Latest News, X Factor 2010 UK

Matt Cardle wins X Factor 2010

Well there were a few surprises along the way – not least Simon Cowell’s manufactured boy band One Direction finishing in third place. But in the end the honours went to the guy who has been hot favourite since the beginning: Matt Cardle.

Criticised by some for being maybe too earnest or dull, there can be no doubting that he has been one of the best contestants throughout the show. And he does seem like a really nice genuine guy who sees the show for what it is, a glorified karaoke contest, albeit one without the booze or the dodgy renditions of I Will Survive.

Whether that will be enough to make him a genuine recording artist with something to offer, and something to say, only time will tell. From what I’ve seen so far, he’s positioning himself as a sort of Chris Martin/James Blunt kind of star which doesn’t exactly fill me with excitement, but then maybe he’ll have more freedom to do more interesting things now the singing competition is over.

For Rebecca I guess there’s the potential of doing an Alexandra Burke – the X Factor’s fifth series winner – and making it in the US. Though personally I found her even less interesting than Matt.

Though her Heather Small type voice was certainly impressive, the choice of songs on The X Factor tended to be a little safe and I’m not yet convinced she has the strength of character to really push on and become a global star.

As for One Direction well I’m sure we won’t be hearing the last of them – unfortunately – given that Simon Cowell will certainly be keen to cash in on their fan base while he still can.