Original sentence: Darius went on to audition for the show that was in a sense its successor, Pop Idol.He generally received good feedback throughout the live shows, particularly from Pete Waterman, who likened his voice to that of Frank Sinatra.He reached the final stages, and became well known to the viewing public.He was initially placed third in the final heat before the live shows, but was promoted after the withdrawal of Rik Waller due to illness
Edited sentence: Despite this experience, Darius went on to audition for the show that was in a sense its successor, Pop Idol.During the series, his appearance changed radically, and his popularity grew.He claimed he was happy to finish third, as it gave him enough of a platform to launch a solo career, without being tied to the creatively-limiting contract into which that the series winner was automatically entered.He generally got good feedback throughout the live shows, particularly from Pete Waterman, who likened his voice to that of Frank Sinatra.He initally got knocked out in the final heat before the live shows, but was promoted after the withdrawal of Rik Waller due to illness.He reached the final stages, and became well known to the viewing public, albeit not entirely for positive reasons.He was particularly mocked for his over-the-top performance of Britney Spears's Hit Me Baby One More Time, a performance that sealed his fate on the show, and which became the subject of numerous spoofs and comedy items, notable when Frank Skinner showed Spears the clip during an interview on his show.His look, including ponytail and goatee beard, was mocked, as was his perceived over-eagerness to be the contestants' father-figure.Soon after the release of "Dive In", he released a book, Sink or Swim, telling of his childhood, and his experiences on both Popstars and Pop Idol.The negative image remained intially, with hosts Ant & Dec appearing in sketches mocking his Popstars performance