X Factor UK Live Show 9

Hello there,

Well, I hate everyone. Now that Hannah and Tamera are gone I guess I'm rooting for Sam Bailey? Sure. Fine. Sam Bailey. I'm still more interested in the potential albums Hannah and Tamera will put out than anything from the other contestants but sure, Sam Bailey for the win. Sigh...

Beyonce Round
Luke Friend: Best Thing I Never Had. It was a typical performance from Luke. This is not one of my favorite Beyonce songs so I didn't mind the arrangement as it made the song seem like it had more of a clear melody. There were the same issues with him going a bit flat around the lower notes but it was fine.
Nicholas McDonald: Halo. A bit dull. A bit flat. It had it's moments but it was generally a pretty weak performance and he was struggling to hit the notes. His voice kept breaking. He should really be better at this point in the competition. I hate this year of the X Factor.
Sam Bailey: If I Were A Boy. I don't know if they changed the key but it still doesn't sound like it fits squarely in Sam's range. This is a pretty dull song until the belting. I know it's one of the ones that people like to sing but it shouldn't be. There are better Beyonce songs to perform during a singing competition. Anyway, it sounded fine once she got to the fun belting part. Sam Bailey doesn't have that spark about her. She's the contestant I usually like on singing competitions who is a good singer but doesn't connect with the audience and gets eliminated after a few weeks or ends up placing anywhere from fourth to second. I think she could win this year but I'm not excited about it.
Rough Copy: Survivor. First of all, this is a Destiny's Child song. Surely they could have found something in Beyonce's catalog without having to go to a Destiny's Child song. There are only four contestants. Whatever. Secondly, I keep forgetting Rough Copy are in the competition. You know how people joke that the rest of Destiny's Child are just Beyonce's backup singers and Kelly Rowland is not-Beyonce and no one even remembers Michelle Williams' name? Yeah, Rough Copy are worse than that. They were fine in a mediocre, sure, this is acceptable way. They don't seem like semi-finalists.

Elton John Round
Nicholas McDonald: Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me. It's still not the strongest vocal performance and I wish someone would hold the notes for the full length of the phrase but this is definitely Nicholas' comfort zone and when his voice sounds the best.
Luke Friend: Something About the Way You Look Tonight. Simpler songs like this suit Luke. I think. I'm genuinely still not sure what kind of artist he's trying to be. Luke has improved during the competition but he still has some of the same issues that he did all the way back at judges' houses. But for the most part, I liked this performance.
Rough Copy: Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word. It still wasn't spectacular but it was better than their round one performance. There are just way too many mistakes and issues at this point in the competition. Either they aren't working hard during rehearsals, trying hard during performances, or they just aren't capable of doing better.
Sam Bailey: Candle In the Wind. Sam has a weird way of emoting during a song. I think the problem is that she's not connecting with the song but trying to "act." I would say she'd be at home on the West End but I don't think musical theater is her genre. It could have been a stronger performance, especially given the fact that she had the final act of the night sweet spot.

Overall Rankings (in my opinion)
1. Sam Bailey
2. Luke Friend
3. Nicholas McDonald
4. Rough Copy

Note: I will update with my thoughts on Sam's and Rough Copy's second performances once their videos are live on the youtube page and I am able to watch them.

X Factor UK Live Show 8

Hello chickadees,

Even though I'm pretty sure the only people reading this are spambots, and not very many spambots for that matter, I will continue to record my descent into madness. That's right, it's the eighth X Factor UK Live Show. Get excited.

The clear winner of round one. 

Nicholas McDonald: For his first song, Nicholas is singing Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars. It seems appropriate for a low-key but generally pleasant and in tune performer like Nicholas. OK, starting off a little shaky. The pitch seems to be all over the place and his voice is cracking. Just get to the words. I wish Nicholas tried more. This is a high school talent show performance. This is not the kind of performance that deserves an arena. The high notes could be better. His falsetto is weak. I'm actually rather disappointed.
Sam Bailey: Sam is starting off with How Will I Know by Whitney Houston. I would have thought that at this point, the X Factor would have run out of Whitney Houston songs for the year. Surely, they've repeated some of them. There can't be this many Whitney Houston songs. I don't remember anyone singing Heartbreak Hotel but no one ever sings Heartbreak Hotel. I don't know if it's the arrangement or the set or the red lipstick or the spangly outfits but Sam Bailey feels dated to me. It's not that it feels cruise ship but she seems like a performer who has already had her moment in the spotlight and is just doing a tour to promote her greatest hits album. The actual performance was not perfect but quite good. Sam doesn't have a natural presence and a magnetic quality on stage but she is a capable performer and a very good singer. Basically, I don't think she has "the x factor" but I'd probably listen to her album.
Tamera Foster: Tamera is singing We Found Love by Rihanna. Again, not an unexpected song choice but one that should suit her. I hate her outfit. Seriously, who is dressing the contestants? The vocals were a little weak in spots. It wasn't a trainwreck but there wasn't that spark to make it interesting. She didn't do anything exceptional with the performance or her vocals.
Luke Friend: Luke is performing Skinny Love by Bon Iver. It's at this point that I realize I don't know who Luke is as an artist. Is he rock or is he acoustic guitar? But I don't really care so let's just evaluate the performance. The vowels are a little piercing for a guy with a guitar. You know these kinds of songs really reward performances who appear to let down their emotional barriers and do something genuine even if those performers didn't write the song and have zero emotional connection to it. If you do it right and fake it well, you seem like an "artist." That is not Luke Friend. It's not awful but not for one second does this performance come across as genuine. But after the last three acts, I have low standards for this round so Luke will rank high.
Rough Copy: Rough Copy are singing a mashup for the first round. I was a bit confused until I went to the wikipedia page and discovered that everyone is not performing the song voted on by the fans for the first round. I'm pretty sure I don't know either of these songs but I can still tell that they were a bit out of breath from all the words and not giving it their all on the vocals. They really need the background vocalists. Things are not looking good for Rough Copy unless people just insist on voting them through regardless of how well they perform. Which is entirely possible. I mean, Abi Alton.

First Round Rankings (in my opinion)
1. Sam Bailey
2. Luke Friend
3. Tamera Foster
4. Rough Copy
5. Nicholas McDonald

The clear winner of round two.

Nicholas McDonald: The video title tells me Nicholas is singing Greatest Day by Take That. That's nice, I guess. I've obviously never heard this song before unless it was performed on X Factor and I forgot about it. It's still not the greatest vocal performance but it has a bit more clarity and it seems to suit him a little better than Just the Way You Are. The falsetto is a little better but still not great. He's not holding any of the notes. Basically, better than round 1, but still not great. If Nicholas makes it through it's due to his popularity and the strength of his past performances.
Sam Bailey: Sam is singing Clown by Emeli Sande. It sounded vaguely familiar even though I still haven't listened to her album and long story short, Sam performed it at Bootcamp. Sam is doing pretty well so far. She gives solid performances and she's never been in the bottom 2. I'm not sure why they want her to repeat a performance since that's usually what an act does to remind people of a moment when the audience liked him, her, or them. Oh, well. Oh, dear. They've made up Sam to look like someone else. I can't quite place it. Maybe Ella Henderson? I don't know. Either way it's unfortunate. I listened to her Bootcamp performance just before listening to this one. There isn't a dramatic difference between the two of them but there is a slight improvement, so yay? I don't know. I didn't like the choices she made in an effort to make it more emotional. I would have preferred to see her sing it straight.
Luke Friend: Luke is singing I Will Wait by Mumford and Sons. Is this the songs I don't know round? I'm not sure Luke's low growling qualifies as singing. I can't tell if he's going flat or if he's just kind of talking. I think he was a having a bit of trouble negotiating the break between either his upper and lower register or the growling and his regular voice but on the whole it sounded fine. I think I'm broken. I think X Factor has broken me. It was probably awful but I can't really tell anymore.
Tamera Foster: Tamera is singing The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack. Well, she'll surely be better than Matt Cardle, right? It was a little weak at first. A little flat. But it had that little spark in it. It had "the x factor."
Rough Copy: Rough Copy are performing I Believe I Can Fly. I'm in a good mood after Tamera's performance so I'm hoping they'll do well. It wasn't fantastic. The vocals were not perfect. At this point I should really stop expecting their vocals to be any stronger than they are. That said, this is a perfect song for Rough Copy. Not only does it suit their voices but they get to bring in a whole host of backup singers for the second half of the song.

Second Round Rankings (in my opinion)
1. Tamera Foster
2. Luke Friend
3. Sam Bailey
4. Rough Copy
5. Nicholas McDonald

Overall Rankings (in my opinion)
1. Tamera Foster
2. Sam Bailey
3. Luke Friend
4. Rough Copy
5. Nicholas McDonald

X Factor UK Live Show 7

Hello peanuts,

So you're back, are you? Alright then. Let's get right into it.

Rankings (in my opinion)
1. Rough Copy
2. Sam Bailey
3. Hannah Barrett
4. Luke Friend
5. Tamera Foster
6. Nicholas McDonald

Nicholas McDonald: I do not like Miley Cyrus. I really do not like Miley Cyrus. I think she has an annoying stage presence and she has horrendous vowels. I don't mind The Climb as a song. It isn't brilliant but it's fine as a mediocre pop ballad. Nicholas is not a bad singer. But when he sings this song, it's just a mediocre pop ballad. In the hands of a better performer, this song could be magic. This is the song you perform so well that for a minute everyone is fooled into thinking that it's a better song than it is and it's actually inspirational. The other issue is that Nicholas really needed the background singers. On his own, he couldn't take the song up a notch. It was noticeable.
Hannah Barrett: If not for reality singing competitions, I do not know when I would hear this song. That said, I've already heard this song way more times than I ever wanted to hear this song. It's not a bad song. It's just that years of reality singing competitions have almost completely stripped it of emotional weight and meaning. She could have supported the song a little better. Just a little more air. It was very good. I just don't need to listen to this version with all the other versions. The only time I really felt Hannah in the song was at the very end. But those last 30 or 40 seconds were not enough to make it special or memorable.
Luke Friend: It wasn't incredible but it was good. It was borderline flat a few times but generally the simple melody allowed him to show what he can do. Admittedly that's not much but I liked it more than I liked Nicholas' performance so... win?
Rough Copy: Yeah, they still sound a bit rough when they sing in unison... which is really unacceptable at this point in the competition. It's not like they're Little Mix or One Direction or Miss Dynamix. They came to the competition as a group. They should be better than this. In his solo part, the one with the jacket was a bit flat. The one with the hat didn't really land those high notes. That said, this was one of their better performances. I think they benefited from a song that didn't overpower their vocals and by not having to run around the set and the performance improved as they went along.
Tamera Foster: Pfft. James Arthur. I saw Shontelle sing this song live in a tea shop. I think this is a perfect song for Tamera. It's a good genre for her and it's big enough to let her show off a bit without being too much for her to handle. I like this song but the original vocals aren't so impressive that Tamera is always going to pale in comparison the way she does when she attempts Whitney Houston, etc. A bit flat. Did she forget the lyrics or did she choke? Oh, good Lord. Girl, get it together. There are seriously not that many lyrics to remember. It's a very repetitive song. What is wrong with you? I didn't really love the vowels when she was singing "impossible". They were piercing in the wrong way. Even without the missing lyrics, there were problems with her vocals during this performance. That said, because it's such a weak showing this episode, she would probably be near the top of the pack if she hadn't forgotten the lyrics. I don't know if she'll make it through the vote this week.
Sam Bailey: I know there are some people who hate Leona. I am not one of those people. Sam was not as good as Leona. There were little weak points all throughout the song where I feel like she wasn't giving it her all. She just wasn't really singing out. This is not a subtle song. Just go ahead and wail away. That said, she did a nice job of managing the high notes and like Hannah, she kicked it up a notch for the latter part of the song.

My general summary of the week was "not impressive but not awful." I was disappointed with Sam, Hannah, and Tamera this week. I would still like to see them continue in the competition but I don't think they really fought for their places with these performances.

See you next week,
Cat

X Factor UK Live Show 6

Hi peanuts!

Seriously, no one reads this. But that's fine. I just finished watching Haute Cuisine or Les Saveurs du Palais, which is really not the same title at all but who cares? Yes, I'm in a mood. Let's get on with it.

Rankings
1. Hannah Barrett
2. Sam Bailey
3. Tamera Foster
4. Nicholas McDonald
5. Rough Copy
6. Luke Friend
7. Sam Callahan

Hannah Barrett: What in the heck were the dancers doing? Who thought of that? Bad, bad idea. Hannah is fantastic. She sounded great. But I think it was the wrong song. It was a bit low and I lost her vocals sometimes. And it's just not a very exciting song. She did her best during the performance but it's just a very repetitive song and there's not much to the lyrics. That's not the kind of song you do on a reality singing competition. It just isn't.
Luke Friend: He sang Your Song by Elton John. It was fine. Very breathy. Kind of weak. It's hard to impress with a quiet version of this song. At this point I've heard so many versions of this song that I really need to hear something amazing. Maybe Hannah could have done something with it but I just found Luke's performance boring.
Sam Bailey: Is it wrong that I was quite amused to see the video title read "Sam Bailey sings Something by The Beatles"? Get it, "something by The Beatles"? Just anything old thing. This is a reality singing competition. You know eventually someone's going to sing something by The Beatles. Nevermind. I absolutely hate her hair this week. Do they need to work out something with the sound system? I don't think Sam's performance was bad but it wasn't exceptional and the backing track or the musicians were really competing with her vocals. There is zero reason for the drums to be that loud on a song like this. It was a very good performance. Sam is dependable. It just wasn't all that exciting or compelling.
Rough Copy: I've been kind of souring on Rough Copy for the past few weeks. It was fine. I just don't think they're very strong individual singers, I like groups that harmonize more, and they're just not very interesting. The harmonies at the end sounded off. They don't bring anything to the performances or the arrangements that makes me sit up and pay attention.
Sam Callahan: He sort of sang the right notes at the right times? I don't know. It was very weak. I give up with Sam. I like my bad acts to be camp. Not just bad at singing.
Tamera Foster: I really like Shirley Bassey. I feel like I'm going to be disappointed by this. Clicking play now. It was a very pretty vocal, even if Tamera seemed to run out of air at the middle and end of phrases. I just think it was a mistake to choose a song that has been performed by such a powerful voice. If you choose a song by a fantastic singer, you're just setting yourself up for failure unless you can match their vocals or change the song enough to make it your own. Just adding a beat didn't make this a new song. Did she forget the words at one point? Tamera looks like a pop star. She just doesn't have the voice of a pop star. I think she needs some more work with her vocal coach and she really needs to stop singing songs that she can't measure up to.
Nicholas McDonald: Again, pick the right song. You don't pick Someone Like You and then make it sound even more boring at the beginning. It's already a slow ballad. Give it to Sam Bailey and let her belt the crap out of it. Aside from the boring beginning and Nicholas' voice cracking a few times, it was fine. Not exceptional. Just fine.

Well, that's another week of the X Factor. Contestants were bad for different reasons. Some were boring. Some sang poorly. Some forgot lyrics. And I've wasted another hour or so of my life on this. Hooray!

See you next week,
Cat

X Factor Live Show 5

Hi chickadees!

Let's see if I can muster up the energy for this. I'm expecting quite frankly horrible things from Big Band week. I'm not a massive fan of this style of music to begin with.

Rankings (in my opinion)
1. Hannah Barrett
2. Sam Bailey
3. Tamera Foster
4. Abi Alton
5. Rough Copy
6. Nicholas McDonald
7. Sam Callahan
8. Luke Friend

Abi Alton: Is she supposed to be Billie Holiday? You're going to need a lot more than a flower to make Abi Billie Holiday. If I'm judging this as a regular performance, it's barely passing. If I'm judging based on Abi's previous performances, it was one of the better ones. It was a good idea to give her the backup singers to fill in all the gaps when she dropped the ends of phrases and generally just support the song so the vocals didn't seem as weak. I also appreciated the fact that she pretty much stuck to the melody this time. She still doesn't have a strong voice. It was just better than it usually is. Her vowels still kind of grate on my ears at times.
Sam Bailey: A bit cruise ship-y. Part of it was the awkward dancing and the outfit. The vocals were great though and I did enjoy her little riff on "blues".
Luke Friend: How is Moondance a Big Band song? It wasn't horrifyingly bad but it was a little rough. Just generally a bit wonky. Verging on going flat, dropping the ends of phrases, blaring out notes in a way that did not fit this style of music. The dancers were a mistake. The scatting was just strange. Let's all try to forget it.
Hannah Barrett: She's singing It's a Man's Man's Man's World. She's wearing a fedora. I'm expecting her to kill it. She does. I believe Hannah when she sings. This song should be on her album. I refuse to criticize her this week.
Nicholas McDonald: I really like this song. But I don't think it's right for Nicholas. It was pretty... but boring. You can't just play it safe with a song like this. You have to sell it. There were little issues with his vocals but they were such minor complaints it's not worth detailing them.
Rough Copy: The performance was kind of fun but the vocals could have been better. I feel like Rough Copy aren't improving but they are an entertaining group. At this point I can't see them making the finals.
Tamera Foster: Oh, here we go. I love the Julie London version of this song so I'm definitely coming into this with expectations. It was a bit weak here and there. I didn't really emotionally connect to the performance but overall the vocals were strong. She really brought it home at the end.
Sam Callahan: Sam is not a great singer. Like Abi, he sounded better than usually does (marginally) and he does a better job of selling a song than Nicholas. That still doesn't make him any good but like everyone else this week, he managed to be tolerable.

All in all, Big Band week went a lot better than I expected it to. See you all next week!

X Factor Live Show 4

Hi chickadees,

This week's live show was not worth commenting on. I can't even be bothered to figure out how to rank the contestants this week. It was just a sea of mediocrity. This is the only performance you need to watch. You're welcome.

X Factor Live Show 3

Hi chickadees!

OK, you know I'm watching anyway so I might as well say something. I'll just keep it short this week.

1. Tamera Foster
2. Hannah Barrett
2. Sam Bailey
3. Kingsland Road
4. Luke Friend
5. Nicholas McDonald
6. Abi Alton
7. Sam Callahan
8. Rough Copy
9. Miss Dynamix

Rough Copy: Not terrible. Not perfect. Quite boring. You can't just make faces and change the music and convince me that you sound any better than you did 10 seconds ago.
Sam Callahan: Listen, he still doesn't sound great. But he's getting better. It's hard to judge Sam because I really don't even know why he's here.
Hannah Barrett: She looked fantastic this week. I think there could have been a little more to her performance. I know she was standing on a little platform but she could have moved just a little more and emoted more. And I think she needs to tighten up the softer notes when she starts before she hits the chorus. But it was fantastic. Hannah is fantastic. If she doesn't make it to the finals I will be so upset.
Nicholas McDonald: Finally, a suit! This set-up did not work at all. Good vocals. I like Nicholas. I just don't think the show knows what to do with him.
Abi Alton: Still breathy and bordering on flat. However, they do know what to do with Abi. Just... try harder, Abi. I don't mind unusual voices or affectations. But I genuinely question whether you can sing when you perform. That is not a good thing.
Miss Dynamix: Eh. Maybe they should turn the volume up on their mics? It wasn't as fun as it should be if they weren't going to blow us away with power vocals.
Sam Bailey: I can't tell whether I like or hate her dress. I think I like the bodice and hate the skirt. The performance was beautiful. Technically wonderful. But I think she's going to have to be a bit more dynamic in her performances because while it was a very good performance, I could just play Celine's version on Spotify and get the same effect.
Kingsland Road: There were a few issues but for the most part, I think they sounded great. I may be going insane but it seems like they all have decent voices and given how incredibly boring everyone was this week, I think they did fairly well and the performance was good. I think it was a good idea to strand them on the lighting gantry for part of the song and then do a combination of dancing and not dancing. I don't know. I think they still need a find a balance and figure out what kind of boyband they're going to be but they're on the right track.
Luke Friend: I liked it in the way I like performances on reality singing competitions that I will never ever listen to again. Terrible set-up though. I liked that they let him have his guitar but what in God's name were they thinking with the set design?
Tamera Foster: I pretty much feel the same way about Tamera that I did about Sam. No, I definitely liked her dress. But if you're going to sing a Beyonce song that I love you're going to have to be more than competent. All of that gesturing and hair-flipping with the hand that wasn't holding the microphone did nothing for me. I need some emotional connection to the performance or it's just you singing a song well. I'm giving her the top place for technical difficulty even though I didn't enjoy the performance as much as I wanted to.

By the way, I swear I type up my rankings before I know the results of the flash vote. OK, see you next week!

X Factor UK Live Show 2

Hi chickadees!

I'm back for week 2 of the live shows. I missed the live blog this week (I'll be reading it after I write this post). Instead, I watched a John Barrymore/Carole Lombard movie from the 1930's before remembering that it's Saturday and it was time for another episode of the X Factor. But then luckily all the videos had already been uploaded to the youtube page. This week's theme is "love and heartache". So... at least 80% of all songs ever written. Whatever, I'm in a good mood so let's see what the contestants do with this nice vague theme.

Rankings (in my opinion)
1. Hannah Barrett
2. Tamera Foster
3. Luke Friend
4. Sam Bailey
5. Rough Copy
6. Nicholas McDonald
7. Shelley Smith
8. Sam Callahan
9. Abi Alton
10. Kingsland Road

Sam Bailey: Why do they keep putting my favorites in the spot of doom? Sam is singing "To Make You Feel My Love". I know it's a Bob Dylan song but for me, Adele owns this song and unless you do it differently, it's hard to measure up to her standard. Yes, I cried when Lea Michele sang this on Glee. But I still don't think it was one of her best performances. There are four ways of singing a big song like this. Better, worse, equally as well, or differently. Sam ended up somewhere between "not as well" and "different". I think she should have changed the song even more to avoid the comparison. For me, her version was a little too breathy when she wasn't belting. I do think it improved as she went along. It was a very good performance, but it just wasn't my favorite performance from Sam. I just think she could have pushed herself a little more.
Kingsland Road: They chose to sing "Marry You" by Bruno Mars. There are days when I love Bruno Mars and days when his songs are just too saccharine or melodramatic or calculated to me. There was nothing wrong with the performance. At least nothing I can pinpoint. But it was just... there. There was nothing exciting about it. They didn't do anything interesting vocally. It wasn't out of tune (though the part with the lead singer was a little rough). It just wasn't great. The performance wasn't even all that fun. I don't know what it was missing.
Nicholas McDonald: Nicholas sang "She's the One". I am not British. Therefore, I do not know this song. The only Robbie Williams song I know is "Somethin' Stupid" with Nicole Kidman and that's only because it was a Sinatra song first. I mean, I may have heard this song in my years of watching The X Factor but I do not recognize it at all. Why is Nicholas always wearing casual clothes? Seriously, he looks like he just walked in off the street. Did he not have time to change after school? Is there not enough money in the budget to get him a proper wardrobe? Are they spending all the money on plinths so there's none left for Nicholas? So many questions. None of them related to his performance. Right. Getting back on track. His first "if there's somebody" was not good. The silent dancers in black were creepy. Guys, it's not Halloween week yet. Calm down. Other than that, it was a very pretty performance. There were a few notes here and there that weren't perfect but all in all, a very nice job. He's very cute but right now I don't know if he's a star. He doesn't have that Rebecca Ferguson thing where he seems very shy or nervous. But for whatever reason he just doesn't seem to perform as well as he sings.
Abi Alton: Oh, here we go. Abi is singing "Can't Get You Out of My Head" by Kylie. Oh, pink umbrellas. That's cute. I do like her dress. Uh oh. The dancers seem to think they're backing up Rylan, and not Abi. Why does she need dancers anyway? Well, Abi's voice is still very breathy and weak. It's not exactly that her voice is nasal. It's just not being projected out the right way. You can hear it when she sings the word "arms". That long, exposed vowel shows the way she's not singing properly. When she sang "won't you stay" I wasn't sure if she was straining to hit the note or intentionally trying to imbue her voice with a wispy quality. Either way, failure. I think what annoys me about Abi is that will never be a brilliant singer. But she is a decent singer... who refuses to try very hard.
Shelley Smith: Oy. Shelley is singing "Single Ladies". I don't even... why? I just... Nevermind. Let's get it over with. The big disco ball is distracting. The eye makeup ages her horribly. It was fine. The performance was an improvement from last week though I think her voice isn't big enough for a song like this and she kind of got lost once the uptempo part really kicked in. I think the biggest problem with the performance is that Shelley feels like an "Over". Unlike Sam, she doesn't seem to own who she is. Or who she is is someone's recently divorced aunt doing karaoke at a wedding.
Sam Callahan: Sam is singing "I Won't Give Up." That's the spirit! It's still very shaky. That's not vibrato. That's bad breath control. That slightly whiny affectation is a little less annoying in slow ballad form. OK, he's probably never going to be my favorite singer because of all the little idiosyncrasies that I just find so irritating about his voice. And he's probably never going to be the best singer in the competition. But it was better this week. Much better. I still wouldn't call it good, but I respect that he's probably been working hard to improve his singing. So, A for effort.
Tamera Foster: Tamera is singing "Beneath Your Beautiful". I'm not familiar with this song because sue me, I don't have the time to listen to every new artist that someone tells me is popular. I get to things in my own time. Which is usually 3 years late. I just got Spotify a few days ago. I think Tamera sounded gorgeous. A too little breathy and wispy at first for my taste but otherwise, a very good performance. What do you want me to say? It's harder to critique songs I don't know. I think there were one or two spots where I couldn't tell if she landed the note she was trying to hit but they were very minor things.
Luke Friend: Luke is singing "Let Her Go." I can't decide if I like or hate this song. Let's see if Luke's performance will sway my opinion. Well, it's a nice easy song to sing, which is great for Luke. He sounds pretty good. He's still a little rough at the ends of phrases but it's actually kind of pleasant. Did I actually like a Luke Friend performance? Yes. Let's just stop speaking about this.
Rough Copy: They chose to sing "I Want It That Way." They are apparently really determined to sell the 90's boy band thing. One of them is wearing a pleated wrap skirt. It wasn't perfect but when you sing a Backstreet Boys song you set off my nostalgia sensors and it's hard for me to judge things objectively. The boy band sound should be very smooth. There were maybe 4 rough spots. But they're people, not robots or a manufactured group lip-synching to an autotuned track. So, another performance in the good not great category. Moving on...
Hannah Barrett: Hannah is singing "Beautiful." I wasn't in love with the start of the song. I think her breath control was a little shaky. Just because you're singing more quietly, it doesn't mean you don't still have to support those notes. Hannah sounded so much like Lauryn Hill to me during this performance. You know it was fantastic once the song really kicked into gear. Why are you waiting for me to tell you that? She brought back that grit and those gorgeous low notes.

All in all, this wasn't a fantastic week in terms of song choices or performances. I did enjoy some of the performances but I don't think they're really going to stay with me. I'm hoping for better next week when the theme is... Songs from films. Oh, great. Well, see you next week!

X Factor UK: Live Show 1

Hi chickadees,

Well, I don't know how good I'll be to you today. I sat through Stuart Heritage's liveblog of the show for The Guardian for 2 hours and then I followed that up by watching Glee's tribute to Cory Monteith. But I promised to at least try to cover the live shows so here it goes.

Rankings (in my opinion)
1. Sam Bailey
2. Tamera Foster
3. Rough Copy
4. Lorna Simpson
5. Hannah Barrett
6. Kingsland Road
7. Nicholas McDonald
8. Miss Dynamix
9. Abi Alton
10. Shelley Smith
11. Luke Friend
12. Sam Callahan

Hannah Barrett: Why did they give my beloved Hannah the spot of death? Apparently voters have a hard time remembering the first acts of the night or tuning in on time so the act that starts the show is automatically at a disadvantage. It was a capable performance but it wasn't a powerhouse performance. She didn't push harder than she had to and I did hear her kind of dropping off during the ends of phrases. This felt like the kind of performance an older diva like Tina Turner would give on a tour later in her career. It would be a perfect middle of the show number to pander to the fans who came to hear her biggest hits where she didn't have to try very hard. That said, I still really liked Hannah and I enjoyed the performance even if I wasn't wowed by it. If nothing else, it showed that she's comfortable on stage. I'm not sure how I feel about the staging and the outfit and makeup. It felt 80s in the way Lady Gaga's Edge of Glory video felt kind of 80s but I don't think they fully achieved what they were trying to do.
Nicholas McDonald: Seriously, all that footage of him in the suit and he's just in a casual outfit?Fine. It was a pretty song which suits him but I thought he sounded rather nasal and his vowels were not nice and open. I did hear him going a bit flat on a few notes as well. The falsetto on "all night long" was weak. The whole prom thing was awful. Don't make your performer look like the random performer that gets hired for the dance in the teen movie. Sure I like Letters to Cleo and Save Ferris, but how many people remember the names of the bands who played the prom in 10 Things I Hate About You? I do think Nicholas is pretty adorable and when he's singing out... in his range... it works.
Miss Dynamix: Their blend is still very rough. It was a very fun, colorful performance and I do love The Pointer Sisters (even though I'm a bigger fan of Fire and Slow Hand). As I said in my recap of my performers after judges' houses, I think their success is going to depend on whether they get the votes to stay in the competition long enough to begin to work together as a group. They need to learn how to sing together and hopefully start harmonizing. They are decent solo singers and I love girl groups so I'm on their side. They just need work. There were parts of the performance I really enjoyed but the rough patches were undeniable.
Sam Bailey: Sam looks fantastic. Bad move with the flowers though. It made it seem like those videos that play with the karaoke tracks. She took a while to get into the song. I would have liked to see her start belting sooner. But once she was there I felt so comfortable watching her. A strong performer doesn't make you hold your breath for the high notes but they might make you gasp afterwards. When you watch a strong performer, you know they're going to hit the notes and you know you're going to enjoy the performance. You don't have to be nervous for them. I don't know if she was mimicking Celine or if that is just the way she pronounces certain words but I liked that it gave the song character. Sam's performance just made me smile.
Sam Callahan: I hate that vocal affectation he has. It just sounds whiny to me. And I know I grew up in the 90s and I should be used to it. But that doesn't mean I have to like it. The affectation makes his vocals so shaky and pitchy that it makes it very difficult to tell if he's singing badly or singing like that intentionally. It sounds like he's straining to hit the notes, cracking a few times, and kind of weak on landing the notes. But the song and his vocal affectation hid it most of the time, so kudos to him for that? I was waiting for him to throw that red baseball cap into the audience. That tells you how exciting I found his performance.
Kingsland Road: They started out OK. I thought the lead singer's voice sounded pretty good. Then he got to "I make you happy with the" and the sound almost completely dropped out because his voice just isn't that strong. They sounded a lot clearer and sharper tonight. I almost wonder if they were pre-recorded or if they turned the microphones up. The one with the weird hair (don't make the joke... it's too easy) did crack a few times.
Shelley Smith: She started by kind of swallowing the notes. They were all in the back of her throat instead of being projected out towards the audience. Do not pick a powerhouse song if you're not a powerhouse singer. This has been one of my biggest problems with Shelley from the start. She picks songs that are frankly more than she can handle. It got better once the chorus kicked in but it still wasn't special. I can see why Shelley ended up in the bottom of the flash voting thing. Also, this show freaking loves plinths.
Abi Alton: Oh, yeah. This is what I needed in my life. A really boring version of Livin' On A Prayer with an altered melody to hide how weak the singer is. Bad breath control. Irritatingly closed vowels. Always on the verge of cracking or going flat. If I want to hear a kinder, gentler version of a rock or pop song I can just head to youtube and find people with talent, thank you very much.
Lorna Simpson: She started out a little weak and was kind of shaky on a few notes. I loved the little growl but I wish the vowel on the word "like" hadn't been so rough. But from that point on things got better. I do think it was still a little rough. She needs to open up those vowels or it just sounds like she's screaming at you. I loved the little high notes. She definitely has a voice. She just needs to work on refining it. I know she's barely an Over at 26 but I really hope she doesn't get lost in the shuffle because I do like her and I want her to get the time she needs to come into her own. A few weeks of working with all the coaches behind the scenes and Lorna could be a great pop star.
Tamera Foster: Tamera started off really strong. She kind of lost the ends of phrases a bit as the song went on and something odd happened when she suddenly turned her back to the judges. She didn't really go flat or anything that was easy to pinpoint but it was just indefinably not right for a few moments. But other than those little things, I really liked the performance. It seems like Tamera has really been putting in some hard work rehearsing and gaining confidence.
Luke Friend: Well, his vocals are still very shaky. It's like he's afraid the world will be destroyed if he actually sings a note properly. It was also a little flat. It's times like this that I miss Aiden Grimshaw's weird intensity. He would have known how to sing a song like "Every Breath You Take". As much of a mess as this was, I really like this song so I probably won't put him at the very bottom of my rankings.
Rough Copy: Yay, their third member is back! So, here's the thing. I like their voices. But I don't think they are strong individual singers. They don't have a lot of power. Thankfully they do seem to enjoy singing together (unlike Miss Dynamix). There were a few weak spots here and there but it was barely noticeable. It was very 90s boy band but I enjoyed it. The storms and the light show were too much, though.