X-Factor Reduced Me To This:

As anyone who is familiar with me will know, I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with a lot of aspects of popular culture. By the term 'love/hate', I mean that I genuinely hate it as much as I hate Charity Muggers, being cold and Nick Clegg. At least that is until it starts gradually wearing me down, destroying the walls that protect my internal misery and forcing itself upon me until I can't help but sing 'Bad Romance' by Lady GaGa at the top of my voice.

I blame this on two things. The first is that when I'm not being a student, I have a job in which I am relentlessly bombarded with chart music. I spent four or five days a week, every week having to listen to every hateful pop act on the planet, and Katy Perry. I know most of the words to most of the songs on Now 76 as a result. Going back to my car at the end of the day and putting on one of my CDs gave me what I imagine to be the same feeling a crack addict gets when he's given the chance to score.

The second reason is The X Factor. At first I kept my distance from it, but after a month or so it had worn me down and I couldn't help but sit in every Saturday and Sunday and watch it. By now, it acts as some sort of undercover agent, which allows things I usually wouldn't give a second look to filter itself into my subconscious. This includes Take That, JLS and even Dannii Minogue. I genuinely went on youtube last week and searched out a Dannii Minogue song, I found this. I've been singing it ever since. I don't know why, it's absolutely horrendous.

Luckily, after tomorrow, The X Factor is over, which gives me a chance to overdose on all things alternative until it all happens again next year. However, one act who will definitely be allowed to stay is Rihanna.

Firstly, I want to defend myself and say it's not because she appeared on X-Factor last night in an outfit that left little to the imagination. I like to think I am far more of a decent human being than that. The truth is, I manage to absolutely love most of the songs that she releases. 'Umbrella' is a tune, 'Only Girl (In The World)' is as well, and 'Rudeboy' is genuinely one of my favourite songs of 2010 (I think it's something to do with the steel drum effects). She's a star on a global scale, and isn't anywhere near as annoying as some other worldwide phenomenon (ahem, Lady Gaga), which makes me feel that little bit better for liking some of her music.

Let's get one thing straight though, the above paragraph is the only time I am ever going to admit such fandom for her. It's probably going to be the first and last time it ever happens in the public sphere. In fact, I'm going to go right now and listen to Blood Red Shoes and Pavement and forget this whole thing ever happened.

P.S. Matt Cardle to win!