The X Factor, Live in London at the O2

Summer has started, and I've only been home a week, yet I've picked everything up from where I left it, it's as if Winchester is a completely separate life my twin lives. The only thing that stops that thought straight in its tracks is the huge load of unpacking that I am yet but never going to do. It's been a good week so far, caught up on some much needed sleep, seen some friends, soaked up the sunshine and most importantly had some greatly missed family time.

The highlight so far has been my trip to the O2 Arena to watch the X factor live. When we arrived, all excited and eager we were told they had reached the maximum capacity and we couldn't get in, you can imagine the disappointment after waking up especially early at 7am and travelling all that way. Luckily we waited and all of those on standby were granted what felt like a golden ticket, a huge sigh of relief. We turned the corner and was literally part of a cat and mouse goose chase to the entrance of the studio; it was a never ending winding path of  railings, but eventually a dizzy queue could take their seats. 

Ian Royce the comical warm up was a great sport keeping us entertained between intervals. Dermot O'learly introduced the judges (Gary, Tuslisa, Louis and guest judge Nicole Scherzinger) in to the arena, all of which were warmly welcomed with a roaring cheer from the 5000 of us. I have to say, with  the X factor what you see is what you get, it was not as fake or staged as I thought it was going to be. The audience were left to their own judging device, and in a way we were heavily depended on as the 5th and most important judge. If we all gave a good and positive reaction towards the contestant the judges were swayed, and if anything we disagreed and boo-ed a lot of the judges comments. I was surprised how much time they gave to the contestants asking them questions and giving praise, or in other cases polity letting them down. Overall I was extremely impressed with the level of talent, everyone could sing apart from the very few entertainers that thought they could. There was definitely a surprising handful of people that stood out for me, and to be able to be apart of it and witness their audition in real time was far more pleasurable then watching it on TV. You could really appreciate the reality of it and their dream, and with the small minority an overwhelming standing ovation was a real heart felt moment. 

A student-like moan is a perfect note to end on, the prices for food at the O2 were unbelievable, even those that haven't been on a tight student budget felt the crunch. £8 for a cheese and ham panini! I mean really? I gave in and got chips, but even they were expensive, £3.40 for a portion of about 13 chips, what a good deal... Thankfully, we didn't starve because we prepared ourselves with some good ol' Sainsburys munch in advance. 

I took note of all the different roles involved in the production of The X Factor, and it made me appreciate how hard they work to make it a success. Without the crew there would be no show. I'm looking forward to watching how it is edited and portrayed on TV in September!