Se7en Magazine - Politics, Film, Music and Culture

Are Jedward growing on you?

Written by Jennifer Jaconelli
Monday, 16 November 2009 07:30

Every Saturday night, I sit down to watch the X Factor, like the millions of equally avid fans. It is undeniable that the show contains an undisclosed addictive element that has resulted in it being the key topic of many discussions across the nation.

One of the main controversies this year has been Louis Walsh’s Irish bouffanted minions, John and Edward. From the moment they first auditioned, people were talking about their cocky persona and lack of talent. No one would have anticipated that they’d have made it anywhere near the final 12 acts, though we should have known better, Walsh’s boy band radar must have been flashing ten to the dozen.

Despite our seemingly unified thoughts on these two over excited teeny boppers, they made the X Factor live shows. Their first performance saw them suspended from the sky by ropes, only to be lowered onto the stage to categorically murder the Robbie Williams song, "Rock DJ". They were out of synch, out of tune and bouncing round like unstable lambs that were yet to form a sturdy vertebra. There was absolutely no doubt about it, they were going to leave. All credit to them, they’d got to this point, but they were out of their depth. Results day came and they were saved. Not even experiencing a peripheral fear that they might leave. No bottom two. No sing off.

From this moment, it was evident that for every person who felt a bubbling hatred towards the eagerly irritating ‘Jedward’, there was another person who thought the twins and their vertically elevated tresses had a credible talent. I was dismayed at the general public for even entertaining the thought of them being worthy contestants, but their fan base was sustained and most likely escalating at the rapid pace that shows like the X Factor encourage. Week on week I got progressively infuriated at the sight of them. At points I speculated how Mother Nature could be so cruel as to create duplicate sets of such exasperating chromosomes. I finally thought justice was imminent last week when the boys were in the final two. Alas, Simon Cowell’s decision of dead lock saved them once again. Though I knew that many people valued their colourful performances I maintained that they should go home.

However, this week something shifted. Here we are, on the sixth live show, and I find myself actually enjoying John and Edward’s performance. It was Queen’s "Under Pressure" with the addition of Vanilla Ice’s rap "Ice Ice Baby" containing the same melody. I started doubting myself as I’d been so adamant and now I was cheating on my own views. It reminded me of an urban myth that I’ve heard numerous times concerning cuisine. Apparently, if you eat any food a specific amount of times (some people say ten, others say twelve) any aversion you have will diminish. I wondered if this could happen with John and Edward. It seemed possible that if you could hate an olive but after 10 attempts adore its flavour, maybe the more I watched them, the more I’d acquire an affirmative taste.

This prospective solution is supported by another theory that attractiveness is enhanced with familiarity. It’s a valid proposal that this psychological concept could be translated into televised entertainment. Maybe the more I see John & Edward, the more I will grow to love them, due to the inevitable occurrence of them becoming familiar to me. I will use these thoughts to excuse my newly found guilty pleasure, but saying that, I wouldn’t dub myself a devoted Jedward fan just yet.