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, 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 6, Fantastic Ruth Lorenzo

Ruth Lorenzo has been massively underrated throughout the X Factor 2008 Competition. She has landed in the bottom two more than once, but luckily survived each time. She is a fantastic singing who deserves to have great success.

Thankfully this week, her version of Robbie Williams' Angels was enough to see her through.

Ruth is not fancied at all in the betting market and they predict her to land in the bottom two in Week 7. I for one, hope she doesn't. Although, it does look likely that either Ruth or Rachel Hylton may be knocked out.

Like all of these Public Voting competitions these days, it's sadly not totally based on a performers talent. This was 100% proved this week when John Sergeant decided it best to quit the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing programme for fear of becoming a laughing stock.

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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 - 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, 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 - 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 - Heroes Number 1 for Second Week !

For 2 Weeks running the X Factor finalists have topped the Charts!

Even if they don't win, any act will be able to walk proudly away knowing they have had a number 1 hit. This is a massive achievement.

Well done to the finalists!

Will they manage a third week at the top? It will be tricky. Beyonce charted at Number 2 this week and her single only comes out to buy in shops from today. Britney's come back song is at number 4 and Christine Aguilera is also in the mix.

All proceeds from the Charity single go to Help for Heroes and the British Legion Poppy appeal.

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X Factor 2008 - Major Shock! Laura White is Out !!!

Laura White is out of X Factor 2008. How on Earth did this happen? This is a major shock and probably one of the biggest upsets in the competition I have ever seen.

Second favourite and 3-1 to Win, Laura looked destined for the final, but sees her self go out as early as Week 5. On Mariah Carey song night she sang, "Endless Love", played the piano and surely deserved to go through to week 6.

All comments from the Judges were positive apart from those of Simon Cowell and yet after the viewers votes were finally counted, she found herself in the bottom two.

It perhaps goes to show, the X Factor isn't just about having an amazing singing voice. It's also about image, style, likability and overall popularity with the public. Despite being exceptionally talented, Laura has failed to connect with those watching at home which is a bit of a shame.

Rank outsider, Daniel Evans escaped yet again, and Laura was in the dreaded bottom two sing off with the awesome and massively underrated, Ruth Lorenzo.

As before, Ruth Lorenzo gave an awesome performance in the sing off. She sang Knocking On Heavens Door which was absolutely amazing. Laura sang, Somewhere Over the Rainbow.



To be honest, neither girl should have been voted out. This shock result shows, that in the X Factor, no one is safe.

Laura was faultless this week, but still goes out. Maybe Cheryl Cole's acts are not such a dead cert to win after all, with Laura White eliminated and Diana Vickers suffering from Laryngitis, the competition has been thrown wide open.

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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 - Charity Single Heroes, Where's Evans & Lorenzo?

For the first time in The X Factor's history, all 12 finalists have released a single in aid of charity. The Charity, Help For Heroes helps those service men and women hurt in the line of duty and all proceeds from the single will go to this charity and also the British Legion Poppy Appeal. The song is available to buy from shops or to download.

A great song and very interesting to see all finalists singing together as one. As you can tell, they are miming, but here, for the first time you can hear what their recording voices are like. Some people sound a lot better, most notably Girlband and Bad Lashes who have already left the competition.

Where were Daniel Evans and Ruth Lorenzo in this performance?

Well, you couldn't make it up. They were stuck behind a faulty door and couldn't get on stage. Yes, really. Lorenzo said later,

"I want the people to know it wasn't me that didn't want to be there, it was a mistake. It was terrible the doors didn't open. I stood and sang my part behind the doors."

Simon Cowell explained,

"The door got jammed, which is why Daniel and Ruth didn't come out, so I apologise and I feel bad for them. But maybe we'll arrange another performance so they get to sing as well."

And so, the X Factor competition rolls ever onward. Don't forget to watch Disco Night this Saturday and buy Heroes with added Lorenzo and Evans.

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X Factor 2008 - Week 4 - Who will be Eliminated ?

Week 4 is Disco Week on the X Factor 2008. Here is how the betting market views each acts chances of being voted out the competition.

Daniel Evans 8/13
Ruth Lorenzo 4/1
Rachel Hylton 6/1
J L S 11/1
Eoghan Quigg 14/1
Austin Drage 25/1
Alexandra Burke 25/1
Laura White 100/1
Diana Vickers 100/1

Daniel Evans seems a dead cert to go out. He is odds on at 8/13. With the talented Ruth Lorenzo and Rachel Hylton next behind him, I'm afraid I'm inclined to agree. So strong are this years acts, its hard to envisage any other outcome.

It's tough to guess who will feature in the bottom two sing off against Daniel this week, but Cheryl Cole's acts should be safe. Burke, White and Vickers are all rank outsiders to go.

Group mentor, Louis Walsh, will be praying once again his sole remaining act manages to stay in. If they land in the bottom two, this is the one act that Daniel Evans perhaps has a chance of beating.

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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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X Factor 2008 - Week 3 - Ruth Lorenzo Back in Business

If anyone can threaten Cheryl Cole's acts dominance of this years X Factor competition, then surely it must be the rapidly improving Ruth Lorenzo.

Facing the bottom two sing-off last week, she then found a totally different gear. A mind-blowing performance of Purple Rain, and then this week, the classic, Summer Time.

A fantastic performance, it would have been a travesty if she had gone out last week. A class act all round, the odds on Ruth Lorenzo to win surely must shorten come Monday. Before the Saturday's week 3 performances, she was in fact quoted as second favourite to go out! Incredible, how wrong they were.

Daniel Evans and Scott Bruton battled in the bottom two instead. When the music stopped, it was goodbye to former Pontins blue coat, Bruton.

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X Factor 2008 - Week 3 - Who is going out tonight?

Tonight is Week 3 of the Live performances of X Factor 2008. This week is Big Band Week! So it could be a challenge for some. It will interesting to see how contest favourite, Diana Vickers' unique style is altered to fit in with this brand of music.

Who will be eliminated? Well, as usual that depends largely on the voting viewing public. Here is how the market assesses each acts chances of being voted out the show.

Daniel Evans 13/8
Ruth Lorenzo 11/4
Scott Bruton 7/2
Rachel Hylton 5/1
J L S 14/1
Eoghan Quigg 25/1
Austin Drage 33/1
Alexandra Burke 33/1
Laura White 50/1
Diana Vickers 50/1

Louis Walsh branded him a Ricky Gervais lookalike, but I'm sure that hasn't anything to do with Daniel Evans now being favourite to go out. Well mostly sure anyway.

Ruth Lorenzo featured in the bottom two last week, but her powerful voice should favour a Big backing band, so she could very well escape the sing off. I'm sensing we could have a shock result this week.

Louis will be praying that his last remaining act, JLS, stay in. If they go out,Mr Walsh would have lost all of his acts in the opening three weeks and will be ribbed by Simon Cowell possibly for eternity.

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X Factor 2008 - Who will win? Week 3 odds

So, who will win 2008's X Factor competition. Here is how the market currently values each acts chances of success.

Diana Vickers 2/1
Laura White 3/1
Alexandra Burke 5/1
Austin Drage 6/1
Eoghan Quigg 7/1
J L S 9/1
Rachel Hylton 16/1
Scott Bruton 25/1
Ruth Lorenzo 33/1
Daniel Evans 66/1

Diana Vickers has become the favourite to win which makes mentor, Cheryl Cole's acts, now first, second and third favourite to win. This has never happened before in the competition and if Cheryl does not win, it will be a major shock.

Louis Walsh's sole remaining Group act, JLS, are looking vulnerable at 9-1 and Ruth Lorenzo is way overpriced at 33-1. Granted, she did finish in the bottom two last week, but her survival performance of Purple Rain was out of this world.

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X Factor 2008 - Week 2 - Lorenzo, Performance of the Week

As the ITV's exciting 2008 X-Factor competition hit Week 2, it was Michael Jackson song night. The best performance wasn't from a Michael Jackson song though.

Talk about doing it when it really mattered. After the Public vote was announced in no particular order, Spanish diva Ruth Lorenzo found herself in the bottom two sing off with Louis Walsh's Girlband. Here was her response,

Wow!

After that Girlband didn't stand a chance. Incredible from Lorenzo. If anyone can threaten Cheryl Cole's category dominance of the contest then surely it must be Ruth Lorenzo.

Purple Rain, the performance of the Night in Week 2. It was unfair that Ruth was in the sing off, but if she hadn't have been, we never would have seen that fantastic performance. The standard on X-Factor in 2008 is extremely high.

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X Factor 2008 - Week 2, Goodbye to Girlband

As I predicted in a previous blog, Louis Walsh, this week, lost as many acts as there have been weeks of the Live competition.

After the viewers votes were revealed, of course, in no particular order, the bottom two were unveiled as the group, Girlband and over 25 performer, Ruth Lorenzo. Ruth perhaps didn't deserve to be there, but Girlband... below is their performance of Michael Jackson's Heal the World.

In the bottom two sing-off, Ruth Lorenzo performed an amazing version of Prince's Purple Rain that was one of the best performances of the entire evening. Despite this, the four Judges somehow managed to make it a draw between the two acts and the decision was referred back to the viewers votes.

Thank goodness Ruth Lorenzo went through. She was far superior to the woeful Girlband, but this week she came dangerously close to going out. When it come to relying on X Factor viewers votes, you are relying on Random at best.

Mr Walsh now has just one act left which is Boy band, JLS. It would be a major shock if they were to win, but at least now have the advantage of having all their mentor's time.

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