​On a personal level 2015 has been unexpectedly wild, for some good and some fairly terrible reasons. On a professional level, this little website here has been doing better than I could ever have possibly imagined it would. And now here comes the mushy part…

I’m incredibly lucky to have some wonderful writers pass through these pages and luckier still that one or two of them even wanted, and have since, joined the team that keeps this website going. So my first mushy and heartfelt thank you is to anyone who has submitted an article to Mad Hatter Reviews this year, with an extra load of love for those who have worked their fingers to the bone getting articles in on a weekly basis. The site would just be me rambling about a lot of things that I don’t understand without you so from the bottom of my heart I thank you and I wish you the best 2016 could you possibly hope for. 

My second thank you is to all of the lovely people who have given us things to write about. The publishers, the PR companies, the musicians who have asked to be featured (side note, if you’re still waiting to be featured then give us a nudge in 2016 because I probably just need to be reminded), and everyone else who has posted, emailed, tweeted bits and pieces to us over the past year. You’ve kept us going and we hope you’ll continue to do the same in the coming year as well. 

And, finally - I promise! Thank you to the amazing people who check in with our little website and read our little articles. The readership this year has sky-rocketed so whoever you are and wherever you’re reading from, the whole team thanks you for checking in and making our little online rambles worthwhile. We’ll still be here next year, bringing you content and snide comments on a weekly basis, so we hope you’ll continue checking in with us… because we really would miss you if you went away now. 

Whatever you’re doing this New Year be safe, be happy, be a little drunk if you feel so inclined, and we’ll see you on the other side. 

Happy New Year!

C x 

The X Factor has been wrapped up for another year, and while the final was lovely and we’re all very happy with the winner, I for one am downright relieved that the small screen no longer has to play host to the snide comments and total cock-ups that we’ve seen over the last few weeks. I can only assume now that the show is over some people will be having one or two stern tellings-off ahead of next year’s auditions - assuming that there will be any auditions at all, if rumours are to be believed. 

Firstly, I get that the show is massive. I get that there are huge amounts of people working their backsides off behind the scenes and I applaud them for that, I really do, because so much effort goes into making a show like this. However, what I don’t get… is how Olly managed to read the right name at the wrong time. How Sean Miley Moore’s name ended up on the wrong performance, despite him already having left the competition when it happened. How the wrong song was played for the right video in the final of the show. And these are just the more obvious technical issues. I haven’t even got started on the fact that Rita Ora can’t stop saying “Mash it up” in the most cringey way imaginable and Simon Cowell seems to be going either completely soft or slightly mad.

The show has always seen a fair amount of criticism for the one-hit-wonders that it so frequently churns out, bar the few who actually push themselves to go further (somewhat ironically, though, this usually happens after they’ve broken ties with The X Factor). Similarly, the joke act of every year has always invited a mixture of criticisms as well; however, this year it seems that the one comedic act of the bunch actually managed to press on to the final. Seriously, am I the only person who doesn’t understand how Reggie N Bollie bagged second place position over Che? (If so, get in touch and explain it to me because I’m just not getting it!) 

This latest season, however, has just seen things turned upside as far as I’m concerned. Somewhat surprisingly Simon Cowell has been a massive part of this problem with his disgusting attitude at the six-chair-challenge and his apparent disinterest that has crept in throughout the live shows since. I get it, The X Factor is flailing around for attention and sometimes it does get a little bit boring… But should its main backer demonstrate a similar view to that? Probably not. Also, this new judging panel hasn’t really worked, has it? Rita Ora is lovely, Nick Grimshaw is quite funny when he really tries to be, but generally speaking the four of them together just seems like an accident waiting to happen as the three notably younger judges just seem hell-bent on pushing Cowell’s buttons and, worse still, they succeed in doing so. It’s a horrible mash-up of new and trendy, and old and bitter, and while either would work well on their own, the collaboration of the two has made for some uncomfortable viewing this year. 

Somewhat ironically, whatever the X factor is, The X Factor seems to have totally lost it. So much so that midway through the season rumours started flying about whether this would be one of the final seasons of the show, and those rumours haven’t been put straight yet. It’s served its purpose in finding a semi-decent singer who has the potential to sell as a popstar, but as a popular television show The X Factor is certainly starting to struggle after all these years and I for one am glad to have my usual Saturday night television returned...

C x