X Factor UK Live Show 8

Hi chickadees!

I was reading the incredibly snarky X Factor Live Blog on the Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2012/nov/24/x-factor-live-blog-eighth-live-show) when lo and behold, the X Factor official youtube page started uploading the performances. Hooray! Contrary to this person's opinion, I'm under 25 and I happen to love ABBA and Motown so the performers actually have something to live up to for me. Seriously, the only songs I can't immediately hum are "Tracks of My Tears" and "Dancing on the Ceiling".  I'm kind of unsure of how I'll feel now that there are no female performers left to do sassy ABBA and Motown inspired numbers but we'll see what happens. I'm going to break down the ABBA and Motown performances into two parts so it's easier to follow.

Final Breakdown For Both Performances (in my opinion) 
1. Union J
2. James Arthur
3. Jahmene Douglas
4. Christopher Maloney
5. Rylan Clark

ABBA Performances
Rylan Clark: Mamma Mia. I think he's gotten to this "average" place. It's not painful to listen to but there's nothing special happening either. It's like someone doing a decent job when they take the mic for karaoke. He loses his breath at the end of phrases but he's more or less in tune. The chess set up made me laugh. For anyone who doesn't know, the guys in Mamma Mia wrote a musical called Chess. Listen to the Judy Kuhn version. Or Julia Murney singing the hell out of Nobody's Side on youtube. Don't listen to the Idina Menzel/Josh Groban version. I don't know what happens to her sometimes but she sounds like she has a speech impediment it's so bloody awful.

Union J: The Winner Takes It All. Jaymi. I learned his name because he's that good. It was a very... pretty version. I can imagine James Arthur performing this like his heart is breaking. Union J was all smiles and playing to the crowd with this song. But I saw nothing wrong with the vocals. Very polished. Very professional. The only thing it lacked was emotional impact.

X Factor Live Show #7 Results

Grrr... I'm so angry.

I don't cover the X Factor Results Show because it's not really that interesting for me to comment on and I want to avoid spoilers but I need to comment this week. I just. I just can't. What is happening over in the UK right now?

The bottom 2 made no sense to me. Go on and watch these performances from last night (which they finally kindly uploaded tonight) and tell me these two deserved to be in the bottom 2.

While I think the right person went home of the two, it really wasn't the right time for either of them to be in the bottom 2. Not when Rylan and Christopher are still in the competition.

Spoilers ahead!

X Factor UK Live Show #7

Hi chickadees!

I have no idea what's going on with the official X Factor youtube page. I found the versions I could find to critique but obviously, I accept that my opinions might be different if I heard/saw high quality versions of the performances.

Final Breakdown (in my opinion)
1. James Arthur
2. Jahmene Douglas
3. Ella Henderson
4. Union J
5. Christopher Maloney
6. Rylan Clark

Union J: Call Me Maybe. This is a pretty safe choice as far as guilty pleasures go. It's relatively current and popular. It's an expected choice. I think the suits were a bad move. I don't know who made that decision but it was the wrong decision. They're good singers. The song is just a little boring. There's not a lot you can do with it. Jaymi is one of the standout singers in the competition and I think he's very charismatic. He just pops and even gives boring songs some vitality. I could stand to listen to them on the radio. There's not much more to say. I think they could have gone with a better song but this was fine.

Ella Henderson: I am coming off of Glease. The Role You Were Born to Play was AMAZING. Glease was a little bit of a letdown though I think the second half picked up and I like what they're building between Marley and Ryder. It's been good for the show to hire more real actors. "You're the One That I Want" was one of the standout numbers in that episode of Glee. So, I was kind of nervous for how she would take that duet and spin it. I could only find an audio version. But I thought it was gorgeous. This is the magic she brought during Bootcamp. Could I think of little things to critique? Yes, she was kind on the edge of going flat and could have been stronger at the beginning and there was bit of shakiness. But excluding one part where she didn't really land the note, she was really on top of her game. She avoided the awkward voice breaks. It felt like the right key. She pulled out all of her tricks. It was a really strong performance. Understated in the right way.

James Arthur: I love the Four Seasons. I love Jersey Boys. What do you mean guilty pleasure? Anyway, I thought this was a really sweet rendition. James has really done a great job of showing his range in terms of style and appeal. It wasn't the most radical interpretation or the most skillful rendition of the song. But it showed us another side of James that I didn't know we needed but that I'm glad we got. He can be quite a charmer. ;)

Rylan Clark: Girls on Film/When Will I Be Famous. I don't know either of these songs. The audio quality wasn't great but Rylan seemed to sound alright. I don't think it was his best performance but it wasn't his worst. The setup wasn't great. Even if it hadn't evoked a strip club, it was rather tacky. Maybe I was just expecting more OK Go and less... I don't know what it was. You have to love Rylan for that "I'm too skinny" comment in his bout with Gary.

Christopher Maloney: Total Eclipse of the Heart. I love Bonnie Tyler. It's a Heartache. Holding Out for a Hero. What's not to like? OK, the songs that weren't hits but still, Bonnie has some chops. This is not an easy song to live up to. And I've also got the Glee version in the back of my mind and anytime you go up against Lea Michele there's going to be trouble. There was something weird about it when he started. I almost had the sense he was talk-singing for some reason. The screen projecting what vaguely looked like his face was creepy beyond belief. When it kicked in and he started singing out, I thought it was alright. He's still not Bonnie or Lea but I thought it was fine.

Jahmene Douglas: Don't Leave Me This Way. Love this song. Jahmene killed it. I still think he still looks a little angry during his performances sometimes. But the vocals? Except for a few rough patches where I think he took it a little too high, it was perfection.

X Factor Live Show #6

Hi chickadees!

I know some of you may be wondering where my weekly recap/review of The X Factor UK Live Show is for Live Show #6. Well, unfortunately the official X Factor UK youtube channel didn't upload the performances for this week and they seem to have blocked all of the good quality uploads on youtube. Hopefully things will be back to normal next week but I can't say I'm sad about the person/group who left the competition. I managed to find a few decent audio versions so here are my quick thoughts.

Final breakdown (in my opinion)
1. James Arthur
2. Jahmene Douglas
3. Union J
4. Ella Henderson
5. District3
6. Rylan Clark
7. Christopher Maloney

Christopher Maloney- Average, same as always
Jahmene Douglas- Gorgeous cover. I loved hearing the warmth in his voice. He can do amazing things with riffs but I love when he just sings things straight. He has the voice for it. Some nice power. Just listening to his voice, I will say that he hasn't quite reached the point where I can hear the emotion yet. It's a small nitpick but I don't feel like the emotion is tied to the particular words. It's more like a general emotion that is present throughout the song.
District3- I think they benefited from getting back to their strengths, but I think their "lead" singer is so much stronger than the other two. The other two do kind of irritating things with their voices and they don't always land the notes the way they should.
Ella Henderson- Immediately, I like that she took it down into her range instead of straining because she has some lovely warmth to her voice, but I think that she could have played with the melody or arrangement a little more to give the song more momentum and excitement. There were definitely rough spots as always, but she has a very good voice. I think the thing that works with Ella is that more often or not you remember the good things and not the moments when her voice breaks or she fails to land notes. But I don't know how much longer that will carry her. If she doesn't resolve those issues, it could very well cost her the competition.
Rylan Clark- It was cute. Not his best vocal performance, but I feel like he's reached a good place where he's kind of average. I wish I could have watched a high quality video version. I think it would have the same fun factor as the Spice Girls at the Olympics.
Union J- They have the range for this song. So, immediately they're over the first hurdle. Yes, I'm looking at you, Matthew Morrison. Their lead singer is incredible. I don't think they are the best group ever but just judging them on his singing, I think they deserve to be in the top 3, if not to win the competition.
James Arthur- Undeniably good. He's ready for it. 

X Factor Live Show #5

Hi chickadees!

This week's theme is Number Ones. Should be interesting right? Before we get started, I would like to say that I'm a little heartbroken that Lucy had to withdraw from the competition due to illness. I really felt her absence last week and I continued to feel it this week. I feel like the spark of fun and life in this series has dimmed more than a little with her departure. I hope she puts out an album soon. I will buy it. :)

Final Breakdown (in my opinion...very conflicted about the order this week though)

1. Jahmene Douglas

2. Union J

3. Ella Henderson

4. Christopher Maloney

5. James Arthur

6. Kye Sones

7. District3

8. Rylan Clark

Rylan Clark: Hung Up/Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight). I don't know if you know this about me as I only reveal it when I feel like I'm in a safe space... but I'm an ABBA fan. A massive ABBA fan. Not in an ironic way. I genuinely love their big hit songs. This was before the phenomenon of Mamma Mia really took off with the movie, though I did see the stage show with Louise Pitre and it was brilliant. It was one of the few shows in my life where I've sat front row and those are always fun. Where was I? Oh, right, Rylan. The feathered shoulders felt unnecessary. They didn't really create interesting body shapes or make sense with the outfit. They just seemed glued on for camp value. Loved the way he broke the glass though. I think this is one of his best vocal performances. It still wasn't very strong but I think it was a marked improvement from last week. I did think it lost a little energy. Rylan just needs to find the balance between singing and dancing/performing. Nicole does a great job sticking up for him though. Very entertaining. 

Union J: Love Story. I couldn't get the best quality version of this because TheXFactorUK youtube channel wasn't uploading it and Fremantle was blocking all the high quality videos. I really like Taylor Swift songs. I can't help it. They just make me happy. With the quality issues, I thought they sounded good. It was a little safe. Anytime you sing a Taylor Swift song, you're not really trying to vocally challenge yourself. 

Kye Sones: You Get What You Give. He burst out with a lot of energy. I think this was one of his stronger attempts at using his falsetto. There was something about it that felt safe to me. Maybe it was just that American Idol style circling camera trick. I think this is a good song but it doesn't really have an arc. Kye did his very best and I can't fault him on the vocals or the energy but I wasn't thrilled by it. I pretty much agreed with Tulisa. I think Kye just needs to find the right song if he's going to rise in the competition again.

James Arthur: Don't Speak. So...I do kind of like this song. But while I've learned to trust James for the most part repetitive songs like this always scare me. It's very easy for them to start to get tedious even in a minute long performance. I felt like it was more of a return to the James we saw at the beginning of the competition. Some of the riffing felt excessive and unnecessary. It felt a little low energy though the vocals were good. I think James has to work on his performance style when he moves around the stage because before the emotional high point kicks in, it feels a bit random, like he's just wandering around. Maybe I'm just spoiled by so many great performances. Though this one was good, I'm used to being surprised and impressed by James and this week it just felt like another track on an album that sounded like the song I listened to a few songs back.

Ella Henderson: Firework. Katy Perry has some great songs. Now, there's some garbage on One of the Boys. And Peacock is just... *shudders* But those hits are hits for a reason and have rightfully spawned hundreds of youtube covers. There's something about some of those songs that has that magic capacity for a great performance. Personally, I went into this holding Ella's performance up to the amazing Lea Michele. So, no pressure, right? This was Ella doing Ella. She has a beautiful way of interpreting songs sometimes. When it started off a bit quiet it felt like she was speaking from the heart in singing those lyrics. And that's what a great performer does. But there were definitely weak points as it progressed. Some notes were weak and a bit strained. Her voice definitely cracked a few times. The high notes weren't always as strong as they could be and I would have sung some of those notes on different vowels because they were a little painful. It was good but there was so much randomness to it. It didn't feel natural. It felt strained. I really want her to work on fixing these same problems that come up almost every week without fail. It's really getting to the point in the competition where she can't just rely on the strengths of her voice. She needs to start addressing the weaknesses.

District3: I love the song. It's great exercise music. Again, I couldn't get the best quality version. Is the X Factor UK youtube channel against Louis for some reason? Anyway, even forgiving the sound quality, I thought they sounded very rough at first. It improved throughout the performance but it still just felt average. And I'm not sure they're ready to interact with dancers. It came across as awkward.

Jahmene Douglas: Listen. I know I've already told you I'm a massive Beyonce fan. But there is almost no touching her when she sings a ballad. I love Jahmene, but I was nervous about this performance. You can't mess around with riffs for this song. You need to bring POWER vocals. While Jahmene's performance was very, very, very good. It was lacking that power. There were so many brilliant points. But there were also some missteps when he strayed from the melody too much. And he couldn't sustain the amazing belt you need to make this song truly impressive. I think if I didn't know how this song can sound, I may have loved it more. 

Christopher Maloney: There was something very odd about Christopher's vowels during the verses. Maybe it was his placement. I did however think that the song choice really worked for him. He's a very good singer. What more can I say? In a week where my favorites all had issues I think Gary has a point in saying that Christopher consistently gives good vocal performances. 

X Factor UK Live Show #4

Hi chickadees!

I think about 10 people find their way to this page every week. I'm not sure if you're reading or just getting linked here when you're looking for gossip but regardless, welcome!

This week's theme was Halloween. Which never makes sense. It should really just be a cue for the art direction and nothing else because if you're smart (as the contestants were) you don't try and pick a song that has a "Halloween" theme. Unless it's "I Put a Spell on You". Love that song. Overall, I was a little bored with this week's performances.

Final Breakdown (in my opinion)
[Not including Christopher Maloney because the video wasn't available in the US or Lucy Spraggan because she was unwell and did not perform.]
1. James Arthur
2. Jahmene Douglas
3. Ella Henderson
4. Union J
5. Jade Ellis
6. Kye Sones
7. District3
8. Rylan Clark

Let's go through the contestants in order.

Kye Sones: I liked his vocals last week but it definitely didn't fit with the theme and that may have hurt him with the voting. The only "Let Me Entertain You" I know is from Gypsy so I didn't come into it with any expectations of how the song "should" sound. I think he is very professional and did a good job with it didn't really the energy or impact it needed to. It wasn't fun. Repetitive songs are risky because they can drag. Also, I'm not sure if the phrases were too long and he just didn't have a place to breathe but there were lulls in the vocals. It was a good performance. But it wasn't spectacular. And I don't know if running around and getting right up in the camera is going to win over the people who didn't pick up the phone last week.

Union J: I am a massive Beyonce fan. I didn't really know what was going to happen with "Sweet Dreams". I liked that Louis was sort of playing into the theme with the song choice but I was nervous. The vocals didn't start off as strong as the last two weeks. I thought the light show and the background images were a bit too chaotic but the vocals were good. I didn't love it as much as the last two weeks but I can't come up with anything to complain about. I think again you have the problem with a repetitive song and the fact that it didn't really go anywhere. I still think they're a really strong boy band. I agreed with Tulisa's critique.

Rylan Clark: This was a pretty weak performance from Rylan. I know I'm in the minority thinking he's charming in the nonperformance clips but I was let down by this. The mashup of songs didn't make much sense. There didn't seem to be much of a point to the staging/costumes. And the vocals got worse as the song went along. I thought they started out decent and then it just fell apart from there. He didn't bring it with the dancing. If he does make it through, I'm interested in the outcome of his promise to Gary (to just stand there and sing a song).

Ella Henderson: I love Evanescence and I think Amy Lee is a really strong vocalist so I started off unsure if Ella was up to the task of one of her songs given the way her voice cracks and the little issues she hasn't been addressing so far during her run in the competition. I thought it was smart for her to change up the song and lower the key because of that but the song lost something. I loved the staging and costume (though the hair was not flattering). I think Ella did a good job but she did not live up to Amy. I like the emotion she brought to it though. I just think she doesn't have the power she thinks so when she needs to ramp up, it doesn't always hit the heights it needs to. I'd like her to sing a straight ballad. I agreed with Nicole's critique.

The X Factor UK Live Show #3

Hi chickadees!

Let's launch right in, shall we? I have no idea if anyone's reading this but if you are, hello!

I had no expectations for Club Classics week other than hoping that Rylan would do well. Still, there could be a surprise hit. I vaguely remember Rebecca Ferguson unexpectedly doing well on an uptempo dance number. The one thing that really began to irritate me was not seeing the opening package for each of the acts where they give background on their experiences during the week. It made all the comments from the judges and Dermot seem nonsensical.


Final Breakdown (in my opinion)
1. Lucy Spraggan
2. Union J
3. James Arthur
4. Ella Henderson
5. Kye Sones
6. Jade Ellis
7. Jahmene Douglas
8. District3
9. Rylan Clark
10. Christopher Maloney
11. MK1


I will be going through the acts in the order of their performances...

Christopher Maloney: Very cheesy. The dancers did not help. But for all that, the vocals were good. If you like Christopher's style, you will like this performance. I did feel like that on some notes he didn't push as much as he's capable of. I think he kind of won me over just because it was so happy and cheesy. He wasn't denying his style or trying to be something he's not. I think Tulisa's points were very valid though.

MK1: I feel like Charlie started out singing in a strange way that didn't take advantage of her breath at all. She really could have used some breath support. But her tone was interesting. It was very mature. The staging with the lights and dancers was chaotic in a bad way. The "la da dee la da da" was just annoying. The way they kept looking over at each other made it feel like they were unsure of themselves. I just don't feel like they seemed like capable performers. I wasn't comfortable because I felt like they weren't as confident as they could have been.

Jahmene Douglas: Jahmene needs to work on not looking angry when he does some of his riffs. I feel like his voice fades a bit sometimes because of the riffs. It was good but it was just a bit safe. For club classics it lacked energy. And it's getting to the point that he needs to start bringing it as a performer as well as a singer.
(Read up on him to see what they were referencing since we don't get UK gossip too much here in the US. So heartbreaking.)

Jade Ellis: She doesn't push enough. When she comes out looking gorgeous and strutting you expect to be wowed by the vocals but they don't have the same impact and the outfit and styling and staging and sets. Maybe a bit more dancing? People who are not the strongest singers can bring it in the performance aspect but she just sort of walked around, hit a mark, and kept posing. I thought it was good and she continues to get better but it's still not amazing. I don't know what Gary was talking about since I can't see the intro package, but I agreed with Nicole and Louis. She's not selling it yet. Nicole gives great advice sometimes. I feel like she gives the most genuine singing advice.

James Arthur: Like last week with Ella singing "Loving You" when I saw this in my subscription feed I thought it was a joke. It was laid back and sexy for Club Classics week but it worked. It was classic blues and rock, effortless, and just the kind of impact James needed to make to keep things from getting stale. He sounded amazing. We got to hear the smooth, rich tone of his voice not marred by pain. Loved it. :)

The X Factor (UK) Live Show #2

Hello darlings!

I know this is primarily a nail polish/beauty/fashion blog with some occasional ramblings thrown in for good measure. But as I was sitting down to add The X Factor onto my Things I Am Currently Obsessed With post, I decided I should really give it its own post. Because I knew I was about to start rambling.

I love the UK version of the X Factor. I kept up with series 7 and 8 though I'm apparently bad at picking winners. I rooted for Rebecca Ferguson and Marcus Collins. I basically keep up with the show as much as I can. Since Freemantle is blocking the videos on the channels I used to watch, I can no longer watch the intros to the performances or the joy and silliness that is the Xtra Factor. But I still watch all of the performances and the judges comments through the X Factor's official youtube page.

I always tweet my thoughts on Saturday and Sunday. My twitter handle is aradia18. If you ever want to talk about The X Factor, we totally can. I haven't decided if I want to do weekly posts or not but you could start a discussion on a nail polish review. I wouldn't mind. :)

I think the best way to go about this is to just do a rundown of the performances...