Why X factor has sold out

X Factor has sold out.

Ok, I realise saying a programme which practically prides itself on selling out to anything and making fortunes from anyone who can sing (and even those who can't - see Jedward) is a bit steep, but I think X factor has now finally truly sold out.

'Why are the judges all being so nice?' my housemate commented as we all sat round the TV this Saturday for X Factor. He was right, the judges were loving every act. Where was Simon Cowell's biting criticism or long drawn out sighs for Wagner or Diva Fever or Cher Lloyd? Why was Dannii not getting angry about performers not taking their songs seriously? Where the catty comments from Cheryl? What was going on?

Well now you can buy all the performers' songs from itunes the moment they've sung them. Perhaps that might have something to do with it. And the tracks cost a pound. Each. That probably helps too. So now when Dannii Minogue says to Diva Fever that their performance is going to be on her xmas playlist, that's in the hope other people will also decide they want that track for their xmas playlist and download it from itunes (for a quid...) which means more money for the judges' pockets, more money for the stars and more money for ITV. Everyone wins right? Well, everyone bar the audience who feel a bit cheated.

Because the audience takes X Factor surprisingly seriously. Some might say they watch X Factor as a guilty pleasure, or 'ironically', or their housemates watch it so they have no choice. Others are even honest and say it's basically a brilliant TV pantomime, with a sob story, a villain (Simon Cowell), a jeering audience, one or two buffoons, and the central rags to riches story with a great happy ending to finish.
But behind all of the excuses is the fact that people believe in X Factor, however corny that sounds. They believe in it because it looks those on the show do too. Simon actually looks like he thinks that person is crap, Cheryl actually seems emotional about that soppy performance. Just like a panto everyone knows it's a wonderland and is poking a bit of fun at itself, but people are willing to suspend belief because the backbone of that wonderland takes itself seriously.

But now all the tracks are being sold onto itunes straight after a person's performance, the seriousness behind the fun pretence has been removed, and it's just three hours of watching the judges whore themselves off to capitalism. We stopped watching the Saturday show half way through because it felt like the show had lost something. The genuine feel has gone.

Maybe I'm being overly dramatic about the whole thing, and yet I'm willing to bet the ratings won't be as high for this year's X Factor as compared to last year. Perhaps like Glastonbury the show could do with a fallow year, a bit of time to relax, give the audience a rest, and lose that growing sense that the show is now just going through the motions.

So c'mon X Factor, tell itunes to bugger off, we want our fun panto back.