Reality TV

On Saturday 23rd March, singing powerhouse and ‘The Voice' finalist J Marie Cooper has joined forces with City Academy to launch a one day singing masterclass at Sadler's Wells.

J Marie Cooper wowed Judges Will.I.Am and Jessie J (who described her as 'a star of an artist') when she sailed through her blind audition for her appearance on the BBC's show.

The workshop is a rare opportunity and invites participants to discover their vocal potential, enjoy performing and gain stage confidence.

Is anyone following Sky1's Got to Dance 2013?   The show went on air from 6 January 2013.

Judge Tulisa Contostavlos described Lucy Spraggan as "one of the most unique artists this competition has ever seen", after her self-penned ballad 'Mountains' went down a storm with the X Factor audience on Saturday night.  

But why is she so unique in the competition, when her style and genre are nothing new to the world of music as a whole?  It could be argued that the show is only interested in a certain type of music and voice.  The pop star image is almost as important to getting into the final as your vocal ability.  

Despite being a talented musician and songwriter, and a good singer of her own songs, the odds are stacked against Spraggan reaching the final due her lack of versatility.  

When The X Factor launched itself onto our screens in 2004, with Simon Cowell leading the panel of industry experts Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne, the message was clear: finding fresh musical talent.  Nine series' and 10 judges later, it seems that the judges of today are more concerned about bickering between themselves than giving someone a well-deserved break in the tough industry.

So it's that time of the year again when we find out who we will be watching and supporting till Christmas. This weekend 25 acts will be battling it out at judges houses  to win those special spots on the live show and have the chance the win the X Factor.

Oh how exciting! Celebrity Z-list royalty Bianca Gascoigne auditioned for The X Factor tonight. Seriously. I think the girl must have some kind of attention defecit disorder. She hasn't been on a reality TV show in a couple of years, so she decided to show up for X Factor to scratch some weird "be on telly" itch.

Now, I've always been a fan of the babe. From a looks point of view anyway. She's hot. But she's got no problem rubbishing her step-father Paul Gascoigne, but will happily play on the Gascoigne connection whenever she needs to have any kind of cultural relevance. Because without the Gazza name, she's just another babe on the street.

34 year old customer services advisor from Liverpool, Christopher Maloney made a BIG splash on The X Factor tonight when he came on and auditioned with Bette Midler's The Rose.

Yeah, it's not often a guy takes to the stage to sing a Bette Midler song, but Christopher more than did the tune justice. Christopher explains to the judges that he sang The Rose at his grandfather's funeral, which is why it means so much to him. But what might just have won him the night was his devotion to his grandmother, who accompanied him to the audition and stood backstage as he performed. He said:

Pretty young singer Melanie McCabe made it through to judges' houses on last year's X Factor, but was sent home from Miami in favour of some largely forgettable singers. Seriously, I'm struggling to remember ANYONE from last year's line-up.

Melanie returns to the auditions stage with a version of the Simon and Garfunkel classic, Bridge Over Troubled Water. 

Here's the thing. Melanie's got a beautiful look, she'd definitely make a good girlband member. But her tendency to overindulge in vocal histrionics hurt her badly during this audition: she hit several bum notes, and exposed an unusually shril voice that I think might not be pleasant to listen to after a while.