X Factor: Were The Judges Fair In Sending Austin Home?
We have been inundated with complaints from X Factor fans today, most of you objecting to Cheryl Cole and Louis Walsh’ decision to save Rachel Hylton on last night’s show.
At the start of this series a new twist to the show was revealed in which the bottom two acts each week were to sing a different song of their choice, and then the judges were to choose a singer based on their final performance.
However, on last night’s show, both Louis Walsh and Cheryl Cole saved Rachel Hylton on the basis of what she had yet to give and not on the song she just sang. In fact in the shows spinoff, Xtra Factor, Cheryl admitted that Austin Drage was a superior vocalist to Rachel, but that she wanted to keep the mohter of five in and give her the chance to show us the full range of her talent in the upcoming weeks.
Many of you are up in arms about this decision, and most seem sure that if Louis had abstained from deciding, forcing the decision to be based on the public vote, Austin would still be on the X Factor and be practising his best Mariah Carey song right now.
So what do the rest of you think? Is anyone out there backing Rachel Hylton or do we have a consensus that Austin was wrongly voted off X Factor last night?
As always, leave your comments below.
Chat about this on the Unreality TV Forum »
Loading ...
I think it was an outrage the way louis walsh and cheryl cole voted last night. They have played with the career of a promising young man. Rachel will not win X factor, however Austin was in with a chance. Cheryl and louis should hang their heads in shame and the judges should no longer be allowed to vote off acts after what Cheryl and louis did last night. I cant beleive Austin was in the bottom two I voted for him lots of times and it is clear that Daniel is getting sympathy votes.
I that after the public outcry for the injustice Austin suffered at the hands of two Judges something should be done to bring him back.
Bring back Austin! he has the superior talent, the phone lines were rigged, not allowing votes for Austin, I phoned to vote to keep him and the vote registered was for Rachael. Louis scoring points from Simon, an absolute travesty.
i think racheal is a brill singer but has no where near the potential that austin has…i think 2 weeks in a row louis has been inconsistant and a little rude if honest it looks like more of an attack on simon…last week was even werse wen he kept daniel in.ridiculous!!!!!!!!he had already told him there was no way he can win!!!! stupidity at its best……excuse me spellings lol
I think that louie and cheryl did the right thing to vote of Austin. He is not strong enough for this competition (a right cry baby to be honest) and because he really wanted this, he was pushing himself too hard and not singing the right songs. the songs he sang was crap so maybe that is why he was in the bottom two.
Go Rachel – make the best of it girl, even though I know you will not win!!!
I think it is a travesty that daniel evans was saved from being booted out of the competition at the expense of these two better acts(austin and rachel). But let’s all be honest about it, between rachel and austin, rachel has definitely a better voice and more powerful voice. she just has to make herself a little bit likeable by losing a bit of the attitude.
Austin has an amazing voice, his last song was perfect as always and I think that it was awful to save Rachel over him. From where I was watching it sounded like she was just shrieking the song. She’s sang one good song in four weeks, which was ‘I’m Feeling Good’, Austin has never done a bad performance. Even if his song choice wasn’t the best last night he sang it way better than some of the other contestants sang theirs. I tried to vote for him aswell and I couldn’t get through so I don’t think that it was fair.
How did Austin go?? i know that he may not have won it but he should have been there for a few more weeks, some of the acts still in the competition are nowhere near as good as Austin.He was great vocally,which should be the main reason for someone to stay.I don’t understand why louis says he is unlikeable, he has always come across as a genuinely nice guy to me. Argh,travesty!!! Hopefully he will get a record contract and be truly successful.
cant belive Austin went, stupid Louis + Cheryl + Dannii!!!! We rang in for ages but then when we finally got through the stupid thing left a vote for Diana!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
The same happened to me, it’s not fair, I tried to vote for Austin and it left a vote for Daniel!!! I love Austin, he should have gone really far. He should get a recording contract now, I’d buy his music.
We need a new judge. Leona Lewis has said she would like to become a judge on the show but not just yet. Why wait?
I think this is not fair. They do whatever they want. I think Bad Lashes should have stayed in the competition (they had more potential than Girlband), Scott should have stayed too (he is much better than Daniel), and Austin was one of the best contestant opposite Rachel, who forgot the lyrics in her performance and sings badly. It’s not fair!!! They should think if they are going to make their decission on the performances or on the artists potential, but they do whatever they want!
I think it was totally outrageous and I was proper miffed for ages afterwards. This should not have been allowed as the week before they voted off Scott because they said that they had to judge on that final performance and Daniel’s was more emotional yet this week they had the nerve to say that Rachel had more yet to come so they were not judging as they should have been.
The show should put Austin back in there because it was not done correctly and he was way better than ChRachel and the judges criticised her first performance on Saturday night.
Cheryl and Louis were wrong and they know they are and I believe that they are just trying to vote off their main competitors who were the boys in Simon’s group.
Last week I did think that Daniel’s song was very emotional however, he is just not strong enough and is not a recording artist as Simon has said and should not still be in the competition.
Final word, the judges are doing as they please and NOT what they should be doing which is finding and keeping in the TALENT not who they feel sorry for!!!!!
BRING BACK SCOTT AND JUSTIN!!!!!!!
Hmmm…I mean Austin!!! I get so carried away with injustice!!!
I totally agree with you, Sharon; I feel they’ve lost all credibility – particularly Cheryl and Louis. How could someone as talented and professional and rounded a performer as Austin – always a front runner – be axed in week four? I’m appalled that the public put him in the bottom two in the first place – is everybody both misty-eyed from Daniel’s sob story AND tone deaf? Once there, however, I don’t think anyone can consider themselves qualified to act as a judge on the X factor and then remove someone who has been a pretty flawless performer from day one, both vocally and in terms of commanding the stage. Austin is born to be a pop star – I just hope what someone esle said might be true and that Simon has had plans for him since boot camp. I don’t feel remotely inspired to watch the show from this point. Definitely time for Louis to retire. His silly wrangling with SC is no longer good TV – just embarrassing to witness. All such a shame. And if you or your nearest and dearest read these to cheer yourselves up – I wish you great things, Austin; you definitely have what it takes.
oh, and a last thought. How about Daniel, bless him, does the heroic thing and gives up his place to Austin. He surely knows there is no future for him in the comp ultimately, and that his outcome will be the same however long or otherwise he lasts – he will still have a respectable career as a singer – just not as a pop star. And just think of all that brilliant publicity – everyone will love him even more….. Better than being another Steve Brookstein!
The format of the show is totally manipulated , leaving the bottom two ( in no particular order !! )for the panel to choose who to send home leads the judges to vote strategically. By doing the show in this unfair way leads to the “balancing” of the number artists each “mentor” has left . If the ITV want the public to vote then it is only fair that every vote is counted and the contestant with the lowest number of votes leaves the show , failing this I am sure somewhere along the line there could well be another ofcom investigation … As an aside it would be nice to know how many votes each of the bottom 2 poled
Rachel should have gone not Austin, he sung better. I thought they were supposed to vote on the 2nd performance and not on what they might do later, Austin probably had more to give as well. Loius voted Austin out because he was competition for his JLS and Rachel isn’t, she will probably go soon. Louis had actually said in a interview prior to this week that he thought Austin would be in the final and was competition, that says it all for me.
Hmm? If everyone loves Austin… why was he in the bottom two. And no, its not because the vote is rigged. I know its shocking but ITV has no advantage in sending of someone popular! If they did this on purpose then people would stop watching the show when their favourite act gets sent out. They want the best person to win. And besides, neither Rachel or Austin were going to win so it doesn’t really matter. DIANA TO WIN!!! Sorry, that just came out.
Oh and sorry for double-posting but Jayne, if they wanted to manipulate it so each mentor had an even amount of contestestants left, why would they vote Austin off? Simon had two left and Danii had three… And besides people vote for who they want to stay in the competition, not who they want to go out. If more people vote for one person than the other than they are guaranteed to stay in – definitely no need for an ofcom investigation.
SO BRING BACK AUSTIN!!!!!!!!!
He had loadz of fans, and didnt deserve to go, he could have went far in the competition, because he was brilliant, And simon and louis and there pity rivalry is costing peoples dreams coming true, Austin had more fans, Rachael is well not very good. Austin was a true star, and i Pray simon gives him a record deal or someone does, cos he was amazing, and didnt deserve to go.
I think Austin should have defo stayed on saturday night, i totally agree that louis and cheryl just voted him off cos they are afraid of the competetion. They need to get the show sorted out and be clear at what their judging people on, their final performance or the hope of future performances (whch was just a lame excuse)??? JLS better win it now!!!! i dont really care bout any of the others!
OMG I can;t stand it anymore. Austin was not that amazing!!!! Get over it… Seriously.
Racheal should not have been given another chance! louis and cheryl shouln’t of based it on the future possibilities. and even if they were supposed to, i can’t imagine Racheal being a pop star. But Austin has the whole package. So what the hell were Louis and Cheryl thinking?!!!
Austin has the best voice out of all the males on the show,Racheal should not have stayed,she sounds like any other singer,all she seems to do is shout.And how can Daniel still be in the show???!!!FIX FIX FIX!!
Austin could have won the x factor!!!
Everyone just feels sorry for Daniel!!
And that Diana get her off before she gets strangled,if we wanted to listen to a cat sing we would shut a cat in the door!!!
She cannot sing to save her life.
Alexandra to win!!!!!
x
Q12 what is your problem! Austin should at the very least have made it to the top 3. You keep saying that if he didnt get the votes then it is tough look, but so many people, on this and other sites have said that when they tried to vote in for Austin they couldnt get through and when they finally did then it registered as a vote for someone else! There is definitely something suspicious going on there, Im not saying it is some sort of ITV conspiracy, but perhaps just a computer fault? It has happened before on other voting shows! His performances have been consistently original and phenomenal, proving his talent and his versatility. His performance of Billie-Jean was OUTSTANDING. Better than Chris Cornell and David Cook from American Idol (I have done my research, lol). Everyone I know thought so, and yet Louis ripped him to shreds talking about the arrangement! Clearly Louis doesnt know what he is talking about and it was just a chance for him to have a dig at Simons contestant. Austin also comes across as such a down-to-earth and sweet gentleman. Without a doubt, the most talented male ever to enter any of these competitions. He is also a musician and a songwriter, unlike many other stars who have made it big simply by standing in front of a mic and singing other peoples songs. Check out clips from some of his band’s live gigs on youtube – very soulful. If Simon has any sense he should give Austin a contract. Im sure he will come up with some brilliant songs if given the chance and not cheesy pop songs, but something with more of an edge. Failing that he should be brought back to the programme, and not be forced out because of faulty phone lines, sympathy votes for other contestants by the public, and tactical voting by the judges who see him as a threat! They should seriously get over themselves and their rivalry and realise they are crushing a genuinely gifted young man’s dreams!
Diana is over-rated and annoying, and I cannot understand the words of the songs when Laura sings. Alexandra is our only hope now! Good luck Alex! Much love to Austin, best of luck in the future, you deserve only good things to come to you and plenty of success. P.S. Saw you in Snatch, loved your Irish accent, was so cute! Sorry we cant vote from the Republic of Ireland but just want you to know IRELAND LOVES YOU BABE!
Austin is obviously a very good singer but the show is called ‘X Factor’ and Rachel has it. Austin could have a career and even a Christmas No.1, but he only carries the credibility of a Gareth Gates or any boy ‘band’. As Rachel gains polish and professionalism anybody will be able to recognise her vocal talent, whereas for the moment only those with a discerning ear can appreciate it. Whether the other judges are under instructions from Simon to keep her in or not, she has an absolutely outstanding voice and made an impact in the auditions not far short of that made by Paul Potts in ‘Britain’s Got Talent’. I told you that I was trouble…
i think austin should have stayed….i mean rachel she ain’t a very good rolemodel is she i mean 5 children and she is only “26″ and austin has a much better voice that her any day.
BRING BACK AUSTIN!!!!!!!!!!!
We are fed up with the feud between Simon and Louis wrecking contestants’ chances.
Rachel is a one trick pony can she imitate Amy Whinehouse but is by no means as talented as the rest of the finalists and Austin was the best of the boys!!
Rachel should have gone she’s hardly a role model and always says she doing it for her kids but with 3 in care she should be at home with the other two proving she can be a decent mother not living in the X factor house chasing fame.
Austin was robbed!
this is just a fix, considering he was one of the favourites to win its out of order. im not watching x-factor ever again (i’ll stick to strictly), hardly any of them have talent. i know lots of people will disagree with me but i really hope laura goes, she hasnt got a natural voice – she forces it out and makes every song she sings sound absouletly awful. oh and dont get me started on louis he just want to get back at simon they all do they just dont want him to win.
im gonna stop now lol i could go on forever.
BRING BACK AUSTIN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think Austin is incredibly talented and its ridiculous how the judges voted him off last week…im watching the x factor now n Rachel is makin my ears bleed…its not a show based on ‘whose got the best sob story’…its about talent and Austin had it…its a shame the judges felt he was a threat to their own acts and voted him off…he wouldv been great tonight
Austin should definately still be on X-Factor, who wants an ex drug addict prancing on our screens each week,certainly not me!