Walsh tastes sour grapes

But really, sometimes you can’t win for losing, whatever that means. Just ask benighted pop impresario Louis Walsh.
The man responsible for top acts like Boyzone, Westlife and Samantha Mumba was minding his own business last week when Kerry Katona, the wife of Louis’s main man, Bryan McFadden, became ill. The infanticipating ex-Atomic Kitten was forced to bow out of judging duties on the Irish talent search program, “You’re a Star.” Not wanting to disappoint the young Irish Eurovision hopefuls, Walsh stepped in to lend his two cents’ worth. Which is exactly where the trouble started.
As Louis, along with musician Phil Coulter and producer Darren Smith, whittled the thousands of hopefuls down to just eight finalists, the howls of indignation could be heard throughout the land — or at least, throughout the audition hall. Most of the complaints centered on Walsh’s (supposed) personal connection with some of the contestants. Walsh, in his typical no-nonsense manner, dismissed the whingers as “sore losers.”
“I am totally objective in my capacity as a pop judge,” he indignantly told the Sunday World.
“I have never been biased against anybody. The contestants who made it into the last eight are all top-class performers.”
Some of those dismissed by the pop maverick pointed out that one of the finalists, 19-year-old Susan McFadden, had an unfair advantage, since her brother Bryan is a member of Westlife.
“Maybe McFadden . . . should have been in the last eight, but not like this, not in this manner,” moaned Dubliner Pearl Hughes, who was eliminated in an earlier round.
Others who were eliminated — we promise not to call them rejects — pointed fingers at two other finalists who were connected to former Boyzoner Mikey Graham. The pair were members of Graham’s short-lived boy band Shade.
“I never even knew that they were formerly managed by [him],” countered Walsh. “The problem with Ireland is that it’s too small. Everybody knows everybody,” he chuckled.
One contestant, obviously auditioning for a seat in Dail Eireann, huffed, “A new golden circle of pop has certainly emerged in Ireland. And the Irish people must shout ‘Stop!’ “
Whatever.
The one thing that struck us as very funny was that the other contestants apparently had no problem with Susan McFadden being judged by her sister-in-law Kerry. Can you just imagine the atmosphere at the next McFadden family gathering if Kerry had turfed Susan out?