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!
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