View Full Version : The X Factor - General Discussion
The winner of X Factor does not receive an upfront £1million record deal, the Mirror reveals today.
Instead, the top act gets an advance of £150,000 for a first album – out of which their expenses must be paid.
A copy of the 80-page contract which all finalists had to sign before the Saturday night live shows has been seen by the Mirror.
Each was told by legal firm Michael Simkins on September 29 to read it “carefully”.
The contract has hundreds of clauses, one of which states it to be enforceable anywhere “in the world and solar system”.
Clause 32.4 says artists must not make any statement which “may be considered unduly negative, critical or derogatory of the Company – including its personnel and, in particular, Simon Cowell”.
A music industry source said: “The contract makes clear no one can speak badly of X Factor supremo Simon. It is hilarious. He must be ultra-paranoid.”
The winner of the record deal could even be left with little of the £150,000 when costs are accounted for.
The only chance of hitting the £1million mark is several years down the line – after at least four albums.
But a source said: “Even then, chances are they will never see that sort of money.
“For presenter Dermot O’Leary to say in front of 13 million viewers the winner gets this sort of deal is slightly misleading to say the least.” Industry experts who have seen the contract claim it is “very” restrictive.
And we can reveal that one of the finalists already booted out this year is seeking legal advice behind the back of X Factor bosses to get out of the contract.
Speaking to the Mirror through a friend, the finalist said: “You have to sign all the agreements before being allowed in the final.
“After being kicked off, you’re under contract to Cowell’s label for up to three months, even if they’ve no interest in you. Other record labels won’t touch you until the deal is over, and then interest may have waned.”
The Mirror spoke to a handful of promoters who have advised former X Factor acts to misbehave and force Sony BMG to end their contracts. One said: “Developing a reputation as a troublemaker can sometimes force a label to drop you.”
The winning act gets 15 per cent from single and album sales. Headlining a tour brings 7.5 per cent of show profits and 15 per cent of merchandise sales.
They also have to sign with agent Modest Management in a deal having the potential to last 14 years.
The record label has “final say” over tracks for albums, and can choose producers and single releases.
Finalists are expected to sign the complicated contract in just three days.
An X Factor spokesman said: “It's not a £1million prize – it’s a record deal. The £1million figure includes the recording costs, using the best producers, and marketing costs using the best video directors. We would say £1million is a very conservative figure.”
Saturday’s final on ITV1 is between Alexandra Burke, JLS and Eoghan Quigg.
Clause 38.4
Artists booted off the show have to fork out five per cent of all future live earnings to Cowell for a year.
Clause 6.1.1
Winner gets £150k advance, 2nd gets £75k, 3rd £50k and 4th £10k.
Clause 36.4
You can only sing in pubs for three months after last show – unless gig is being recorded.
Clause 1.41
Contract enforceable anywhere in the world and solar system.
Clause 32.4
Artists must not without consent make any statement which may be considered unduly negative, critical or derogatory of the Company – including its personnel and, in particular, Simon Cowell.
THE X Factor finalists are all desperate to avoid the show’s jinxed opening number on Saturday.
JLS, Alexandra Burke, and Eoghan Quigg reckon their hopes will be doomed if they have to perform first in what is known as the “coffin slot” in reality TV circles.
Sources claim JLS topped the voting last week after performing last, just like Alexandra, the previous week and Eoghan the week before.
Now, insiders insist the three acts were all keen to perform second or preferably last at the weekend.
The source said: “They are all on tenterhooks waiting to discover what the draw will be for Saturday.
“None of them really fancy going on first. If you go first, you go home.”
Last year Same Difference went on stage first and came third.
In rival show Strictly Come Dancing last week hot favourite Austin Healey, 35, went on first and came last.
Last night top bookie Paddy Power said it had also noticed the trend.
Spokesman Darren Haines said the Irish firm had made whoever sings last the 10-11 favourite to win the final.
Alexandra Burke, 21, is favourite to win at present, but 16-year-old Eoghan’s teary antics last week could gain him support.
An X Factor spokesman said that the order the acts would perform was
decided “fairly and by a strict rota”.
Leon Jackson has complained that the X Factor judges steal the limelight from contestants.
The 2007 winner said that the bickering between the panel often overshadows the actual talent contest.
"It gets clouded these days when the judges are having their confrontations," Jackson told The Sun. "It should be more about the acts."
Jackson tipped Cheryl Cole to be the victorious judge on this year's show, arguing that it would be a "reward" for her efforts on the show.
"Simon has not won for a couple of years since Leona Lewis but I'd like to see Cheryl Cole win this year," he said.
"I think she's done a great job and it would be a great reward for her."
Jackson will play a 16-date tour around the UK in 2009 promoting his Right Now album.
DaVeyWaVey
14-12-2008, 12:15
The X Factor site have published the voting patterns of each week of the live shows. Here they are:
Show 1
Eoghan Quigg 21.19%
Scott Bruton 19.48%
Laura White 16.99%
Diana Vickers 7.35%
Daniel Evans 7.21%
Alexandra Burke 7.20%
JLS 5.03%
Rachel Hylton 4.77%
Austin Drage 3.63%
Ruth Lorenzo 3.47%
Girlband 2.17%
Bad Lashes 1.51% (Deadlock)
Show 2
Eoghan Quigg 26.77%
Diana Vickers 16.24%
JLS 9.21%
Laura White 8.99%
Austin Drage 8.98%
Daniel Evans 8.23%
Alexandra Burke 7.15%
Rachel Hylton 5.01%
Scott Bruton 4.17%
Ruth Lorenzo 2.95%
Girlband 2.30% (Deadlock)
Show 3
Eoghan Quigg 20.73%
Diana Vickers 15.13%
Rachel Hylton 12.21%
JLS 10.81%
Ruth Lorenzo 8.93%
Alexandra Burke 8.83%
Laura White 7.53%
Austin Drage 6.22%
Daniel Evans 5.94%
Scott Bruton 3.67% (Judges)
Show 4
Eoghan Quigg 19.81%
JLS 17.00%
Diana Vickers 15.24%
Daniel Evans 10.83%
Ruth Lorenzo 10.25%
Alexandra Burke 8.82%
Laura White 7.38%
Austin Drage 6.86% (Judges)
Rachel Hylton 3.81%
Show 5
Eoghan Quigg 27.39%
Alexandra Burke 18.35%
Daniel Evans 13.77%
JLS 13.26%
Rachel Hylton 10.39%
Laura White 9.90% (Judges)
Ruth Lorenzo 6.94%
Show 6
Diana Vickers 31.30%
Eoghan Quigg 19.56%
Ruth Lorenzo 13.91%
Alexandra Burke 13.31%
JLS 9.91%
Daniel Evans 7.53% (Judges)
Rachel Hylton 4.48%
Show 7
Eoghan Quigg 31.79%
Diana Vickers 18.94%
Ruth Lorenzo 16.07%
Alexandra Burke 14.97%
JLS 11.75%
Rachel Hylton 6.48% (Judges)
Show 8
Alexandra Burke 24.53%
JLS 24.34%
Eoghan Quigg 19.58%
Diana Vickers 16.32%
Ruth Lorenzo 15.23% (Public)
Show 9
JLS 35.03%
Alexandra Burke 31.04%
Eoghan Quigg 21.14%
Diana Vickers 12.79% (Public)
Show 10 (Final) – At vote freeze
Alexandra Burke 44.02%
JLS 30.65%
Eoghan Quigg 25.33%
Show 10 (Final) – Final Result
Alexandra Burke 58.34%
JLS 41.66%
Yeah It said on the Xtra factor results, that eoghan had 'won' two shows
And by the looks of things Diana was second in the vote a lot
They were just saying how it really is important, this final vote
DaVeyWaVey
14-12-2008, 12:39
Can't believe that Daniel actually beat Alexandra in a few of the public votes. :D and Scott on Week 1 coming second in the voting :eek: That surprised me, especially as Laura was on last, doing an amazing performance of Fallin'.
If it was down to deadlock, Laura and Austin would have stayed longer :( It was so close between Ruth and Diana in Week 8.
Not too surprised that Eoghan topped the votes the most weeks to be honest.
suprising results, to think the winner didn't get off to a good start in the voting stakes. To be honest I think there should be no judges vote involved as it's all tactical at the end of the day. Let the public decide the fate of the acts, after all it's the public who will be buying the music. Laura & Austin could have gone far in the contest if it wasn't down to judges votes.
Perhaps they need judges vecause they know best who might have what it takes for the performer to continue developing.
Sir Elton John has criticised The X Factor during a live show in London.
The singer was performing at London's O2 arena on Saturday night when the outburst took place.
The star thanked the 20,000-strong audience for coming on the same night that the ITV show final was aired.
He then added that he would rather have his "c**k bitten off by an Alsatian" than watch the competition.
Two years ago Sir Elton said: "The X Factor is a cruise ship show. I've got nothing against the people who go on - good luck to them. But I hate how they're treated.
"They're given an awful sense of stardom and pressure straight away but they're only successful until the next series."
The singer is expected to perform on the same night as X Factor winner Alexandra Burke when he takes to the stage for a special show on New Year's Eve.
see i predicted Alex from the start: http://www.soapboards.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=607023&postcount=2
see i predicted Alex from the start: http://www.soapboards.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=607023&postcount=2
Ooo Well done :p
*-Rooney-*
17-12-2008, 14:56
did you see on the xtra factor all the judges wrote down one of the acts out of the 12 who they thought would win, stuck them in a case without letting anyone see it and opened after the final to c if anyone was right. me and my friends are gonna do that next yr and stick it in an envelope - should be interesting
Did they open the enevelope and which one of the judges was right?
Did they open the enevelope and which one of the judges was right?
None was... Louis was closest with Eoghan... that is what made me look back on that thread
*-Rooney-*
17-12-2008, 15:19
yeah cheryl had diana, dannii had laura and i think simon had rachel
Did they open the enevelope and which one of the judges was right?
None was... Louis was closest with Eoghan... that is what made me look back on that thread
Its funny isnt, and people think louis is rubbish and doesnt know what hes doing half the time, well simon thinks that, but Louis was the one who was closest
*-Rooney-*
17-12-2008, 16:40
i think its hard to guess from the first episode though, its just luck really because you dont know how well they will progress in the show, their weak points and their strong points u learn that after watching a few different themes,
its weird louis choosing oeghan though cos he always seemed to give him a hard time up until a couple of weeks before the end
tammyy2j
18-12-2008, 17:31
The X Factor runners up JLS are said to be furious that they can’t have Louis Walsh as their manager.
The boys had their heart set on sticking with their show mentor, the man behind Westlife and Boyzone, but are stuck in a contract with Modest Management for another three months.
An X Factor source said:
‘JLS are so popular – they could be the new Blue with a sexier, cooler edge to them. They need to be managed by someone who cares about them and Louis really does.’
tammyy2j
10-03-2009, 16:52
According to The Sun, despite Alexandra Burke's chirpy blog updates insisting everything's peachy, The X Factor live tour might not be going to plan.
Apparently, winner Alex and runner-up best mate Ruth Lorenzo had to be 'held back' during a screaming match over one of their backing dancers.
The paper reckons the two both had their eye on the same bloke, and the row erupted after Alex pulled him. A source said, 'Their friendship is truly over'.
However, some sources say Ruth is jealous of the winner's fame and special treatment and it's all just coming to a head, with some even saying that they both want the other one booted off the show.
If the tabloid press is to be believed, contract negotiations about who judges this year's X Factor are approaching an end point later this month. Many are tipping Dannii 'iceberg' Minogue for the axe, while Mel B, Lily Allen and Charlotte Church are just a few names linked to taking over.
However, DS has its own ideas about who should be helming the 2009 singing contest. We've chucked out Simon Cowell, told Louis Walsh to spend the autumn at Bette Midler's house and decided to let Cheryl have the year off to make another Girls Aloud record. In their place, we've come up with four famous faces, who we think would make this year's X Factor the most exciting to date.
Kerry Katona
She might be more famous for her fluctuating weight and dodgy Iceland adverts these days, but those with long enough memories may remember her original claim to fame was singing. Who could forget her Atomic Kitten classics 'Right Now' and 'See Ya'? A tabloid dream, at the very least she would generate enough headlines to keep Cowell Towers happy. Plus, if her judging is anything like her famous This Morning ramble, it would make for TV gold as well.
Noel Gallagher
"High School Musical is like drugs", "Lady GaGa makes my teeth hurt", "Mark Ronson ruins songs"; Noel Gallagher is never afraid of sharing his views with the nation, so why not give him the biggest TV stage of all to mouth off on? The Oasis guitarist could fill Simon Cowell's "grumpy judge" slot nicely. We're not sure what he'd make of Brian Friedman's dance routines, but we love the image of Liam, Paul Weller and the guys from Kasabian cheering their bandmate along.
Ozzy Osbourne
Sharon's been there, done that and chucked the glass of water. Kelly has ruled out ever working on one of Simon Cowell's shows. So why not go straight to the great man himself - the Prince of Darkness Ozzy Osbourne. We'd prefer to see Ozzy biting the heads off bats and launching expletive-filled rants at his fellow judges than watch another teary-eyed montage sequence from Dannii or Cheryl any day. We'd also pay some serious cash to see him turn a Eoghan Quigg-esque teeny-bopper into a full on guitar-thrashing, metal-head.
Su Pollard
When we were thinking of someone to replace the cheeky Irish charms of Louis Walsh, we knew that we that we had to look a bit further afield than our other judges. We needed someone kitsch, light-hearted and preferably with appalling music taste. We're not sure if Hi-Di-Hi!'s Su Pollard is a fan of Irish boybands, but other than that she fits the bill to a tee. The Nottingham funnywoman isn't a novice when it comes to music or talent shows either. She famously finished second to a singing Jack Russell on 1974's Opportunity Knocks and even has a number two record to her name called 'Staying Together'. Not even Simon Cowell can claim that!
:lol: :rotfl:
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