Is Beatles night and the 8 remaining contestants will fight for your votes to stay in the competition singing one of the best songbooks ever released! Season 1 4th placer, Basim, is back to where he started to sing his new single. bong is back again, and will be throughout the season! Who will fail to impress tonight? ... It's time to face the music!

Ratings, comments and videos after the JUMP ...

Rasmus


"Drive My Car" - 10/10 OMG!!! This may probably be one of the best performances we've seen in the season! The beggining was in a whole different league, really interesting phrasing and tone! He's voice is dinamic and he's a damn good performer! Rasmus is far superior from many acts here and is now one of my favourites, right after Patricia!

(bong)  7/10  Rasmus tells us that he does not have any close relation with The Beatles, so this is a bit of a challenge for him. But he makes a good and very authentic show, completely with the microphone and all. Blachman: "Good choice of song. Very fresh, you sing well." (And some advice.) Pernille: "It's going pretty well for you today. I notice the little improvements. A kind of 'cry' in the light notes. Pretty well done..." Cutfather: "Pretty well done??" Both Pernille and Blachman correct themselves, it was very well done.


Rikke og Trine


"Here Comes the Sun" -  8/10 Oh yeah!! They aren't singing in unison the whole performance!! That's what I'm talking about! See how you have improved? This was one of the best performances! They shown that they can sing solo and also have really good voices, which sound much better than when they are in unison. Their harmonies are lovely and I wasn't bore for the first time!!! An act that has grown a lot on me!

(bong)  8/10  Blachman: "Rikke og Trine may be unique on a global scale. There is an element of Norse mythology." The twins feel very much on their home turf playing Beatles. "It makes you happy!" There was no sound on the first line, but... Hooray! The twins are harmonizing!

The one in the yellow (Rikke) is lead in the beginning. Later they switch. It does create some controversy among the judges, both Blachman and Cutfather find that it is a step back. (Blachman did ask for some non-unison singing last week.) But it as I hear it, it's more because of the parts where one is singing and the other is not. I am a little uncertain.

Cutfather: "Not so crazy about the parts where you sang apart from each other." Blachman and Cutfather agree that it was too much like a public school. Blachman: "It was too violently orchestrated. Slow it down. Make it more melancholic." Pernille: "This is what people have been demanding: To hear them sing apart, to hear them sing different parts."

It had to be. I have mentioned this before, groups are very different from single acts, because if one in the group is off-key and the other on the wrong beat, everything falls apart, so a duo faces a tougher task than single acts. But then, when it works, it can be wonderful, and it can give them an edge over the single acts. The Fireflies from last year really had it going for them (they still have). So when we request that the groups (especiallly the twins) harmonize, it's simply because, you (potentially) have that weapon — so use it! You won't see Babou or Annelouise doing harmonies alone. It can't be done live.

Apparently it was a big challenge for them. Of course! Harmonizing is something you have to study. I am glad Pernille could persuade them. Now they have begun that journey, they survived the vote off, and it will eventually expand their music. I can't wait to see what they will come up with. The key to improving is: Listen intently to each other. I like the girls more and more. I give them 8/10 for this performance, primarily for their courage to break out of their comfort zone. I hope Pernille will keep pushing them to their limits. I hope they will work to their bones to satisfy her.




Patricia


"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" - 8/10 I love you but this just wasn't your night. The voice was amazing as always but I can't help thinking that it was off tune. I know that's her singing style but something wasn't right. The song sounded a bit flat and the high notes seemed out of her range. I hope she gets over this one cause she's amazing. Still, I liked it. I know I'm sounding crazy but she's my favourite so I'm really biased on this one. She's got a special charm and style, which I've never seen.

(bong)  7/10  Such a great tune. Patricia makes me want to cover this one. There could be more guitar (a good guitarist on stage), and the rest of the band a little more retreated in the sound; it felt very violent. To me the arrangement had very little relation to the text. I still like her voice very much, although there were some problematic areas. Pernille: "You have a nice vulnerability," and Pernille mentioned some technical things she would like to see in this tune. Cutfather: "You are one of the strongest in the field. A clear character." So all the judges agree on that. We like that here. Blachman: "You are in the top two of all my favorite x factor contestants over all the years." Incidentally: I spotted Tine, a last year's finalist, finished second, on the front row over Blachman's shoulder.


Babou


"Can't Buy Me Love" - 6/10 This may sound as if I've gone crazy but I actually liked this performance! His voice sounded much better than in previous performances and he actually pulled some decent big notes. I'll give him props for the good singing! Still think his voice is too girlish but this was an improvement on me.

(bong)  7/10  Babou sings very precisely in the beginning, and a fine ending. I like his moves too, the sweeps across the scene. Blachman: "The song was in a good register when you were upstairs. But the artistic impression was lost when you went down. Less serious. You risk becoming a .. " (he did not say karaoke singer, but I think he meant something like that). Pernille: "Ease up, he is 16!" (Explanatory note: Blachman always sides with the music, with art.) Cutfather: "What is wrong with having some fun?" Blachman: "I was not having fun..."


Annelouise


"Golden Slumbers" - 10/10 She's playing piano. My favourite performance of the night, as well as Rasmus one. She's definitely in her element tonight! Her voice sounds beautiful and her piano skills are really good. This was a really emotional performance and despite some minimal issues, this performance was flawless! Will Annelouise be the last remaining contestant? After this, that has just became a strong possibility!

(bong)  6/10   I thought there was a slight pitch problem in the beginning, but Annelouise sings really well tonight. I am still not crazy about the voice; don't shoot me, that is a question of taste. Pernille: "I am still crazy about your voice." (see? it's individual) "I liked you better today, and with your instrument, you have integrity." Cutfather: "Way above last weeks performance." Blachman: "One guitar was out of tune in the C-part." (I think it's when she sings "You never give me your money") LOL! The band may be having more pitch problems than the contestants tonight; I have heard several ploink-ploink in between the tunes. (I just heard it all again, and I must say, to me there seem to be some pitch problems here and there.)


Sarah


"Come Together" - 7/10 She's got a school boy look, not sure if that fits her much ... Her voice sounds pretty good but I still thinks she lacks power. This song sounded too flat and she seemed to struggle to hit the high notes. The performance overall was just ok but it still was a major improvement from last week.

(bong)  8/10  Cutfather tells us that Sarah has fans like nobody else. Sarah says she wants us to find that she has a quiet side too. And then she comes out! The tune! Wow! She has rhythm. Good show. I loved it. Not bad at all. Todays best performance for me. Blachman: "This is my favorite tune." (not sure if he means favorite Beatles tune) "You may want to check the market prices for sex change operations." :-| Lise Rønne breaks him off: "Blachman, how did she do?" Pernille: "So many have covered this one. It is difficult to take it and play it your own way. But you did it!" Cutfather: "Look at how you developed! From when we first met to now."  


Ercan


"Something" - 2/10 I think I'll never like him, even if he covers all of my favourite songs. He's not nice to look at and his voice bores me as hell! It's not either unique nor dinamic. Pretty monotonous. He also looks uncomfortable and is looking too much at the cameras. Most boring performance ever!

(bong)  5/10   Cutfather: "Ercan is a song talent. That's why he was chosen over DeeVibez." There is a second voice which bothers me during Ercan's performance, it appears to be too dominant. Ercan himself seems a little shaken and out of place and not quite singing at the top of his lungs. Tonights worst performance, if you ask me. Pernille: "It seemed uninspired. Maybe it was too low (ed: the key) for your voice? Or?" Cutfather: "I could not feel you... You were concentrating on the tv cameras, maybe they can feel you at home..." Blachman agrees with Pernille, that the key may have been too low, but "sometimes you have to take a chance, and sometimes there can come a blue note when you go a fourth lower, and especially in A major."


JR


"All You Need Is Love" - 6/10 I liked them in the judges houses but since then, my love for them has been declining. Their vocals are amazingly distinctive and I love how they look as a duo. They aren't singing in unison, well, at least not like last week, cause the chorus is still that way. The performance was good overall, no many vocal faults but pretty boring. The song had no dinamic and they didn't bring much to the show. Hope they improve a lot next week!

(bong)  6/10  The arrangement is very nice. And they sing really well. I thought it was a very precise performance, but with some weaknesses. Cufather: "The chorus was very good. The verse more doubtful. But you have the charm, and for sure x factor." Blachman: "A catastrophe! Pitch problems." (I did not hear that, normally I am wearing a headset, but not today.) Pernille: "Forget about that! You did well." (About Blachman: It's the same as when he commented on Babou, he sides with music and art. It must not be irrelevant. That may be what he thinks.)


The Verdict

(bong)  I sure know how to pick them. Last week I said either Patricia or DeeVibez would be the ultimate victor. DeeVibez went, and now Patricia is in the danger zone together with Ercan. However, this is a no-brainer: Patricia to continue. There are two possibilities: The two at the bottom "belong" to the same judge, or to two different judges. If two different judges, the judges always go with their guy, and the final decision is left to the third judge, as in last weeks program when Cutfather let Ercan stay over DeeVibez. This time it's two of the adults, so Cutfather will vote for Ercan, and Pernille for Patricia (because that fits with their previous stated preferences), and Blachman has to make the decision, and Blachman will choose Patricia. Blachman has no doubt given it some thought already, I expect the judges have prioritized their acts. The only question is how long he will drag it out, and how he will break it.

And so it goes, but not without some drama. Cutfather: "Well, I am probably not going to be the deciding vote in this, but..." and he votes for Patricia to go home. Pernille: "First I want to state that this has been a scandalous program! There has not been a lot of constructive feedback. I don't want to see crying contestants on their way to the dressing room." (she is referring to Blachman and the things he said during the program.) Blachman begins by taking the full blame for arranging Ercan's tune the way he did and for any damage that may have brought about. "But I just say things as I find them." Pernille is still wound up: "Don't get me started!" Finally getting to the decision. "... music ... intensity... It is not a difficult decision. I seek intensity, nerve. Ercan, you tell me you were on a bootcamp earlier, one I can't even remember. But you have worked very hard and developed since then. But what is good style? Patricia, you are insanely good style." So Patricia continues, and Ercan gets to go home.

I hope Ercan takes it well. This is a contest, the prize is a record deal, and there is only one winner. It does not matter if he finishes second, or as now, number two in the show. It does not mean that he is "worse" than any contestant who finishes later. More people voted for other contestants, and Blachman finds Patricia better. That's it.

Last week Ercan was saved by Cutfather, who is a very succesful producer; he has worked with the best of names. That was a big complement. He might have been thinking: This is about a record deal. Would I sign a contract with this name? Or that name? How much work is involved in producing a cd that I can be proud of? If that was his thinking (I have no way of telling, of course), then he found Ercan more "ready" than DeeVibez (though I still think they could have developed during the contest).

Ercan is not a bad singer. Being an x factor contestant will benefit him immensely in his musical carreer. He has been judged as a potential candidate by three competent judges.

Next week

(bong)  Danish hit songs from after 2000!
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