The first time I met the boys from Moorhouse was at the launch party for The X Factor NZ.
Looking slightly bewildered to be among New Zealand’s elite, Rory, Brock, Jason and Marley bounced around The Conservatory at SkyCity, introducing themselves to celebrities with as much bravado as they could muster.
Chatting with them by – where else? the food table – I mentioned I was a writer from New Zealand Woman’s Weekly.
“No, for reals?” Marley asked with wide eyes.
“Can you do a story on us?” Rory added.
“Of course I can,” I replied, not sure if this was actually an option yet, but deciding to wing it and hope for the best.
“YES!” they all yelled, before starting up a “Woman’s Weekly!” chant in the middle of the dance floor.
They are absolutely gorgeous boys. On our photoshoot last week with the top four, they opened doors for all the women, were keen to stay for an extra half an hour to get the last remaining shot in the car park, helped clean up at the end of the shoot, and hugged everyone involved before they left, making sure to thank every last person for “having us and for the honour of being in your magazine”.
It seems the advice that Stan gave them at the beginning of the season – stay humble – really resonates with the Christchurch boys. They truly are the boys you’d want your daughter to date, obviously every teenage girl in the country is hanging out for that very opportunity.
The X Factor has lost the soul of the competition, and as Mel said, they’ll be missed.
But we can’t forget about groups like One Direction, who didn’t win the competition but have had the most success.
Everyone in the Weekly office at least is betting on the same happening with Moorhouse – and we can’t wait to hear their debut album.
It was a huge night for all remaining contestants, with Jackie, Benny and Whenua heading to the grand final.
Odds are crowd-favourite Jackie will have some stiff competition from Benny for the title. Benny’s pulled off something of a resurgence in the last few weeks, and there are whispers that he has what it takes to win the whole thing.
But if Jackie can belt out some powerhouse songs and nail them, it’s hard to see New Zealand voting against her.
It’s a massive operation and host Dominic Bowden is always first on the scene for any development XF related.
So I thought for my penultimate blog, I’d hand over to Dom to give you all a grand tour around the set and reveal some stage secrets, as well as show you exactly what happens in a day in the life of an X Factor host.
Check out the full day in the life of Dominic Bowden gallery.
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