X-Factor LIVE SHOW RESULTS: WEEK 5.

Hello everyone!

Apologies for not posting last week, I'll be completely honest and say I thought the show was pretty dull and no-one stood out for me...

Anyway, we're up to...

X-Factor Live Shows: Week 5

and at last it's not a double elimination! It was actually a pretty decent show last night...

I'll rate the acts in alphabetical order starting with 4th Impact...

They've gone under the radar a bit recently but I think they deserve to be in the final. They gave some strong performances and were solid. Vocals were great (whistle note was impressive) and so was the dancing. They seem to have a big fanbase worldwide but not sure how big their fanbase is in this country. They should be safe.

Che really messed up singing Adele's Hello. The second half of the song was actually very good but the fact he missed half the songs lyrics means he should be in the bottom 2 again this week. He may get the rebound vote as his second song was actually very good.

Lauren was the only act really slated by the judges which is ironic because I thought she was overall the best of the night! I actually thing her vocals are stronger than Louisa's. Her second song in particular was very good even thought it's not her typical style. I imagine she'll be in the bottom 2 but I don't think she should be.

Louisa was great singing Jealous but I thought her first performance was actually pretty poor. She could be in danger for the sing off but then they all could be. She had a sore throat and I don't think the fact she over sings everything helps that.

Reggie & Bollie yet again were praised by the judges... however they're vocally very poor, dire actually. I'm getting a bit fed up of the cheesy big performances and although I think they're safe, they should be in the bottom 2 along with Che.

The 2 favourites for the bottom 2 (Lauren & 4th Impact) are the 2 I thought performed best last night!

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The results show is underway and Carrie Underwood is about to perform, I've heard great things about her...

She's good but from the hype I was expecting her to be on Leona Lewis's level...

Ollie loves reminding Che he forgot the lyrics last night... maybe it makes him feel better about his gaffe the other week!?

Rita is performing next, will be interesting as I haven't heard her sing live... maybe I won't if she's miming!

She's actually very good... though no need for all these people on stage, it looks like a pitch invasion! Not sure who the men are either...

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RESULTS!!!

So as predicted, Lauren & 4th Impact in the bottom 2... disappointing but then don't think I've agreed with the bottom 2/3 at all this series, the public's voting patterns are very strange at times!

4th Impact up 1st... love this song. Very good but I prefer it sung by a solo artist... not their best performance though, maybe not the most suited song for them.

Lauren is up now... well I think she's performing the better of the 2! Very well sung...

Well I think 4th Impact should go but it'd be a great shame. Neither of them should be going! By the the best sing-off of the series.

Caroline asked Rita to confirm who she was sending home... I recall earlier in the series they never did that... no consistency!

Down to Simon... I expect him to send it to deadlock which I'd be happy with... he has a soft spot for the girls!

Lauren doesn't look happy it's going to deadlock...

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4th Impact have gone, well I think the entertainment factor has gone now... I don't find R & B entertaining!

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So next week we have Che, Lauren, Louisa and Reggie & Bollie... pretty strong final 4 though for me there's an obvious weak link, needless to say who I think that is!

Thanks for reading, see you next week!

X-Factor LIVE SHOW RESULTS: WEEK 3.

Hi everyone,

So this is going to be a pretty quick post as I have stuff to do...

Max and Monica sent home tonight, no real surprises although I did expect Mason to be in the bottom 3 instead of Anton. Maybe it's just the rebound vote so I wouldn't be surprised if he's in the bottom 2 next week however well he does.

I think Max going home first was certainly the right result. Anton and Monica actually gave a very good sing off and both gave by far their best performances of the live shows so far. I was expecting Anton to be sent home but I can't see either act going much further in the competition anyway. I think Monica sang it better, better pitch although Anton put more emotion into his so it was a close call. I'm glad Anton has stayed because I find him interesting to watch!

Other than that the guest performers as usual were pretty weak. It seems to me as though the majority of the guests who appear on the show have trouble with their pitch? Maybe it's something to do with the sound?!

Oh... and Olly really fluffed his lines by telling Monica she was going home before they'd even gone to deadlock. I think since the live shows it's really stood out how good Dermot actually was and also just how inexperienced Olly is, I'm not overly impressed by Caroline either although I liked her on the Xtra Factor.

Anyway, they're my thoughts on tonights show. There's 7 acts left now and there's no double elimination next week thank goodness, I think it's unfair on the acts who finish bottom as they don't get to sing again.

I'm hoping next weeks theme will be a good one... we need rock week again!

The X-Factor LIVE SHOW 3!

Hello, I'm back!

This week Ive decided to write about this weeks performances as they happen... it gives me something to do during the ad breaks!

So Mason Noise was up first and all I can think of is how Seann was very hard done by to leave last week after the sing off! He's singing Men In Black. It's ok, not brilliant and certainly not justified why he should still be in the competition. However, the judges predictably love it. I'm going to have my pizza now.

I'm back now, pizza was ok but not brilliant... anyway!

I just sat through Max Stone singing (I can't remember the song title and am not familiar with it) but the judges loved it... I thought it was pretty terrible actually. VERY pitchy and it made Mason look like a superstar...

Louisa is up now. Everybody's Free. It's a good performance but I don't think it's up to the standard of her last 2 performances in the competition. Still by a mile the best so far. Maybe I'm just in a bad mood tonight?! A lot more sucking up from the judges. Rita's crying... it's good but not THAT good!?

Reggie and Bollie and Anton are waiting to perform... this'll be fun! Oh... Monica is coming on now. Well it can't be any worse than last week, surely?!

This is actually very good so far! What Is Love, good song choice. By far the best so far tonight. Well it was 10 times as good as last week, sounds like a totally different person, especially impressive seeing as she had to change her song at the last minute. She looks much better too. Judges like it thought I would have thought they'd have been a bit more OTT like with everyone else!

Reggie and Bollie now... Ghostbusters maybe?!... Titanic?! I was worried for a minute then! Who Let The Dogs Out? Well I guess it doesn't require much of a vocal range... I genuinely thought they were singing the Titanic song then! Anyway... they certainly bring energy to the stage! That was actually very good! They did the most they could on the song and I can see them avoiding the bottom 2 again. I think they're definitely one of the better acts tonight so far! Simon doesn't think it's as good as last week, I beg to differ! Fair comments from the judges in all.

Anton after the break? Well so far I think Mason and Max are in real trouble, everyone else I would expect to be safe... but then after last week who knows?!

Here we go! Well Anton can't be any worse than last week! He's got a big number! I Have Nothing so I've heard, and Simon says it's from the Body Guard so it looks like it will be that. There's lots of black and white close ups in this! Bit shouty at the top but it's good! Well I think he's made up for last week. By far his best performance of the live shows. Good comments from the judges too.

The last 4 acts have actually been very good and the first 2 should be very worried!

4th Impact now, one of the members has passed out... but they're still performing! Let's hope it goes well... Work It Out from Austin Powers, should suit them. This is probably the best performance of the night so far... I'm impressed! Not surprisingly all 4 judges have stood up, it was very good! Selina?! I think was the one who passed out, she's just gone dizzy which makes the performance that bit better... definitely contenders for the whole competition after that.

Lauren is up next, not easy being on after the last act... she's doing well though! I actually think this is better than her last performance... Other than 4th Impact, she's the best tonight so far! I assume the song is called One Last Time... she had to change the song last minute again so that makes it all the more impressive.

Che is last up, my favourite... saving the best till last?! When A Man Loves A Woman... this should  be great! I'm actually a little disappointed because he's been so good so far... he's still good but I was expecting him to blow me away! It improved for the last part! I think the judges are going a little overboard though...

So there we have it, that was actually a pretty good show! I think Mason and Max should be favourites to go, other than that it's very hard to call!

Let's see what happens tomorrow night...

Let me know what you all think!

X-Factor LIVE SHOW RESULTS: WEEK 2. Seann sent home!

Hello everyone, a fairly quick post seeing as I'm using my phone which isn't the best keyboard to use!

The X-Factor results show ended about an hour and despite all the obvious manipulation that goes on behind the scenes I was utterly shocked that Seann Miley Moore left the competition. I stated in my post before that he was my favourite act last night and in the competition. I stand by that. He was arguably the best in the competition along with Che and Louisa. He may have been a little OTT but there was no denying he had an immense talent and great individuality!

Previously we've have the shocks of Jedward v Lucy and Aiden v Katie but those shocks weren't so early on. I don't think anyone of Seann's quality has ever left the competition in the second week. Mason was actually decent in the sing off apart from where he messed up... but there was no quality. Is there any point in a sing off if judges aren't going to use them to make their decision. I find it strange that Simon saved Seann based on the sing off when in the past that didn't bother him. I also find it odd Rita sent Seann home after criticising Mason and praising Seann very week? Maybe they were told who to send home for drama... we'll probably never know.

The result has put a real dampener on the show for me but I won't give up on it just yet.

What are your thoughts?

The X-Factor LIVE SHOW 2: REVIEW

Hello!

So in my last post I mentioned that I was going to get this blog up and running again after a long break. I love the X-Factor despite the blatant manipulation that goes on which I'll talk a bit about later on.

For the last few years I've skipped the audition rounds and boot-camp and just focused on "Judges Houses" and "Live Shows". I preferred it when there were "Room Auditions" with no audience influence and not as many so stories. Anyway...

I was very impressed by the first live show which is usually the case for me. Then the second week comes about which usually disappoints. This was the case last night.

I didn't like the "reinvent an old song" theme as I don't think classics should be messed with as 9/10 they're not a patch on the original, though there are the odd exceptions.

First up were 4th Impact singing Sound of the underground. It wasn't a patch on last week which I thought was very good. The opening few lines were very pitchy/shrieky but they pulled it back together in the chorus. The performance was better than the singing but they won't be in any trouble though I expect more from them next week.

Second up was Mason Noise singing Teardrops. First of all I don't think he should be on the show after his rant during the 6 chair challenge and second of all I don't think he should have gone through to the live show anyway when there were better singers at judges houses. He's got the unlikability factor (maybe it's just me) and comes across as arrogant. I didn't like the moves and none of it seemed natural. The vocals were decent but I think he's in danger. I actually thought he was pretty good at judges houses but he's not impressed me so far during the lives.

Next up was Anton, I thought he did ok last week but I preferred his judges houses performance. He sung All about the bass, or at least attempted to. It was arguably the worst performance I've seen in X-Factor history. At least acts like Jedward/Wagner/Rylan were deemed as "novelty" acts. The problem is Anton is usually a pretty good singer. This performance though was horrible out of tune, out of time, just all over the place. I can only come to the conclusion that he topped the public vote last week and Simon doesn't want another "bland" male winner hence giving him a terrible song which he knew he'd struggle with. Having said all that, I don't think Anton will go as he has a strong fanbase and some of the viewers will see the manipulation and "hatchet job" they're doing on him.

Then Kiera came on singing Bring back the mack. Compared to Anton's performance anything is better. It was better than last week but it was still pretty average and she'll no doubt be in trouble again this week. She's pitchy though does show glimpses of quality. Unfortunately this is too few and far between and she doesn't appear to have the fanbase. A forgettable performance.

Che came on to perform next with You can't hurry love. Like last week (at the time of his performance) he blew everyone else out of the water. I didn't enjoy it as much as last week, it was a lot slower but sung very well. He's got one of the best vocals I've heard on the show for a long time. I don't get all this "bland" personality talk. He's got more charisma than a lot of the finalists this year and for me he's the one to beat. A dead cert for the final.

Louisa came on singing Billie Jean after Che. She sang it very well but it was oversung and if she's not careful people will tire of her constant power singing with a million runs. Viewers like to see a softer side despite (see Che). Vocal gymnastics are very impressive at times, but not all the time. Still she's a dead cert for the final and her and Che so far are in a different league to everyone else.

Seann took to the stage next (my 3 favourites all bunched in the middle, and arguably the most talented). Very strange not to spread the more powerful acts out better in my opinion. Anyway, he sung California Dreaming' and again, like always, he didn't fail to impress. I didn't agree with Simon's criticism of him staying safe and not challenging himself, why should he when he performs like that?! It's not exactly easy! Besides, maybe he should have left Anton to do what's he's good at instead of sabotaging him. Seann was probably my favourite performance of the night. I've always been a fan of flamboyancy and theatrical performances so it's no surprise I'm a fan of Seann. For me, the last 3 performers are in a league of their own compared to everybody else.

Next up was Monica singing Crazy in love by Beyonce. It was terrible! I thought she was ok but forgettable last week but this performance was pretty dire. I don't understand why the judges chose to put her through over some of the other talented acts who didn't get through? Surely let the public decide who to bring back as a wildcard... Anyway, it was out of tune and she looked very uncomfortable. I actually thought for a minute it was Nadia who won Big Brother many years ago on the stage. She's in big trouble and will be lucky not to go. Not quite on Anton's level though but at least his was entertaining for the pure shock factor.

Max Stone performed a reggae version of Somewhere over the rainbow and compared to some of the other performances tonight, it's actually pretty good. Not brilliant but he'd be unlucky to go after that performance. Having said that he was pretty lucky to be safe last week as I thought Alien were unfairly in the bottom 2. He should be safe but he's fairly forgettable so I can't see him lasting long in the competition.

Reggie N Bollie put their own spin on One Direction's What makes you beautiful. I was shocked to see them get a standing ovation to be honest. Having said that, the chorus was pretty good. The verses however were out of tune and just not very good, this is overlooked by the judges unsurprisingly. They did seem to add an air of energy to the stage which has been lacking but it's not good when Reggie N Bollie are one of the better performers of the night. They'll be safe but only for a few more weeks. I can't see them going anywhere musically.

Last up is Lauren who last week was good, but not spectacular so I was interested to see how she did this week. She sung Hold back the river and it was actually very good. She's a possibly dark horse of the competition but still I'm not sure if she has that star quality. Still I'd expect her to reach the top 5.

So there's my review for this week, I know some of the acts did mash-ups but I didn't add the names of the second songs just to save a bit of space, having said that it's a very long post anyway...

But! It's the results show soon and I expect Mason, Kiera and Monica to be in the bottom 3 (assuming it's a double elimination) If we're basing it purely on performances then Anton would replace one of the first 2.

I'll write a short (ish) post after the results show to air my views, hope it wasn't too long for you!

Ciao!

Video: Hitting the Soprano C!

Hi everyone! It's been a long long time since I updated this blog, but here I am!

I had a little bit of a lull with my singing practice and lost my "love" for the art temporarily though I'm now back on track!

I'm getting closer to recording but I'm not quite there yet, there have been major improvements though which I'm very pleased to say.

To keep this blog going I'm going to focus my next few posts on this years X-Factor. It's my guilty pleasure and people who know me will know I love to talk about my passions. I like to analyse vocals as I've been studying them for a while now so this is a good chance for me to air my views and share what I like and dislike about the different singers.

Finally, I'll leave you with a little clip of me sitting a Soprano C during my last singing lesson. My highest ever note is an E6 but it's not the most reliable note in my repertoire!

Hope you're all keeping well and I'll see you all in a few days!

Queen + Adam Lambert at the Liverpool Echo Arena 26/2/15

Hello everyone, as a lot of you will know I went to see Queen + Adam Lambert perform at the Liverpool Echo Arena on 26/2/15. It was AMAZING and a great escape for me as I've been having a pretty hard time recently.

Here's 8 clips recorded from the night. Feel free to share. Just click the links below! :)

We Are The Champions/We Will Rock You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWklC3yUnhU

Bohemian Rhapsody
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlwcMNuIK6Y
Who Wants To Live Forever
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnygEN61N8w
One Vision
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWUN0LkG8ug
I Want To Break Free
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsKDpveWvfg
Adam Tribute To Queen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg5xj07O1yk
Fat Bottomed Girls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aXny5anrFk
Another One Bites The Dust
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZehB3GtL-0I

Enjoy all!

Barry