Amazon.co.uk Review
The Xmas Factor is a collection featuring all 12 finalists from 2003's
Pop Idol series, each getting a solo bite at the Christmas-classic cherry. Critics of the series may think it easy to dismiss the soon-to-be-forgottens but the truth is each of the finalists deliver a good performance and the group collaborations "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" and "On This Day" are good versions of great songs. There's very little in it, but highlights include Sam's charmingly warm "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" and Susanne's wonderfully kooky "Santa Baby". Another song worth noting for a completely different reason is "I Believe" in which Brian sounds eerily like the silver-tongued cavalier of Christmas tunes, Sir Cliff Richard.
So all in all, The Xmas Factor is a really good collection of songs for the festive season--you might not want to listen to it in July but it'd be nice to think it might get dragged from the back of the CD rack for later Christmases. --Georgina Collins