For the first time in X Factor history, the mentors’ categories have been chosen by the viewing public – and it has thrown up some very interesting scenarios.
A Twitter vote decided who Simon Cowell, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, Rita Ora and Nick Grimshaw would mentor in the coming series; the twelfth of the ever-popular singing contest.
Simon was selected as the mentor for the Over 25s, and presumably he won’t be too disappointed with that after winning last year’s contest with the then 29-year-old Ben Haenow. He tweeted: ‘wasn’t the category I was expecting. I did win last year with the Overs so I’m sure we will do great things this year.’
Cheryl was handed management of the Groups, whilst newcomers Nick Grimshaw and Rita Ora landed the Boys and Girls categories respectively.
That Winning Feeling
As the reigning mentoring champion, Simon will in good spirits; although, despite being the longest serving judge on the panel, he has a relatively poor success rate, with just three wins in eleven years.
Cheryl, meanwhile, is a two-time winner, triumphing in back-to-back years with the Girls (Alexandra Burke) and the Boys (Joe McElderry) in 2008 and 2009 respectively.
Unfortunately for the former Girls Aloud songstress, only one group has ever won the competition – Little Mix back in 2011, although 4th Power have made strong early in-roads both on this year’s competition and in the press.
Reasons to be Cheerful
The best bet for success though, as confirmed by the betting odds on Flash Bitch, appears to be Rita Ora. She is the favourite in the ‘Winning Mentor’ category; no doubt helped by the fact that she will have Louisa Johnson, who is the early frontrunner for the X Factor crown, in her camp.
Nick Grimshaw will be buoyed by the knowledge that the Boys have won on four occasions (McElderry, Leon Jackson, Matt Cardle and James Arthur), and with Josh Daniel set to take his place in the Radio 1 DJ’s category, he’ll be feeling quietly confident.
There is still a long way to go of course, but now is as good a time as any to place your bets with www.flashbitch.com and let everybody know who your favourite mentor and contestant is! Currently FlashBitch is tipping 4th Power as the strongest group – and last year they tipped Ben Haenow to win already after his Boot Camp audition!
And perhaps the Groups will indeed be the ones to watch: with Ben Haenow not looking like a natural ‘pop star’ – and Cowell needing to replace One Direction, who are set to go on a hiatus, in the affections of hearts of teen girls across the globe – it is they who are set to be pushed the hardest.