The UK’s leading discount code and voucher site, www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, has reported an increased level of interest in the acts that have performed on the show. The site which recently celebrated a record year of £481m in sales and saved consumers £52m, noticed a high level of searches for the artists on the Monday following the show.

This year’s X Factor has been one of the most anticipated and watched series ever, with record breaking viewers. It has beat off the competition, including top rival Strictly Come Dancing. The artists featured on the show this year have been some of pops finest, including Robbie Williams, Mariah Carey and Leona Lewis.

Susan Boyle has been the most searched for artist of the year, following her success at the top of the charts, MyVoucherCode.co.uk noticed a record number of searches for her. This included over 500,000 searches in one weekend alone following her X Factor performance.

The surprise twist is that despite his death earlier this year, Michael Jackson only came in third as the most searched for celebrity of 2009.

The top ten most searched for celebrities this year are:
1. Susan Boyle
2. Cheryl Cole
3. Michael Jackson
4. Leona Lewis
5. Lady Gaga
6. Katherine Jenkins
7. Robbie Williams
8. Queen
9. Peter Andre
10. Black Eyed Peas

Speaking of these findings Managing Director of MyVoucherCodes had this to say;

“I think it is extremely fascinating that so many of these artists have appeared on the X Factor this year and have then gone on to sell so many records and create such fascination and excitement among the public.”

He continued;

“It’s continuing proof that we now live in such an “X Factor culture” where Simon Cowell is one of, if not THE most powerful man in the World. I was however, so surprised to see that both Susan Boyle and Cheryl Cole beat Michael Jackson.”

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The 18-year-old said his mentor’s assistant often struggles to understand the pair as their North East dialect gets broader when they’re with each other.
 
The X Factor’s Joe McElderry gets on well with Cheryl Cole
 ”Her assistant can’t really understand us when we start talking full on,” he laughed.

Joe added that being from Tyneside has made the pair bond quicker, in the same way fellow contestants Olly Murs and Stacey Solomon get on well as they’re both from Essex.

He said: “I think it has a lot to do with the fact we’re from the same area, because I think you have a connection. Like Olly and Stacey, they’re kind of from the same area and they have the same things to talk about and same accents. It makes a difference. And she’s (Cheryl) a really nice person and we get on really well.”
.Joe also said he was ignoring reports that Simon Cowell wants him to win the show, even though two of his own acts – Danyl Johnson and Olly Murs – are still in the competition.

“You can’t really take any notice of it because he’s got his two acts … there are four people left in the competition and anyone can win it,” he insisted, adding that he didn’t consider himself the favourite.

“I think the minute you start taking notice of that you start becoming a bit big-headed. So I’m just kind of focusing on the performances and just getting on with it.”

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CHERYL Cole looked loved up with Ashley Cole last night, dispelling rumours that their marriage is in trouble.

The X Factor judge affectionately held hands with her hubby and looked into his eyes after enjoying a night out at a casino in London.

Geordie beauty Cheryl was heard saying “I love you” as they climbed into their Mercedes after a gambling session at Mayfair’s Les Ambassadeurs casino.

The glamorous Girls Aloud star dressed up for the occasion in a silk navy blue frock and strappy black heels which wouldn’t have looked out of place on The X Factor.

But despite her adoring looks at Ashley, the 26-year-old once again opted to leave her wedding ring at home.

She attracted attention for not wearing the sparkler during episodes of The X Factor, but later insisted it was simply because it didn’t go with her outfit.

Aside from her marriage, she has every reason to smile as it looks like she could triumph on the ITV1 hit for the second year running.

Her remaining act Joe McElderry is the bookies’ favourite to win the show.

Latest odds give him an 8/11 chance of becoming the new champ, followed by Stacey Solomon.

Simon Cowell’s acts Olly Murs and Danyl Johnson are the outsiders to win, coming third and fourth respectively in bookies’ odds.

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Croydon-born Wayne Wilkins struck songwriting gold with his work on huge tracks for Cheryl Cole, Leona Lewis and Beyonce, but the classically-trained writer has an altogether bigger plan for the future.

“SOMEBODY PINCH ME” SINGS BEYONCE ON HER GLOBAL SMASH SWEET DREAMS, but as he mixed the track in a recording studio in Hollywood, UK songwriter Wayne Wilkins ended up having to pinch himself.

Three years earlier Wilkins had been in a cafe in London opposite the now-defunct Olympic Studios with a couple of friends, contemplating to them that one of his career ambitions was to work with the former Destiny’s Child star.

As he recalls, “It was at the time Irreplaceable came out and I said, ‘My dream is to have a Beyonce single. At some point I want to have a song on Beyonce,’ and three years later that happened.”

He co-penned the song in question, Sweet Dreams, with Beyonce, James Scheffer and Rico Love as well as co-producing it, and he has now seen it turn into one of the star attractions of the singer’s I Am… Sasha Fierce album, which climbed to the top of Billboard’s Rhythmic chart a week ago.

The success of that single – thus making his own sweet dream come true – has come as part of an incredible run for the Croydon-born musician who, alongside credits on the Beyonce hit, co-penned Cheryl Cole’s chart-topping Fight For This Love as well as sharing the writing on T-Shirt for Shontelle and the Leona Lewis hit Take A Bow.

Add all that up and his stock as a writer and producer has continued to head skywards in the US, where he is now based, helping to deliver him the likes of a recent hook-up with Wyclef Jean.

“The Beyonce song helped, but it’s happened over the last six or seven months. I can’t take the credit totally for it because I’ve got a great team,” he says, citing the support of his management and publisher Sony/ATV.

Wilkins is now respected as one of the UK’s best contemporary pop writers, but his musical career may well have gone in a completely different direction given he initially pursued a path as a classically-trained pianist, even landing a scholarship at the Royal College of Music. But it was a desire to create original music himself rather than just performing other composers’ creations that ultimately made him choose pop over classical.

“I love playing classical music and I always loved sitting down and learning those pieces, but I got to the point where I was playing stuff and thinking, ‘How about if we do this or that?’ In that world there’s not any room for creating your own thing in other people’s music. I would always have my own ideas,” he recalls.

But those years studying classical music have not been wasted as Wilkins says it still figures in his pop writing. “I still use it now,” he adds. “In all my songs there’s an element of something classical. I make sure there’s some orchestration. I definitely rely on that as a foundation.”

It probably comes as little surprise, given he has feet in both camps, that Wilkins sees more in common with the two disciplines than may at first seem obvious. “In terms of the classical pieces of music people love, the ones that get played on various TV shows and the radio, there’s definitely something in common with those pieces of classical music and popular music we listen to today in the sense of the simplicity. There’s always a beautiful melody of some kind and there will be a much simpler chord structure than the really crazy modern pieces of classical music that aren’t so popular with people. A lot of what we do now in pop music is obviously based on what the classical musicians did and classical composers did a few hundred years ago.”

Although he will be heading home to Croydon at the end of this year to spend Christmas with family and friends, Wilkins now makes his living in Los Angeles, a move that was born out of his work with Andrew Frampton and Steve Kipner writing for Natasha Bedingfield.

“We had just started together with Natasha and we used to work at Steve’s house at Topanga Canyon,” he recalls. “It’s up in the mountains and totally out of LA but you are 20 minutes from Santa Monica and 40 minutes from Hollywood. I was going there a lot and we were writing so many great songs and I started to get into the music scene out here and it just became one of those natural progressions. I was apart from my wife for two, three months sometimes and we had a little baby girl at the time so we just decided to move out here.”

The LA sunshine is clearly treating him well, but a trip back to England a few months ago proved to be a rather rewarding one as he played Polydor president Ferdy Unger-Hamilton a new song he had written with Steve Kipner and Andre Merritt that seemed perfect for Cheryl Cole. Their instinct turned out to be right: Fight For This Love went on to become the fastest-selling single of the year in the UK, opening in October with 292,846 sales.

“With the Cheryl one it was just a case of the three of us sitting in a room having a bit of fun and coming up with it,” he says. “It was a quick song to write; it just fell into place. Steve and Andre are just magic with the words and stuff like that. Andre had the demo down and sang it in about an hour and we played it to Ferdy. That was probably the best meeting I’ve had in my career. Sony/ATV helped set that meeting up and there were two songs I played him that he loved, but he just listened to that song in particular and said, ‘I want to do that. I think Cheryl will love that. Let’s play it to Cheryl.’”

For Cole, the song has turned her into a solo star in the UK where she and the rest of Girls Aloud have now enjoyed six consecutive years of success. But Wilkins was able to witness for himself the importance Universal in the US appears to be attaching to breaking the X Factor judge there.

“When we were recording it Interscope came down and listened to it and said, ‘We love that song’ so it seems like there’s definitely a commitment to her out here. Some of the people who came down to the studio were key executives so I think everybody is excited about Cheryl. She could be a big superstar around the world.”

Wilkins, of course, has already tasted US success with another British female soloist, Natasha Bedingfield, and he is working with her again on songs for her forthcoming third album. “We’ve written about seven songs and I absolutely love four or five of them,” he says. “There’s definitely a couple of big hits there.”

Besides his songwriting pairings with them, he is also taking business inspiration from his Bedingfield collaborators Steve Kipner and Andrew Frampton. The pair formed Phonogenic, a joint-venture label with Sony, six years ago and Wilkins is now targeting 2010 to launch a similar venture himself.

“For me it will be doing a joint-venture label so I’ve got to think about the best way to set that up,” he says. “My key friends are Andrew and Steve and I can see how it works for them and for me it’s just trying to find the right way to set it up. I’m working on a few things and every time I have my meetings I’m asked about what I’m developing because that’s what the chief executives want to hear about now rather than, ‘I’ve got a song for you.’ People are having to be a lot more proactive and more businesslike.”

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Like X Factor’s Cheryl Cole you can work the fascinator look.

Fascinators are a new revolution in accessorising, and a fabulous way to glam it up a la Sex and the City.

Once something only for weddings and the races, fascinators have come a long way to make it to the red carpet – and onto the cover of Cheryl’s debut album ‘3 Words.’

Whether you’re after cute and girly or big and bold, there’s a fascinator to suit everyone and the most confident dresser can really play around with them. 

HatsNStuff (www.hatsandstuff.com) offer some exquisite creations with feathers, frills, netting and more, with hints on how to make your fascinator stay put.

For great value, Pretty Cool (www.prettycool.co.uk) provides show-stopping headpieces from £5, including an impressive replica of Miss Cole’s sultry version. Mini hats are another trendy way to freshen up an evening look – just hold your head high and be cautious with the drinks!

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In a new interview with the Belfast Telegraph, Girls Aloud singer Nadine Coyle speaks out about her bandmate Cheryl Cole:

What about all the media speculation about rivalry with Cheryl Cole, who recently released her own solo debut?

“Cheryl’s my friend,” she says, sounding a little exasperated by what must now be a predictable question.

“We’re both singers; we’ve both wanted to do our own stuff for a long time and it will completely different from each other.

“There’s no rivalry. As soon as Cheryl’s album came out, I rushed to buy it — she’s my friend and I was like ? ‘Woo hoo, brilliant! My mate’s got a record out’.

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A evening of gambling isn’t most couples’ idea of a romantic night out.

But it seemed to do wonders for Cheryl and Ashley Cole. They put on a rather public display of affection as they left a London casino hand-in-hand last night.

In fact, the X factor judge told her husband ‘I love you’ as they climbed into their Mercedes after their date at Les Ambassadeurs casino in Mayfair.

Sitting in the driver’s seat, Ashley looked delighted as he gazed at his wife. Then again, he had just won the princely sum of £100 at the casino.

But with a £120,000-a-week salary at Stamford Bridge, the money would have just been small change to the left-back.

The Chelsea footballer, 28, had dressed for his date in a Thunderbirds-inspired contemporary black suit while Cheryl looked chic in navy dress and heels.

The 26-year-old singer has been taking some fashion risks on the X factor live shows recently  – which haven’t always paid off. But her ‘off-duty’ wardrobe has been widely admired.

Following her night out in a stunning black crochet Catherine Malandrino dress on Tuesday, Cheryl scored another hit yesterday in her £445 navy Thread Social silk-blend open back dress.

But, yet again, Mrs Cole left her £160,000 wedding ring in her jewellery box – presumably because it ‘clashed’ with her outfit – her previous excuse for not wearing it.

Their hectic schedules mean the couple don’t get to spend much time together at their Surrey mansion.

Cheryl is currently dividing her time between her X Factor judging duties and promoting her debut solo album 3 Words.

The title single, which also features Black Eyed Peas rapper Will.I.Am, is due for release on December 21.

Cheryl is currently spending a lot of time working with her last protégée Joe McElderry as he prepares for The X Factor semi-final this weekend.

She was left with only one charge after Welsh singer Lloyd Daniels was voted off last week.

Lloyd, 16, denied accusations that Cheryl favoured Joe over him because, like the Girls Aloud singer, he is from the north east of England.

He told ITV’s This Morning show: ‘Literally she was fair on both sides. We’d spend a lot of time in her dressing room just talking and going over songs.

‘She worked really really hard with me. And Joe is an amazing guy, he’s got such an awesome voice.

‘Joe is vocally amazing, he’s pitch perfect all the time and I think he deserves to win to be honest. I want Team Cheryl to do well as well so I hope he does win.’

Meanwhile, Cheryl’s Girls Aloud bandmate Sarah Harding was spotted enjoying a night out in Soho.

The blonde singer, 28, joined a group of friends for dinner and drinks at the Sanctum Soho Hotel.

Sarah showed off her slim figure in a clingy black and white patterned shift dress.

Unfortunately  the transparent material also showed off her lacy knickers.

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Simon Cowell has admitted he has a crush on his X Factor co-star Cheryl Cole.

When asked if he found the Girls Aloud singer attractive, the pop mogul said: “You can’t not fancy her.”

Although Cowell did state that the feelings were one-sided, as he “probably fancied her more than she fancied him”.

Today the X Factor winner’s song choice was revealed as a cover of Miley Cyrus’ hit ‘The Climb’.

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X Factor evictee Lucie Jones has lashed out at Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole and Louis Walsh.

The 18-year-old – who was voted off X Factor in favour of Jedward when Simon Cowell refused to save her – says the trio are more obsessed by getting one over on each other than discovering real talent.
 
Speaking EXCLUSIVELY to dailystar.co.uk, Lucie Jones ranted: “It’s called X Factor for a reason. It’s not called Britain’s best singer, is it?
 
“There is a bias now. It’s gone past being a singing competition.”
 
And the pretty brunette – who was many people’s favourite to win the show – said Dannii Minogue was the only fair judge.
 
“She’s the best mentor, definitely. She’s fair, she actually judges it on singing, not politics.
 
“It’s not a war for her.”
 
Lucie Jones was speaking at the launch of the “Gift of Time” store, open until Sunday 6th December on Berwick Street for v, The National Volunteers Service.For more information and to download your very own Time Token online, please visit www.vinspired.com/giftoftime

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From the reactions on the forum, you guys haven’t been to get enough of the ‘3 words’ video since it was released last Friday!

The single is released on 20th December, click here for full details.

Here are a few of our favourite comments on the video so far…

Feltano
Love the video!! Really like how arty and different it is, the split screen thing is so cool!

biggirlsaloudfan
OMG, I LOOOOOVE IT!!! The effects are really cool, wigs are different. It doesn’t look like Chez! Will.i.am is good, scenery is random!!, Random people dancing in underwear – odd!!! Over all it’s fun, different, random & AMAZE!!

idoltash
I love the whole contemporary thing… all the dancing is amazing. I love that style…she looked absolutely stunning <3 and I love the outfits…very well done Cheryl! Full marks from me.

xDevon
The video is very different and not something I’d expect from Cheryl. I think the split screen thing is very cool, and I love it when it merges into one screen. I think Cheryl looks so so gorgeous, especially when she’s just got the curly hair, like she often has.

What did you think of the ‘3 Words’ video? Make sure you check it out here.

Why not talk about it in the Girls Aloud forum here.

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