Remember Brenda Edwards from two X Factors ago? Well, I got an email from her son Jamal earlier today saying she’s been nominated for Best Reality Star in Screen Nation’s Film & TV Awards.

Brenda was one of our favourite contestants in the 2005 X Factor, and we were glad to see she went on to bigger things. That’s why we’d encourage everyone to go on and give Brenda a bit of support.

Anyone interested in what Brenda’s doing at the moment should check out her website.

An interview with X Factor’s Brenda Edwards is on GMTV today to tell the Great British public what life has been like since leaving the X Factor show.

Brenda spills the beans on the X Factor tour, and tells how she managed to win her stage debut as ‘Mama Morton’ in Chicago in London’s West End.

Well worth a read!

The Daily Record has revealed that Pop idol winner Michelle McManus is devastated at losing out on a top role in a West End Musical to X Factor runner up Brenda Edwards.

A source said: “Michelle had pinned all her hopes on getting the role of Mama Morton. She thought she was perfect for it.

“Michelle had been practising the songs and everything.”

“Michelle would love to be on the stage. She would be in her element. She’s trying not to let this knock get her down – but it’s hard when she had her heart set on it.”

Both women had auditioned for the part of Mama Morton in the hit stage production of Chicago, but last week the news broke that fiesty soul diva Brenda Edwards had been awarded the role.

But Michelle has not given up all hope and a source commented “by the summer, she’s hoping to have landed a starring role in another West End show.”

X Factor contestant Brenda Edwards has been starnely quiet since leaving the show last December.

However just this week we heard that she has signed up for the role of Mama Morton in the stage production of Chicago.

MSN reports

“Edwards makes her West End stage debut in the London production of the smash hit musical, with Anna-Faye Wright as Velma Kelly and Italian stage and screen star Luca Barbareschi as Billy Flynn.

Wright played murderess Kelly on Broadway, while Barbareschi played Chicago lawyer Flynn in the Italian tour of Chicago.

The musical closes at the Adelphi Theatre on April 22 before reopening on April 28 at the Cambridge Theatre, the home of the show when the first production opened there in 1979.

Chicago became the longest-running production to play at the Adelphi Theatre in October last year.”

Andy Abraham and Brenda Edwards runners up in this years X Factor competiton have been performing a duet on tour, and Andy admitted this week that if the fans enjoy the song he and Brenda are considering releasing it as a single.

He said “I think the duet will surprise a few people, but it’s a great up-tempo number,” he told the Daily Record. “It’s not a song that is completely new but I think it’s going be amazing.

“I don’t want to spoil it by telling you what it is just yet. We’ll have to see how it goes, but if people like it, we’ll look at releasing it as a single.”

It’s reported in The Mirror today that Brenda Edwards, the last female to leave the X factor show believes that she was voted off the show because most of the shows fans are women who prefer “cute young guys”.

The mother of two said “It’s definitely to do with there being so many women fans. You have a lot of cute young guys and they are far more likely to be voted for. That’s just the way it is so I wasn’t surprised I went out.”

But hopefully this isn’t the last we will hear of the soul singing diva, she commented : “I hope to release a record. Now I’ve had a taste of fame, I want more. Sharon is absolutely lovely and has promised me things.”

Oooohhh. These charts are getting harder to do. You’d think with less contestants, it’d be easier. Nope.

Let me just start by saying that everybody’s game has been raised to professional levels at this point. Much better than last year’s finalists if you ask me. Andy’s taken a bit of flack in recent weeks, but mostly suffers on song choice. When he stays in his comfort zone, no problems. So here we go:

1. Brenda Edwards: Simply the strongest and best performer in the show. This bubbly lady has bags of personality and really puts on a performance. Compare with pretty-but-stationary Shayne. What a shame she went tonight.
2. Journey South: Growing on me. The long(ish)-haired one still looks like he’s bricking it on stage, but their song choices tonight were good, as well as that polished performance on the second song.
3. Shayne Ward: I’m not fussed on the fella, particularly after he murdered I Believe In A Thing Called Love. He’s got the looks, yes – but his performances are stilted and he doesn’t yet know how to command a stage. However, he is definitely improving and I can see a career for him post X-Factor.
4. Andy Abraham: Andy’s got a great voice, but too late into the competition he started taking risks with his song choices. Phil Collins? Show your diversity at the start, when it’s safe, not when the competition’s at it’s hottest. Plus, I don’t think he’s marketable as a recording artist in his own right. It should have been Andy this evening.

That was tough. Now, let me hear your X-Factor chart for this evening’s show….

This evening’s X Factor just goes to prove that no-one is a dead cert in this competition!

After another two stunning performances from Brenda, we thought her position in the final was assured. When the results show came on, my two favourites to go were Andy Abraham or Journey South. The surprises began when Kate Thornton was handed the results card. She scanned it for a second and instantly looked shocked.

Shock number one: Andy was the first to make it through to the final. This confused everybody, and you could see Journey South wondering what the hell was going on. Predictably, Shayne Ward was the next name called. Journey South, at this point probably thinking they had no hope against the mighty Brenda.

Shock number two: Kate gives it her best bit of drama “And the final act going through to next week’s X Factor final (insert 20 minute pause here)…..Journey South.”

People in living rooms the length and breadth of Britain stared at each other in disbelief. Brenda? Gone? Cuppa?

Seriously though, I was completely gobsmacked! Brenda was such a powerhouse of talent and energy. In terms of marketability, I’d have ranked her second only to Shayne Ward, so to see her go at this stage was unbelievable! But it was the reactions immediately afterward that warmed me and even put a little lump in my throat.

Firstly, Brenda handled the eviction with so much dignity. Sharon Osbourne was in floods of tears and could barely speak when asked for her comments. Even Louis was caught weeping on camera as the tension from the competition started to show. Andy and Shayne were also visibly upset. Brenda was (reasonably) practical about the whole thing, even shaking Sharon at one point to pull herself together before going on to perform her final song.

Touchingly, as she sang her final song, Without You, you could see Brenda sensing the relevance of the lyrics and smiling about it.

A few minutes later, on the Xtra Factor, Ben Shepard was put in his place by Brenda’s husband when he was asked why he thought Brenda was axed this evening. “Well Ben, it’s because she got the least votes.” was his sharp reply!

Apparently Brenda has several offers of work from musicals, and she is now considering these. Best of luck to her – it’s an area to which she’d be well suited!

The competition heats up this week as each contestant gets to sing two songs each, the songs are as follows

Chico Slimani: The Time Warp by The Rocky Horror Picture Show cast and I Feel Good by James Brown
Journey South: Candle In The Wind by Elton John and Bad Day by Daniel Powter
Shayne Ward: Careless Whisper by Wham!and Take Your Mama by Scissor Sisters
Andy Abraham: Easy Lover by Phil Collins & Philip Bailey and When I Fall In Love by Nat King Cole
Brenda Edwards: I’ll Never Love This Way Again by Dionne Warwick and I’m Outta Love by Anastacia

Tonights show was a real mixed bag. There are a few acts that blew my socks off and a few that in my opnion don’t deserve to be there. Lets go

1. Brenda Edwards: Excellent performance once again. I thought Sharon had made a huge mistake in giving Brenda this song as it will always be remembered as a Whitney Classic, but tonight while listening to Brenda sing “I Will Always Love You” I didn’t think of Whitney once. Simon thinks that it was Brendas best performance so far and also thinks that she will be one of the two acts in this years X Factor final. Lets hope so, she is consistent in her brilliance week after week, she deserves to win this!
2. Journey South:: The boys sang “Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” a U2 classic, yet they added a few twists and deviations and made it their own. By doing this they ensure that they aren’t just seen as a pub rock band but as a credible act who add their own personality to any track and sell it as their own.Sharon Louois and Simon all sang the boy’s praises, with no criticisms to be heard at all!
3. Andy Abraham: No one could help but feel sorry for Andy tonight as he messed up the start of his song. Andy sang “I Have Nothing” by Whitney Houston and has felt nervous about singing the track all week. The nerves obviously got the better of him tonight, but what i admired was the way he pulled it around. The first verse was a bit weak and he fluffed the lyrics a few times, but as the song went on he grew in confidence and by the end the old Andy magic was back. Simon thought it wasn’t his best performance, on the other side of the coin Louis was a bit gushing with his praise. Simon was right, it wasn’t Andy’s strongest hour, but talent like Andy’s will always shine through and it certainly did tonight.
4. Shayne Ward: Shayne took a gamble tonight by singing The Darkness track “I Believe In A Thing Called Love” but it definately suited his voice. Vocally Shayne was magnificent, he was note perfect and his vocal range was incredibly impressive. However, he seemed to lack the energy and passion that a song like this requires. There was very little life about his performance, very little movement on stage. If he was going to take on a song like this he should have been bouncing about playing air guitar instead of trying to woo girls in the front row. If we could have combined the Conways energy with Shaynes vocals it would have made for an almost perfect performance.
5. The Conway Sisters: Simon said their performance wasn’t good enough to get them through to next week. He said he believed they would be out-sung and I believe that happened tonight. The girl’s performance of “Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now” was good, a bit weak vocally at certain points and the tuning was slightly off at times. They had loads of energy and emotion though and certainly looked like they meant every word they sang. It wasn’t a bad performance, but it wasn’t a great one. I felt it was instantly forgettable.
6. Chico Slimani:His version of “Billie Jean” was entertaining but not impressive. He used a kid in his performance for the third week runnning, and I am beginning to think that people are voting for the kids and not him. The little boy was certainly talented and very very cute, but it wasn’t enough to make Chico’s performance good enough for him still to be in this show.

I think this week it is time to say goodbye to Chico or The Comway Sisters.

Journey South: Still Haven’t Found What I’m looking For by U2
Chico Slimani: Billie Jean by Michael Jackson
Shayne Ward: I Believe In A Thing Called Love by The Darkness
Brenda Edwards: I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston
The Conway Sisters: Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now by Starship
Andy Abraham: I Have Nothing by Whitney Houston

All classic songs, all safe choices. With the exception of Andy. I think he is very brave to take on a Whitney song, especially as he has had to attend the doctor about problems with his voice this week.

This week saw 4 of the X factor contestants performing live at the switching on of the Oxford Street Christmas lights.

Chico and Nicholas performed alone, but Brenda and Andy were informed three hours before the gig that they were to perform a duet.

The crowd loved it, and it went down so well that the pair are being tipped to perform as a duo next year in the X Factor tour.

Both Brenda and Andy have rich and amazing voices which I think would blend together fabulously. I can’t wait to hear this collaboration!

The X Factor brought a mixed bag of performances tonight. Louis picked better songs for his acts and Simon didn’t pick any, with his 2 remaining acts preferring to choose their own tracks.

Once again here’s our chart for this week

1. Andy Abraham: Andys performance tonight was outstanding. He proved that he can move between decades and genres effortlessly and sing any song that he is given. Andy has the power to make me believe every word he sings. I really believed tonight when watching him on stage that Andy was going to take me to bed and make love to me like I wanted him to! If only!
2. Journey South: You will have noticed that until this point Journey South have always been placed in the middle of our weekly chart. I liked them but was not wholly excited by them. When i heard they were doing ‘Living on a prayer’ by Bon Jovi I almost yawned. I anticipated another pub band performance, but I hold my hands up and admit I was wrong. The only thing I didn’t like about their performance tonight was Carls white leather jacket. I thought they adapted the song well to suit their voices. Their performance was extremely tight, much more so than The Conway Sisters, and I thought the live guitar solo was a nice touch. I agree with Sharon when she says that Carl looks a bit like a “Deer caught in the headlights” but Andy more than makes up for it with his confident stage presence. Tonight I thought Journey South showed a bit of personality, that’s what I like to see.
3. Brenda Edwards: Brenda once again gave an amazingly polished and professional performance. Simon think she is “the most improved contestant” from the audition stage until now and I think most of us would agree. If Brenda keeps doing her Diva thing she has a real chance of making it to the final stage of the competition.
4. Maria Lawson: Maria is one of the few X Factor contestants who looks like she owns the stage when she is performing. When she performed the Rolling Stones hit Brown Sugar she was extremely nervous, not that anyone could tell. She gave it her all and performed brilliantly. It wasn’t my favourite performance of hers, and I don’t think that Rock Chick is her niche but she rose well to the challenge that Mark and Sharon set for her and did not deserve to leave.
5. Shayne Ward: Shayne’s version of ‘Cry Me A River’ was much better than his performance last week, but it didn’t excite me in any shape or form. I thought the backing track was much too loud and masked a lot of his vocals which seemed average and at times slightly flat. His image was much improved and he certainly looked the part. I’m sure he broke a few teenage hearts tonight! His dance routine was also commendable and added a bit of life to his performance. Simon and Sharon were impressed though and Simon thinks he could be the UKs best selling male solo artist in the next 2 years.
6. The Conway Sisters: Another mediocre performance. I love this song and they sang it quite well, though at times it was ever so slightly out of tune and time. The problem I had is that it all looked a bit forced. In a previous performance Maria was commended for making her performance appear effortless, these girls performances are the absolute opposite. They look like they are really trying to mean every word, but actually aren’t feeling it at all. It was nice to see the piano being played live, and they obviously really want to stay in the competition but they lack the polish and personality of fellow acts like Journey South and this shows in their low number of public votes.
7. Nicholas Dorsett: Again Louis picked a much better song for Nicholas this week, though it was still a bit predictable. He looked nervous and uncomfortable and very very scared. Simon hit the nail on the head when he said “your performance was was like having dinner with your mentor, pleasant but forgettable”. What more can I say?
8. Chico Slimani: We all know it, its time Chico faced up to it, vocals are not his forte! He can dance, he can perform, he definately brings a lot of personality to the stage, but he can’t sing very well. His performance was often out of tune and very often the backing singers were louder than him (which wasn’t a bad thing!). Chico is lucky the public like him because by rights he really should ha ve been out tonight.Next week I think he should try a Right Said Fred track. Thats much more up his street!

Over to you guys – what did you think of Saturday night’s show?

Maria Lawson – Brown Sugar or Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones
Andy Abraham- I’ll Make Love to You by Boyz II Men
Shayne Ward – Cry Me a River by Justin Timberlake
Brenda Edwards – Heartbreaker by Mariah Carey
Chico Slimani- Hero by Enrique Iglesias
Journey South – Living On a Prayer by Bon Jovi
Nicholas Dorsett- I Believe I Can Fly by R Kelly
The Conway Sisters : Hold On by Wilson Philips

I think the song choices are great this week, the only one I am really unsure about is Nicholas’ song. It’s a bit karaoke!

I can’t wait to see Maria doing a Rolling Stones number, they definately aren’t playing safe with her songs! Roll on Saturday!

Tonight’s show really sorted out the good from the great! As always Sharon’s group shined, but tonight Louis’ acts left me a little cold. I would have to agree with Simon and Sharon, Louis’ song choices are hideous and if he doesn’t change his ideas soon he will be left with no acts in the X Factor!

Here’s my X Factor chart for tonights show:

1. Brenda Edwards:

Brenda once again lit up the stage with her version of Someone Elses Guy by Jocelyn Brown . She looked like a seasoned Diva who was more used to performing in packed arenas than the X Factor stage. She showed her immense vocal talent by holding her final note of the song for 11 seconds with ease. As Louis Walsh said her performance was both “electric and energetic”


2. Andy Abraham:

Andy shone tonight while singing the Frankie Valli track ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’. I concurred with Simon when he said “Thank God you are still in the competition.” Against all odds Andy has performed amazingly once more.


3. Maria Lawson:

Maria followed Simons advice and sang a more contemporary song this week in the form of James Blunt recent chart hit ‘Beautiful’. Simon thought she could record it as her own and praised her as “the best performance of the night so far”. I think Maria is one of the few acts that could transend from this show to a successful music career. She has it all: talent, looks, confidence and lots more talent!


4. Journey South:

The boys took a chance tonight with their song choice of First Time I Ever saw Your Face by Roberta Flack, and it paid off. They showed that they didn’t need backing tracks and choirs to support their, what could only be described as raw talent.


5. Chico Slimani:

Chico impressed the judges tonight with his version of ‘Kiss’ by Prince. Louis Walsh thought it was his best perfomance to date and Simon is shocked to admit that he is actually beginning to like Chico, he even thinks the competition would be boring without him. I think this was Chicos best performance vocally so far, the first week that he really sang properly. It was nice to hear!


6. The Conway Sisters:

The Conway sisters failed to wow the judges tonight with their performance of ‘One Voice’ by Billy Gilman. Sharon thought it sounded a bit Broadway and Louis thought it was an “bad song” from a “bad mentor”. I didn’t dislike it as much as the judges, but then I love Broadway and West End musicals. Simon was right to point out the tuning problems in the middle of the song, but I don’t think that was the main problem with this performance or this act. The problem for me is that they just don’t move or inspire me. They are good singers but I just don’t feel excited by them.


7. Shayne Ward:

Shayne sang ‘You Make Me Feel Brand New’ by Stylistics and I am in agreement with Simon and Sharon when they criticised the song choice. The song is too old for Shayne. he sang it well, very well actually, but the performance lacked excitement or feeling as he obviously doesn’t identify with this type of music.


8. Chenai Zinyuku:

Chenai’s song for this evening was You Were Always On My Mind by Elvis Presley. Again she didn’t sing it badly, though she definatley needs to work on her diction as it is hard to make out the words of any song she sings. But the song was all wrong for her. Sharon said she is longing to see personality shine through in Chenai’s performance in a way that we haven’t so far. I don’t think Chenai has found her niche yet and it shows from week to week.


9. Nicholas Dorsett:

Nicholas gave his worst performance to date while singing ‘I Want You Back’ by The Jackson Five. Sharon said “I don’t think you did yourself justice singing that song” and I think the majority of people would have to agree. The song was out of tune at parts and Nicholas looked uncomfortable when usually he is quite confident on stage. Simon believes that Louis Nicholas’ mentor is killing him in this competition. I would go as far to say that he is killing all his acts!