Jedward - innocent heroes in a cynical industry

Okay, brace yourselves. It's entirely possible you've never heard of Jedward, in which case you don't have an opinion on the Irish twins. If, however, you have had the "pleasure" then you might be taken aback by what I'm about to say. I'm shocked myself.

I like Jedward. Now, truth is, I'd sooner have root canal than endure their singing and dancing routine, but as I was watching them being interviewed by the BBC's Jonathan Ross on Friday night I found myself liking them more and more.

So what's to like? I guess it's the complete naivety of the two of them. I considered the possibility that it's all an act - and it might well be - but even if it's an act the way the two of them are always in synch with the innocence is tremendous. But, I actually don't think they're acting. I think what you see is pretty much what they really are.

John and Edward Grimes are sort of antiheroes of today's pop culture. They are completely devoid of cynicism; they're optimistic and seemingly impervious to any negative thoughts (Simon Cowell threw all he could at them and it just bounced off); and they're ..., they're ... wholesome, safe for kids to enjoy too.

Again, I don't want to see them perform - you can get a flavor of them here - but young girls seem to like watching them. As a father of a young girl, I don't object. I think most teenage girls find them hilarious, which I guess I can sort of see. Younger kids, say under 10, adore them.

To be honest, I hardly paid any attention to them when they were on the X Factor. It's not my cup of tea. Yet, I could hardly avoid the conversation and it was interesting to witness the mood change towards them. Initially, most people couldn't stand them because they couldn't sing (or dance apparently). Yet week after week they won people over and it has to be their attitude that was the difference.

They didn't win and they may vanish from the public eye in the not-too-distant future - how long can they remain that innocent in such a cynical industry? - but I think their name(s) will be remembered a lot longer than any of those contestants who went further in the competition than Jedward. And for how long can they team up with obnoxious has-beens like Vanilla Ice and remain unaffected? I don't know, but for now I wish them luck.