‘The X Factor’ UK rankings: Will James Arthur, Jahmene Douglas be the final two?

There’s almost no sense in hiding that “The X Factor” UK at this point should and likely will be predictable. There are only six acts left, and they can be divided in half between the acts worthy of making the finale, and then the acts more or less destined to come up short. There is really only one possible sleeper in here, and it is someone who would probably send Tulisa Contostavlos to an early grave if Dermot O’Leary declared them the winner.

We’re trying to include everything from overall performance quality to supposed fan support on this list; but if this season’s trajectory so far has been any indication, there is still very much room open for surprises.

6. Rylan Clark (last week: 7) – There are probably some people out there who will say that Rylan is more entertaining and perhaps even more likable than Christopher Maloney; however, the votes don’t agree. Neither one of them really has any business still being in the competition, but Rylan has already been in the bottom two twice, whereas the pride of Liverpool (and the bane of the judges’ existence, save for his own Gary Barlow) has not.

5. Christopher Maloney (6) – There is a good chance that Christopher could outlast Union J and somehow even become the third-place finisher on this season over Ella … but let’s just hope that everything plays out as it should be instead. You cannot deny that he has a nice voice, and from that standpoint alone he is eons better than Rylan. The issue here is that this guy is not as creative, is not going to be a major pop star, and if anything he will happy landing a residency at a local theater in his hometown.

4. Union J (4) – The boys need a moment badly this week if they want to stay. Even a great performance last week could not keep them out of the bottom two, but the one thing they have going for them now is this: with District3 out of the running, the teen girl boy band vote may swing over to them entirely. After all, they are more likely to pick up their votes than anyone else.

3. Ella Henderson (3) – Ella’s placement here really has to do with one simple thing: she is just as talented as both of our top two, but for whatever reason she just hasn’t had as many landmark moments the past few weeks as they have. Being the only girl left almost makes her a lock to last for at least two more weeks, but there is still work to be done when it comes to getting the overall feel of her performances up to both Jahmene and James.

2. Jahmene Douglas (2) – With the pretty tepid crop on the American “X Factor” this year, we almost wish that Simon Cowell would fly Jahmene out to just put all of them to shame. The guy can SING, and he has the best upper register we’ve heard on a reality show since Adam Lambert all the way back on the 2009 season of “American Idol.” He may win, but there is still one thing the guy has to work on if he wants to be a recording artist: the sort of edge that Adam has when he is not hitting high notes.

1. James Arthur (1) – James is not just the top contestant on this season, but he may be hands-down the best singing-show contestant of the entire year. Every single one of his performances have not only been strong, but also original in between some rapping, singing, guitar-strumming, and arranging. He’s basically done here what Kris Allen did on “American Idol” that same year, and he also has an urban vibe about him to go along with it that is so gritty and raw the music executives will sign him the moment he wins this show.

Who is your “X Factor” UK pick at the moment?