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.
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.
