Looking Good

The discontented office worker effortlessly belted out Duffy's Mercy. She hasn't lost a partner or recovered from a drug addiction, but she has a mighty good voice and a great look.
The sly comments between the judges are just as entertaining, and a favourite exchange of the evening was between Louis and Cheryl.

Louis: "Singing wasn't great – but that never stopped girlbands making it before." Ouch!
Cheryl: "I thought you were the big band manager. I thought you knew it all!"
Louis, sarcastically: "You know about girlgroups."
Cheryl: "And you don't." Double ouch!

Knowing that Louis used to manage Girls Aloud - but don't anymore - you could almost taste the tension in the air. Bringing Cheryl Cole in as a judge has brought a more compassionate slant to the show. She makes good television but, as a talent show, it may have been more appropriate to bring in a record producer. Guy Chambers or Brian Higgins (the man behind many of Girls Aloud's hits) springs to mind.