Reality singing competitions like The X Factor and The Voice have long courted controversy for doing little to actually launch the careers of its contestants and instead serving as a front for its hosts to promote their own projects.
Even former coaches for The Voice admit the show is a poor launch pad for a legitimate music career, as it focuses solely on finding someone skilled in singing and not a fully fleshed-out artist who can write their own songs.
But The X Factor takes everything up a notch. In addition to providing a questionable benefit for its competitors, different iterations of the show have been hit with accusations of rigging, with some claiming the producers or judges favour certain acts.
According to Metro, some critics have claimed a boy band currently competing on the UK version of The X Factor are being unfairly favoured because of their manager’s association with Simon Cowell, who serves as a judge and creator of the show.
’80s pop singer Sinitta manages The Brooks, a duo comprised of two brothers who previously failed to make it through to the later stages of the show back in 2014, but who’ve now been put through to the Judges’ Houses stage since Sinitta took them on.
Metro reports that Sinitta and Cowell had dated in the ’80s and have remained close friends ever since, with the singer advising Cowell on the show ever since it premiered back in 2004. It’s not the first time the show has been hit with such claims.
In October last year, UK X Factor contestant Ryan Ruckledge claimed the show’s producers told him to get drunk and act up during a performance at the boot camp round of the contest. The resulting performance saw Ruckledge booted off the show.
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Earlier that same month, the Australian version of The X Factor was hit with claims of rigging after popular mother and daughter duo Bianca and Johanna Vitalone were erased from the show despite finishing in the top 15.
The Tamworth-based country singers had made it through to the boot camp stage of the reality show, even receiving a standing ovation from the studio audience, but narrowly missed a spot in judge Guy Sebastian’s final five.
However, despite the duo’s popularity, none of Bianca and Johanna’s performances were played during any of the show’s broadcasted episodes, leaving fans scratching their heads and accusing the show of being fixed.
