X Factor 2010 Style Madness!

Simon Cowell has spent a lot of time during the many series of X factor wittering on about whether contestants have 'their own style' and chastising those that he deems 'overstyled'.  Well forgive me for having to pull him up on this now; but has he seen what the X factor styling team have done to the final 12 contestants this year!?

Storm.  Now there's a character.  He can certain hold a tune.  And he definitely has his own style.  But whose idea was it to die his hair primary red for the live shows?  He now looks like any other wannabee trying to look different.  He's in the over 28 category, and I've now idea how old he is, but he is most certainly not 14 years old - the only age I feel that a male can get away with that hair colour.  If he had his own 'style' in the first place; why did they feel the need to turn him into something else?  Had he auditioned with that hair colour originally, our impression of him would have been completely different.  People do, after all, judge on looks before anything else.

And then there's Rebecca Ferguson.  She has, indeed, the most gorgeous voice.  A beautiful recording voice.  One of those voices that you know, regardless of the results of the show, that we'll hear again.  And she is pretty, vulnerable, shy and seems genuinely nice.  I love her look.  Or at least, I did.  What have they done to her!?  She suddenly looks bland and boring.....    

I get the feeling that the X Factor stylists think they are turning these 'rough around the edges' contestants into 'glamarous performers'.  Pity that's not what the show's about.  It's about finding something special.  Something different.  And, you would hope, nurturing that.  Seems that's not what it's about anymore.  It appears to be about finding something special, and then stamping it out and turning it into something that they 'think' is popular.  I'm annoyed about this because I feel that they are trying to tell me what I like by restyling them in this way.  What was wrong with the way they looked before?

And don't get me started on Matt Cardle.  The reason we all liked him was that, despite his claims to hate being a painter, he looked like one - you know - a little rough around the edges, and we liked that.  Why, oh why, did they need to cut off his hair?

OK, I'm done.  Honest. 

Tip for the day.... don't spend time, like me, watching these shows.  They just get annoying.  I'm sure it's an addiction.  To echo the words of the early 80s, ' turn off the television set, go out and do something less boring instead'.