So after 3 weeks of Battle Rounds, we finally arrive at the live shows, the stage that finally allows the public to decide the fate of the contestants. And already we have lost some of the early favourites namely Onya Grey, Christina Foran and Siobhan McKenna to name but some. However, still remaining are some incredible talents including Sinead Fox, Kellie Blaise, Elliot Canavan-Doyle, Conor Quinn and Fauve Chapman and that's just the start of it! So now that the public are involved, let's hope that the talent survives and the judges', at times bizarre decisions don't lead to the departure of some of the show's most talented! Tonight, Brian and Bressie's acts will both be performing, will it be alright on the night?

Recap and videos after the JUMP ...




Alan Fitzsimons

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'Purple Rain' (Prince) - 5/10 - Well it wouldn't be a talent show without this song being used at least once. I've no idea why Brian chose this song as it's not remotely suited to Alan's voice but his arrangement of the song is an okay, if unexciting rendition of the song. I don't know I don't feel like Alan has any star quality and this performance definitely didn't show it if he does. As the pace picks up, his high notes are respectable if unexciting, I don't know, he has a nice voice but he needs to be given something more quirky. Considering that voting lines are open from the start of the show however, Alan probably is at an advantage being on first as people can judge for themselves and pick up the phone straight away.


Sinead Fox

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'Shine' (Lara Izibor) - 7/10 - This is actually really quite a good performance from Sinead. I've made it no secret that she's one of my favourite artists in the competition from the offset and her Idina Menzel like performance style really appeals to me as it's something that Ireland doesn't really have at the minute. With that said, I totally don't think that Brian has chosen the right performance style for Sinead, this song is in my opinion at least, more suited to the urban/pop singers rather than Sinead's really cool musical theatre style vocals fused with adult contemporary. I'd have loved to have seen her singing 'What You're Made Of' by Lucie Silvas however Sinead herself definitely did the song justice and performed as well as she could have. The major problem for me is that the band is a total damp squib and the song isn't done justice by the backing but that last note was divine.


Richie Hayes

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'What About Me' (Moving Pictures/Shannon Noll) - 7/10 - This is a song that I'm not very familiar with, it's by an Australian rock band, successfully covered by an Australian Idol contestant and Shayne Ward covered it for one of his albums if I remember correctly but the song doesn't strike a chord with me at all. With that said, whilst I'm not a massive Richie fan and I still question if he is likely to sell many records, this was a well sung performance of an emotive song and Richie definitely poured emotion into it. Brian definitely is the perfect mentor for Richie, he sings songs which aren't dissimilar to the kind of stuff that Brian sings himself although Richie is slightly more funk rock/country rock. What annoys me however is why everyone keeps going on about his height as if it's a crippling illness? He's not very tall but it shouldn't matter if he is 6 ft 7 or the height of an 8 year old, if he's talented, he's talented. Richie seems to be massively popular with the audience so I will be surprised if he isn't voted through.


Ryan O'Shaughnessy

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'Baby' (Justin Bieber) - 4/10 - Erm, singing Baby by Justin Bieber is a bit like singing The Birdy Song, it's unlikely to go down well with the judges or the public and unfortunately I think that the decision to do an acoustic cover of it may go against him. Much as I hate the song and think this is a fantastic risk to take, the execution fell down by being too slow, it just didn't work well as a slowed down ballad style performance, the song needs to be upbeat to work and with the greatest respect to Ryan, I don't think this was good enough for the live shows compared to the rest of Brian's team. I don't know, it's a bit like trying to do a metal cover of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (though I'd love to see that actually), some songs just don't work when the pace and the main core of the song changes. However, I might be wrong and all the tweens might be picking up their phones and voting in their droves for him, I just wasn't convinced. Oh significant moment time by the way, I agreed with something Kian said!


Claire O'Loughlin

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'Unbreak My Heart' (Toni Braxton) - 8/10 - Claire is a definite dark horse in this competition, she has an awesome voice which reminds me a little bit of early Cher mixed with Tori Amos. I really love this actually, I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy it because I'm not a massive fan of the original song but she added another layer to it. Claire should definitely get through based on this performance but whether the male favouring public decide that she deserves to go through is definitely questionable, I just hope that they don't make a major mess of the vote as Claire is by far the most naturally poweful vocalist in Brian's category. With that all said, I don't think it was as good as her incredible Blind Audition.


Brendan Keeley

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'The Whole Of The Moon' (The Waterboys) - 6/10 - This is a good performance but for me at least, it's a tiny bit too karaoke for my liking. I like this song and I like that Brendan has a rocky edge to his voice but he has a lot of bad habits that he has picked up off being a professional singer and they sort of come to light during this performance. He has a slightly odd way of pronouncing the 'Whole Of The Moon' line but it sort of adds to the quirky rock vibe of his interpretation of the song. I really like The Waterboys and I like how his strong Irish accent comes through in the performance but the problem with me is that it's all a bit retro for me. It reminds me of some of the quirky pub rock that is played now in 80's Classics playlists and the like. I don't think Brendan will win the song but he may go far.




Gari Deegan

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'Tracks Of My Tears' (Smokey Robinson) - 3/10 - I love Gari's voice, it's full of soul but this is an absolute trainwreck. The song is perfect for his voice and the opening verse gets him off to a really positive start but as the song develops into the chorus, his vocals fall apart and he becomes extremely pitchy. I do have to say that once again, Kian is in the right, his vocals seriously slipped, I loved his Blind Audition and it's sad that I'm criticizing him quite heavily but the chorus was just very out of tune. Based on previous performances, he should get through and there's a good chance he still will get through especially as the audience seem to be lapping him up but based on tonight, I wouldn't put him through sadly.


Kiera Byrne

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'Titanium' (David Guetta feat. Sia) - 9/10 - This song has been done an awful lot on these shows recently, mainly on the foreign talent shows but I can see why as Sia is kind of building a higher profile worldwide even if I've always loved her. Kiera's voice is superb, so quirky and cool but also full of emotion and passion, she definitely reminds me a bit of Sia in this performance. Kiera again was a favourite of mine in the auditions so I'm very glad that I'm not having to tear her to pieces like I kind of did earlier with Gari. Kiera really loses herself in this performance, the vocals are really pretty and beautiful and I think Bressie knows exactly what he's doing with her, he has built a really versatile and exciting star in Kiera and she's an artist who I would definitely go to see at a gig as she has an unpredictability about her which I love. She truly is the enigma of the lives!..


Conor Quinn

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'Feeling Good' (Nina Simone/Muse) - 9/10 - There's nothing really to say about Conor other than that he oozes star quality. He's easily one of the most naturally quirky and interesting acts in the competition and right now, I really don't see anyone but him or Kiera making the final on Bressie's team, which, I'm not sure but he is definitely in with a shot. I take back what I say about the facial expressions freaking me out slightly actually, they seem to have been toned down now and if anything, they just show how much he allows himself to get lost in the performance. It's hard to define exactly who he reminds me of, there's a name in my head but I can't think exactly who it is, I suppose the stage stance reminds me slightly of Jarvis Cocker but the voice is like some of the quirkier aspects of Johnny Cash's voice mixed with Daniel Merriweather? I honestly think, like Kiera, I would buy his album and go to see him perform in a flash, he's likeable, he's original, he's quirky and he's utterly cool, he defines natural born performer!.


Gavin Kenny

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'Smooth' (Rob Thomas/Santana) - 2/10 - Erm, what in under god was Bressie thinking with this song choice? It's as cheesy as a four cheese pizza with about 25 blocks of cheese grated on top and it just reminds me of a cheesy 00's disco. My confusion over the song choice aside, Gavin is a very good vocalist and I feel really sorry for him actually as he really impressed me in the auditions, kind of got lost at Battle Rounds for me as I struggled to remember his Battle but if he goes tonight, it's the song which has let him down. Everyone on that stage has a reason for being there and I have to give them all the respect in the world for being brave enough to stand up there and sing but after two amazing Team Bressie performances, this was a lacklustre song choice which kind of let him down majorly.


Jessica Pritzel

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'Something' (The Beatles) - 8/10 - Jessica's Battle Round was like my favourite performance of the whole competition especially on the duo parts with Kate and this was never going to stand up to that. With that said, it was still very very good. It wasn't quite Conor or Kiera but it was up there as well, another pretty fantastic performance from a really talented singer. It was perhaps a bit shouty at times but I much preferred it to Gari and Gavin's performances. I'm still worried about Jessica however as she's an attractive girl and typically, the female voting core don't support girls who are seen as threats in the competition, it happens all the time on other talent shows and I really don't want it to happen to Jessica as she's so damn talented. She has to stay tonight or else the public will have a lot to answer for.


Pat Byrne

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'You Do Something To Me' (Paul Weller) - 7/10 - It's really irrelevant how Pat does tonight because he's quite clearly one of the ladies' favourites. With that said, he's generally very talented anyway so I don't mind that he is pretty much universally loved by the girls. This song is really good, nice choice for his voice and brought out the raspy edge in his vocals which is his biggest appeal in my opinion. I don't see him having any problems in getting through tonight, I would however like him to sing something contemporary, perhaps a James Morrisson or Shawn Mullins song? Nevertheless, a very good performance from a talented guy who will no doubt be going far in this competition, I personally preferred Jessica, Connor and Kiera tonight but Pat was a very good performer tonight and I think Bressie will have a difficult job on his hands in the weeks to come as the numbers gradually decrease as this was just really a fantastic vocal.



Results

Eliminated Contestants:

Ryan O'Shaughnessy
Gavin Kenny

I'm genuinely unsurprised at both acts who went home. Neither were at their best on the night although I think in both cases, their vocals were fine, the song choice let them down. Ryan took a risk that sadly didn't pay off whilst Gavin didn't get a good song choice at all. What surprised me was who they faced in the bottom two decision as Sinead Fox and Jessica Pritzel failed to get the votes. Well, I say surprised, the public do tend to favour males in these competitions and as the coaches had already said, Jessica being an attractive female was immediately at serious risk of becoming fodder. I hope this isn't a regular occurrence but based on tonight, two of the weaker performers went.


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