Shayne wins British X-Factor 2005

My heartiest congratulations to Shayne who went on to win the British X-Factor 2005. Unfortunately it was not a real surprise. The British public has once again voted for the kind of boy next door/boy band type.

Journey South were not really likely to win. In fact they were not likely finalists so I say good on you lads. You grew throughout the competition and on the night you were worthy competitors.

It was a close call for second place finalist Andy (he lost out by just over 1% of the vote) but I think poor performances over the last few weeks did him no favour. Andy gave his all and pulled out some outstanding performances, especially "When a Man Loves a Woman" and "Me and Mrs Jones". He really stepped up during the final and proved he can sing with real passion, moving away a little from the easy going Andy we've all come to know. Well done you!

In my heart I wanted Andy to win but once Shayne sang "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" the game was truly over. Shayne's rendition of "Somewhere... " was superb! Hairs standing on the back of your neck stuff! The youngster can sing. Of course the fact that his looks are very, very easy on the eye helped massively. I hope he realises that this first year is not about making money for him but for the record company. He needs to enjoy the ride get as much exposure as possible but be prepared to really put in the serious work now the limelight of a weekly show on prime time TV has gone. The winner/s in these types of programmes are the TV and record companies.

I don't like the winner's song much. It's ok but very much something that's great for on the night of the win, as a song for general release I think it's pretty poor. I look forward to hearing these guys do some real stuff, provided all the touring doesn't wear them out first.

As for me personally, I'm looking out for albums by Andy and Brenda!

:)x