X Factor - new series starting soon

[grim_tales]

BEN: Not a song I like, but pretty good overall I thought. Started badly and the singing to the girls in the audience bit was hideous though. Redeemed himself towards the end of the song though and really picked up at the end.

McDONALDS: Pfff. For them they were OK I guess, the problem is OK for them is just mediocre/poor for everyone else. Like 2 guys standing in a karaoke bar

RAY: Isn't Crazy Little Thing sang by Queen? Someone like that. The cheeky sod gets a swing arrangement AGAIN and sings in that annoying cod Deano accent. No one but Deano can do Deano. Swing 4 weeks in a row? Hmmm

NIKITA: One of her better performances for sure. Fun. Not as good as Brenda last season though.

ETON RD: Awful IMO. Super cheesy.

LEONA: Beautiful girl. She can sing for sure, she has a great vocal range. But she shows off too much, it was like Mariah Carey singing Elton John. FFS, did she have to sing about 6 notes on the last word? No. She uses her voice to say "Look what I can do" - not caring whether the song calls for it or not.
Will Simon and Leona have sex and get this over with?

ROBERT: Thought he was very good this week from what I heard, soulful.

RAY and NIKITA in the bottom two!

Simon you coward. Saving Ray, the very definition of a "one trick pony" :shock: Thought Nikita was good tonight.
So thats swing from Ray next week then. He is a cocky little shit isnt he?
If Ray is always going to swing-icize a song what is the point of theme nights?

[grim_tales]

Heard WESTLIFE are special guests next week!!

Noooooooo Westlife have never had any songs, they only do covers

I'm dreading seeing Ray again Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra, real swing/jazz performers, or even Robbie would wipe the floor with this smug idiot

[BiscLimpkit]

I thought Nikitta wasn't very good tonight (not sure why all three judges praised a decidedly average performance). There were definitely a few dud notes.

I expected the public to vote her out for sure.

[BiscLimpkit]

RAY: Isn't Crazy Little Thing sang by Queen or Elvis? Someone like that. The cheeky sod gets a swing arrangement AGAIN and sings in that annoying cod Deano accent. No one but Deano can do Deano. Swing 4 weeks in a row? Hmmm

So thats swing from Ray next week then. He is a cocky little shit isnt he?
If Ray is always going to swing-icize a song what is the point of theme nights?

You seem to really hate this guy. He seems like a reasonable enough chap, I think. For a guy his age, he handles swing arrangements really well but I agree, it would be nice to see him do something different - work outside his comfort zone.

LEONA: Beautiful girl. She can sing for sure, she has a great vocal range. But she shows off too much, it was like Mariah Carey singing Elton John. FFS, did she have to sing about 6 notes on the last word? No. She uses her voice to say "Look what I can do" - not caring whether the song calls for it or not.
Will Simon and Leona have sex and get this over with?

You compare her to singing like Mariah Carey and make it sound like a bad thing. That's like me comparing an amatuer filmmaker to Akira Kurosawa imitating Fritz Lang. If someone said that to me, I'd take it as a compliment.

I think she'll win this competition.

[Markgway]

BEN: I don't like the song, but have to confess it suited his range. His least bad performance to date.

McDONALDS: Bland, but serviceable. Mums will love them.

RAY: I like his energy and passion for swing. I don't care if that's all he can do if he does it well. Better that than being a jack of all trades and master of none. His voice is very light, but he's a likeable performer.

NIKITA: It was only a matter of time... she's never given a worthy performance even though I thought early on she had a nice voice. There's something flat and lifeless about her vocals. She had to go.

ETON RD: Mistake to try The Beatles. Exceedingly average, except for the bit where the camp one did his falsetto schtick; that's just sucked ass.

LEONA: More Mariah Aguilera.... yawn. I don't know who this girl is? She's a hybrid of other shrill warblers, er, artists. If she was ugly she would've been long gone. Fact.

ROBERT: Overdid it at the end, but for the most part pretty good.

[grim_tales]

I hear what you say Bisc, Leona has a good voice but don't you think she is OTT? The way Simon fawned over her is bordering on scary.
As for Simon's decision - "changed my mind" my arse! He was always going to send Nikita home. The audience were cheering for Ray to stay.

[grim_tales]

Did anyone see Julio Iglesias? Bloody hell... he sounded like the Count from Sesame Street singing the song (OK he can't help having a strong Spanish accent).

"I vant to know vot love is... ah ah ah"

In his interview, I apologise but I couldnt understand what he was saying for like 80% of the interview, and I thought it was rude he was cut short when he wanted to talk to Robert.

[grim_tales]

Since next week is Number Ones what would you have the contenders sing?

I bet Leona will do a Mariah style number but I'd like her to try something outside of that, would be interesting if she did something as powerful as Celine Dion's Think Twice, or Total Eclipse of the Heart which requires a husky voice.

Joe Cocker's "With a Little Help From My Friends" would be perfect for Ben.

[grim_tales]

I think Leona should do one up tempo number - Crazy In Love, maybe?
Nothing Compares 2 U would be a good choice - slower, emotional track that has very few notes for her to warble on.

Or how about "I'd Like To be In America"

Apparently Ray is favourite to go this week. Would like to hear him try a song you cannot "swing up".

[grim_tales]

Check this out - Kerry from X Factor had been in spotlight before - representing the UK in Song For Europe in 1997 (but she lost out to Katrina and the Waves).

Kerry's song - Yodel in the Canyon of Love - was complete shite. Do you prefer LSAL now eh, Mark?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZOxZJmy ... ed&search=

[grim_tales]

Also the song choices for X Factor on Saturday have been confirmed!

Eton Road: Scissor Sisstors - I Don't Feel Like Dancing
MacDonald Brother: Wet Wet Wet - Love Is All Around (?)
Robert: Michael Jackson - You Are Not Alone
Leona: Bridge Over Troubled Water
Ray: Ricky Martin: Livin La Vida Loca
Ben: With a litlle Help from my Friends (He's still stuck between 2 different songs)

ETON ROAD sound fun, the song should be high camp.

McDONALDS - Meh. Mediocre wedding song again IMO, but people keep voting for them because Simon is rude to them.

LEONA - Beautiful, emotional song, iI like Leona but but I don't want to her to Mariah this one up with the quavering lip thing. Why couldnt she have got an up tempo song? I notice she hasn't attempted an actual Mariah or Christina song, maybe because it would draw comparisons? Whereas who will compare her to Elton John? Art Garfunkel's performance of this track is absolutely beautiful, my hopes arent high :-(

RAY - At last, this is more like it! Something different, more conternporary from Ray (hopefully) and he can use his dancing/spinning to good effect, Chico gave a wonderful OTT performance of this track last season too. Maybe RAY's voice is too light though? We'll have to see.

BEN - "With A Little Help.." should suit him down to the ground.

ROBERT - Could be interesting. I like how Robert has tried something different each week. Would preferred an 80's classic like Thriller or Billie Jean though.

[grim_tales]

Thoughts on tonights show:

RAY: Something different. Good for him I guess, yet in the performance stakes CHICO knocked spots off him last season. Ray didn't (or couldn't) really dance, and doesnt have a recording voice IMO (but then neither did Chico).
ETON ROAD: Thought this was cheesy but then the song is cheesy/camp so maybe thats a good thing.
ROBERT: He made a naff Michael Jackson song sound good tonight, he sang from the heart I think.
LEONA: The lovechild of Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Christina strikes again!
This beautiful, classic song gives me goosebumps when Art Garfunkel sings it, but this was not the case here. If Simon thinks Leona is so good, why dies she need a choir on stage? Seriously, Leona's voice is excellent and I wouldn't say no at all, but she was too OTT again tonight. More Mariah warbling at the end and in the middle, and do we need another Mariah? She didnt "make the song her own" IMO.
BEN: A powerhouse performance that suited him down the ground, he proved he can sing with the piano and was very good this week. He had a choir but I think he should have tried without it. Having said that, they added to the song (necessary high voices to Ben's growl) unlike Leona's performance.
McDONALDS: Bland, mediocre wedding material.
But of course, Simon, smug git that he is, is rude to them (unfairly at times I have to say) so they stay in. They're just very mediocre, and thats the problem. I don't care how "nice" they are. Those who vote for them to piss Simon off, it is getting beyond a joke now. ROBERT was a better singer than them and had more charisma
JOURNEY SOUTH were better.

A shame ROBERT was voted off IMO, he is a far better singer than ETON ROAD.

[BiscLimpkit]

Nae bothered about Robert getting voted off - had to happen eventually as he sure as hell wasn't going to win it.

[grim_tales]

Maybe not but he was far better on the night ETON RD's shaky performance. Even RAY could have gone.
Next week's theme is Songs From the Movies.

I bet they wished they'd chosen that Aerosmith song for Ben now

[BiscLimpkit]

Aye I didn't like Ray tonight - he's nae a popstar. Eton Road did a poor cover.

See I'm thinking this competition is redundant now. Surely there is no competition against Leona? I'll be surprised if she doesn't win by a massive margin.

[grim_tales]

Ben is Leona's only competition.
Leona has to prove she can do more uptempo songs without the vibrato.

[BiscLimpkit]

I don't think Ben is any competition - wasn't he in the bottom 2 one week? (Or did I just imagine that).

Either way, there appears to be strong public support for Leona. More so than any other contestent.

The exact same thing happened in American Idol Season 4 - there was no doubt that Carrie Underwood was going to win, against her biggest rival Bo Bice.

[grim_tales]

Simon is right though, women havent won these competitions often.
I like Leona, I just don't like her shrill Mariah impression, particularly on tonight's classic. Delta Goodrem wiped the floor with her and actually SANG.
Clay Aiken did a better version of "Bridge" IMO. (Ignore the naff choir though).

[Markgway]

RAY: Lightwieght vocals, but his enthusiasm is a touch infectious.

ETON ROAD: Pretty terrible, they should have went.

ROBERT: Soulful performance, but lost self-control toward the end as usual.

LEONA: Started out not bad, but then came the horrible revenge of Mariah Aguilera.

BEN: Tolerable for the most part, when I was sure it would be a disaster, but again, eventually goes way over the top.

McDONALDS: Bland, mediocre, inoffensive.

[degeneration]

Next week's prediction - eton rd and ray in bottom 2.

Final prediction - ben, leona and eton rd.

[grim_tales]

You could be on to something there Degen! I'm sure it will be 1 act each in the final, it will be a close thing between Ben/Leona.

As next week is movie songs, I'm SURE Leona will do the Titanic theme Ben could do Born To Be Wild from Easy Rider maybe?

Eton Road - ???? Dunno?
McDonalds - Circle of Life/Can You Feel The Love from The Lion King?
Ray - Something from Oceans 11? Wouldn't like him to go back to swing though.

[grim_tales]

I have to agree with Mark about Leona's performance, start was OK, nice soft singing which is how it should be at the start, but the end was bad, Leona just increases the volume when she can't hit the notes right I think.

[grim_tales]

According to Digital Spy, the winner will release Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This" as their first single.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/show ... p?t=488138

Might as well give Leona the contract now then
On the other hand, Kelly has a powerful voice, can sing better in a lower register and Leona cannot. "Evergreen" was written with Gareth in mind, yet Will completely turned it around on the night with his performance.

It might suit Ben as well if he sings on the piano (providing he's there). Leona will just imitate Kelly/Mariah IMO.

Thoughts?

[grim_tales]

Found this at Digital Spy, this is a bit harsh IMO but its quite funny, does Simon think this is what "America buzzing" is?

This was posted on an LJ community full of Americans. The responses so far:

"Are they crazy? I think its an insult to compare her voice with MC's. Can she hit those high notes live and still sound like as if it's straight from the studio?

Plus her onstage performance is annoying as hell."

"are you kidding me? she was screechy, there's a difference between hitting high notes like you're singing them, rather than just getting high notes and holding them for show. gross.

i can't believe simon was so enthusiastic about her! you know that shit wouldn't fly on AI."

"She's trying to be Mariah and not herself.

It's more like Kareoke than originality."

"Based off this performance I don't really like her voice.
It's not that great and there's something annoying about it.... and her"

"great voice, but oh my god please stop that ****ing dancing or whatever it is you're doing."

"WTF. She wouldn't have even made the top 12 of this year's AI."

"Kelly Clarkson or JHud or Fantasia or Carrie >>>> this chick (mentioning Carrie says a lot)

why does Simon always put his foot in his mouth?? he's such a ****ing idiot"

"this is her worst performance, definitely.

however, all of the AI girls with great voices sing circles around this shit."

"Kelly Clarkson > Carrie and or Jennifer Hudson > Fantasia >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>..this girl in this post."

"she does have a good voice, but she's boring as ****... seriously, she has the personality of a turd"

When she can't a hit a note, she just wails/increases the volume, and isn't that great at singing softly (based upon her "Bridge Over Troubled Water" performance). She can sing though, I agree she is trying to be Mariah Carey or whatever, and would inagine the American Idol girls would be better than her.
I don't know who "Jennifer Hudson" is?
Last season on X Factor Simon said Brenda (who was great) was "as good as I've seen in America" yet she didn't win [/quote]

[Markgway]

Yeah, but Simon didn't want to pork Brenda.