“Always look on the bright side of life…”
Monthy Python had that one right – however bad things might be looking, that lucky break might be just around the corner. Don’t believe us? We’ll be looking at some celebrity examples all this month…
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X Factor ‘Losers’
Complain about it all you like, (and we do), The X Factor has brought hours of entertainment into our living rooms every season. As a talent show, though, it’s debatable whether the actual talent ends up with the title every year. In fact, some of the most successful acts from the competition are the so-called ‘losers’.
JLS – Four-piece JLS tool part in the 2008 series of The X Factor, making it al the way to the final but forced to settle for second place, as runners-up to Alexandra Burke. They were initially offered a contract by Simon Cowell’s label, but that offer was revoked so Simon could concentrate on Alexandra. No matter, they bagged a record deal anyway and over four years since that loss in the final they’re still topping the charts and have endorsement deals for all manner of products on top of a hugely successful music career. Sidenote – Marvin was previously a member of failed British boyband VS… never give up!
Jedward – The 21-year-old twins from Dublin appeared on the show back in 2009 and were immediately the subject of derision. Louis Walsh was the reason they made the live shows at all, but after an initial period of being deeply unpopular with television audiences, a shift in public opinion was not long coming. They finished in sixth place in their series but over three years later are still going strong with a massive army of fans and reportedly earned £3m in 2011.
One Direction – Probably the most notable of all. Niall, Zayn, Harry, Liam and Louis all auditioned separately for the 2010 series of The X Factor. Judges didn’t see the solo career capabilities they saw in the likes of Matt Cardle, Nicolo Festa, Aiden Grimshaw and Paije Richardson (how many can you remember?), so it looked like the end of the road for the young singers. However, when the judges asked the five to come together and form a band, the hearts of a million teenage girls were instantly won over. Hugely popular in The UK and Ireland already, One Direction have now broken the United States too, and look on course to be the most successful act ever to emerge from the competition.
The Bright Side with Kellogg’s Special K – What will you gain?
