We all wondered how the X Factor would survive without Simon Cowell here to oversee matters, but now we finally have the answer: it can't. Or at least, it isn't doing it very well. This weekend's shows have a lot of pressure riding on them, for the days leading up to them in world of X Factor have been utter chaos. First of all, Rhythmix were forced to change their name following complaints from a charity with the same name, then The Risk lost a member and had to nick one of Nu Vibe's to fill the gap, and now Kelly Rowland has gone and pulled out of this week's judging panel. What the bloody hell's going on?

When shit kicked off on the show last week, and the judges just started ganging up on each other, publicly accusing other acts of being bullies and screaming in each other's faces live on national television, we knew that something was bubbling under the surface. And it seems to have escalated even further this week, leaving us very excited for what tonight has to offer.

In case you hadn't heard yet, Rhythmix are no longer Rythmix. Earlier this week, a children's charity of the same name hired lawyers and sent an open letter to Simon Cowell, forcing the band to ditch the name and come up with a new gem. They have gone for... wait for it... wait some more... tension tension tension... Little Mix! Hmm. As X Factor band names go (Kandy Rain, Nu Vibe, Addicitiv Ladies), it's actually not that bad. In fact, we quite like it. Well done everyone.

That's all the good news you're getting, though, because the rest is a bit of a shambles.

The Risk have lost a band member, with Ashley Baptiste (you know the one) dropping out of the competition and replaced by Nu Vibe's Ashford Campbell (yeah, him). Baptiste's excuse for leaving his bandmates in the lurch is that he 'doesn't believe his future lies with a boyband' and he 'isn't truly committed in the long term'. If we recall correctly, however, he was the one who just stood there and didn't sing a word last week (apparently because he was ill) so the inner detective in us smells something fishy going on.

And not only has one of the contestants dropped out, one of the judges has too. Kelly Rowland is currently in LA and will not be coming back to appear on the live shows this weekend. A statement explained that "she is extremely ill with a viral throat infection and her doctor's aren't permitting her to fly", but, naturally, the tabliods are reporting that her absence is all down to a massive fall out with Tulisa.

We don't know what's going on, or why everything is spiralling out of control. All we want is for Simon to come back, give everyone a kick up the arse, and for the X Factor to return to normal.

At least we have Louis, eh?