The Mirror have revealed that some of the finalists are due to make a whopping £100 per performance during the upcoming X Factor tour. Namely JLS 'cause there's four of them. That's bound to spring a tear in Aston's eye. The rest of them, like Eoghan, Laura, the yoke with the hand and even Alexandra Burke, will net about £250.

According to the paper: The acts are worth much more, especially when you think how much money the tour generates. Tickets for the gigs cost £30 - £45 for the Dublin dates - with many already sold out before the opening night on February 22. A show at London's 20,000-capacity 02 Arena will make as much as £600,000 in tickets alone and more when lucrative merchandise sales are added on." There's no mention of how much the tickets are for any of the UK gigs, but I'll hazard a guess and say Irish ticket holders are happily letting themselves be fleeced.

A source spilling to The Mirror said: "The acts even have to fork out for their own breakfast if it's not included in the price of the room. They can't claim back any drinks or their telephone bills if they want to stay in touch with their family. The most they stretch to is a meal in the evening. It's a joke… If you don't sign up to the conditions, then you're not on the live show. It's as simple as that. Who in their right mind would turn it down?"

Someone who can live without their mush being emblazoned on buttons, mugs, t-shirts, lunch boxes (and not the good kind), pencil cases...