Its definately killing the xmas single, without a doubt. Every year now for the last 5 or 6, x factor has dominated the christmas no1 with a crappy cover version. It shouldnt be allowed. I wouldnt mind if they released a decent single but its nearly always a crap song.

Yey! I got my *** online here in my relative's house. :w00t:

 

Anyhow, I say I'm not really bothered with Xmas #1s at all. Mainly because I don't like Xmas. I literally despise most Xmas songs particularly those overplayed ones like Wham! - Last Christmas, The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl [?] - Fairytale in New York, etc. :lol:

No big deal to me, no one is forcing anyone to buy the X Factor winners single it is just market forces, if it gets to #1 it gets to #1

 

Spoken like the true Thatcherite you are. :lol:

 

Forget the fact that Simon Cowell with a little help from his friends ITV and Rupert Murdoch Inc and Max Clifford affectively has the biggest monopoly going in the history of popular music ever which could easily see X-Factor related acts remain at the top of the charts from last week (with Alexandra Burke) until mid January 2010. :angry:

 

I keep coming back to the quote by the most successful and arguably the greatest songwriter this country has ever produced Sir Paul McCartney "Simon Cowell is like musical cancer".

Im saying no because not one artist puts in any effort with christmas singles anymore so it makes no difference, wh cant they make proper christas songs for christmas anymore, mariah carey all iwant for christmas in my opinion was the last proper christmas single.

Christmas no.1 is not exciting anymore (how exciting was it in 2003? LOADS of competitors!). I don't like how Cowell steals it every year and also how no one else even tries for it anymore cos they know the outcome already.

 

However, I would put up with an X-Factor Xmas no.1 FOREVER if they recorded a vaguely Christmassy song and not just some 'I made it through, shown them all' generic pile of crap.

'All I Want For Christmas' is my ultimate Christmas song (despite my disliking of Mariah Carey), the others I don't really class as "Christmas songs".

obviously YES!

 

I do love X-Factor and there is the odd (Leona,Shanye) talented winner but I am sick to death of the bland covers they churn out every year, it wouldnt be so bad if they produced new songs ala 'Sound of the Undeground' hmm..

 

I wonder when the next non XFactor xmas #1 will be?

Obviously, I would prefer it if there were intense battles for the Xmas #1, but there's nothing wrong or under-handed about what Cowell does. The chart is based on the biggest sellers; the X Factor winner has always been, and will probably remain to be, the biggest seller every Xmas. Simple as that.

 

With that said, I don't see why they have to pick such God-awful songs most of the time. I understand why it has to be covers (it's simply too much to ask to produce 12 brand new songs for each contestant), but they go for terrible songs almost every time. At least last year they picked a GREAT song, and Alexandra did a decent job with it to be fair (though I dread to think what Eoghan's version would've sounded like), but still... could they not pick a Christmas classic for them to cover? I think it would risk a backlash if they had the likes of John & Edward recording Fairytale In New York, but Last Christmas or All I Want For Christmas Is You would work for pretty much any contestant.

To think this Xmas will be the 25th anniversary of the original Band Aid single which at the time went on to become the biggest selling single of all time in the UK; Wham!'s Last Xmas which sold well over a million copies to become the best selling single in the UK never to reach #1 & let's not forget the epic novelty children's song that was #3 and sold over 850,000 copies Paul McCartney & The Frog Chrous - We All Stand Together.

 

Those were the days ..... what we need (I'm obviously been glib from an humanitarian point of view, but from a musical point of view it would come in handy) is another famine in Ethopia ........

 

...... Oh hang on a minute what did I hear on the 9pm news on Radio 2 ......

 

Ethiopia appeals for emergency aid

October 26, 2009

By Elizabeth A. Kennedy ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

NAIROBI, Kenya | Ethiopia says it needs emergency food aid for 6.2 million people, an appeal that comes 25 years after a devastating famine compounded by communist policies that killed 1 million and prompted one of the largest charity campaigns in history.

 

The crisis stems from a prolonged drought that has hit much of the Horn of Africa, including Kenya and Somalia.

Drought is especially disastrous in Ethiopia because more than 80 percent of people live off the land. Agriculture drives the economy, accounting for half of all domestic production and most exports.

 

Mitiku Kassa, Ethiopia's state minister for agriculture and rural development, appealed to donors Thursday for more than $121 million. In January, he had said that 4.9 million of Ethiopia's 85 million people needed emergency food aid.

 

Ethiopia has long struggled with cyclical droughts, which are compounded by the country's dependence on rain-fed agriculture and archaic farming practices.

 

In 1984, Ethiopia's famine drew international attention as news reports showed emaciated children and adults with limbs as thin as sticks. The crisis launched one of the biggest global charity campaigns in history, including the concert Live Aid.

 

This year's drought appears to be slightly less severe than the one last year, which was exacerbated by high food prices. A year ago, Mr. Mitiku appealed for aid to feed 6.4 million people affected by drought. Many humanitarian groups have said in recent years that they think the number of people affected by hunger is higher than government estimates.

 

Because of Ethiopia's large size and poor infrastructure, independent observers have difficulty collecting data. The worst-affected areas in the country's east are the site of a fierce insurgency and are off-limits to journalists. Aid groups say their movements in these areas are limited by military restrictions.

Nick Martlew, an official with the aid group Oxfam in Ethiopia, said the country's east should be green and healthy now, but that crops are wilting in the sun and won't produce a sufficient amount of food.

"Really until June next year there is going to be insufficient food around," he said. "Where we are in eastern Ethiopia you can look out and it's completely barren as far as the eye can see."

 

Drought and water shortages are also increasing in Ethiopia's south because of a changing climate, Mr. Martlew said. Oxfam is helping villages collect rainwater for long-term use.

 

In a report marking 25 years since Ethiopia's famine, Oxfam said countries must focus on preparing communities to prevent and deal with drought and other disasters before they strike, rather than relying on importing aid.

According to the U.N., nearly two-thirds of Africa's agricultural land has been degraded by erosion and misused pesticides. In Ethiopia, where bad farming practices have led to massive erosion, 85 percent of land is damaged.

 

Barlow, Gallagher, Martin, Williams, etc ..... your country needs you!

What we need is another band aid. That would be a good chart battle.

Forget Christmas - Simon Cowell and X-Factor is/are ruining Music in general.

 

Norma

I found this hilarious gem:

 

http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/Owls/

I do love X-Factor and there is the odd (Leona,Shanye) talented winner but I am sick to death of the bland covers they churn out every year, it wouldnt be so bad if they produced new songs ala 'Sound of the Undeground' hmm..

 

Well 'A Moment Like This' was a cover and so was 'Sound Of the Underground' and I'm not sure about 'That's My Goal' but i agree a less known song please.....not a song with 45 billion versions as it is....imagine if the winner sang 'Unchained Melody' :puke2: :puke2: :puke:

I found this hilarious gem:

 

http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/Owls/

 

Owl City for Xmas number 1 :kink:

SOTU wasn't a cover. was it?

Yes of some girl band in the 90s who flopped and it didn't do anything

 

EDIT: Checked and it was recorded by Orchid in 2001, but they never got the chance to realease it, so then it was offered to Samantha Mumba who refused so them it was given to Girls Aloud...so i don't know if you would call that a cover or not...but it wasn't written especially for GA...

Edited October 30, 200915 yr by CianS

I think some people are missing the point here with looking at the songs that were #2 personally, the main thing that the X Factor has ruined is that many artists aren't even ATTEMPTING to release songs at christmas now because they know that the public will eat the giant spoon and buy the winner's song and make the chart very boring! Even when the song that gets to the top hasn't been that good the battle was usually at least very interesting! I remember how excited I was when it was getting to the top 2 for Bob The Builder and Westlife were competing :lol: Now it's just the X Factor song going to #1 and the rest of the top ten being songs that have been around for weeks. :( So unless the great prospect of John & Edward winning happens it'll be the same thing once again!

I think some people are missing the point here with looking at the songs that were #2 personally, the main thing that the X Factor has ruined is that many artists aren't even ATTEMPTING to release songs at christmas now because they know that the public will eat the giant spoon and buy the winner's song and make the chart very boring! Even when the song that gets to the top hasn't been that good the battle was usually at least very interesting! I remember how excited I was when it was getting to the top 2 for Bob The Builder and Westlife were competing :lol: Now it's just the X Factor song going to #1 and the rest of the top ten being songs that have been around for weeks. :( So unless the great prospect of John & Edward winning happens it'll be the same thing once again!

As much as I have enjoyed the X-Factor over the years - it is quite evident that the show is slowly becoming 'American Idol' with each year that passes, I saw the video to Steve Brookstein's No.1 the other day, and the clips of the show are up recognisable, modest set, smaller audience..and so on. I know this is mostly down to budjet increase and popularity, but it seems the shows inocenece is gone along with it, just like 'Big Brother' before it, the contestants are now no longer your average 'nobody' off the streets, they are now fame hungry-attention seeking wannabes, or have previously been in 'The Westend', S Club juniours etc...

This is WHY I want John & Edward to win this year, if only to prove to Cowell you can only manipulate the public so much, before they turn against you!! :lol:

 

The public are the real power here! VOTE FOR JOHN AND EDWARD!!