But it's still getting great ratings, isn't it? I hear you counter my statement above, believe me I hear you: ever since its première on UK television in Summer 2004, reality show The X Factor appears to have gone from strength to strength, broadcasting without fail each autumn and gathering ratings constantly over 10 million viewers. So how, per se, can The X Factor be dead? To answer this question, I need only look at this week's double-banked weekend episode, taking place at the judges' houses. Eight acts performed in each category to their respective judge and a celebrity friend such as Sharon Osbourne or Wil.i.am, and were then told in tonight's instalment whether they had made the final 3 acts for the live finals opening next week. It's a solid format of broadcast, I'll admit, stretching perhaps the most emotional part of the show over two days, but as the programme finds such stars as Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke, it also so frequently indulges in obvious melodrama that reaching the so-called pop star's debut at the year's climax feels laborious and for the most part tedious. This year's line-up of superstar wannabes seem to lack that "oomph" present in past series, however this has to be expected after the high anticipation caused by the success of Alexandra in particular (her rise to fame having been caused by the show). Where the show has really become tragically predictable is in its execution: to keep things interesting and lively, worse acts such as Jedward (or in my opinion this year, Sher) are chosen over potential hits, causing immediate controversy and an instant rise in viewers to witness how things turn out for the bad performers. Since when has this been what the programme has been about? If you can answer that question precisely, then you'll know when The X Factor died.
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