You will have your opinion, I'm sure. And I hear the argument that, in a year of spectacular Olympic achievement, it would be fitting if this coveted annual award could reflect the efforts of those who competed with unprecedented success in Beijing. Nevertheless, all things considered, as far as this column is concerned, when it comes down to the personality on the shortlist who really deserves the weekend's big prize, it's got to be Alexandra Burke. No hesitation.

The girl from London has had a sensational season. Her victory over Beyoncé Knowles's Listen in the quarter-finals was one of the great X Factor performances, not only of this year but of any year. We were out of our armchairs round my way. Not since Leona Lewis has the game thrown up a talent so clearly capable of dominating, not only domestically, but on the international stage.

As for Eoghan Quigg, by contrast, we have reservations, starting with, but not limited to, that name. No matter how often you type it, it always looks as if you have just dropped a mug on your laptop.

Fair play to the wonderkid from Northern Ireland. A certain puppyish effervescence and a decent impression of George Michael in the upper register have brought him a long way. It has brought him farther, indeed, than Diana Vickers and Laura White, and surely if you had offered him that at the start of the season he would have taken it. But we say, that's far enough. Give him the Newcomer of the Year Award and leave it at that.

We don't rate JLS much, either. As the only group to make it through to this stage, they are already guaranteed the Team of the Year award by default. There is an undeniable chemistry at work here, but it never quite quells our nagging doubts that the side is, ultimately, limited.

You've got little Aston Merrygold playing on his own up front, with the other three dropping off. That's fine, as far as it goes, but when they come up against a song that defends deep and blocks off the overlapping runs on which this kind of harmony depends, there is no plan B. That's bound to raise question marks about their management under Louis Walsh, and it's going to cost them, at the end of the day.

We can't entirely overlook, either, the fact that there was crowd trouble when JLS played in Croydon this week. It was widely believed that, with the introduction of all-seat stadiums, we had seen the end of hooliganism at X Factor-related fixtures, but on the open terracing of Fairfield Halls, the spectre of violence raised its ugly head again.

In truth, it probably never went away. It's not their fault, but I can't dislodge the disquieting feeling that JLS could end up being a bit like Cardiff City. Trouble will follow them around.

Inevitably, as the big night nears, people are asking whether this is one of those decisions that is, in the end, too important to be decided by a public vote, with all the potential for vagary and distortion that it carries. More particularly, is this award too important to be decided by a public vote carried out entirely behind closed doors and using an electoral process with no transparency at any stage?

Bear in mind that there is £1million of future funding for UK power balladry riding on tonight's decision. And at least £23.50 of that, by all accounts, and looking at the details of the contract that were leaked this week, is money that the winner will actually get to see.

These are, clearly, crucial debates and they must be allowed to continue. But it's too late to change anything this time, when basic pragmatism tells us that we must work, for better or worse, with the system we have been given.

And, within those terms, we declare for Alexandra (pictured above left). Oh, and Rebecca Adlington, I suppose, tomorrow, if you can bothered, but it's going to be hard to raise yourself for another phone vote, surely, so soon after the one that really matters.

Darts moves from the saloon to the salon

Cherish, if you will, the monumental image gracing the page this week - the permanent record of a landmark meeting between Phil “The Power” Taylor, the 13-times world darts champion, and Nicky Clarke, “Britain's most newsworthy hairdresser”, in the words of his own website.

And feel the world of style crack wide open as the greatest player to have lifted a dart in anger goes in search of “the kind of hair you always dreamt was possible but never quite managed to achieve” (Clarke's website, again). The Power appears to be in mortal fear for the integrity of his left ear, at this critical juncture in his career, but he could probably afford to be more trusting, given that he is the hands of a man who has blow-dried royalty. In any case, if it were me, I'd be more worried about getting deafened by those bangles.

Harsher analysts of the hairstyling game would suggest that Clarke himself looks discouragingly like a show-dog that went for a swim in a pond in 1984 and still hasn't finished shaking himself out. But just as we learn never to judge a book by its cover, so we should never judge a hairdresser by his hair.

Let it be enough to know that The Power's trim would be setting him back as much as £250 if it were taking place in Clarke's salon in London's Mayfair and if this weren't a photo opportunity.

Taylor won't be the only player hurriedly consulting the beautification experts after the news that the PDC World Championship (or, as some of us refer to it, “Christmas”) will be shot this year for the first time in High Definition. Given that the cameras already get closer to darts players (7ft 9in, the length of the oche) than to any other sportsmen, the pressure is inevitably on to (and, again, I quote from Clarke's website) introduce the “Red Carpet wow factor” and “make every day a good-hair day”.

The expectation is that the exacting HD scrutiny that allegedly caused Richard Keyes, the Sky Sports football presenter, to shave the hair off the backs of his hands, will move darts into a whole new era of personal grooming unprecedented within the sport. Indeed, rumour already reaches us of at least one darter who has booked his tattoos in for retouching.

Next week: your easy-to-follow, cut out 'n' keep guide to Peter “One Dart” Manley's wash/exfoliate/moisturise routine.

Hurry while stocks last ...

It's new-for-old on photographic equipment at John Daly this Christmas. You want it back, I'll buy you a new one, the head of John Daly declared this week, announcing his recession-busting festive gift scheme at a leading John Daly outlet in Australia.

Take your old camera along to your nearest branch of John Daly between now and the end of January, use the magic sentence “Mind if I get a snap of you while you're trying to measure up that tricky iron-shot out of the rough, John?” and John Daly will snatch the camera out of your hands, smash it against a tree and immediately offer to replace it with a new model, or, if unavailable, an item of equivalent value.

Note: Normal rules and conditions apply. Offer refers only to photographic goods and does not extend to other electronic items, perfumes, clothing, comestibles, etc. John Daly accepts no responsibility for any loss incurred, during the exchange process, of photographic images of himself. Customers entering into negotiation with John Daly do so at their own risk. John Daly: never knowingly underreacting.