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Simon Cowell Brings Happiness To Hospice…
Oct 30th
X Factor judge Simon Cowell showed off his softer side when he became patron of charity Children’s Hospices UK.
At a visit to CHASE hospice care based in Surrey to announce his patronage, the talent show judge was a surprise guest for the families and children who used the centre.
Speaking to Sky News, Cowell, who recently celebrated his 50th birthday with an A-list bash, said: “I came into the room – there were probably about 80 families there, and they gave me a real grilling.
“The kids were asking who I liked and who I didn’t; even if I was a boxer or y-front man. I offered three of them jobs on the show to replace me.”
Cowell – who has visited the hospice before – spoke of a friendship he had struck up with a teenager Sian Tolfree and said visiting the hospice had given him more perspective.
Cowell said of Sian: “It was something that developed, more as a friendship than anything else.
“We became buddies.
“You get to know her family. She’s a regular at the show now – she’s the best critic. I’m always getting text messages from her.”
Sian, of Leatherhead, Surrey, said: “He’s like an uncle. He’s got a heart of gold really.
“He loves animals, children and chocolate. He’s a bit of a softie. He’s not a hard man at heart.”
Cowell has supported CHASE – the hospice he visited – for four years, but now joins Xtra Factor presenter Holly Willoughby and PR guru Max Clifford as a patron for Children’s Hospices UK.
He said: “The irony is when you come down to a place like this, what should be an incredibly sad place is a very happy place.
“That’s the weird thing. That’s why they do such a special job here. They make this an incredibly happy environment for the kids and it’s helpful for the families.
“You come away from a place like this thinking whatever troubles you have in the world are nothing. We get involved in silly ratings wars and battles and things that don’t matter, genuinely.”
And, Cowell said, the children he met all said they were not fans of fellow X Factor judge Louis Walsh.
He said: “They can’t stand Louis and they like me. So we’re absolutely on the same side.
“But they would probably say the opposite if Louis came down here!”
Talking of X Factor, Cowell reiterated his dislike for controversial Irish twins John and Edward – Jedward to their fans.
He said: “When you do a show like this and allow the public to vote you have to live with vote but it’s not going quite according to plan at the moment.
“I genuinely thought they would last a week or two weeks at the most.
“But they seem to be building up popularity which I have to confess is terrifying.
The idea, at the end, where they say the winner is Jedward – like I said before, and I mean it – I would be on the fastest plane out of the country that night.”
But the twins were not the only ones to get criticism.
Cowell likened Essex-girl Stacey Solomon to a singing candle.
He said: “She hasn’t moved in three weeks. I’d rather see Danyl than that any day.”
And Cowell also dismissed reports of warring judges – saying the competitive rivalry stretched only as far as the live shows.
He said: “In truth, deep down we all really like each other. But there is something about that show when you hit the live shows, everybody gets seriously competitive.”
He also revealed a meeting was called last Sunday night after the second live show of the weekend, but denied it was a “crisis meeting”.
He said: “It was simply to say I thought that Saturday’s show song choices and performances weren’t as good as I would have expected and that we have got to dig a bit deeper.
“We’ve got a responsibility while they’re in the show to make them as good as possible.”
One young fan happy to see Cowell was nine-year-old Grace Cann, who has had leukaemia twice.
She said: “I was really excited to meet him because I watch X Factor. My favourites are Ollie and Lucie.
“I asked him if he would have picked John and Edward and he said no.”
Cowell added he would not rule out lobbying the Government to change the way hospices were funded by “doing a Jamie Oliver” style campaign and approaching Downing Street.
He said: “100%. If you don’t ask you don’t get.”
This story will make you love Simon Cowell’s mum….
Oct 21st
You can be one of the most powerful men in the country, swanning around with hot women, driving fast cars, owning more identical black t-shirts than you can fit in your 73 houses, but ultimately you’re still just someone’s little boy.
Simon Cowell’s 82 year old mum Julie has given a very funny interview to Yours magazine (ask your nan) in which she reveals that, to her, he’s just the same old Simon he’s always been.
“When I asked him what he wanted [for his 50th birthday] he said, ‘nothing’,” she reveals. “He loves books, so I got him book tokens and his favourite aftershave. Not very showbiz!” We wonder what Simon’s spent the voucher on – Leona’s new one? Some Mills & Boon to indulge his secret romantic side? Or maybe a self-help book – Who Moved My Cheese?
Julie also says that Simon’s whole brutal honesty thing isn’t just an act for TV – he’s always been blunt. “When Simon was five, I bought a new hat and asked him if I looked nice in it,” she recalls. “He replied, ‘You look like a poodle’!” Interesting, very interesting… now, we don’t want to get all psycobabble on on you, but doesn’t Simon now tend to go for women who look a little bit like poodles? Just saying…
Still, before Simon can go “oh MUM, shut UP, you’re embarrassing me!”, Julie does have a few very sweet things to say too. “It would only upset me if he really was a nasty person,” she says. “Simon isn’t nasty – he’s just honest. I’ve always insisted on politeness – so when people say how pleasant Simon is, I mutter ‘thank goodness’. It means more to me than his television career. He hasn’t let success go to his head. I was watching for his feet to come off the ground, and if they did, I would have made sure they came down quickly again.”
We bet she would too. Julie Cowell rules!
X Factor in chaos over Louis’ grief……
Oct 14th
From the London Lite:
Louis Walsh is “unlikely” to appear on X Factor this Saturday as he is attending Stephen Gately’s funeral, his agent said today.
It will mean the 57-year-old will be in Dublin to pay his final respects to the Boyzone star just hours before the show.
Walsh will crucially not be there to introduce his acts and defend them against the criticism from fellow judges. Producers were meeting today to discuss the format of Sunday’s live results show if Walsh cannot appear at all this weekend. He missed last Sunday’s X Factor after being told just before that Gately had been found dead in his apartment in Majorca. Today Walsh paid a tearful tribute to his friend, saying “We’re all in shock. Nobody can believe it – Boyzone, me nobody. The boys are devestated. It’s like theyy have lost their very best friend, and me too. Stephen was never happier when I met him last Monday. I never saw him in better health or better form. We had a laugh as usual, things were going so well – I still can’t believe he’s gone.”
The pop manager’s fellow X Factor judge Simon Cowell said: “We all know how close Louis and Stephen were and how much he meant to Louis. We will all support Louis in whatever he needs to do and have total respect and understanding of his wishes.”
Today a spokesman for Walsh said a decision has not yet been made on whether he would fly back to London to be on the show on Sunday. She said “I spoke to him last night and it is highly unlikely he will appear on Saturday’s X Factor as he’ll be in Ireland. I’m not sure about whether he will be on Sunday’s show, it will depend on how he feels. But I can tell you, even though it’s been a difficult week, he has been in constant touch with his bands.” Before the date of the funeral was announced, Cowell’s sidekick Sinitta said she thought Walsh would be on the show as he did not want to let down his two remaining acts – John and Edward and Miss Frank.
An X Factor spokesman said Walsh had been carrying on as normal as best he could under the circumstances, had chosen songs for his acts and was “very much in the loop” with their progress.
But they added that as the date of the funeral was only announced last night, no decision had yet been made on the format of Saturday’s show.
Gately’s family last nnight revealed that the singer’s funeral would take place on Saturday at St Laurence O’Toole’s Church in Dublin – a few hundred yards from where he grew up.
X Factor….My views so far….
Sep 29th
So with bootcamp over, the topic of x-factor related conversations has gone from ‘I like/hate the new format of the auditions’, to ‘Who’s gonna win?’. So here is my predictions of what is gonna take place from now until the final:
Judges houses, who will make it to the live show?
Cheryl Cole & The Boys:
1.
2. 
3. 
Duane Lamont Rikki Loney Ethan Boroian
Duane looks and sounds modern and I genuinely think there is room for him in the pop market. Rikki has the bouncebackability factor, and Cheryl will find it hard to send him home from this stage for a second time. Ethan is the eye candy for the girls, not a great voice but if my flatmates views represent the views of the country then he will stay and stay for quite some time, however there is only so far looks can get you! I can’t honestly say that there is anyone in this group that will win X-Factor this year.
Danni Minogue & the Girls
1. 
2. 
3.
Rachel Adedeji Stacey Solomon Lucie Jones
Slightly sticking to the last formula, Rachel is the cool, modern one, with a voice to match think Rhianna with Amy Winehouse vocal capabilities. Stacey is the character of the group, the typical Essex Girl who also has the ’sob-story’ that she has a little baby to provide for. Lucie Jones however is someone I think could make the final, she has one of the best voices in the competition, but something is telling me that she doesn’t have that little extra something to actually win the whole thing. The only other one that could be in the final 3 and a little bit of a black horse is Stacey McLean, as she is already a D-list pop star apparently so Danni may want to go with someone who has a little experience in the industry. We shall see….
Louis Walsh & The Groups
1. 
2. 
3.
John & Edward Kandy Rain Miss Frank
Well what can I say? The groups this year are definately the worse since X Factor begun, not a hint of a JLS or even a Same Difference!!! John & Edward are the most annoying creatures to ever grace the X Factor stage, but Louis will pick them because of the Irish Connection. Miss Frank is a group put together at the last minute because there was an obvious lack of talent in the group auditions, it most likely Louis’s idea though so he will put them through to prove himself right. Finally the only group that may stand half a chance is Kandy Rain, purely because they look like a group, think Pussycat Dolls without any decent singers. My predictions are that all of the groups will go out before any of the others.
Simon Cowell & The Over 25’s
1. 
2. 
3.
Wow, have I saved the best for last. This group is so good that I can’t decide on the third one. Jamie Archer is a pop star, he already looks like he should be on stage at Glastonbury, his rendition of Sex on Fire made me dance in my seat and I think he will go fire. Danyl Johnson has THE best voice in the competition, and although he wasn’t great in bootcamp, in my opinion he is the one to beat. And then it comes to between Daniel Pearce, Nicole Lawrence & Olly Murs; I think Olly is likeable but don’t think his voice is strong enough, he showed that in a mediocre performance of Elton John’s Your Song, so he is a no. But it is tight between Nicole & Daniel, Nicole has a great voice, she is the female representation in the overs and she has a sob story which we know Simon likes. However Daniel has proved he can win (he was a winner in Pop Stars-The Rivals, the TV show that shot Cheryl Cole to fame), and he would inevitably sell more albums than Nicole would, which after all is what Simon is looking for which is why I have gone with Daniel, but we will have to see!
Who will go out each week?
So here is the order in which I think each act will be eliminated;
Week 1: John & Edward, surely they can’t be kept in!
Week 2: Miss Frank, they just don’t bond together, get them off!!!
Week 3: Kandy Rain, Louis has a mental breakdown as all his acts leave first!
Week 4: Ethan Boroian, As I said earlier, there is only a certain point that looks can get you to, and that’s week 4!
Week 5: Duane Lamont, Just doesn’t have the extra umph to get any further in the competition.
Week 6: Stacey Solomon, It’s curtains for the Essex girl as the judegs realise she can only do ballads.
Week 7: Daniel Pearce, Should be in the final, but will come up against someone like Jamie or Lucie and the judges will keep the youngsters in.
Week 8: Rikki Loney, He’s good but not good enough, as the Scot heads back up North!
Week 9: Rachel Adedeji, Unfortunately comes up against Jamie and the judges plump for the most versatile of the two.
THE FINAL: Jamie Archer, Danyl Johnson & Lucie Jones reach the final. Jamie teams up with the Kings of Leon for a superb rendition of Sex on Fire, Danyl Johnson sings a duet of my endless love $with Mariah Carey and Lucie Jones joins Miley Cirus for a rendition of her new Christmas Ballad!
3rd Place goes to Jamie Archer
2nd Place to Lucie Jones
And the winner of X Factor 2009 is………….. Danyl Johnson!
Bookmark this page to keep checking back and see how correct I was!
X Factor Judges Revealed…..
Aug 22nd
According to www.xfactorblog.co.uk the Judge’s have found out who they will be mentoring and it is as follows:
Dannii Minogue – Girls (16-24)
Louis Walsh – Groups
Simon Cowell – 25s and Over
Cheryl Cole – Boys (16-24)
The only thing that I can see wrong with that is that Danni Minogue is still a judge! Simon Cowell is obviously a very clever man, so why has he not realised that there are soooo many other people out there that would MUCH better in that role? Here is my top 3 of who I would like to see take over from Danni Minogue:
1. Sharon Osbourne (Bring her back! She was the life and soul of the show!)
2. Kylie Minogue (Much more successful than her sister)
3. Mel B aka Scary Spice (Great personality and knows what it takes to make it in pop)
Oh well, its still gonna be a great show! Will try and post regularly on all things X!
