X Factor week two: Why Grimmy didn’t bottle it by letting the vote-off go to Deadlock

Angry people of social media, Nick did not do a Louis Walsh, calm yourselves down

If you think you’re angry he’s gone, imagine how the wardrobe people feel (Picture credit: ITV PIctures)

Does sending a vote to deadlock mean you’re wimping out of a decision when you’re a judge on X Factor? According to a lot of angry people fuelled by that Merlot from Sunday lunch on social media it does. In reality? Nick Grimshaw (who’s been my favourite judge since live shows started based on his delivery of the most funny one-liners and the fewest seven year-old cliches) is being unfairly judged because of the legacy of Louis Walsh. Louis used Deadlock because he panicked and didn’t want to choose; Nick used Deadlock because in this instance it was the best decision since someone said ‘Give Fleur East Uptown Funk.’

Because this was no ordinary bottom two. This was like being asked what you preferred between a burrito and a lasagne. Clearly they are both awesome cheese-containing carb extravaganzas and no person in their right mind would choose between them. They’d just have one on a Tuesday, one on a Wednesday and love life.

Near the start of this year’s X Factor, I sent about 15 Whats App messages declaring that Seann Miley Moore was so definitely the winner, all iconic performances and heartbreak and belted kimonos and star quality and that this series was done. And then I watched Mason Noise at Judges’ Houses and felt how Rita felt tonight; there’s something about him, even if neither me or Rita are quite sure what.

Well er yeah, it could be that (Picture credit: ITV Pictures)

Seriously thought, those lungs. THOSE LEGS (Picture Credit: ITV)

In the fun days before people had to do any voting off (Picture Credit: ITV)

And when you’ve got that thing-no-one-can-quite-place-but-everyone-loves (I think the French have a better name for it), you’re suddenly propelled to a level that even when Seann Miley Moore makes Beyonce sound a bit half-hearted in his survival song, puts you on a par. It’s like Reggie and Bollie bouncing up and down to One Direction; who cares what we like about it, we just know it makes us happy.

Seann and Mason have both had up and down X Factor experiences so far. I’ve found Seann slightly too musical theatre; I thought Mason’s Teardrops was a bit lacklustre. Even in their survival songs I was wavering, transfixed by Mason then noting a definite arm-goosebump when Seann hit the big notes.

I suspect Grimmy, rather than trying to dodge any decision, felt the same. Mason wasn’t an inferior contestant to Seann and rather than just panicking and pulling a Louis Walsh, that’s why Nick levelled the playing field and left it to the public to decide.

Because then we get to see if the public wanted a Seann, or they wanted a Mason; to see what they fancied in November 2015, and that’s fair. Until we realise they wanted Max Stone playing a tiny guitar to Somewhere Over The Rainbow, but let’s gloss over that.