It's getting impossible to like the X Factor

So much about The X Factor is rubbish: the host, most of the judges, the vast majority of the ACTS. Little things like that.

It's bordering on impossible to like any show presented by Man At C&A, Dermot O'Dreary and his array of faux-American high-fives, man-hugs, and greetings like "it's showtime people."

Only three acts were better than their first auditions:

Lucie showed again that she has a voice that:

a) starts in tune
b) stays in tune
c) manages to go up and down sometimes. Pretty radical stuff.

Joe wiped the floor with his rivals in the soppy girl market, Ricky and Lloyd. And Miss Frank actually sounded as if they could sing. Well two of them.

"The next JLS!" declared Louis, wildly comparing them to his one-hit wonders from last year.

The most over-rated act in the competition remains Stacey who increasingly talks like someone about to wet herself, a female Frank Spencer.

"You're a natural pop star!" blustered Louis. "You've got it all." Except a powerful voice or stage presence.