And the winner is... <br/> the singing successes from reality shows

Love it or hate it, reality television is here to stay.

As is the endless amount of hopefuls who bare all to a fickle audience and a panel of judges (whose primary concern is to

a) look good
b) improve their public image/further career
c) make money
d) all of the above)

only to almost certainly have their dreams crushed and a breakdown to-boot.

And what does that mean exactly? Entertainment gold.

The last series of The X Factor peaked with 14 million viewers for the final, and the sixth series is starting on Saturday. So we've taken a stroll down memory lane by looking at the most successful singing contestants to have emerged from the lucrative pop-music-talent-show genre (aka those who make Simon Cowell an ever-richer man).