X Factor 2011: Simon Cowell ‘excited’ by Little Mix

Simon Cowell is said to be genuinely excited by the prospect of Little Mix winning the X Factor this weekend.

The music mogul hasn’t been on the judging panel of the ITV show this year but has been keeping up to date with it’s acts and the new judges for the whole series and insiders say he is backing Tulisa Contostavlos’ act to win tomorrow.

Cowell memorably refused to sign The Spice Girls when they were starting out in the 90′s and sources say he is desperate to have a girl band success under his belt and is planning to offer a record deal to Little Mix, whether or not they take the title on Sunday.

A source told The Sun:

“Simon is thrilled by the quality of this year’s finalists — but he’s extra excited about Little Mix. He genuinely believes they could be bigger than the Spice Girls.

“He’s had huge successes in his career but a massive girl band has not really been one of them.”

“There hasn’t been such love for a girl band in years.

“Even Girls Aloud didn’t have the initial buzz on Popstars: The Rivals that Little Mix have had.”

And it looks like the girls have the backing of some of the real life Spice Girls too, with Emma Bunton admitting that she is hoping they will do well this weekend. She said:

“I really, really hope they win. I think they’re brilliant to watch and I think they could be really big.

“They work well together and they’ve got a great connection. I can see they are having fun and that’s what it was like for the Spice Girls. I can see they’ve got that edge too.”

Little Mix’s song choices for tonight’s show were revealed yesterday and we have all the details on their solo performance and their duet here.

The girls have become the official bookies favourite to win tomorrow, with Amelia Lily in second place and former hairdresser Marcus Collins in third.