What did Gary say about Louis?
“Louis picks bad acts and makes them worse.”
Frankie Cocozza, the 18 year-old X Factor finalist that I have criticised from the moment I saw his first audition has been unceremoniously booted out of the live finals for “breaking the golden rule” and telling production staff that he had done drugs. Really? I don't remember that rule. It must have been introduced in series two.
Anyway let me remind you of first televised audition. These are some Frankie Cocozza quotes,
“I wanna be famous, I wanna be huge. I look forward to all the money, the cars, the showing off but mainly I’m looking forward to all the girls.”
“I see myself as a bit of a liability but I can admit that.”
Louis Walsh asked him why he had entered The X Factor? Frankie replied, “For the girls!” and everyone laughed and they cut to teenage girls in the audience. He then followed the script by showing the names of 7 girls tattooed on his bum. Everyone is having fun and Frankie is on top of the world.
Louis said, “Great rock voice and you’re a cheeky chappy”
Tulisa said, “It’s clear the girls love you and after that audition it’s going to get a whole lot worse.”
Kelly, “I like you. I usually like the bad boys. I like your voice, I like your whole vibe.”
Gary, “I think people are going to love you.”
He then got FOUR yeses and to complete the audition X Factor producers play One Direction’s new single. “You don’t know you’re beautiful.”
Gary eventually became his mentor and inexplicably put him through not only boot camp and judges’ houses but into the live finals despite his lack of vocal ability and his questionable dedication to his craft. “Frankie, you’re my pop star!”
It was obvious to millions at home that he was anything but and even Lord Sugar was on twitter “Frankie on X Factor apparently broke ‘the golden rule’ – he couldn’t sing!”
Now “Frankie CokeUpTheNozza” has been trending on twitter and his mentor Gary Barlow has come out saying, “I’m disappointed in Frankie!”
So that’s it. Frankie is crap and is gone.
An X Factor insider told The Daily Mail,
‘Frankie is the worst role model we have ever had on the show.
‘We couldn’t have someone who thinks they are the next Pete Doherty – and more importantly, acting like it – performing to millions of impressionable children and teenagers. We did what we had to do and told Frankie to go.’
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. I feel compelled to write about it because it is wrong.
I’ll take it you’ve seen A Few Good Men with Tom Cruise a lawyer defending two marines. They had accidentally killed a fellow marine after given orders to assault him, known as a “code red”. Jack Nicholson played Colonel Nathan Jessep who had ordered the Code Red but denied he had ordered it as he would be held responsible for the death. The film is wicked! If you’ve not seen it you really must.
Now I’m not claiming to be Tom Cruise and this is hardly life or death but Gary Barlow is Colonel Jessep.
What we have here is a mentor that openly encouraged his artist to act like a rebel pop star and now he says he’s disappointed?
On live show two after Frankie’s performance and criticisms from Louis Walsh, Gary said, “Back in the really world that was fantastic mate, well done!”
The following week he said, “Last week I lied for you, I said you were good it was awful.”
Gary is the mentor, the man Frankie trusted. I believe Frankie was told to just be himself and maybe a little be more. What he didn’t have in voice Gary wanted him to make up in rock star bad behaviour.
Look at this intro CLICK HERE for building up as some sort of star. A total set up by the production team. The backstage filming is pre-recorded. It's fake. Frankie is really just standing backstage crapping his pants waiting for his cue to go on stage.
I think it all went wrong when ratings went down, Frankie swore on TV which lead to grave concerns from the clean family firm of Marks and Spencer. You don’t want a kid in adverts who says, ‘Fucking have it!” the weeks leading up to Christmas.
18 year-old Frankie had slept with 69 girls and Gary Barlow introduces him to the families across the UK, “Lock up your daughters, it’s Frankie Cocozza!” it just wasn’t right for ITV or M&S.
On top of that, One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson came under fire for backing tuneless Frankie and asking his fans to vote for him; a week before the clean-cut boy-band were due on the show to promote a new single. Frankie was by now toxic and Louis had to stop tweeting about him.
The last straw was losing The Risk. As I said in a previous blog, that was not part of the plan. The show is in meltdown.
So what about his mentor Gary Barlow? It’s one of two things, either Frankie did as he was told and acted out the life of a rock and roll star or he totally ignored Gary’s orders to behave and concentrate on the competition.
If Frankie ignored Gary what does that say about him as “head judge”? He chooses bad songs, can’t control his act, picks bad acts and lies for them? If Frankie was just following orders then it was a huge error by his mentor that got him kicked out. Gary's judgement has not even been questioned. Look up John Wilding the boy who should be there!
Frankie Cocozza should never have got past the first audition. He should be doing something else with his life but now he has been taken out of a Christmas advert for M&S, hated on twitter and humiliated with the name “Frankie CokeUpYourNozza”
Remember what Frankie said in his FIRST audition.
“I see myself as a bit of a liability but I can admit that.”
I think Frankie was just being Frankie but egged on by the production team to be a rock star. I think it’s a tragic manipulation of a young man by the X Factor which they are responsible for but somehow unlike Colonel Jessep, I don't think Gary Barlow will ever admit that he ordered the Code Red.
Prediction: they are now frantically talking to Johnny Robinson to convince him to take a little drink not to come back and give the opportunity to The Risk. This would be the ultimate kick in the public’s bollocks.
9 comments:
Couldn't agree more with this. The second they put him (or, in fact, anyone) through to the live shows who can't sing, they open them up to ridicule on a massive scale. The production team on this show should be ashamed of themselves for that alone.
But this is worse than that. This is much, much worse. I've got no problem whatsoever with him going out, getting p*ssed and - if he likes - taking drugs. Lots of teenagers do it. I do it. It's a part of growing up for most people. It teaches them things that their parents never could. But this has happened in the full glare of the public eye with the production team egging him on. That will affect his life and the chances he has forever more. For that, they should never be forgiven. Absolutely shameful.
Steve, always enjoy your blog.
I fear (and I doubt the thought and horror hasn't crossed your mind) that this is all a stunt.
Frankie leaves the show with his 'Rock Star' reputation in tact....doesn't have to face the indignity of getting voted off....get a few magazine deals....will never have to queue for a nightclub again....a lot of girls.....and my prediction (worst of all) a record deal!
The show gets its 'whiter than white' reputation back.
Everyone is a winner!
Except me!
Couldn't agree with your opinions.
He is exactly what X factor wanted him to be. His problem was that he started to believe in his own hype.
I treat XFactor as a soap now, we have our baddies, our goodies and our extras (yes Craig, I'm talking about you) screened once a week for our viewing pleasure someone recently explained XFactor as just an up to date version of Roman Gladiators, fighting for survival.
I liked that. And yet it makes me sad at the same time.
Keep up the fantastic work
Crap.
That was meant to say I couldn't agree MORE with your opinions
:-D
It's all a sham and is only about ratings. Last week X Factor lost out to Strictly Come dancing in viewer totals. So grab the Malcolm Mclaren hype handbook, create a scandal and ratings will pick up.
barlow and all the judges are just Cowell puppets
Don't forget what Gary said at judges' houses...'If I put him through to the live shows, I'm not gonna make him behave' or something to that effect...can we really blame an 18 yr old lad, with everything suddenly at his feet - fame, women, endless partying etc - for being tempted by the lifestyle, one which many young boys of a similar age can only dream of?
I'm not condoning drugs for one minute but he's at a very impressionable age and is likely to be swayed by it, given the opportunity. I'm by no means Frankie's biggest fan and feel that his behaviour leaves a lot to be desired in many respects but I also really worry for him. I think he's in a very dangerous place and needs help rather than criticism. Nobody's perfect, everyone makes mistakes, it's human nature...think he just got carried away with the fame. His downfall has been so graphic in the full glare of the media spotlight...can you imagine how that must feel, to know that you've let yourself down and so many others besides? How disappointed must he be in himself? That's not a very nice place to be at all and when people constantly criticise and make fun of it, it's a whole lot worse. At the end of the day, when all said and done, he's only just out of adolescence - to be so scathing and unkind, is that anything less than bullying?
I just hope Frankie can turn himself around and not spiral into the dangerous depths of despair because (in the worst case scenario) it could end very tragically.
I pray he gets the help and guidance he needs to get back on track and soon. In the meantime, people should cut him some slack and give him a break - is the fact he's thrown away such an amazing opportunity not enough of a punishment, made all the more bitter by being one which has been self-inflicted? Do we really need to pour salt on the wounds?
All the best Frankie, be strong!
what a load of rubbish. Nothing to do with Gary. X Factor kicked him off for taking drugs. end of
I agree with this as well. To be honest I never even thought he was that good looking or anything. He was a talking singer and the word "singer" there is used very loosely. Though I do think people should cut him some slack. In my opinion no one deserves to be bullied.
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