Whether you love it or hate it - you can’t avoid it. Yes, that’s right, I am talking about X Factor.
Whether it’s Simon Cowell’s monotonous strop over the programme ratings slump being splashed all over the tabloids, or you genuinely enjoy tuning into the Saturday night entertainment show (albeit a bit discreetly) - one thing is for sure – almost everyone has heard about X Factor. And as us viewers tune in week in and week out to watch the remaining contestants sing their hearts out, live, in front of the nation, we are all so hasty to judge who was good and who was bad that we tend to forget one very important factor – how tremendously brave those kids are!
On Saturday night, the average age of the final five acts was just 18 - the oldest contestant Marcus Collins being 23 and the youngest (and the latest to be eliminated) Janet Devlin, being 17 but just a tender 16 when she originally went through to the live shows. And whilst the teenager fell under regular scrutiny from the judges and more gratingly from the voting public (most notably for forgetting the lyrics during her live performance, not just on one occasion but two), it is very easy to forget her strife. She is performing under enormous pressure in front of an audience that has, on occasions, soared to 12 million, at an age when most her peers are probably losing sleep over doing a class assembly at school. The pressures that teenagers face on their journey to adulthood can be oppressive enough but the teenagers on here also have to deal with the pressure of the media frenzy that surrounds the competition - not to mention the torment of facing the inevitable criticism that comes with the territory of being in the limelight on a popular television show.
Looking beyond the glossy stage setting and the polished, attractive backing dancers, you can actually see the trembling knees of Amelia Lily, Janet and some of the girls from popular band ‘Little Mix’. Their apprehensive faces as they wait to hear the result each Sunday night can only be described as somewhat painful to watch. They might come across as precocious, intrepid, confident, fame-hungry wannabes, but beyond all that, some of those contestants are just terrified children desperately chasing their dreams live on television.
So, I think we should watch next Saturday night's show with a retrospective eye and a new-found admiration for those brave, young hopefuls who we are always so quick to criticise.
