Who Will Win the X Factor?

Saturday night television in the UK is dominated by reality TV shows that dominate our screens for the last three months of the year. X Factor sees the battle of talented young singers all dreaming of superstardom like previous winners Alexandra Burke and Leona Lewis. John and Edward Grimes, known as Jedward were the most talked about acts from the beginning of the series to their elimination two weeks ago and last week Lloyd Daniels left the show after losing the sing off against Danyl Johnson. Lloyd was battling a sore throat and did well to finish his songs; his elimination sees Joe McElderry, Stacey Solomon, Olly Murs and Danyl Johnson fighting for their dream contract.

Entertainment betting fans have been treated to a roller coaster of emotions in the show. Simon Cowell caused mass controversy when he sent a vote to deadlock that could have seen Jedward eliminated earlier in the competition and this series has been a must-see show from day one.

Singer Joe McElderry is benefiting from having all of the local radio stations in the North East of England incorporating “Vote Joe” messages into their jingles and the region is really getting behind the likeable youngster. Being part of Cheryl Coles stable of singers will not hurt him either as she is also from the north east with a massive fan base across the UK.

The music market has a vacancy for a young male singer as the female power voice market is saturated with recent X Factor winners Alexandra Burke and Leona Lewis enjoying success. The betting market at bwin.com now has Joe as firm favourite to win. He has odds of 1.70 after two weeks of solid performing and he is the most popular act with the judges, which does influence the public vote.

Stacey Solomon has been compared with Leona Lewis but is keen to play down the comparisons. She has a likeable personality and is second favourite in the market with odds of 4.30. As a young single mother she has a lot of support to do well from the public. Joe is widely thought of as the best singer in the competition but Stacey has impressed viewers and judges alike with her polished performances of difficult songs to perform.

Olly Murs was favourite earlier in the competition but now sits in third place behind Joe and Stacey with odds of 6.00. He is admired for his dancing within his performances but there is a feeling that Olly has shown his repertoire and Simon Cowell continues to give him retro songs to show off his dancing. If he is to win he will need to have the crowds support already you feel and unfortunately for Olly the odds suggest the support is with Joe and Stacey. Also against Olly winning is the fact that he has been in the sing-off and historically there has never been an act rebound to win the show from being in the sing off.

Danyl Johnson had plenty of media coverage before his X Factor run. He was described by Simon Cowell as “marmite” when he was put through the auditions and this assessment has proved accurate with numerous appearances in the sing off suggesting the public either love or hate him. Danyl has odds of 8.00 to win the X Factor that makes him the outsider with four acts left. Branded as arrogant, he has managed to survive this far but now that the show is 100% decided by the public vote he faces a fight to survive. It appears that Danyls knack of having people either like or dislike him may prove his undoing at this critical point of the competition.

The sensible tip is Joe to win but a surge of popularity for Olly could see him be the dark horse of the competition. Providing Joe’s fans continue to vote and do not get complacent then betting on him to win at 1.70 while the odds are available is the best bet in the market. Olly is my outsider tip at 6.00 if you feel that the competition is still wide open, but I would discount Danyl Johnson’s chances to win and tip him to be eliminated this weekend.

By Malcolm Clarke