X Factor boys: "We don’t mind that Simon’s not hands-on"

Posted by heatworld on Thursday 09 Oct 2008

Filed under: Austin Drage, Cheryl Cole, Simon Cowell, The X Factor

Lets play a bit of Simon Cowell/Cheryl Cole spot the difference. Er, one is a girl, one is a boy. One has high trousers, the other has a lovely selection of dresses. We could go on and on, but when it comes to mentoring their respective X Factor groups, Cheryl and Simon couldn’t be any more different. Reports emerged this week that Simon hadn’t seen his young male charges for over a month, and it’s true – but the boys don’t seem to mind. Austin says, “Although we haven’t spoken to him since we got back from Barbados, he’s got a team who work for him and with him. We can call them whenever we want – and that’s a direct link to Simon. It’s just as good as speaking to him myself. I trust any decision he makes.” The girls, on the other hand, are LOVING having Ms Cole as their mentor, and describe her more as a “sister” than a mentor. Diana says, “She’s an inspiration. She rings us all the time and she loves us all. She’s just so positive. She’s made us feel we are the best and she’s inspired us so much. She rings us every day, she sends us messages, asking us how we are. Alexandra adds, “She’s more like a sister than a mentor, someone we have to work for – it doesn’t feel like that at all. As long as everyone’s happy, she’s happy. We’ve got the best mentor, believe me. The other contestants are going, 'You guys have the best mentor.' They have to admit it.” And just when we thought we couldn't possibly love Cheryl even more!