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| The Final Four - December 6th 2003 (Christmas Songs) |
| The pop idol finalists have put on a great show tonight. Since there are only four left now, we've been treated to a double-helping of each of them. Also, as a taster-come-promotion of the new Pop Idol album 'Xmas Factor', each of the contestants had a track off the album as their second song tonight. |
| An extra treat came at the end of tonight's main show when 11 of the 12 finalists sang their Christmas single, a cover of John Lennon's Happy Xmas (War Is Over). It was lovely to see them all together again, although a pity that for reasons unknown, Leon McPherson wasn't present. It's a great version of a fantastic song, hopefully some of it's sentiments will settle on the consciousness of the politicians of this world. |
| The show got started in a festive spirit when Pete Waterman and Simon Cowell kissed and made up under the mistletoe! Simon played a prank on Pete last week by giving his mobile phone number out on ITV2's Pop Idol Extra but apparently Pete wasn't annoyed, he's grateful that now people actually bother to call him! |
| It was nice to see that our idols were getting into the Christmas spirit too. Chris was responsible for cooking up the muddled wine, it should have been mulled wine but he got a bit confused over the ingredients! |
| All of the contestants had a few days back home earlier in the week, and sampled a taste of the hysteria that awaits them when they leave the pop idol mansion. |
| Back at the mansion the four finalists were shown putting the lights on the Christmas tree. Sadly tonight for one of them the pop idol lights will go out. |
| Click on a links below to read more about the corresponding sections of tonight's show... |
- Merry Christmas Everyone
- Blue Christmas
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| During Mark's home-break he spent some time training with his football idols Wolverhampton Wanderers. They gave him a No. 9 shirt with the name 'Rhodes' printed on the back of it. He also went for a quiet drink down the local, with a few hundred supporters. |
| Mark continued the Midlands connection on the show, his first song tonight "Merry Christmas Everyone" was made famous by Walsall's own Noddy Holder and his band Slade back in the 70s. It's a hard song for an solo artist to impress with as the original Slade version was so distinctive but he made a good effort and sang with plenty of gusto. |
| Mark was able to put more of himself into his second number, Elvis' 'Blue Christmas'. He sang it really well and sealed his performance with a an "OhYeah!". He seemed to be enjoying himself but did the judges enjoy him?... |
| Foxy: You like your Midland heroes don't you? Off to Wolves and then a bit of Slade 'ey! |
| Foxy: I thought after that your work was cut out for you to stay in the competition, to be honest, but...I thought you did very well in the second one there! |
| Mark: Oh thanks a lot...cheers. |
| Foxy: ...pretty good. So er, Merry Christmas. |
| Mark: (Gives Foxy the thumbs up) Merry Christmas Foxy! Cheers. |
| Nicki: Hi Mark, well you certainly did well right at the beginning of the first song, if you lose your mike you can often lose your concentration, but you managed to pull it back. Erm, it's getting tough now you know, I've liked you all the way through this competition. I think now it's going to get particularly tough for you. You do have a good voice, we're looking for that extra something, so I think tonight's going to be a difficult one. |
| Pete: From Noddy Holder to Elvis Presley now that was some trick that son |
| Pete: ...I love Blue Christmas, Well Done! |
| Mark: Oh cheers, thanks a lot. (Cheers) |
| Simon: (To Pete: ) You didn't do your face...(laughs)...you didn't do the face! (To Mark: ) Erm, first song was a bit like 'office bloke...Christmas party, gets up to sing a song. (boos, to audience: ) It was! (To Mark: ) Erm, but you know I agree with the other three. I think you saved yourself on the...on the second song, but you're going to have a tough night tonight I think.
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| Mark: Okay...cheers guys! |
- I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day
- Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
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| Sam had a busy time when he went home to Barnsley earlier this week. He had an interview on local radio where he announced he'd be "singing a few tunes at the Alhambra Shopping Centre". There must have been plenty of listeners because the place was absolutely packed, predominantly with the young girl fans Foxy keeps mentioning! They were all screaming and excitedly taking photos with their mobile phones! |
| Sam looked like he was having a ball when he sang his first number "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day" The song was originally a hit for Wizzard and Sam showed he could also turn in a magical performance. |
| That classic Christmas tune 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town'. He sang it with all his usual cheekiness and festive cheer. Did he excite the judges as much as he did the young girls in the Alhambra?... |
| Nicki: Hi Sam, when you all first walked on the show, right at the top of the show all four of you walked in and everyone clapped and you know you were introduced and all four of you looked dejected today. You all looked defeated before the show even started. And I think what it brought home to me was that the nerves really now are kicking in, the final four, a very, very difficult night. You're first song was really good, the second song, that last bit absolutely brilliant. I don't think you've got anything to worry about tonight. (Cheers) |
| Pete: I think you're right Nicki, I think that nerves have kicked in tonight, that's not your best performance by a long way and that's not going to make any difference tonight, because I think you know you are what you are...but I mean I just thought nerves have slightly affected you a little...you know you were struggling a bit there tonight. |
| Foxy: Sam, I don't care about nerves, I thought you were brilliant tonight. You were born to do this and I reckon, I hope you make the final, because you should, and I reckon there a millions of girls out there want you in their Christmas stocking this year. (audience cheers!) You see! You want to be there! Good Luck! |
| Simon: (To Pete: ) Charles Dickens could write a film about you ... |
| Pete: The Old Curiosity Shop. |
| Simon: (To Pete: )...Scrooge. (To Sam: ) I thought you did great actually... I think what you've got Sam is...the difference between you and the guys before is that you know that you're doing well, and that's all about confidence. You did great! |
- Winter Wonderland
- White Christmas
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| When Chris returned to his home in Lancing, Sussex he got a bit of a shock, there were hundreds of his supporters outside the house waving banners and cheering for him. He visited his old school and was mobbed by the pupils clamouring for his autograph. Chris was touched by all the support "They don't have to do that...support me...but it's great to see that they have and that they really want to see me go all the way." |
| Tonight Chris gave a superb vocal rendition of 'Winter Wonderland', he looked great and appeared very comfortable performing. |
| He followed up later with another solid performance of that most famous of Christmas songs 'White Christmas'. He wowed the audience and got a curious critique from one of the judges... |
| Pete: Chris, Well there's Christmas songs and there's Christmas songs, then there's White Christmas. The biggest ever selling record, Bing Crosby...and of course written by somebody who didn't believe in Christmas...and it took him six years to write...it had ridiculous titles... |
| Simon: What was it called? |
| Pete: I think it was at one point called green Christmas tree or something ridiculous...but he threw it away...he threw the song away... |
| Pete: He just didn't like it. |
| Simon: How could he finish writing it? |
| Pete: No he didn't finish writing it for six years. |
| Simon: So it's never been finished. |
| A bemused Chris looks towards Ant and Dec. |
| Foxy: Do you think perhaps...did he sing it quite well? (laugther) |
| Simon: Yeah...out of interest...out of interst |
| Chris: And the moral of the story is...! ? (laughs and a round of applause for Chris) |
| Pete: Don't sing White Christmas and I should be in Grimsby. |
| Foxy: (about Pete:) Oh he's really lost the plot now! (to Chris: ) Chris, I have perhaps been the harshest critic so far. Forget that, it's Christmas. I thought the way you sang Winter Wonderland was bloody amazing tonight.(cheers) Happy Christmas! |
| Nicki: I'm going to agree with Foxy, Winter Wonderland was absolutely awesome, awesome. (cheers) I'm going to remember that performance from you because I didn't like that one (the other one) quite as much. |
| Simon: Erm, I will actually comment on your performance, unlike Pete, Chris, out of respect. Erm, I'm actually going to agree with Neil and Nicki, because I think Winter Wonderland has been one of the highlights of this top ten performance...throughout the whole lot. |
- Merry Christmas Everyone
- Oh Holy Night
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| Michelle's visit home to Glasgow was hectic. It included a visit to the Scottish Television centre followed up with a tour of the city in an open top bus, waving like royalty to the cheering crowds below. En route she noticed the huge screen above the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall had her own image looking back down at her, 'Oh my god!' she shouted. Her buddy Roxanne would have been proud of her. She really enjoyed meeting all her fans and said how much she appreciated their support. |
| This evening Michelle kicked off with "Merry Christmas Everyone". She ripped into the song with a big smile on her face. Her voice was tremendous as it always is and her mood was infectious, the audience loved her. |
| Her follow up song "Oh Holy Night" Michelle gave a much more controlled performance. It was the only song in the show that alluded to the true meaning of Christmas and she later revealed that she said a little prayer to herself before she went on. |
| Foxy: Hey Michelle I have said in the past few weeks...earlier than that...that I wondered whether you were going to be my pop idol. With the 2 performances you had tonight you were amazing! I honestly think you can win this and if you did win this I couldn't be happier for you. I thought you were brilliant tonight. Well done. |
| Nicki: I thought the first track was awesome. That second track I can hear that being played in every house in the country on Christmas day. It was fantastic |
| Pete: Didn't like the first one I thought the second one was outstanding. |
| Following up on her promise of last week, when Michelle caught up with Ant and Dec she got her own back on them for showing her baby and childhood photos. She cued the production staff to subject the viewers to some particularly cheesy adolescent photos of a littler Ant and a littler Dec. "People don't wanna see that!" protested Ant and he was right! |
| At the beginning of the program Ant announced that the pop idol finalists are going on tour! |
| The tour will begin in Birmingham on 10th March and will go on to Sheffield, Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle and wind up in London on the 17th March. For more details and info on how to book your tickets click here to go to the official ITV Pop Idol site. |
| Again the numbers voting are the biggest for the series and it's yet another close week with only 1% of the vote separating the bottom two contestants. |
| To ease our suspense we found out what the four finalists bought each other this Christmas. |
| They each had £10 to spend on a little Xmas
pressie for one of their housemates. |
| Chris |
bought |
Sam |
a 'Kids Joke Book' to make him even funnier! |
| Sam |
bought |
Mark |
a Union Jack thong and some fake sun tan (Celebrity Cheat) to prevent his ***s from burning. |
| Michelle |
bought |
Chris |
some Waxing Strips, ideal for his hairy chest! |
| Mark |
bought |
Michelle |
a 'Girls Guide To Wine' and a 'Practical Jokes' book. |
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| Okay, so it's a bit early to be opening your presents but this is TV! |
| The Predictions Just before the verdict was announced we heard the judges unanimous predictions. |
| Simon: You'll have time to do your Christmas shopping Mark! |
| The audience groaned at Simon's comments and Ant chastised Mr Nasty, telling him "There's no need for that!" |
| Next it was time to find out who would be leaving this week. |
| As usual Ant and Dec reminded the nervous songsters of their comments they received from the judges before telling them who was safe. |
| The first person safe was Michelle, the second Sam. That leaves Mark and Chris. |
| Ant brings the news "Ok guys, the person going home this week is…(pause)...Chris". |
| Chris and Mark are visibly shocked and the judges must have been shocked too they all predicted wrong! |
| Chris joined Ant and Dec centre-stage. As they ran his best bits the inset showed Chris choking with emotion. Doing his best to hold back the tears Chris told them "I've loved it. Thank you to everybody out there who has voted and supported me. Thank you." |
| Chris went over to what is now the final 3, Michelle, Sam and Mark for a big warm farewell hug. |
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