Don’t forget that two of last year’s contestants have singles out this week, Maria Lawson and Chico.

Maria’s debut single, Sleepwalking, can be picked up in stores across the UK and is looking like it will definitely storm the charts.

Chico’s single is also out this week. It’s called C.H.I.C.O and is a cover of the D.I.S.C.O classic.

I have to admit to having a bit of a crush on Maria Lawson from last year’s X-Factor, and I’ve been waiting for her to release a single since she was cruelly booted out by Louis Walsh.

I caught Maria’s new single Sleepwalking on The Box(I think?) a couple of weeks ago. It’s quite a slick tune, bit of a smooth urban vibe, and the video reminds me of Craig David’s Seven Days with Maria witnessing a series of mishaps then reliving them and helping to prevent them.

You can catch a snippet of the video on the Maria Lawson website, and according to the blurb Sleepwalking is coming out on 14 August.

By the way, I wasn’t impressed with the gallery. They’ve airbrushed Maria to hell and it’s not nice, takes away from her natural beauty. Grrr!

What did you guys think?

Anyone who watched last years X Factor series will remember the outrage when Louis Walsh voted to send bookies favourite Maria Lawson home in favour of the mediocre Conway Sisters.

Well it seems that Maria has bounced back in a bid to prove Louis wrong, and is set to launch her debut album next month.

Maria told The Sun Online: “I’m so excited that my first single Sleepwalking is coming out. It’s really catchy and has such a great summer vibe.”

She continued: “I’m really pleased I took my time in making sure it was just right. The video was really fun too. We shot it in London and it’s got a pretty amazing storyline that I think everyone will love.”

She added: “This summer is going to be full of exciting things - as well as Sleepwalking, I’m doing loads of photo shoots and gearing up for the release of my album in August.”

Maria Lawson, the X Factor favourite who was controversially booted off in favour of the much lesser talented Conway Sisters has just signed a record deal while travelling the country with the X Factor tour.

Maria was offered deals by four major record companies but chose to sign with Sony BMG subsidiary Phonogenic.

Her debut album, which she will write herself, is due out in September following the release of a single in June.

The star said: “All I promise is great songs, some with elements of pop, some with elements of soft rock, and some with elements of soul.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this, I can’t believe I’m going to LA to work with people I have respected for ages on my own album.”

I came accross this request today on eBays Want It Now section. This fella really is keen but she only left the X Factor a few weeks ago, I don’t think she’s had time to release anything yet mate!

On last weeks show after the shock eviction of Maria Lawson, vocal coach to the over 25s, Mark Hudson was obviously gutted.

When interviewed by Ben Shephard for The Xtra Factor he said Hudson said: “It’s killing me, I don’t have words. I love you Maria and I’m sorry.”

Mark also admitted that he regretted choosing the song ‘Brown Sugar’ for Maria to sing saying that if they had “played it safe instead, things might have been different.”

I am not sure however that song choice played as big a role in Marias eviction as people may think. Sure, it wasn’t her best performance but it was still excellent in comparison to many of the other acts that night. I prefer to believe that Maria fans were just complacent, thinking that she didn’t need their votes. People who like Chico for instance know what a fine line he is treading and how much every vote counts for him, but Maria was a different kettle of fish. She outperformed most of the other acts week after week. She had the wow factor and the public simply couldn’t conceive her being kicked off the show.

It just shows how wrong we can be and how vulnerable each and every contestant on the X Factor stage really is!

Who’s sorry now, Messrs Cowell and Walsh?

It seems cold, harsh reality has hit X Factor public enemies #1 and #2. As Tabby reported earlier, Simon Cowell has had a change of heart about voting for the Conway Sisters.

Well, it seems Louis Walsh is back on his medication and is kicking himself for supporting the Conway Sisters, in no small part because they haven’t actually bothered to thank him for his intervention!

The Conways didn’t need the bad press that they got on last week’s show. In some ways, I’m expecting ‘Mariagate’ to speed up the departure of the girl group.

The Conway Sisters are not good enough to win this competition. Maria was in my top 4 contestants I would have tipped to win. So, do the maths folks - expect the Irish pop pixies to be exiting stage right this Saturday night. They’re going to be up against one helluva hostile audience…

When interviewed after leaving the X Factor competition Maria admitted “Everyone knows what happened. It was obvious. I have been the victim of what Sharon called the Irish Mafia. I guess that was quite shocking but the girls are still there because they’re Irish.”

But Irishman Louis hit back saying: “It’s not because I know them or they’re Irish.

“I could only judge on Saturday night’s performance.”

According to a Mirror Exclusive Simon Cowell admitted only 5 minutes after the end of the X factor show last week that he already regretted sending Maria home.

Simon Cowell confessed: “I made the wrong decision. If I’d have had five minutes more to think about it, I would have sent The Conway Sisters home.

“I acted out of loyalty, but this show is about talent. Maria should have stayed. The Conways don’t have a chance of winning this competition.”

Its a bit late now isn’t it Simon!

I miss X-Factor for one night and what happens? They kick out my favourite act!

Well, I’m pretty bloody angry that Maria got voted out this week. Another performer getting tripped up by a bad song choice, then mercilessly shafted by a tone deaf judge. Louis, I’m not happy about this, but I’ll deal with you in another post….

Anyway folks, the blogosphere has gone nuts with people complaining that the whole thing’s a fix and that the judges are no better than animals.

Black mask feels that “the conway [sisters] are the same every [beep] week” and that the competition isn’t about talent, despite what the judges say.

Chig (and virtually everybody else) reckons the Conways were saved simply because they’re Irish. Simon’s not sure what to make of the Irish Mafia comparisons, but points out that it was the public who put Maria in the bottom two.

Graeme thinks voting Maria off was “single handedly the worst piece of television” in his life.

And the most heart-warming: Kargo has started a Petition For Maria on Blogspot, asking well wishers to leave a comment there. Sadly, he/she doesn’t actually mention what the petition is expected to achieve! Ah well, go ahead and sign it anyway!

For my part, if Louis is going to vote tactically, then maybe we should do the same. How about we encourage all our friends and family not to buy the new Westlife or Girls Aloud records?

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?

It seems as though no one expected Maria to go, certainly not the X Factor studio audience who boo’ed Louis when he announced he was sending her home, and later The Conway Sisters as they were interviewed by Ben Shephard for The Xtra Factor. And if you read this blog post or this it would seem that the general public were as shocked as the studio audience!

Maria was one of the shining lights in the X Factor competition. She didn’t just sing, she shone! She owned the stage, and looked as if she belonged there and she knew it. Her song last night was certainly not her best, but her performance was still outstanding and better than many others who are still in the competition.

It certainly seems unfair that Louis would choose The Conway Sisters over Maria just because he knows them and they have worked with Westlife before. It is unlikely that The Conway Sisters will get much further in the competition, they have been in the bottom two acts before so obviously they are not inspiring the public to vote for them. As Sharon Osbourne said the X Factor competition should be about talent, not what country you are from or who you know better.

My predictions on who will win the competition are all up in the air now as I really believed that Maria had an excellent chance of at least making it to the finals. I’m hoping now that Brenda and Andy can last until that stage, but you never know what will happen next week!

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!

Well the songs for this week show have just been announced on Xtra Factor 24/7 and are as follows:

1. Nicholas Dorsett: I Want You Back by The Jackson Five
2. Shayne Ward: You Make Me Feel Brand New by Simply Red
3. Chenai Zinyuku: You Were Always On My Mind by Elvis Presley
4. Brenda Edwards: Someone Elses Guy by Jocelyn Brown
5. Maria Lawson: Beautiful by James Blunt
6. Chico Slimani: Kiss by Prince
7. Journey South: First Time I Ever saw Your Face by Roberta Flack
8. Conway Sisters: One Voice by Billy Gilman

We’d love to hear what you think of the song choices this week!