Blown out of proportion? X-tra hype?

For those of you on Twitter, you'll know how much I love The X Factor. In fact, everybody who knows me is aware of my obsession over the show. When The X Factor is on, Twitter explodes. Everybody is talking about it. The first live show drew nearly 13.5 million viewers. It's recently published it's own magazine. But, this nationwide, or perhaps worldwide, phenomenon certainly takes it's on toll on people.

The biggest story to come from this year's show is Gamu Nhengu. First, she wasn't chosen to become one of Cheryl's top 3, not even her wild card choice. Over 260 000 people have joined the Facebook page 'Gamu should have gone through'. The nation was in shock. Then an even more shocking story broke: Gamu and her family were going to be deported. Her Mother's Visa application was rejected. It was the top story. Nobody cared about the Politics of our country anymore, it was all about this one girl. There are rumours going around that she will face a firing squad when she returns to her home country of Zimbabwe. How much of this rumour is true I don't know. I sure hope that it is 100% false.

Cher Lloyd and Katie Waissel. More controversial than Jedward. Katie came across as a bit of a prat in her first audition. What we didn't know was that she had a record deal out in America. She had been signed under many different names. She's far more experienced than she's making out.
As for Cher. I was undecided about her when I saw her first audition. She was sixteen? SIXTEEN?! The Judges clearly loved her, especially Cheryl. It was obvious there and then that she would be in the live shows. What no-one expected was her to forget and mess up her song in the Judges' homes stage. Katie did exactly the same. Surely, after not being able to sing a song they should be sent straight home? No. They were both put through. Twitter was in uproar. How could she justify putting them through? Well, Cheryl's certainly got away with it.

Recently, Cher's been in the news for other reasons. She's been causing tantrums and clearly not being able to cope with all the pressure. What do you expect? She's now 17! She's been given a counsellor and has been locking herself in bathrooms. If I was under that much pressure, I'd take myself away from the situation straight away!

But, people's opinions of the contestants change on a weekly basis. One week it's about One Direction, the other it's about Storm. The true talent in the competition gets overlooked and forgotten about. Who will survive the shows and come out on top? What's your opinion of the show? A great money maker, but compromising the health and well being of the contestants. Is it really worth it, for 3 hours worth of entertainment?