Matt Cardle

Matt Cardle is currently the bookie's favourite to win the British reality show 'The Xfactor'. For those who have been living under a rock and don't know what the Xfactor is, it is a show in which contestants must get past several stages of auditions in order to be entered into a large singing competition where they are voted off by the public until one one act remains. The winning act is then offered a recording contract by the show's producer and Sony Records executive Simon Cowell. Since its inception the show has undergone several changes and one recent example of this was the auditions being performed in front of a live audience – a change that is now in its second season and that has been largely well received. As a judge in the auditions, Simon Cowell is also joined by Louis Walsh, Danni Minogue (sister of Kylie) and Cheryl Cole (of Girls Aloud fame). This too has undergone several permutations since the original line up of Simon, Louis and Sharon Osborn.

During the live stages, the show generates a huge following and a large amount of press coverage and is aired in several countries. Most people have a 'favourite' that they want to win, and many people bet on who will go out each week and who will win. In each live show the contestants will have to sing a song based on a different theme which can be genres such as 'rock' or conceptual themes such as 'Halloween'. Each singer will have good and bad performances, but some emerge as stronger contenders than others.

One of those strong contenders is Matt Cardle. At 27 years old, Matt is a former painter and decorator who comes from Essex. His voice can be described as being like the Cold Play lead singer's, or Snow Patrol and he seems well suited to that style of music. He can also play the guitar and is well known for wearing a hat and having quite an old fashioned look. Part of his appeal is that he is a good looking young man who is attractive to women who make up a large part of his following, though his grounded routes mean that he is a contestant that many male voters can also relate to.

Before his Xfactor success, Matt Cardle was the lead singer of the band 'Seven Summers', who have released an alternative rock album though this has not had particular success. As a child Matt Cardle was diagnosed with Wilm's tumour – a form of cancer that can affect very young toddlers and babies. Thus he had to have one of his kidney's removed by the age of two, though this seemingly has not slowed his music career.

Matt's success so far on the show has been significant and he has been taken under the wing of Danni Minogue as his 'mentor'. This means that she helps him to choose his song, takes care of his singing coaching and handles his styling and choreography. Each judge has a 'category' and Matt is in Danni's who is in charge of the 'boys'. Also in this category are Aiden Grimshaw who is known for his intense and eerie performances and Paje Richardson who is a young cinema usher and popular partly due to his gentle mannerism. Nikolo Festa was the fourth quirky member of the 'boys' category but has since left the competition.

The best performance Matt Cardle has offered so far is arguably his rendition of 'Hit me Baby One More Time' which he performed while playing the acoustic guitar. Most viewers are eagerly waiting to see what else he can do.

Matt Cardle is one of the hot favourites to win the Xfactor and a great singer. To find out more about the artist, follow the link.