Back Sam for X Factor elimination instead of bottom two

Big Band Week is unlikely to be the X Factor theme that Sam Callahan gives his strongest performance of the competition, particularly as his voice could easily be overshadowed by the music.

Most of the criticism to have been tossed his way so far has been about the weakness of his voice compared to other contestants and the fact that some of the song choices have left his voice exposed.

The decision for him to sing “Ain’t That A Kick In The Head” should help in this regard, as it is not a big voice that necessarily makes the best of the song, but instead the way the performance is acted and the story told.

This suggests that Sam may receive more neutral comments from the judges during Big Band Week, which could actually be more of a hindrance than a help.

Talent shows have proved before that the public has a knack of getting behind a contestant that is consistently devoid of judges praise and so the negative comments may have actually been winning Sam votes, as supporters believe he is most at risk of elimination.

A better week of comments may lessen this fear and in fact put Sam more at risk of finishing in the bottom two.

It is 4/5 that Sam is in the week-five sing-off, but punters believing that his time is almost up on the show may be better simply backing him to be eliminated in Big Band Week at 7/4.

The main reason for this is that if Sam does end up in the bottom two, it is hard to see which other act remaining in the competition is more likely to be sent home by the judges.

In reality, Abi Alton is the only other act that has received close to Sam’s negative comments and there is a feeling that if it was this pair in the sing-off, the vote could be taken to deadlock.

However, if Sam is in the bottom two with any other act, he is almost certain to be sent home.

Abi is 9/4 to be the fifth act eliminated from the X Factor and 6/4 to be in the sing-off. Interestingly, Abi is singing “That’s Life”, which is a song that has caused both Scott Bruton and Miss Frank to be in the bottom two previously.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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