C'mon knicker line plucker!! (Pop Idol)

Member Name: Sarah_Louise

Product:	Pop Idol
Date:	03/12/01 (319 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well the judges comments simply have to be put into the advantages section!

Disadvantages: Sometimes Simon Cowells comments drive you nuts!, Simon Cowells tops!

Finally I manage to find the Pop Idol catagory! Try searching for "Pop Idol" (which'd make sense don't you think?!) and it doesn't find it!
As for a documentary, well i'm not too sure about that but there we go!

If I had to catagorise this programme then I guess a comedy would be the best place to put it!

Well all love these sorts of programmes don't we, come on, admit it! Repeat after me....
"I, <insert name>, am addicted to Pop Idol"

There, that wasn't so hard was it?!

The question is "Why do we like these sorts of programmes?!" When you look at the content of the programme you'll not find much of interest really, but still, millions of people tune in at 6:10 on a Saturday evening to watch the latest rounds of the Pop Idol wannabe's.

This Saturday's show (1st Dec.) would no doubt have reeled in bigger crowds because of Darius and Rik Waller.

~ What's the show all about? ~

Well I don't think I need to tell you all what the show is about do I? If there is anyone wondering what this show is about then i've got one thing to say to you....

Where on earth have you been for the past few months?!

Basically ITV have decided make a new version of Pop Stars. Why? Well i'm not entirely sure because let's face it, Hear'Say aren't exactly fab are they? (Well unless it's just me that's tone deaf?)

Last night's show was the closest vote yet though, the show is nearing its finale now, last nights show being the last night when we pick the final 10 to go forward.
Rik Waller (yes, thats that large [sounds nicer than the f word!] guy who's been in the papers/internet) won last night with 25.6% of the votes.

Did Darius get through this time? (After failing to get into Hear'Say!) Well nope he didn't get through!


~ How do they get vote
d? ~

Well each of the 10 contestants per week had to sing a verse and chorus from a song of thier choice infront of the 4 judges. The judges would them tell them what they thought of it and then the viewers had to vote for the one they want to go forward.
Each week 2 have gone forward onto the next stage.

~ What part do the judges play then if it's the viewers who vote? ~

Well lets face it guys and gals, the judges make this programme what it is!
Infact, lets cut it down to two words....

Simon Cowell

- what a guy!!
He has to be the harshest man on the planet [well, ok, Britain!]. You think your dentist is horrid.... you should meet this bloke!!

Having said that though, in the second round (many weeks back) he put Rik through because he has a great voice, whereas Pete Waterman (another judge) argued that Rik shouldn't be taken any further.
The reason he gave was, to put it bluntly, because he was too fat.
Which is true, but then Rik has one of the better voices of the finalists.

~ Is the competition fair? ~

Well yes and no really.
In the very first stage then the competition was pretty fair.
The 4 judges would see people 'off the street' singing whatever they wanted. They'd then say yay or nay as to whether they'd be going through.
Some were absolutely cr*p. I mean let me say 4 letters to you....

Y
M
C
A

that girl was soooooo tone deaf it was unbelievable!
<Sorry YMCA girl if you are a member of dooyoo!>

But at least that time Simon Cowell's comments were fair!!

As to whether it's fair now is a bit debatable.
It's all down to viewers vote's now. Whether this could be rigged is a little debatable seen as millions of people watch and vote, but yesturday's programme was an excellent example.

Rik Waller won, not only because of this voice, but be
cause of all the "Vote for the fat bloke" style comments/adverts/campaigns/emails, etc, etc.
I'm not saying that this is a bad thing, but surely Darius had just as much right to win as Rik did?

We'll see how Rik does in the next round.
I'm not entirely sure how the next round is going to work.
I know that next week's show (or rather the show in two weeks seen as it's not on next week) is going to be the first time the finalists have had to perform infront of a live audience. I think the viewers then vote for the one's they don't want to win.

One question has to be raised now though.

So far it's all been a bit of a joke, but Rik Waller now has a 1 in 10 chance of becomming the next 'big thing' (no pun intended). And, like Pete Waterman said, quite frankly, he is *not* a pop idol.
What if he wins then? There is no denying the fact that he can sing so why shouldn't he win? It's down to ethics now!

Will your 12 year old daughter idolise Rik Waller?
Will she have posters all over her bedroom walls of him?

Personally I doubt it very much.

~ Who's going to win then? ~

Well, I don't really have a clue.
We'll just have to wait and see. The 10 finalists are:

Zoe Birkett
Gareth Gates
Hayley Evetts
Laura Doherty
Rosemary Ribbons
Jessica Garlick
William Young
Korben
Rik Waller
Aaron Bayley

For more information about any of those you can check out the pop idol website at:

http://www.itv.com/popidol/

Theres loads of information, useful and no so useful, about the show and about all of the above finalists.

For example, did you know....

Jessica Garlick plucks her knicker line?!?

yes, it's true, it says so on her profile on the website!!

~ When can I watch this programme? ~

See, I told you it w
as addictive!
Well the next show is on the 15th Dec. Probably at 6:10-7:10 on ITV1. One ITV2 just after the show has finished on ITV1 the show continues, live. What's on that I don't know I have not tuned into that yet!

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