Incredible factor...

The use of adjectives on X-Factor is on the verge of stripping those words of their meaning. For the past few weeks, as we've edged closer to the final, almost every contestant has been described as "incredible". Please. No. Seriously. No. Finding a cure for cancer, now, that would be incredible. World peace, that would be incredible. But some mad, big nosed woman who can't speak normally belting out a Whitney Houston song is, well, it's entertaining at best, generally mediocre, certainly far from incredible. Ditto instances of words like 'breathtaking', 'amazing', 'brilliant', 'awesome' and, possibly the least applicable superlative when it comes to X Factor contestants, 'genius'. In ladelling on the praise with their sugar-coated spoons, the judges end up merely making vacuous statements devoid of any constructive criticism that may help their so-called mentees. They should instead perhaps consider just shutting the f*ck up. And, as Simon Cowell would say, I 100 per cent, absolutely mean that.