‘The X Factor’ UK finale rankings: Hope for James Arthur, Jahmene Douglas

There have been highlights and lowlights all season long on “The X Factor” UK, and you could say for us that a major lowlight is seeing how we have consistently been wrong all season about Christopher Maloney. Our general feeling was that the returning performer was going to land around in the middle of the pack this season, but for whatever reason he sticks around just as countless performers leave who are arguably more talented and more relevant to a modern pop audience.

But can Christopher actually win? Let’s take a look with our final contestant rankings of the season. As always, we consider many variables in coming up with these, with the primary ones on this occasion being voting history, performance quality, and perceived fanbase.

3. Christopher Maloney (last week: 3) – We did predict last week that Christopher would be in the finale, and here is what worries us: while the fanbase for James is very out in the open, and the same to an extent goes for Jahmene, Christopher has a silent following of older viewers who don’t really use Twitter and just call in their votes every week. He’s also receiving support beyond just Liverpool, and part of his appeal is coming from not only being an underdog, but performer older songs that nostalgic viewers have connections with. Short of rigging the competition, though, we see Simon Cowell and company doing everything they can to keep Christopher out of the winners’ circle given that there is no way he can go on to be a bigger star than he is now.

2. James Arthur (2) – This #2 ranking is largely due to voting more so than the actual level of James’ talent. While Jahmene has the better voice, this is the guy who could legitimately be a fixture in pop music after this competition … and he may also be more talented than 75% of the american show combined. He is going to need the vote of every person imaginable: which means we need to start begging One Direction now to endorse the guy for the finale.

1. Jahmene Douglas (1) – He has a voice of an angel, and he also has that perfect combination of presence among younger tech-savvy fans and the older viewers who always make their presence felt. It’s almost been forgotten to this point that Jahmene has never been in jeopardy, and you cannot really count last week as a bottom two given that the acts were just revealed in “no particular order.” Jahmene doesn’t have to do anything flashy to win at this point: he just needs to go out and continue to do what he does and he will probably win the whole competition.

Who are you rooting for to take the “X Factor” UK prize? Be sure to share your thoughts below, and you can also check out our favorite performances from the three finalists over here.

Photo: ITV