Cher Lloyd: True Star of X Factor 2010

Look, let's cut the shit here everyone. We've all been watching The X Factor this year, either because of our better judgement or in spite of it. Or the fact that in reality it's been a strange year with a not great line up of talent, some ridiculous press coverage and plenty of eye rolling Louis comments (I do have to say though, I treasure those moments where he makes a joke and nobody, NOBODY, in the crowd laughs. Brilliant.)

With all that in mind, I'm approaching this week's final with a slight sense of dread. There are too many boring contestants, too many ad breaks. Just too many EVERYTHING. The X Factor was always going to become more bloated as it went on.

So thank God then for Cher Lloyd. Love her, hate her, think she makes a faces like a slapped arse (you've got me there) the girl is the only fresh thing to land herself on the show this year.

Rebecca? Can sing but is painfully dull. And frankly, seven years into the show the contestants need to be able to do more than just sing and be humble. Matt is a middle of the road, singer-songwriter bore who makes James Blunt seem edgy. Plus I will never forgive him for that awful cover-of-a-cover pillaging of Britney's ...Baby One More Time. One Direction have improved quite a bit in a short space of time but they're still in need of a bit more life and energy. And at this stage they're guaranteed a decent record deal whatever happens.

Which leaves us with Cher. She may not be perfect. Certainly some of her performances haven't been as strong as that stunning first audition but each of them have shown a girl with oodles of charisma, star power and a popstar glow that most contestants would kill for. Plenty of people have said Cher comes across as cocky but clearly she's an insecure 17 year old girl under immense pressure. So of course she comes across as a bit cocky. It's clearly a front as the vulnerability in that performance of Stay displayed.

This criticism irks me however as it shows how reality TV has come to favour being "humble" and "genuine" over being interesting, having a personality or even just trying to figure out what is going on. Ultimately this is supposed to be a show about finding a popstar, a talent that people want to invest in. Rebecca's "journey" is that she's now able to look up from the floor while she warbles politely on stage every week. Wonderful. How epic. How thrilling. How shit. Cher is certainly flawed in many ways but the fact that she clearly wants to try to be herself even if that always doesn't seem nice-y nice is ten times more interesting. Cher is clearly talented, vaguely bonkers, a possible trainwreck and endlessy entertaining. In short Cher is a popstar.

Another key thing people have missed about Cher, and what makes her genuinely unique in this show, is her choice of songs and the way she views pop music. Performing a Keri Hilson remix of a Soulja Boy song (of all things!) on her first audition shows that she is someone who finds her pop nuggets where-ever she can. Cher is clearly part of a generation digging up songs on YouTube, zooming links around amongst her friends and not concerned with picking a big, safe song that she knows people will definitely get. Cher is part of a generation that follow songs when they leak online, that might not be bothered with the conventional release schedule but ultimately love music. Performing Mike Posner's Cooler Than Me at judge's house months before it became a hit here is a good example of that. On the live shows she's picked up on the many rapper/singer hits of the year and done them herself. She effortlessly taps into what is going on in chart music and putting her spin on it. The judges this year are obsessed with talking about how "marketable" each contestant is, how they'll definitely sell albums, definitely put on a good concert. Of that bunch Cher is the most effortless. There's no need to "market" her to a young audience because she IS the young audience. That makes her not only a bankable popstar but also a genuine one.

When Cher gets it right, she does it in style. Her best performances are when the staging, choreography and tone of her what's she doing are slightly pared back but energetic. Her first week performance felt like the opening number to a popstar world tour. She saunters out, works with a troupe of backing dancers and nails every inch of it. Her performance of B.o.B's Nothin' On You last week worked in much the same way. Her performances are sometimes too cluttered, too garish and slightly cheesy. Her take on Empire State of Mind was a little too day-glo/cutesy to work. But even with too much going on Cher oozes an ability to knock a song dead that lifts the whole enterprise.

Sadly, the likelihood of her winning is slim. She will be performing with Will.i.Am (not Rihanna, who for some reason is performing with Matt. WHY?) and will no doubt put on a great last show. But ultimately, the wider audience want "humility" and a bland performer. Cher Llyod is neither of those things. The show may not be hers but in a few year's time I think it'll be Cher who is the real breakout star of this series.

VOTE CHER!

Young, Dumb and Living Off Mum Hits Irish Screens

I mentioned I was working on a TV3 show throughout September and now that it's about to air TONIGHT nothing like giving it a little mention here. The show is Young, Dumb and Living Off Mum, an Irish version of the hit BBC 3 series where 8 young people who can't fend for themselves attempt to do so in a house away from their parents. The twist is that the parents are in the show too, watching as they undertake job tasks, chores etc before deciding who has to leave.

The show kicks off tonight, post Glee and will air over the next few weeks. Check out more on TV3's official site and let me know what you think of the show in the comments section below.

Dannii Minogue Does Reality TV : Very Exciting

Ever since the amazing electro pop that was 2003's Neon Nights album I've had a soft spot for Dannii Minogue. She served up a pile of top dance pop singles from the hit I Begin To Wonder to the floptastic but still fun Touch Me Like That which was basically Dannii singing about her ladybits over Slyvester's You Make Me Feel. Which is No. Bad. Thing.

Anyway, while music may not have gone Dannii's way (despite reports over the last year or two that she has been working with Freemasons on new material and more recently Ruth Lorenzo who she mentored on X Factor) her time on the X Factor has slowly but surely given Dannii a spot as a sweetheart of sorts for the X Factor audience.

Maybe it's been her clothes, maybe it's her spot on mix of camp-y relish and spot on critique but Minogue is always the best bit about the X Factor for me. After a brief break from filming after having a baby (with her fella, who quite frankly did not get hit with the ugly stick!) Dannii is now back beavering on the forthcoming X Factor series (while Cheryl generally just has to lie around in hospital and wonder why she couldn't plump the few extra quid for a pre-holiday malaria jab).

Before that though is the small matter of her new reality series for ITV2, Dannii Minogue: Style Queen. The focus seems to mainly be on her new fashion line Project D but the previews knocking around on the web suggest plenty of other stuff to enjoy too not least a cameo from another quite recognisable Minogue sister.

This preview however is my fave, it's short but sweet as Dannii vamps it up with 2 of her best gayzzz before the amazing line at the end "you know Joan Collins came into my dressing room at X Factor?" and BAM clip cuts out. Talk about leaving us wanting more.

Dannii Minogue: Style Queen is probably going to be one of those classy, slightly dull reality affairs. But to be honest I'm not really into the idea of seeing Dannii tramping around cursing and acting a twat so that's acceptable. I just want to see her look glam, hold hands with her LASH of a fella and generally be amazing. If anyone who spotted her Piers Morgan interview last year they'll know Dannii has certainly struggled through C-list celebrity long enough to have earned what is fast becoming the golden age of her career.

More power to you Miss Minogue, now if you could knock out another track as great as this we'd be laughing:

Dannii Minogue: Style Queen hits ITV2 this Wednesday at 9pm.

Good God I Love Rachel Zoe

You may have caught me raving about The Rachel Zoe Project last year. One of my favourite reality shows in AGES both seasons delivered plenty of fun and frolics not least when Rachel "ohmygodithinki'mgonnadielookingathisversacedress" Zoe hit up Paris Fashion Week and schmoozed with designers aplenty.

The new series returns to US TV next week, minus mouthy but amazing assistant Tay but still sure to be a big bag of laughs. And with that news comes this amazing video spoof featuring comedian Amy Philips and her spot on Rachel Zoe impression coming face to face with the real life Rachel Zoe. This video is gas. I love how in on the joke Rachel is:

I hope the forthcoming season is an entertaing as this although as reality spoof go Ms. Kathy Griffin certainly outdid them all with her take on The Hills with Lauren Conrad:

Now somebody needs to put Lauren Conrad and Rachel Zoe together on screen for my life to be complete. It's the little things you know?

The Hills Final Season: The Trailer to End All Trailers ( With The City for Extra Fun)

We've already touched on the end of The Hills here. Sob sob sob etc. And the trailer for the final season has been knocking around the web for the last few weeks. But that isn't going to stop me posting it here. Excitement overload:

The montage of the best bits is great. Although it makes you wish that they just let the whole thing die when Lauren left. But we've already done that dance so let's move on. This trailer is great stuff and also hints at a radical departure for the show in terms of referencing the lives of the people on the show. Heidi's surgery was far too public to not bring up on the show, Kristin's "drug problem" which was in the press recently (Which I'm willing to wager was a planted story) and the crazed qualities at one Spencer Pratt have all been all over the tabloids in the last few months. Sounds like the producers want to amp up the last vestiges of drama before the whole thing comes to a close.


Also, can we all just agree that Stephanie Pratt making ANY comments or acting surprised about plastic surgery when she herself has had more than a few changes of face in the last year. Just saying!


As a sidebar, the trailer for the next season of the City is just as good:

The bit where Erin and Kelly Cutrone sit down and chat is so mindblowing that I think my face melted a bit the first time I saw it. Wouldn't it be great if all TV shows were just trailers? The world would be a better place.

STOP EVERYTHING: The Hills Has Been Axed

Oh. My. Word. The Hills has been officially cancelled.

I'm sure it's no secret of my love for MTV's reality hit The Hills. I've been a fan of it's compelling mix of "drama", beautiful people, gorgeous photography and crow barring of numerous popular songs into one episode for awhile now and I was a bit sad to hear this week that the show had been axed.


If I'm being honest, as discussed here before, the show had peaked in terms of what it tried to do and the attempt at rebooting the show with Kristin Cavallari last season clearly didn't work the way the producers had hoped.




Ideally when Lauren left last year that would have been it. It felt like a nice way to wrap what the show had done as opposed to the jump the shark antics of Speidi and their new cute kid next door neighbour (you know your show is in the shit when a cute kid comes in. Fact.) and assorted Audrina "drama" that never got off the ground.


Still with the end of The Hills comes a conclusion to a show that did something a bit different with the reality TV genre. As a spin off of Laguna Beach, the format itself wasn't new but what worked with The Hills was how it honed the "reality filmed as a TV drama" aesthetic into something beautiful to look at. The show also perfected the ability to use the broad strokes of established drama cliches (the best friend, the villain, the harsh boss etc) to paint a vivid picture of the lives of some stupidly privileged blondes. There's been spin offs from the show directly and in various international markets and not to mention spoofs aplenty.

Love it or loathe it The Hills became a genuine pop culture phenomenon. Playing off our ever more intense love for pointless celebrities (the great legacy of reality) and glossy attention deficit TV, it was another reminder of MTV's knack for pulling the right show out at the right time and their ability to keep their paws in their coveted youth audience.


The interesting thing was seeing how the show negotiated becoming a pop culture hit and the cast became famous outside of the show. The peak of this was Season 3 when a real life sex tape rumour became the basis for the now infamous Heidi/Lauren feud. The attempt to keep the burgeoning celebrity lifestyles of Audrina et al out of the show was interesting not least for how it made the show seem more and more ludicrous as time went on.


From what I've read on the next season, it sounds like they might attempt to bring these elements into the show, which could make for an interesting watch. Like many a hit US show, this was allowed run that little bit too long but I'll still have some fantastic TV memories and I'm sure Heidi Montag is only delighted someone was willing to pay her to pretend to eat lunch in order to get a new face.


RIP The Hills. May you live a legacy of blondes, "drama" and quasi celebrity careers in your wake.

Uncomfortable Viewing Alert: Heidi Montag Laughs At Herself

Well this isn't the first time Miss Heidi Montag has appeared on this blog. But with her recent plastic surgery transformation and car crash lifestyle it's hard not too be sucked into the trainwreck whirlpool that is Planet Montag.

As is now customary for many famous folk to prove their normality to the masses Heidi has done a video for Funny Or Die, the infamous comedy site home to numerous spoofs and viral video hits. From Lindsay Lohan to Denise Richards, plenty of famous ladies have made fun of their image in an effort to seem self aware and in on the joke.

Heidi's video is no exception. It's actually quite funny and it's nice to see all those years of awful acting on The Hills haven't dulled Heidi's comic timing. But my god how frightening is her face? She's not far off Jocelyn Wildenstein at this stage. And Spencer looks radically slimmed down too (apparently he's been taken off The Hills temporarily after intimidating a member of the crew. Jaysus.)

Interestingly the video has a bit of a "point" aimed at setting up a consumer agency in the US to help those facing large bills/debt in the current economic climate.

Which is all very well but when Heidi constantly looks like she's about to fall over because of her new boobs and joking that her face doesn't move (is she even joking?) it's hard to pay attention. Still this is an enjoyable video and certainly less upsetting then Lindsay Lohan's one last year.

Although if this is what Heidi Version 3.0 looks like on camera, I can't wait to see how they address that on the new season of The Hills.

Heidi Montag Says No to Plastic from Heidi Montag

Heidi Montag & Kelly Cutrone : Life on either side of "The Hills"

So at this stage we all know Miss Heidi Montag has had way too much plastic surgery. It was pretty hard to escape that rather scary People magazine cover and even creepier TV interviews last week. The Hills star seemed insistent that her work was done to make her happy and help her pop career and not because she was addicted. What was scary was as creepy as the overly airbrushed People cover was, the interviews on TV were even worse. Her face is still obviously slightly in shock from the procedures and she has managed to both age herself and remove the expression completely from her face. Frightening:





Getting less attention this week was Heidi's sometimes co-star on The Hills Kelly Cutrone. She may not have shared any screen time with Heidi but Kelly was as big a part of the show (when it wasn't AWFUL) when she happily tore lazy L.A. girls apart for their lack of work ethic. Having happily moved her antics to the far superior Hills spin off The City, Kelly has finally landed a show of her Kell On Earth. It'll air on US station Bravo next month. Already home of Kathy Griffin, various Real Housewives and the Rachel Zoe I think Miss Cutrone is in excellent company. Kelly was doing press for the show, and one of my favourite blogs Jezebel linked readers to the highlights of her press conference. It's interesting, funny and a great teaser for the show and a reminder of why Cutrone is such a breath of fresh air. A quick dig around Jezebel also pulls up this great profile which sketches in her background as publicist which is fascinating reading.


It's funny how someone like Heidi is convinced that being this plastic will benefit her career. But then you see someone like Kelly. Someone with a genuinely interesting backstory and a career on her own terms who didn't have to alter her face to an ridiculous extent to get there.


Admittedly these aren't totally accurate comparisons. Heidi was a famous girl's friend who aspired to be a popstar. And Kelly clearly stumbled into a career she was made for in a place where how blonde or big her boobs where didn't matter. But still, it's interesting how The Hills has thrown up such different women going on two different paths in the pop culture mainstream.


In a sense the level of outrage, shock and general sense that this does not look good on Heidi might spur people to move away from ever seeing this a look that suits somebody. Having said that, as Heidi points out, life in the permanently perfectly world of Hollywood is very different to anywhere else in the world.


And while we're here, Kell on Earth looks like an awful lot of fun:

Shutting It Down: Why I Love The Rachel Zoe Project

I’m not sure what I imagined the life of a celebrity stylist to entail but I don’t think it was ever as melodramatic or as full of catchphrases as The Rachel Zoe Project.

A fly on the wall reality series that is equal parts fashion porn and camp-y injokes its one of the most entertaining reality shows I’ve come across.

You’ll know Rachel Zoe’s work if you’ve any familiarity with celebrity culture. One of the best known stylists she gained prominence when she styled Nicole Richie and Lindsay Lohan during their uber-skinny uber-stylish phases, she now works with well known stars such as Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Garner (swoon) and Cameron Diaz. She’s also a famous figure in her own right, keen to develop her “brand” and always giving interviews at fashion events.

The show follows Zoe and her team namely her two assistants, the long suffering Taylor who is filled with attitude and bad-ass style and an undeniable work ethic and Brad, the newly hired and slightly green assistant in training who regularly comes under fire for not quite knowing the ropes at Team Zoe. There’s also Rachel’s long suffering husband Roger who seems to see his wife for a total of 5 seconds per episode such is her work load.

Anyway the show is entertaining to see the frantic planning that goes into organising clothes for celebs and more importantly for the hilarious banter between Rachel and her assistants. Rachel talks in this crazy over exaggerated voice that makes Everything. Seem. Really. Important. And her assistants find everything tough as well. Watching Rachel declare a black tulle dress “BANANAS” or that “that cream jacket is so cute, I wanna die!” is endlessly entertaining. Zoe’s crazy work ethic makes her an interesting figure, who when not covering her face in enormous sunnies is regularly pointing out how exhausted she is.

What makes this such an enjoyable watch is that perfect reality TV mix of ridiculous people and the more human moments. Rachel might think a certain piece is “BANANAS” but you get a hint of the struggle she goes through to keep her ridiculous job going aswell. This is fluff, no doubt about it, but fluff that will keep you sucked in.

This spoof also does a great job summing up the ridiculous side of the show:

Revenge of the Girl Crush: Kim Kardashian

Talking about Girl Crushes is both lazy and bad blogging but sometimes you see a lady so beautiful and so girl crush tastic you just have to give yourself up to the gods of ridiculous and blog it out.

Kim Kardashian

Having just watched Kim Kardashian and co (ie. "wacky family" and sportstar boyfriend) on her E! reality series "Keeping Up With Kardashians" (every bit as classy as it sounds) reminded me of how impossibly beautiful and unusually classy she is.

(all photos from KimKardashianFans.com)

Phwoar etc. Kim is beloved of the FHM/Playboy mags of this world for her obvious lads mag appeal. And she is undeniably sexy in that curvy lady, big boobed way. But she is also impossibly beautiful too, a bombshell in the old Hollywood tradition that makes her ten times more interesting and likeable then identikit Hollywood It Girls and ten a penny FHM ladies. She stands out immediately in her numerous celeb mag photoshoots and her striking and unique face is part of what stops people hating her in the way other "famous for being famous" types like Paris Hilton are hated for.

And if talking about girl crushes is a hoary old cliche then saying someone is a style icon is even more hoar-y. But Kim has a great, edgy meets accessible dress sense that looks great on camera. She can pull of high end looks but in a way that feels like you could see it on other young women. And with people calling Beth Ditto (who to my eyes is not healthy weight wise) a style icon for "curvy" women someone like Kim with hips and boobs and an ass who still looks healthy and active is a joy to see. And even a cursory glance (ahem) at her reality series shows her as polite, demure and sweet in direct comparison to her less famous but much more crazy sisters. Kim is an interesting figure. Sexy but accessible, fashionable but not offputtingly so and just plain gorgeous she is one of those sort of pointless celebrities you not only tolerate but can't stop looking at.

The strange hypnotic power of La Kardashian is best described in this Details magazine piece from last year : http://men.style.com/details/features/landing?id=content_6214

In the meantime I will just continue to gawk at this photo and wonder over the strange power of the girl crush, enjoy!

Total Xposure: Progress Report

Right so Total Xposure is chugging along week by week and for all the griping that people make about this show and other Irish productions its an entertaining and at times cringe-y piece of reality fun. The contestants are really starting to either excel or not excel and it is fascinating to see who is rising to the challenge and who isn't.

Its far from a perfect piece of TV but it is utterly watchable.

The recent red carpet challenge was a great leveller and it was quite hiliarious to see Anne Doyle take one contestant to town for calling her a veteran and consoling another who was too nervous. Only in Ireland.

The judges are great. Emma Ledden is genuinely likeable and gives concise, sharp advice. Gerry Lundberg too does a nice line in constructive criticism. Michael O'Doherty veers from dead on critique to panto villain but there is always one panto type on a reality judging panel is there not?

At this stage I'm think Daniella or Sean would be my favourites to win but these things are so hard to call particularly the public vote aspect. I'm not a huge fan of this spinning the vote into other parts thing, it makes the show feel messy and uncontained. A "Top Model" format of just the whole hour being the show would probably work a lot better. But hey, what do I know?

This is one of the most entertaining things on the box right now. I'm really looking forward to how it all pans out.

TV3 : Total Xposure. Totally Addicted.

Yes, i applied and yes i was on the audition show for five seconds but my god i'm fully addicted to this already.

TV3 hosting a search for an Xpose presenter is a sure fire genius idea for a show.

the audition show was too but my god the less said the better. still any show that can have TWO people interview themselves, one interview a postage stamp size photo of Lauren Conrad and a guy sing the Chipmunks theme tune is going to be bizzarely fascinating.

The main show wasn't a million miles from the usual reality TV competition set up but the producers should be commended for putting together a decent mix of ages and gender. I'm also on board with anything that brings Emma Leden back on to our screens! Its been too longs. The judges already seem to have their roles picked out and more importantly there are some genuinely talented people in the bunch so looks like the job is in good hands.

Not sure about leaving it up to the public vote though. I like my decisions made for me in television. Is that TOO MUCH TO ASK?

Still I've signed over the next 7 tuesdays to this, so I expect plenty of entertainment!