Fans weep as Jedward make their final exit
John and Edward Grimes speak to 'X Factor' presenter Holly Willoughby following their exit from the show last night
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Monday November 23 2009
THEIR 'X Factor' dream was extinguished last night but John and Edward Grimes' quest for stardom goes on.
Luck finally ran out for the Dublin twins (18), dubbed 'Jedward', after three of the four judges voted them off the popular show last night.
Only their mentor Louis Walsh supported the identical-quiffed brothers from Lucan, Dublin, whose incredible odyssey came to an end on last night's show.
Despite their disappointment, the boys described it as "the best experience of their lives" after the judging panel opted not to vote them through to the final five contestants.
In a sing-off with Olly Murs, they performed a surprisingly stirring rendition of Boyzone's 'No Matter What'.
But it wasn't enough to save them and they were voted off by a margin of 3-1 with their mentor Louis Walsh the only one giving them the nod.
The boys were graceful in defeat and they can take comfort in knowing that they had won over their biggest critic Simon Cowell, who said he would miss them.
Bookies Paddy Power -- who announced they were refunding all bets to the tune of €25,000 placed on the twins to win the 'X Factor' -- installed them at odds of 5/4 to have a number one record in Ireland next year.
Vilified
US singer Mariah Carey also performed a cover of the eighties power ballad 'I Want to Know What Love Is' and Susan Boyle, who was vilified for her lack of "star material" on 'Britain's Got Talent' last year, performed her debut single 'Wild Horses'.
The boys' dream of a pop record deal may now be in doubt but they are certainties to appear on our screens again in one guise or another.
It is their entertainment value rather than any genuine belief in their singing abilities that propelled them into the spotlight.
Their trusted template of frenetic dancing and off-key singing to a high-tempo track may lack originality, but never failed to capture the public.
Such is their media personality now that many pundits are tipping them to be TV hosts, similar to the UK 'I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here' presenters Ant and Dec.
But such speculation was little consolation to the hundreds of fans in their unofficial supporters club in The Lord Lucan pub, where there was a sense of inevitability about the outcome once they were voted into the bottom two.
"Despite all the criticism, they always gave it 100pc and they are winners to us," Dee Lynch from Lucan said.
"They given this area such a lift and gave people great entertainment."
- Stephen O'Farrell
Irish Independent
