X Factor Contestant Proves Critics Wrong With "Once"

 

     Diana Vickers was the 4th place finisher on last year's British reality show X Factor.   Simon Cowell likened her to the yeast-extract spread marmite saying people either love her or hate her because of her very unique and distinctive voice.  Doesn't sound like a recipe for success does it?

     The X Factor contestant proves her critics wrong in her debut single "Once".  The track, co-written by Vickers, Eg White, and Cathy Dennis (also responsible for "Toxic" and "Can't Get You Out Of My Head"), is insanely catchy and it destined to do well on the British singles chart.

     Vickers debut album, Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree, is due out in May and features contributions from Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol and Guy Sigsworth of Frou Frou (also responsible for producing Britney Spears' "Everytime").  Is there any way this English siren can fail?

Watch the video here. 

Cowell To Leave Idol

American Idol judge Simon Cowell has announced that this will be his final season on the show.

Following weeks of speculation, it has been made public that Cowell will step down so he can start up an American version of the wildly successful British show X Factor. Cowell makes $36 million as Idol judge but stands to make even more if his new show takes off.

American Idol first aired in 2002 as a spin off of the British Pop Idol which also featured Cowell as a judge. Pop Idol only aired two seasons as Cowell left to start a show that he owned the rights to.

X Factor first aired in 2006 and it has been responsible for launching the careers of most notably Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke. Different than its predecessors, X Factor allowed vocal groups as well as older individuals to compete.

The UK Rages Against the Machine, Simon Cowell

British consumers sent a message to Simon Cowell and his hit making reality television juggernaut this week when they made Rage Against the Machine's "Killing In The Name" the Christmas No. 1 over the debut single of the newest X Factor winner.

While being No. 1 on December 25 in the United States is no different than any other week, special emphasis is put on being Christmas No. 1 in the UK. During the past four years, winners of Simon Cowell's X Factor, the British version of American Idol, have took the coveted spot. This year however, there were some who were determined to not let this happen,

A Facebook group was created which called for an end to Cowell's pop monopoly and encouraged people to download Rage Against the Machine's debut single "Killing In The Name". The song originally peaked at No. 25 in 1993.

The competition was X Factor winner Joe McElderry whose cover of "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus seemed a shoe-in for the No. 1 spot. When the week's totals were tabulated on Sunday night, Rage Against the Machine had sold 500,000 downloads compared to McElderrly's 450,000 to become one of the most improbable Christmas No. 1s ever.

Check the songs out here:

"Killing In The Name"

"The Climb"

Simon Cowell Judges "Worst Live Performance" Ever

Simon Cowell recently watched what he called "the worst live performance" he's ever seen on X Factor, the British version of American Idol.

John and Edward, 17-year-old identical twins from Dublin, Ireland, have made waves on the show with their big hair and mediocre singing abilities. They recently performed Britney Spears' "Oops!...I Did It Again" to cheers from the audience. Simon however, had other things to say.

"The worst live performance I've ever sat through in all these years of doing the show," the judge said.

Check out the clip here.