in the bottom two sing off, they can deliver a performance that is simply, out of this world.

In a sing off, Lorenzo and Hylton are highly capable of knocking anyone out of the contest. If they were to ever meet each other in this way, the Judges decision would be virtually impossible.

Danni Minogue remains the only Mentor to have all three acts left in the competition. She must be doing something right. What it is though, is a bit of a mystery.

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X Factor 2008 - Week 5 - Diana Vickers, the Favourite, has laryngitis!

Shock! Horror! She is quoted as favourite to win, but Diana Vickers has lost her voice! In a singing competition, that's rather significant.

The 17 year old reportedly lost her voice on Tuesday after being struck down by laryngitis. It is so severe that medication has not enabled her to fully recover in time. A specialist has advised her not to sing. She has not taken part in any preparations for tonight's show.

Diana is still hoping to perform tonight, but it is probably best she takes advantage of the bye rule. If an act is struck down with illness so severe they can not perform properly, they are allowed to miss a week of the competition. I think that rule will come in nicely. It is simply not worth Miss Vickers taking the risk in a contest she has a very serious chance of winning. The potential rewards are huge.

We will see if she make the stage tonight, but I'm hoping not so we can see a fully repaired Vickers next week.

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X Factor - Week 4, Diana Vickers getting better and better

On Big Band night, she didn't exactly sing a Big Band style song. On Disco Night, she didn't strictly sing a Disco song.

Who cares?

We will let her off because Diana Vickers has the X Factor and is just way too good!

The two weeks which should have been a minefield for Diana and her unique singing voice, she has just demolished to become the 6/4 Favourite to win.

She should be back to her comfort zone Week 5. It's Mariah Carey Night and I look forward to Diana's performance probably most of all. On this sort of form, it will be a major shock if she doesn't reach the final.

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X Factor - Week 5 - How is Each Mentor fairing ???

Simon Cowell is currently 6/1 to win.

Four weeks in and he has already lost two acts. Scott Bruton in Week 3 and Austin Drage this week. Eoghan Quigg is his last hope.

Can he do it? Well it doesn't look good, but of the male acts left, Eoghan is the most favoured at 6/1. Simon's main aim must be to get him to the final. That would be a great achievement in a very difficult year.


Louis Walsh just has one act left and is 8/1 to win.

His Boyband, JLS, are getting better every week and one feels there is an outside glimmer of hope after an awful start for Louis losing two acts in as many weeks. The Glimmer of hope is a fairly faint one however.

JLS are also quoted at 8/1 to win the contest.



Mentor, Dannii Minogue has all 3 of her acts still in the X Factor Competition, but they are the least favoured acts.

Rachel Hilton, Ruth Lorenzo and Daniel Evans at odds of 20/1, 25/1 and 66/1. It is unlikely that Daniel Evans can survive much longer.

Dannii is the rank outsider to be victorious at 10/1.



Cheryl Cole is seemingly the run away favourite this year. She has all 3 acts left in, and they are the best acts. She is the short priced favourite at 1/4 odds on.

She is mentoring Diana Vickers, Laura White and Alexandra Burke at odds of 6/4, 3/1 and 7/2.

It is hard to see anyone other than Cheryl Cole being the winning Mentor this year...

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X Factor 2008 - Week 5, Odds to Win

Week 4 was a bit of a shock result with the exit of Austin Drage. Will he ever be seen again? Unknown.. such is the thin line between success and obscurity.

Here is how the final 8 acts fair in the competition.

Diana Vickers 6/4
Laura White 3/1
Alexandra Burke 7/2
Eoghan Quigg 6/1
J L S 8/1
Rachel Hylton 20/1
Ruth Lorenzo 25/1
Daniel Evans 66/1

Diana Vickers remains the favourite to win. Her odds are now even shorter at 6/4. Clear daylight has developed between Cheryl Cole's acts and the chasing pack. Not only are they still first, second and third favourites in the market, they are also strong favourites. Diana Vickers, Laura White and Alexandra Burke will be very difficult to beat.

Ruth Lorenzo still seems overpriced at a huge 25/1 with Daniel Evans the rank outsider.

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X Factor 2008 - Week 4 - Diana Vickers 7/4 Favourite to win

Big Band week on the X Factor was perhaps going to be a week when favourite, Diana Vickers, was going to struggle to match the style of the genre to her voice.

Think again,

Smile was a fantastic song choice for her. One of the more gentler of the Big Band style numbers, this slower tempo song was one she could really get hold of.

Another great performance saw her favouritism in the betting market strengthen even further down to 7/4. When Vickers sings, the sound is just magical and there is no one in the pop industry today that is quite like her.

Her biggest threat on Big Band night was perhaps not being knocked out the competition, but instead, falling off that swing! If Ricky Gervais stunt double, Daniel Evans, had been on it, the whole thing surely would have crashed into the audience. Thankfully there was no swing in Daniel's performance whatsoever.

Easy to like and hard to oppose, I can't wait to see what she performs for this weeks Disco night, another one that in theory does not really suit her unique singing voice.

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X Factor - Week 4 - Who will Win?

This years X Factor competition broadcast on ITV, so far, has been one of the best ever. Last week Simon Cowell lost Scott Bruton and Cheryl Cole's three female acts still seem pretty much invincible. Louis of course, is left with just one remianing act who will struggle to make the final in a particular strong year.

Week 4 is themed Disco Night. Here is how the market currently favours each acts chances of winning the entire X Factor contest.

Diana Vickers 7/4
Laura White 7/2
Alexandra Burke 5/1
Austin Drage 7/1
J L S 8/1
Eoghan Quigg 8/1
Rachel Hylton 10/1
Ruth Lorenzo 20/1
Daniel Evans 33/1

Cheryl Cole's girls stubbornly remain 1st, 2nd and 3rd favourites to win making the Girls Aloud mentor 2/5 on to have the eventual winner.

Why Ruth Lorenzo remains a whopping 20/1 to win, to me, is a bit of a mystery. Her last two performances have been fantastic. Whilst I do not think she will be the overall winner, 8/1 would probably be more realistic. JLS seem a little short at 8/1.

Strong favourite to win now is Diana Vickers, way ahead in the market at 7/4. There is still a long way to go of course and anything can happen along the way. I thought Diana would struggle with last weeks Big Band night, but she took it in her bare-footed stride. I have similar reservations about her unique voice being able to handle Disco, but being the potential star that she is, she'll probably prove me wrong again. Hopefully this is the case as she is a joy to listen to.

Daniel Evans could find it hard to stay in this week.

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