X-Factor Final – The Final Verdict

So who stayed in this Sunday to watch the X-Factor final? Millions of people across the UK tuned in to see who would win the forth series and the 1 million pound record deal that went with it. Being big supporters of young people with talent we here at Talented Young People were very glad to see four young people under the age of 25 vying to become the X-Factor winner.

As you probably already know the Scottish crooner Leon beat off competition from Same Difference and Rhydian to win the contract but not before a cracking final and series before it. What I thought was so great about it was what each contestant brought to the competition.

Many people watch X-Factor for a bit of escapism for every day life or the struggles they are going through. Regardless of whether they won the contest or not I though each contestant had one of the most awesome privileges there is which is to entertain the British public. Regardless of whether or not the people at home liked them or disliked them whether they voted for them or didn’t vote for them they were able to bring that entertainment in to people’s homes. When you perform on a show like that you never know who you may have just inspired which is why I think TV series like this need to be kept.

Now lets talk about what each contestant brought to the show:

Same Difference

It was great to have a bother sister duo so well in the competition. It is great to be able to show young viewers what your family and the support of your family can help you achieve. I think we need more positive family messages like this on our screens. It was also good to Same Difference do so well as it proves nice guys don’t always finish last and being a nice guy can help you win friends, admirers and supporters.

Rhydian

It was great to see how talent can win out in the need of a TV series and you don’t need an outrageous personality or a sad back-story. Some of the world’s greatest achievers have come from some of the hardest upbringings or experiences but we also need people that encourage and motivate people that may have nothing to fight against to succeed in life. So many people live life in relative comfort and it’s these people that could also achieve great things and the ones that need to be pushed as well. I believe Rhydian will get a record deal and have a successful life which proves that if you work and have a talent you will get your rewards regardless of whether or not you win every competition you enter, talent is the eventual winner.

Leon

It was great to see a young boy who had a dream and a reason to achieve something winning the competition. He wanted to change his mum’s life who had supported him by herself and I think he has already done that. It was also good to see someone with a talent so humble and that is the way it should be because young people need to be shown how to act and Leon is a great role model for that.

The one thing that show like these do is inspire people with many people vowing after watching the show that they are going to audition next year. The sad thing is that not all of them do. If these three acts hadn’t applied and gone to an audition there lives wouldn’t have been changed. In life it’s not the knowing whether we are good or not so good at something that stops us from achieving. It’s the not knowing which stops us from achieving and affects us for years and years. Don’t live your life not knowing and thinking about what ifs. You need to let talent shine and shows like this provide a great opportunity for that to happen. Shows like this won’t change your destiny they will help you get closer to success. If you go and they say you are not right for the show you then know you need to go and do some work on it or find a new direction for your life and if they say you have a talent and put you through you could have opened the biggest and best door in your life. So either way you are that one step closer to success.

We here at Talented Young People want to know your thoughts on the X-Factor in our discussion topic of the week on the forum. To post your views go to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=293

Also to coincide with the final of the show we have interviewed top Professional Vocal Coach and session Singer Kim Chandler about how to become a great singer and how to make it in the business. To read the interview go to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/experts/index.php?page=article&id=43

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Sports personality of the Year Award

For sport fans across the UK the BBC’s Sport Personality of the Year show is an institution. The show aired live last Sunday from the Birmingham NEC as part of a bumper weekend of UK sport with Ricky Hatton competing in Las Vegas for a world boxing title.

The two hour show which as well as handing out awards recaps the year in sport did give us an overview of a year which has been an almost but not quite year for British sports. We had the England Rugby team losing in the final of the World Cup, England and Scotland’s football teams just missing out on Euro 2008, Lewis Hamilton finishing as runner up in his first season in Formula 1 and finally Ricky Hatton losing to Floyd Mayweather Jnr on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Now the UK may only be a small isle but it is a proud nation who can boast of being the home of many sports and many famous sporting triumphs. The last few years however have been littered with underachievement and near misses. On Saturday thousands of British fans of Ricky Hatton had converged on Las Vegas to support Ricky Hatton making it seem like a home away from home for Ricky with his fans drowning out all those supporting his opponent in all the press conferences and during the actual fight itself. The media and the fans had built up to a point where everyone in the UK was convinced he was going to win and it came as a heart crushing blow when he was knocked out in the 10th round.

The British public and the media may criticise every poor performance given by a British team or sportsman but when the chips are down their support and optimism can’t be questioned. So if the lack of support isn’t the reason for failure what is? Or are we actually already overachieving for the size of the UK?

Personally I think the moment we feel we are overachieving is the moment we start going backwards as you should never limit achievement. The people that succeed in sport are the ones who always have something more then want to achieve after every victory and this is how we need to be as a nation, never content to be second best and because of this I am behind the media’s stance of always expecting and demanding more from our sporting stars.

In a year of near misses it was great to see one of the UK’s greatest sporting stars get recognised as Joe Calzaghe took home the main award. Joe has been a boxing world champion for 10 straight years without defeat which is a feat rarely matched in the boxing world. Ricky may have got all the headlines this weekend but it is Joe that deserves the award.

The main award we were excited about though was the award for Young Sports Personality of the Year which went to the very deserving Tom Daley a 13 year old diver based not to far from Talented Young People HQ in Devon. Tom has already won a Gold Medal in the Junior Elite diving Championship and is considered a medal contender for the 2012 Olympic Games. Well done Tom from everyone here at Talented Young People.


Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Pantomimes

With less than three weeks to go to Christmas Panto season is upon us. Pantomimes are a Christmas tradition here in the UK the same as mince pies and late night shopping. Pantomimes are put on in nearly every theatre up and down the country with a raft of celebrities appearing in a range of roles and productions, anything from ‘Aladdin’ to ‘Peter Pan.’

As well as being a good way of getting in the festive spirit Pantomimes are a great chance for families to all go and watch some live theatre together. Pantomimes are designed to be fun for all the family and this is the way the shows are produced and promoted. If a kid in the audience laughs, shouts, screams or cries it is seen as acceptable and part of the experience as pantomimes are all about interaction but with many theatre productions during the year this wouldn’t be acceptable so parents can’t always take the young ones with them.

Now I bet your thinking why am I talking about pantomimes in my weekly blog, well the reason is that I think pantomimes are a great a way to get young people interested in the theatre and acting. For many children the first live theatre they will see is a pantomime and in many cases is the only live theatre they will see. The experience of live theatre is a magical experience and the fairytale like stories used in pantomimes can add to this.

Another great thing with pantomimes is that many productions use children from local dancing, acting and singing schools with some even holding open auditions for young cast members. They provide a real chance for young people to get experience in front of packed audiences every night which are very hard to come by. Through a pantomime they can experience the hectic schedules which are the life on stage actors and work in front of the loudest most appreciative crowds that there are.

Say what you want about the cheesy scripts and the awful costumes but I think you can’t beat a bit of good old panto. Those people that criticise pantomimes don’t understand there place in the development of theatre, acting and talented young people. Pantomimes should be an enjoyable time for families to spend together but they can also be the start of many young acting careers across the country and a way to encourage young people to go to more live theatre.

We here at Talented Young People want to know your thoughts about Pantomimes and you can share your views by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=332#332

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com