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Hmm...difficult situation this week, with Ruth and Laura being, rather unfairly, in the bottom two.

Had it gone to deadlock, I suspect Laura might still have gone. I reckon Simon has a point - when Laura first turned up at the auditions, she was quirky and very contemporary - all this fitting into the required mold each week has somewhat stolen her 'oomph'
But she has a genuine talent, and I hope she goes on to have a successful career - maybe she's better off exiting now, rather than ending up like Alex Parks from Fame Academy. Remember her?

I was glad Ruth stayed, over Laura, but still, it did stink a bit, having those pair in the bottom two, although I suspected it might happen to Laura - her performance this week wasn't as memorable as others we've seen from her.

Have to say Eoghan was GOOD this week - up to now I've been less than keen on him, most of the time. But the boy done well, on this occasion.

Rachel's stint this week gave me cause for concern - didn't sound spot on. But given the animosity thrown at her from certain sections of the popular media, I was pleasantly surprised that she wasn't in the sing-off.

And I do like it when the public stick it to the judges by keeping likeable Daniel in.

Diana getting a 'bye' into next week's show - seems a bit unfair. A better option might have been to have all the contestants pre-record the same song, early on in the competition, and have the public judge her on that. Or alternatively, say that she at least had to join the sing-off next week, so that she had a one-in-three chance of leaving then.

I can't imagine if Daniel had been as ill as Diana, that the powers that be would have been willing to let him survive for another week.

And to think...it's only another week before 'I'm an Non-Entity, Get me Out of Here' commences.

Not that I'm obsessed by these formulaic reality shows, mind you.

Total shock that! What I think has happened, is that there are several good female singers and probably if someone likes one, they will like all of them, but will probably only vote for one, so the votes are being shared between all of them, which is a great shame really.



Yes. She is an excellent singer, but I don't think she had the 'whole package'.



Yes I am glad that Ruth stayed also.



Yes, he was much better this week I thought.



I agree. I didn't think she was very good this week and was surprised that she wasn't in the bottom two.



I am glad that she did, but that's only because I like her!! I also think that she would have done really well this week anyway with a Mariah Carey song. I fear that she will still not be well all this week either, because that sort of thing takes a while to get over and even if she is well enough to perform next week, I doubt that she will have had much chance to practise and probably won't be feeling her normal self or have her normal energy, so she may not do very well next week.



You could be right there! Now they have set a precedent for one, they will have to continue it if anyone else gets ill.

5th contestant booted off X Factor

X Factor is being rocked by the exit of one of the favourites to win.

Laura White's the fifth contestant to be booted off the show.

The decision left her mentor Cheryl Cole speechless.

BelfastTelegraph

There is no way those two should have been in the bottom two. Danielle keeps getting through, strangley. It's time to leave the sympathy bit now. He isn't at the standard Laura is. The most surprising though was Rachel. She was TERRIBLE very flat it made me cringe. If I hear once more ''I'm doing this for my kids'' err is that the 2 remaining of the 5 you had that aren't in care? What about the victims she mugged to feed her drug habit? I'm all for people wanting to make a fresh start but I still think it's being flouted a bit. Sorry I just don't get it and I don't think I ever will.

I have an opinion on this.

I find Rachel's manner irritating at times - and heaven knows, she doesn't seem very well equipped to cope with disappointment on the X-Factor (mind you, Cheryl wasn't able to say anything following Laura's exit).

Yes, it's wearing to hear 'I'm doing this for my kids' - but perhaps it's a strong motivation for her. I feel a bit uneasy about it, though - the inference seems to be that if she gets knocked out of X-Factor, she will have let down her kids. I would think the children would benefit more for love and attention that from having a famous mum, a phenomenally successful mum, or a more comfortable lifestyle.

But Rachel's not the only one who is possibly playing the 'sympathy card' on that show.

Moving on to the victims she mugged to feed her drug habit - well, this is my opinion. I gather that any junkie will do anything to feed that habit, if their problem is serious enough. Steal from their mother, target the weak and the vulnerable - of course it stinks. Celebrities and the very well-off may never need to steal to feed their habit, but even rich kids have caused heartache for their families - stopping at nothing to get what they want.

The Daily Mirror ran a report on a man whose late wife had been mugged by Rachel. The man said he doesn't bear a grudge now, and Rachel said she'd never tried to hide her past, and is very remorseful, and apologised to the man.

I can't imagine what it must be like to be well-known, and know that people know you stooped so low in the past. It can't be pleasant, but I suppose that's the price you pay for your actions.

Yet, I'm not comfortable with the way the press provide this information for us. I greatly admire those who say they don't bear a grudge. But I also think that's really the ONLY way to go, in these situations. Given that Rachel has been clean for a long while, and has two children living with her, I think it's important to draw a line under the past, and give her another chance. I'm guessing the Social Services are of the opinion that the elder children may not benefit from living with Rachel, and/or that Rachel wouldn't be able to cope adequately, caring for all five children.

I think it'd be a far worse world, if we don't forgive, if there isn't at least some 'grace' given to those who have messed up in the past.

(True grace is radical - it isn't something that's 'deserved', and the idea is that you forgive someone BEFORE they even are sorry! I'm not going that far in this instance - but Rachel has said she's sorry..)

I have no doubt that if I'd got addicted like Rachel, and was in her situation, I would have done awful things too - possibly even have mugged an old lady. It's a truly horrible thought - and of course I'd like to think that I wouldn't be that bad - but given the statistics about desperate drug-abusers, I can't see how I'd be stronger than anyone else.

I would hope that my 'strength' would have been displayed, much earlier on, and I'd have never got involved in drugs in the first place. Certainly, that would be my biggest wish for my own children - that they'd never get mixed up in that stuff.

I could go on and say I'd probably had a better childhood than Rachel, and that gives me an advantage, when it comes to resisting peer pressure, and avoiding making daft choices - but then, there are kids who come from lovely families who end up as junkies, and equally kids who come from horrendous backgrounds who act heroically.

I just think that if this world is to get better, there has to be some 'grace' dispensed.

Sometimes real 'sh!ts' can turn their lives around, and end up being fantastic people, who enrich the world. I don't know if Rachel has it in her, to cope with fame and other pressures, but I can't hold her past against her at this stage.

I apologise for my lack of grace. My own mother was mugged and most devestating of all was the loss of irreplaceable photos of her late father. Do you know what the policeman said as he left our house? ''you can afford it you're all rich'' Now maybe I sound bitter and lacking in grace but I feel strongly about this. She has said she's sorry but she still seems aggresive which troubles me. I agree that a line needs to be drawn under the past but I would be interested to hear what she has put back into the community before persuing a rich and famous lifestyle. Yes grace needs to be dispensed but so does responsibility. However if she's put in place actions to right her wrongs (it's very easy to just say sorry and not actually DO anything especially when your wanting to win a big singing contract surely???) then I take it all back.

All that aside she still sang terribly. She aint all that imho

No, she certainly ain't all that, and please, don't be apologising to me or anyone else, Boopy! It's just my opinion, and certainly I've always understood and said that it's daft for uninvolved people to ask or expect the victims to go around forgiving automatically.

(One of the lowest moments in the history of Gay Byrne's 30-odd year stint on Ireland's 'Late Late Show', in my opinion, was when he challenged the parents of murdered toddler Jamie Bulger. Gay was fascinated that they'd chosen to have their 'new baby' christened in a church - he went on to question Jamie's Dad as to how he could reconcile being a Christian with refusing to forgive the kids who murdered his son. My reaction was 'sure, the ideal is forgiveness, and the community at large should do what we can, to bring about healing, etc...but for pity's sake, how can a parent be expected to not be on fire with anger and hatred, given the circumstances?' Likewise. if one's family member has been hurt or abused by someone. When it came to the kids who made my daughter's life a misery for a couple of years when she was 11-13, she was much quicker to forgive than I was. I felt like strangling the wretches!).

I hope the legal/justice system does its work, when it comes to offenders 'paying for' their crimes, but of course there are all sorts of anomalies and sometimes it seems people get off far too lightly. But if someone has paid the prescribed penalty, served the time, etc, then if they turn over a new leaf, I don't think it's ideal for people to resent any success they might have in the future. Again, I said I don't think it's ideal - but of course it is human nature.

I think she is still incredibly vulnerable and while I admire her having a go I wonder what could go wrong if she doesn't make it. She has shown herself to be consistently argumentative and I think still has a 'hard' look about her. Maybe that's just down to her past and she's a completley different person now. However from what I have seen I still wouldn't want to be the one that crosses her. I can see she's trying hard to keep her cool but personally I think she's a bit of a time bomb.