‘The X Factor’ UK results: Do we blame James Arthur for Kingsland Road – Shelley Smith drama?

Last week on “The X Factor” UK, we at least had a minor surprise in that the first victim of the flash vote was none other than Shelley Smith. While the unsurprising person in Lorna Simpson still went home at the end of the day, this was an indication that Sharon Osbourne’s team was going to have some trouble keeping her contestants in the competition.

We will say this right now: Based on the performances alone, we felt before the results came in that we were probably going to see a repeat. Shelley’s “Single Ladies” was incredibly corny, and there is little reason for her to suddenly have new fans. The only other act that could find themselves in danger after all of the dust settled here was Abi Alton, mostly because her take on “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” sounded flat. Anyone other these two being in danger would be a shattering surprise, but crazier things have happened on the series over the years.

But, then the unthinkable happened: Kingsland Road received the fewest overall votes on the night! What in the world happened? The story that is of course going to come out of this is James Arthur saying that he would like to see them eliminated over the weekend, mostly because they were not in his opinion good enough to last, influenced the voting. Does he really that have much sway? We’re not really putting this on him. The major issues with the band tonight were as follows:

1. They performed early, which may have made them a tad forgettable.

2. Their performance of “Marry You” was too much of a chorus rather than a band.

3. The editors are not really giving them each an individual personality. You knew in the past who certain band members were, but with these guys, we only know them as a collective. This is one of the issues that comes with a group being formed prior to the show rather than during.

Do you think that the right person is in jeopardy going into tomorrow night’s show? Be sure to share your thoughts below! Meanwhile, click here if you are curious to check out where we ranked the singers coming into this weekend.

Photo: ITV