Dear 888ladies & 888gents

And if that isn’t exciting enough that the X Factor Tour is now on…..we’ve managed to get hold of 4 pairs of tickets that’ll guarantee to make you explode right here, right now!

These money-can’t-buy tickets will allow the lucky winners (and their even luckier plus ones!) the chance to rub shoulders with the stars of the show and spend some quality time mingling with the artists and bigwigs backstage!

To get your paws on these priceless tickets simply play both X Factor instant games (the scratch card and the slot machine) as much as you jolly well can between February 19 and March 19 and one draw a week draw will be held to pluck out the 50 members who wagered the most on the X Factor instant games in that week.

Tickets for the Glasgow, London, Manchester and Newcastle shows are all up for grabs although the Manchester draw is only open to our Gold ladies, so if Manchester’s what you’re after, you’ll have to go gold!

The dates and venues for the shows are:

Glasgow (Glasgow SECC) – Monday 8th March

Manchester – Gold ladies only (Manchester Arena) – Sunday 14th March

London (O2 Arena) – Saturday 20th March

Newcastle (Newcastle Arena) – Friday 26th March

An Xtra GL to you ladies!

Signing off……

…….Agetn008

Dear 888ladies & 888gents

You are all getting ready for Xmas, I hope that you have done all your shopping, tomorrow will be a snowy, shopping hell!

One person, who I know will have an AMAZING XMAS is FLORIDAHOLIDAY! This fantastic 888lady didn’t venture out to the cold and bustling crowds, she stayed at home, snug and warm with a cup of cocoa and 888ladies. All she did was play on our fun X Factor slots and won £20,000!!! YES, £20,000, a PHENOMENAL AMOUNT OF MONEY!!! IN ONE GO! I can’t remember anything like that.

floridaholiday is the biggest X Factor slots winner with £20,000!

This is an 888lady who definitely had the X Factor. It doesn’t matter whether the X Factor is on or not, you can still win big on 888ladies with our amazing slots!!!

Good Luck and Merry Xmas!

Agent008

……and the winner is Joe McElderry!!! There were no major surprises there. He was the bookies favourite, the judges favourite and it seems also the public’s favourite (though I don’t quite think they’re mutually exclusive). So well done Joe! I’m still not convinced of his marketability but it seems that Simon Cowell and his empire are invincible so I have no doubt that Joe will be a success. Or another Steve Brookstein… But I sincerely hope not.

Away from all the excitement of the finals this weekend, I’ve been stunned by the data recently published surrounding X Factor. Here’s something to think about: the cost of one, yes, that’s ONE advert in the X Factor break is a mere £200,000. So it seems that M&S, Barclaycard (with their cooooool slide which I’d like a ride on) and the Sun have a bit too much spare cash lying around. Stat no.2 – sales of pizza apparently went up 8 fold in Newcastle, where Joe’s from. That’s probably why he won since the entire city was too full to get off their couches on the weekends so they just stayed at home and voted. Then there’s the slightly shocking statistic, that the National Grid had to employ extra people to work over the weekends since the surge in electricity during ad breaks, hence tea breaks, was enough to cause catastrophic power cuts!

It doesn’t stop there my friends! TESCO (also a £200k an advert paying customer) and ASDA saw a massive surge in snack food since the show started. Basically, we’re a nation of pizza eating, junk loving, tea drinkers. Who love telly of course!

These numbers tell a tale though. What it is about X Factor that grips the nation to this extent I am unsure about. I would like to hope that we’re all bright enough people not to be lured merely by adverts and hype but that there’s some free will in there too. I, for one, love the telly but carefully choose the programmes that I watch religiously. Like X Factor.

Then why do I watch it? Partly for the humour, partly for the clothes, sometimes for the singing, but normally because it’s a group of normally people trying to live out their dreams and (without getting too soppy) it feels good to know that my little vote helped them get there.

So, until October 2010, adios from me.

Talking Tara x

Talking Tara special review of the X Factor semi finals!

Decisions, decisions! The semi-final show is the big-un. Obviously not THE main show but getting through this week’s elimination enables the contestants to say, “I made it to the finals but ultimately only one person could win and it wasn’t me, but I tried my hardest”. Getting to this stage yet not getting through is frustrating because the potential to win is so near yet so far.

So, the ins and outs from this week. Joe – there’s no denying he has a fantastic voice but there’s something that just doesn’t cut it for me. Scrutinising him this week I managed to point my finger on what it is. I think it’s that his voice and his image aren’t contemporary enough. There’s a musical (as in West End rather than tuneful) sound to his voice rather than an edgy tone. From what we are shown on TV, he seems like a genuinely great bloke. But being ‘nice’ isn’t enough. We need charisma for our X Factor winner. Someone who we’ll be excited to see in concert. I can only imagine listening to his music whilst relaxing in the bath with a glass of vino and a good book. Would I seriously be excited to see his video on MTV and want to go to his concert? Maybe I’m not the target audience and should he win, not everyone can be pleased by the produce of the winner’s songs but hey, that’s why he’s not my favourite! I would love to see him performing in a West End musical stage though as I think he would really shine there.

Stacey – the only girl standing. Not that I would vote her in for that reason alone but it does give her a uniqueness from ‘the boys’. Song no.2 this week was sensational. I wanted her voice AND her wardrobe (which by the way I read that she has a fab designer producing the show stopping numbers for her in record time in week). Like Cheryl said, I also had goose bumps on my arms as she sang with emotion like I have never seen in her before. Totally sensational. My only criticism would be this: I get the feeling that she auditioned for the fun of it and now can’t quite believe how for she’s come. I’m not saying that she doesn’t want it but rather it hasn’t quite been a dream of hers. Regardless though, she’d make a great recording artist no doubt about it.

Next the golden oldies Danyl and Olly. Being in the same category, same sex and similar ages I can only but compare the two of them. Voice – both great, Danyl’s perhaps stronger and better than Olly’s. Dancing – Olly is quirkier and more interesting though Danyl’s style is less active so it’s hard to tell. Personalities – Olly is a more likable character because he’s more ‘boy next door’ and just like Robbie said ‘you just want to be his mate’. Unfairly, the public seem less attracted to Danyl because he’s more confident. He seems more competitive since you can see a genuine desire to win the competition. He’s passionate about it and in a similar way to Alexandra last year, he comes across more guarded because of this desire.

We have 4 great contestants this year and ultimately though, it’s up to you, me and the other 8 millions viewers who we see in the finals next week. My money’s on Stacey to win although I hope Olly does. Each to their own so get voting for your favourite and good luck!

Just one week to go. I’m starting to get nervous!

Talking Tara

……..Jussy69!

Dear 888ladies & 888gents

I just got off the phone with our X Factor winner, Jussy69 who won a pair of tickets by being chosen at random by ONE of the HUNDRED 888ladies to play the most on the 888ladies X Factor Slots over the last week!

With all things being equal, she will be going down to London from the North West of England next weekend, staying in the luxurious 5 Star Hotel, the Cumberland, just off Oxford Street, very nice for Xmas shopping!!! She will then have a chauffeur driven Mercedes come and pick her up and take her to the X Factor Studios!

There, she will partake in free drink and free food whilst rubbing shoulders with celebrities who will be there. After watching the show from her VIP seat, she will have a ride back to her 5 Star Hotel, in her chauffeur driven Mercedes!

After that, the night is her and her guest’s to take advantage of!

WTG!

Signing off ……..

……..Agent008

My regular routine of discussing the judges, their movements, facial expressions and well, everything about them I will leave out this week. After all my criticism about the show being about them and not the contestants, it appears that in recent weeks I’ve been doing just that and neglecting them. So, S, L, D, J & O, this one’s all about you.

My dearest Stacey. She makes me laugh week in week out. I feel like she brings to X Factor what Jade Goody brought to Big Brother. You think she’s putting on an act because no one could act that dim but yet you don’t think she has the capability to act that dim. This may sound mean but I really like her because she’s just her – Stacey from Dagenham who happens to have an unbelievable voice. It just goes to show how important personality is in this show. Her vulnerability and lack of self belief make her the ideal underdog to love, both for men who love her sky high legs and for girls who can see that she’s a genuinely lovely person.

Lovely Lloyd. I actually feel sorry for him and it’s making me debate whether such young contestants should be in the show or not. In my mind it’s a fact – his voice is not up to the show’s high standard. Yes, he’s an adorable person with a cute personality but no, neither his singing nor his dancing are that great. I think his cuteness is keeping him in, making him into a 15 year old girl’s idol but that’s fake. I can’t imagine for the life of me that he’ll win the competition, yet he’s a young boy, taken out of school and thrown into the limelight. One could argue that he chose to join the show but which 16 year old boy wouldn’t want a try at being rich and famous? Not that I would know but the reality seems different from the dream and there’s something to be said about not taking kids out of school for a reality TV programme.

Normally I’m there waving the Danyl flag so high in the sky that I may just take off and fly. Unfortunately, this week I found that his voice grated on me a bit. I can’t really pinpoint exactly what it was, but it was there, niggling away at me during all his songs. It started in Relight my Fire and then stuck with me throughout the programme. He’s undeniably a good singer and performer but something was missing for me this week. I definitely needed my Danyl fire relit!

Sweet, sweet Joe. There’s nothing much more I can say that hasn’t already been said. Nothing I can do that hasn’t been done. Okay, I’m stealing lyrics here. But he’s FAB! A tad rhythmically challenged so I think he’s best standing still. Yeah right he was ‘commanding the stage’ like Simon said. Unless since their view from prime arena seats and mine from a 28 screen box, may have distorted things somewhat. Anyway Joe, just stand in one place and let us stare into your dreamy face and enjoy your therapeutic voice.

Olly Murs – the wonderboy. Well until last week he was. I’m kinda torn with him. When he first did his kooky dancing I loved it. Now I’m just a bit bored. His voice is lovely and overall he gives a great performance. There’s just something too cheesy about him. I don’t want to diss him because he seems genuinely nice. But he needs to lose the cheesy smile and corny suits and come into the 20th century. Kooky dancing mixed with modern clothes and music is more acceptable and I think could help him make it to the final three.

So…who are my bets on? I don’t want to jinx things so I’m keeping shtum.

Talking Tara