The X Factor 2018

Sharon Osbourne axed from the live shows for comments made about Cowell and the contestants in a recent interview.

I’ve disliked the 6 chair challenge ever since it’s formation. Maybe we should return to a boot camp style. The drama is supposed to be in the chairs and the swaps but it’s all too staged. At least the old style boot camp where they had to do group pieces and then solo work made for a more interesting programme showing how they interacted with other contestants rather than now where they fight it off in front of a screaming crowd. I feel that it was influenced by the voice’s battle rounds.

An alternative style go to a similar pre large show style that pop idol had. There was something nice about the judges and a stage in one room (with no audience) and the contestants all going back to the green room after performing.

Until next week

I'm so bored of it I haven't watched at all this year. But I prefer the live shows to the auditions. I watched a few live shows but again got bored very quickly.

I wonder if there would be an opportunity to do another World Idol but with X Factor. Each nation's franchisee sends a representative, they sing a song, and then you have a public vote to decide who wins. Or would there be an immediate lawsuit coming from the direction of the European Broadcasing Union?

The ratings are appalling. Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday got 8.4 million average, peaking at 9.5 million. X Factor managed 4.6 million. ITV needs to admit, X Factor is a dump, and they need to get out of their contract with Cowell for that show.

There could just shelve the next series?

Will that not mean breach of contract?

They just keep issuing the same, albeit reworded, argument that linear TV figures don't matter to them because all the viewers are watching on demand or online. I can't see how that helps the advertisers that are giving ITV the money to produce it.

That argument works for Love Island where it's a Millennial targeted show with minimum wastage. A family Saturday night main channel show though, it doesn't stand up.

If they could find something new that gets 5m then they would.

In reality something new would probably get less than 2m

I really enjoyed the 2016 series...it was back to classic X Factor (especially with Honey G!)

All people want is a decent judging panel, room auditions, boot camp, judges houses then live shows with the token Louis Walsh joke act with the judges having a bicker during the sing off elimination. Sadly, they've tried to remove most of that now and it really doesn't work well!

Anyone wanting a more serious singing competition moved to The Voice a long time ago anyway...

The problems with X Factor are pretty simple:

- it is over-edited into a dizzying blur
- it is dragged out too much - an episode shouldn't exceed an hour
- it is too obviously "fake" and constructed
- some of the format changes are terrible including the "go and sit in a chair" challenge

Imagine being told you can't sing by Louis Tomlinson , the gall of it.