Reviewed by John Aizlewood,
Evening Standard
(27 February 2006)
The subsequent career of barely remembered X-Factor winner Steve Brookstein and the downgrading of this year's finalists' tour to Hammersmith suggests that reality television's hold over British pop music is approaching its cheesy end. If not, last night's celebration of mediocrity might hasten its demise.
The format was simple, but at three hours, draining. Endless snippets from The X-Factor programme and "surprises" such as three terrified tots competing against each other on Is This The Way to Amarillo?
They forgot to announce the winner, but, cruelly, they did screen some judges' damning comments and pretended they concerned the now tearful kids. Oh, and we were invited to snigger at some of the programme's failures, both on screen and, worse, in the flesh via a version of My Way, which humiliated audience as much as performers.
After a splendid opening where the acts wandered through the crowd, the evening began with former goat-herder Chico performing his first (and in all likelihood last) single, It's Chico Time. It wasn't Chico Time. It has never been Chico Time. It will never be Chico Time.
It concluded, if we successfully erase the collective mangling of James Taylor's You've Got a Friend, with X-Factor winner Shayne Ward. Covering Daniel Bedingfield's If You're Not the One and performing Over the Rainbow in the manner of a fishwife were as spectacularly ill-conceived as they promised. He will not be troubling us for long.
In between, each X- Factor finalist performed a brief set. Former dustman Andy proved himself to be a reasonably adept soulman and the strapping Conway Sisters were booed even before they covered Westlife's You Raise Me Up.
Meanwhile, poor Brenda dropped her microphone with an almighty clunk during Respect and Journey South covered The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face as if they had a grudge against it.
To a man and woman, each act gave every impression of being decent, hardworking and pleasant.
Therein, alas, lies the problem: nobody on The X-Factor actually has the X-factor.
