The public's guilty pleasure

PROFILE: JOHN AND EDWARD GRIMES:When the teenage twins from Co Dublin bring their unique brand of entertainment to 'The X Factor' again tonight, it may be car-crash TV but, off-screen, Simon Cowell won't be complaining too loudly, writes SINÉAD GLEESON

‘WE ARE ALWAYS more anxious to be distinguished for a talent which we do not possess than to be praised for the 15 which we do possess.” Clearly, Mark Twain wasn’t an X Factor devotee, but his words are cannily spot-on when it comes to Dublin twins John and Edward Grimes. Talent – in musical terms anyway – doesn’t ooze from their collective pores, and some critics question whether they have any skills at all, let alone 15 of them. Yet they are arguably the most high-profile Irish people in the UK this week.

Hailing from Rathangan, Co Kildare, they live with their mother in Lucan. Despite their stage-school brio, both claim to have had minimal experience in the spotlight until making it to the live rounds of The X Factor. Indeed, until Louis Walsh took them under his wing, they were preparing for their Leaving Cert at the Dublin's Institute of Education.

Not since the hotpant-clad Romanians, The Cheeky Girls, have twin singers divided audiences into camps of derision and support, but one thing they have in spades is enthusiasm. Since auditioning for this series of the singing contest, the teenagers have sung and danced as if their quiffs depended on it. No matter that they omit notes or that their choreography is cheesy and badly timed, John and Edward are car-crash TV and it has won them legions of fans. Why? They're of the so-bad-it's-good school of entertainment, where the kind of frightening gusto seen in Billie Barry children on The Late Late Toy Showis notched up to 11.

Their success on The X Factorhas also won them a slew of haters, including many who accuse them of embarrassing Ireland. There are no excuses for Foster and Allen's Top of the Popsappearance dressed as leprechauns, but labelling the Grimes duo a national disgrace seems excessive. They're only 18, and like many 18-year-olds, they're naive and cocky. No Asbos have been issued against them and they don't have drug problems, they just like to sing and perform – so why the venom?

What sets them apart from the other contestants is not their lack of vocal ability, but the effort they put in while looking like they're having a ball. Unlike fellow X Factor-ees, they don't feel the need to ape Mariah Carey's note-bending. Instead their delivery is like listening to someone trill along to their iPod, oblivious to the din thanks to their headphones.

Nor have they bothered with their fellow contestants' identikit look of trendy haircuts and fashion-forward wardrobe. Instead they resemble the blond offspring of Henry Spencer in David Lynch's film, Eraserhead. In week two of the live finals, they donned red PVC suits in homage to Britney Spears for their atonal rendition of Ooops! . . . I Did it Again.

Cringey? Yes. Camp? Certainly. But it was so damn watchable, even if you had to peek through your fingers. Last week, there was a certain irony to the song choice of She Bangs, by Ricky Martin. On the 2004 series of American Idol (which featured Simon Cowell as a judge), contestant William Hung gave a toe-curling rendition of the same song and became a cult star because of it. Surrounded by mini-skirted dancers and wearing bad suits, the Grimes boys performed literal interpretations of the lyrics, just as Pan's People used to do decades ago on Top of the Pops. It was funny, sweet and the ultimate "facepalm" experience, and they received the biggest share of the public vote on the night. When it came to the judges' summation, Cheryl Cole said what most of us were thinking: "You've become my guilty pleasure."

Louis Walsh, who is mentoring the twins, must be aware of their shortcomings, but valiantly fights their corner every weekend. His take is that they’re entertaining and the public likes to be amused. All well and good, but the show is meant to be a talent competition, and eliminated acts, such as Miss Frank and Rikki Loney, are probably not seeing the funny side.

FROM THE OFF, the pair have been accused of unbridled cockiness and being plain irritating. Robbie Williams, himself no shrinking violet, was a guest on the show recently, and worked on songs with each of the acts. In the presence of the twins he failed to get a word in, his wide eyes darting from one to the other of the pair that make up the Siamese motormouth that is “Jedward”.

Formula talent shows, such as The X Factor, are not immune from becoming jaded. Simon Cowell can moan about the Grimeses every week with faux-outrage, but ultimately he knows that they pull in viewers, and more importantly, voters. He, after all, is the man who also once signed another pair of vocally challenged Irish brothers, Zig and Zag. Technically, the Republic of Ireland can't vote in this year's competition (there is, however, talk of loopholes), so it's puzzling to think who has been keeping them in the show to date. A large Irish diaspora in the UK? Pop's holy-grail demographic of tween girls? You can't help but think that UK viewers, tired of being asked to pick from a line-up of homogenised hopefuls, are merely having a laugh.

Has one earnest, hand-wringing power ballad too many finally pushed X Factorvoters towards an act of sabotage?

Or is it simply that John and Edward are a breath of fresh air in a samey line-up? They are the embodiment of what the show is becoming – a murky coagulation of the commercial idealism of Pop Idoland the random eccentricity of Britain's Got Talent.

Reality television has never been about talent, and singing competitions are fast becoming more about entertainment than ability. Winning isn't everything either, as Jade Goody proved in Big Brother, where eviction didn't prevent her having the most financially viable career of the contestants. And attention-grabbing X Factor losers, such as Chico in 2005, have sometimes been far more successful than the eventual winners, such as Steve Brookstein in 2004 (where is he now?).

Whether the Grimes twins can make it to the final is the big question. Perhaps twin luck will shine on them. The 2005 winner, Shayne Ward, has a twin sister and Will Young, former Pop Idolwinner, has a twin brother. The viewing public's insatiable appetite for novelty and unpredictability needs John and Edward. As Cheryl Cole said recently, with almost a touch of fear in her voice: "Every week I can't wait to see what you're going to come out with next."

Nor can the rest of us.

CV: JOHN AND EDWARD GRIMES

Who are they?X Factor hopefuls. Blond, singing twins. Not to be confused with The Proclaimers.

Why are they in the news?Their off-key warbling has captured the hearts of voters on the UK singing show due to their entertaining performances.

Most appealing characteristic?Massive enthusiasm in the face of minimal musical talent.

Least appealing characteristic?They've been accused of cockiness, and need to stop the self-congratulatory high-fiving.

Most likely to say?A lot. And by both of them at the same time and in rapid-fire delivery.