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The auditions have come to an end and now the remaining contestants must face the hardest stage of the competition, bootcamp. 150 acts will face the judges and in the end, only 24 will remain. Who'll impress? Who'll crush under the pressure? ... It's time to face the music!

Recap after the jump ...

Day 1

The following contestants were all shown in the audition phase:
Boys
  1. Jai  Waetford
  2. Fabian Andres
  3. Georgie Bannard 
  4. Taylor Henderson 
  5. Mitchell Thompson 
  6. Will Perrett  
  7. Omar Dean 
  8. NOA 
  9. Matt Gresham 
  10. Jordan Rodrigues
  11. Adam O'Brien
  12. Zac Hakos
  13. Nick Tabone
  14. Jayden Rodrigues
  15. Ofisa Toleafoa 

Girls
  1. Kelebek
  2. Dami Im
  3. Ellie Lovegrove
  4. Veanka Howard
  5. Vendulka
  6. Calmell Teagle 
  7. Carla Wehbe
  8. Rebecca Quinn
  9. Jacinta Gulisano
  10. Georgina Mastin 
  11. Joelle 
  12. Jiordan Tolli 
  13. Riv Ngwenya 
  14. Aaliyah Warren 
  15. Hayley Sillar 
 Overs
  1. Tyler Hudson
  2. Barry Southgate
  3. Rohan Herring 
  4. Gemma Thorpe 
  5. David McCallum 
  6. Michael Ross 
  7. Cat Vas 

Groups
  1. JTR
  2.  Straight Up
  3. Adira-Belle 
  4. The Royce Twins 
  5. Element 
As usual, we barely saw any Overs or Groups during the auditions. Is there any unshown talent in these categories or we've seen all it has to offer? Surprisingly, the number of Girls and Boys we've seen is the same this year, last year, the girls were a lot fewer. Based on what we've seen so far, I've selected 3 acts per category (in bold) as the ones I'd like to see making it through to the liveshows. I also think the judges could form two new groups out of some of the remaining guys and gals. Potential girlband: Kelebek, Ellie Lovegrove, Calmell Teagle, Georgina Mastin and Aaliyah Warren. Potential boyband: Fabian Andres, Omar Dean, Zac Hakos and Jordan Rodrigues. Of course, that can all change this week.

150 acts have made it to bootcamp but only 24 will make it to the Home Visits. Redfoo tells us he won't allow mistakes. Dannii wants to find somebody that has more than a voice. A very pregnant Nat won't be present during this round but fear not, our fave blond will be back for Home Visits. Super Bootcamp comes with a twist this year, all the acts will be performing not only for the judges but also for their entire category acapella during the first round. "This isn't a holiday" Ronan tells them.

Under 25 Boys

Georgie Bannard is up first. He loves making friends. "It's hard not to meet new people that just enjoy the same thing you do" he says. He takes on "Lately" and sounds even better than during his audition. Very unique and smooth.

Taylor Henderson  is scared by the talent in his category. We see him singing "Ho Hey", those 5 seconds sounded pretty cool. Ofisa Toleafoa also gets a quick montage taking on a big note.

Up next is the young Jai  Waetford, who impressed both the judges and the audience with his original song. He's singing "Titanium" yet he starts singing the wrong song. Stops, then begins performing again. It sounds sweet and the mistake was quite minor. "Jai, did you sing the first line of a different song?" Ronan asks. "I did. It's the same key as "Titanium" and I've been practising that song as well just in case" Jai says.

He's followed by a montage of Fabian Andres, Omar Dean and Mitchell Thompson. And that's it for the boys.


Overs

Firstly, cancer survivor Rohan Herring. Ronan is his idol, he can't explain the feeling of performing in front of him. He sings "Beneath Your Beautiful" and it's honestly, horrendous. He was too high as Dannii points out.

Next is Cat Vas, one of the Overs few hopes. It was an amazing feeling to be validated by the judges. "You can't help but start to dream about what's in store and what could happen" she says. She performs a haunting cover of Frank Ocean's "Thinking About You". I hated how short that was. Dannii wasn't loving it, "I could hardly hear you sing" she says. Ronan is disappointed.

Barry Southgate follows. Dannii called his first audition pedestrian. He got some bad news just the day before bootcamp, his dear friend Audrey, the mother figure in his life, has passed away. Barry sings the same song Cat did and the results are much better among the judges this time. Redfoo likes his tone.
Tyler Hudson is the final Over to perform. He wants to go as far as he can because that's the example he wants to set for his kids. He sounds better than during his audition but I still don't see the appeal. He's not very interesting.


Groups

The Royce Twins are the first to take the stage. The performance is hectic, it looked like it had no preparation. Their audition was ok but at this point, they are more of a joke than a proper group. "I've never heard us sing so bad" one of them says.

Annoying JTR follows with "Torn". A vast improvement over The Royce Twins and it does sound better than their audition. Their harmonies are quite great to be honest.

The youngest group, Straight Up is next. Latifah is not only the leader of the group but also their "mom" She's constantly on top of the boys. Her plan for bootcamp, prove they can actually sing.  The performance is ok but did it prove they can sing, not really.



Under 25 Girls

Riv Ngwenya is the first to perform. The worst thing that could happen to here tonight, trip on stage. She's singing "Whole Lotta Love" and while it shows her huge range, I'm still not impressed by her tone. It's not that original.

Rapper Kelebek is next with Little Mix's "Change Your Life". No rapping, no dancing, just singing. Nice but not very remarkable. "You completely changed everything from your first audition, you took away two of your strong points. You happy with that?" Dannii asks. Ouch.

Poor Aaliyah Warren and Hayley Sillar crush and burn with disastrous performances. Phoenix Melody (19) also falls apart, forgetting her lyrics, then crying. "You've gotta stop stressing" Dannii says. Riv tells her to sing the chorus. It's not helping. That was painful.

Up next is Georgina Mastin. Seeing Reece win has given her a confidence boost. "People's dreams can come true". Reece told her to stay positive and just have fun. Cute performance, she's a good voice and a nice tone but I'm not sure she's ready yet.

The girls luck has shifted and Ellie Lovegrove, Joelle, Calmell Teagle and Vendulka all wow the judges with their performances. And that's it for the girls. Montaging the best performances wasn't such a good move if you ask me.


Results

The acts are divided into three groups. In the first group: Jiordan Tolli, Calmell Teagle, Michael Ross, Ofisa Toleafoa, Adam O'Brien, Ellie Lovegrove, Straight Up, Veanka Howard, Mitchell Thompson,  Barry Southgate,  Cat Vas, Fabian Andres, Tyler Hudson and Georgina Mastin. "Massive day today for all of us. It's the end for a lot of talented singers today, you're going through to tomorrow" Ronan tells them.

In the second group: Aaliyah Warren, Phoenix Melody, Rohan Herring and Hayley Sillar. Obvious result here. "Last year the talent was so incredible. As judges we've to top that each year. We'd like to take all of you, but we can't. It's a no for all of you" Ronan says. Hayley will work on her vocals a lot more now. Rohan was expecting this decision, so it's also goodbye for him.

In the third group: Vendulka, Kelebek, Gemma Thorpe, Joelle, Georgie Bannard, Taylor Henderson,  Omar Dean, Adira-Belle, The Royce Twins and Will Perrett. "Well done for getting this far. The competition is so strong, thank you for coming to bootcamp. We hope to see you all again" Ronan tells them.

Day 2

The remaining acts will be put into ensembles. They'll have to learn a song and perform it with 10 new people that they've never seen. Queen Sammi is back to help the contestants prepare for the challenge. "The ensemble challenge is hard because you've got to stand out but you are also being judge on working as a team, so it's kinda hard to do both" she says.

Ensemble 1 - Veanka Howard, Tyler Hudson and Tori Dark (?)- "Just Like A Pill" - Tyler is the most experienced of the ensemble. Veanka is putting a lot of preassure on herself in this performance. Tyler is just trying to calm everyone being a clown. Mid reherasal, Veanka dissapears. The  group starts searching for her with Tori finding her in a staircase, laking confidence in her ability. "There's no stopping you, you've got an amazing voice" she tells Veanka. The performance is a mess. Tori sounds ok but the backing vocals are painful. Tyler is extremely flat, he's never sounded worse. Veanka is really sharp, yet a little better than during her audition. Dannii's face says it all. "I don't think you worked well as an ensamble guys. It was very messy" Ronan tells them.



Ensemble 2 - Matt Gresham and Georgie Bannard - "Clocks" - Georgie has basically been his laughable self since bootcamp began. He feels like he doesn't deserve to be here compared to the other people's talent. Matt is determined to succeed this time around. Since his audition, he's gotten married. He needs to be in the Top 12. Georgie messes up big time the second he opens his mouth. His tone is really beautiful but he's a mess. Matt sounds great yet the overall performance is a real trainwreck. "What were you doing all day? Were you rehearsing this song?" Ronan asks them.


Ensemble 3 - Joelle, Straight Up, Georgina Mastin and Mitchell Thompson  - "ET" - Joelle is still struggling to win over douchy Redfoo. He is the judge she wants to form a connection with. Georgina's tone was fabulous on this song but the act that blow me away was Joelle. If Redfoo wasn't impressed by that, I'm not sure what will do it. The best ensemble so far, for sure. Dannii and Ronan loved Joelle, they were very impressed. "Do you like her yet?" they ask Redfoo.


Ensemble 4 - The Royce Twins, David McCallum, Christian Alexander and Gemma Thorpe   - "Beautiful Day" - Most of the acts are Overs. David barely made it to Bootcamp. He loves it here. "If I fall out, it's going to be devastaiting bacuse I don't want to get back to my old life" he says. Christian doesn't love the song. "It's not my style, at all. It's nothing to do with what I do". Sammi tells them to work as a team, since it's obvious this isn't working. David sounds awful. I guess this is as far as he's getting. Gemma isn't much better. Christian is barely audible. The Royce Twins are as atrocious as they were during the first day. That ensemble sucked. "Some of you really shone there, some didn't" Ronan tells them. Can I ask who?



Ensemble 5 - Will Perrett, Riv Ngwenya, Dami Im, Ofisa Toleafoa, Omar Dean, Ellie Lovegrove and Barry Southgate - "Next To Me" - Singing with so many big singers has put the preassure on Will. Also feeling insecure is Dami, who thinks her competitor not only have good voices but are also very good looking. Barry remains committed despite his terrible loss. He thinks she'll be happy with him being here. For the first time, Riv is very impressive here. Dami also does surprisngly well. Omar's falsetto sounds really cool. Will manages to put his insecurities aside and delivers a great performance as well. I adore that tone! Ellie, Barry and Ofisa are also really solid. A great performance. "Yeah baby! That's what I'm talking about" Redfoo tells them.



Ensemble 6 - Jai  Waetford, Jiordan Tolli, Cat Vas, Michael Ross, Adam O'Brien, Taylor Henderson, JTR and Vendulka- "Last Request" - Surprisingly, only Cat knows this song. Vendulka feels that there's more preassure on her this year because of what happened in her audition. Jai also wants to remind the judges he deserves a place after messing up yesterday. Cat also struggled on the previous challenge. She feels Bootcamp is drawing out the 15 y/o Cat that was very nervous and insecure. She feels this is the last opportunity to prove she deserves to be here. The performance is very laid back. Jai's thin voice doesn't harmonize well with the others. Cat sounds a lot better than she did before. Jiordan and Vendulka sound as lovely as ever. I've no idea what Jai was doing, it sounded as if he was singing a totally different song though it was really sweet, as usual.



Ensemble 7 - Element and Calmell Teagle - "I wanna Dance With Somebody" - We get a quick look at them. Guess they couldn't affort showing all the groups. "We were worried that we might have looked a bit to stand off- ish" Nada says.

Ensemble 8 - Kelebek, NOA, Jordan Rodrigues and Jacinta Gulisano - "Telephone" - They are all trying to stand out. Sammi thinks there are a lot of big stars in that group, so it may be hard. Kelebek wants to prove she's got what it takes to step out there and show them what she has. Jordan sounds really great and so does Jacinta with her big voice. NOA's delivery is disgusting. I can't belive someone so atrocious made it to this stage. "It'd be a waste not to have me in the next round" delusional NOA says.



Ensemble 9 - Fabian Andres, Zac Hakos and Jayden Rodrigues - "Chasing The Sun" - The judges thought he'd be great in a boyband but he wants to be a solo artist because he can only rely on himself. He's still boyband material. Zac forgets his lyrics. "How hard is it to learn a song? One song. Unbelievable, I don't understand it" Ronan says.

Ensemble 10 - Adira-Belle  - "Papa Don't Preach" - "It feels so amazing to be at bootcamp. This is everything that we could ever want" they say.  They are one of the few groups that shows potential but otherwise, the category is really weak.

Results

Eliminated:

Veanka Howard, The Royce Twins, Christian Alexander, David McCallum, Fabian Andres, Zac Hakos, Jayden Rodrigues, Kelebek, Jordan Rodrigues and Jacinta Gulisano

 But wait. The judges have asked some eliminated contestants to come back. "We said no to you because we see something. Look around you guys, these are your new groups" Ronan says. They all hug but the new mixed group. "We completely trust you guys" Jacinta reassures Dannii. Kelebek doesn't look happy though.

Day 3

The remaining 55 acts will be performing one more time in front of both the judges and a 1000 thousand strong audience before the Top 24 is announced.

Georgie Bannard - "One And Only" - Georgie is tasked with opening the night yet again. He's surprised he survived the second day. He can't see himself doing his day job for his whole life. Wow. What an improvement over his previous performance! His tone is gorgeous and this song fits him like a glove. The judges are visibly impressed. It's a standing ovation for him. Guess we'll be seeing more from this lovable guy.



Girl Group - Carla Wehbe and 3 more- "Kiss You" - They were so excited that they didn't even sleep the previous night. They went straight to work, figuring out their outfits, what they were singing, their outfits. For a newly formed group and with less than a day to rehearse, they sound quite good. They've got potential. The judges really like them.



Boy Band - Fabian Andres, Zac Hakos, Jayden Rodrigues and Nick Tabone - "Troublemaker" - They found out late last night and didn't get to bed until 2 am. "It looks like a band, I need you to sound like a band now" someone tells them This is a complete mess. Zac can't even remember the words, again. The judges are clearly disappointed. "No, no, no" Ronan says.  But will they give them another shot, after all, they've just been manufactured.



Joelle - "Big Girls Don't Cry" - She hasn't been able to win over Foo yet. She's definitely my fave this year. Her voice is so beautifully unique, it melts me. I love the way she arranges each song. "I'm a fan. I'm mesmerized by her performances" Ronan says.



Matt Gresham - "Burn" - Another impressive performance by Matt. I really like the way he's playing the guitar and the arrangement of this song is phenomenal. He's so amazing, I still don't know how he hasn't broke out yet. He deserves a place in the Top 12 this year. "I love his voice" Dannii says. "It's unbelievable, it's dynamic, he just brought us on a journey with that song" Ronan adds.


Dami Im - "Jolene" - "Competition is crazy, everyone is so good. Some of them just have amazing talent, it's a bit scary" she says. Dami is playing the piano. It's a gorgeous performance up until the moment Dami forgets everything she's doing. She resumes her performance shortly after but what will be the judges reaction to that? Her singing up to that point was amazing and after she resumed, it was still very impressive, so who knows?


Mixed Group - Kelebek, Jordan Rodrigues and Jacinta Gulisano - "No Diggity" -They are the first mixed group ever to be put together on the XF. They were initially unhappy about the decision. "We are all strong headed people, so we do clash sometimes" Kelebek says. "I feel like it's a weird decision by the judges, we are very individual. There's kind of a bit of clash of personality in the group" Jordan adds. "If I was asked if I would've chosen those two before I wouldn't have even pictured it. We are three completely people" Jacinta says. Well, surprisingly, this trio really worked. The group has swag and a perfect mix of styles. Kelebek raps, Jordan has a smooth RnB voice and Jacinta has huge pipes. I see a lot of future for these 3, guess the judges got it right after all. "Now all they have to do is like each other" (Ronan)



Cat Vas - "Is This Love" - She's still struggling with why she can't get the confidence to sing how she usually sings. "The nerves come and go and it's just completely unpredictable" Cat says. I'm so glad her confidence is back. Amazing vibrato, I love how unique her voice is, it's really captivating. She'd sound so otherworldly on record. "Welcome to the XF" Ronan says. They give her a standing ovation. Cat's future is a lot brighter now.


Calmell Teagle - "Still Into You" -The judges loved her ensemble performance. "I'm shaking and I'm scared. I've butterflies in my stomach, they aren't butterflies anymore, they're just birds" she says. Eh, this is a weird performance. This song really doesn't fit her style. She went from singing Whitney to this? "You go from a standing ovation on your first audition to that?" Dannii adds.


Will Perret - "Human Nature" - "If I don't give it everything, this could be the end of my XF experience" Will reflects. Definitely not the song I'd have picked for him. I love his tone but this isn't doing it for me. The performance was ok but it could've been a lot better. "They didn't react the way I wanted to, so that sort of makes me really nervous" he says.



Jai Waetford - "We Are Never Getting Back Together" - He is intimidated by the other acts since he's the youngest in his category. Idiotic Redfoo says Jai delivered the best performance they've seen in the last 4 years on the XF. Wrong, wrong, wrong. I like Jai, for now, but I wasn't a fan of this cover. It seems to me he's just trying to be this adorable cute guy instead of a proper artist. The performance is ok and the judges ate it up but he has to step up his game if he wants to last.



Jiordan Tolli - "Running Up That Hill" -We barely saw Jiordan during Bootcamp. "The most important thing to me is just doing what I rehearsed and connecting with people" she tells us. The song is slowed down, the perfect arrangement for her style. That performance put her back on the map. It was so mesmerizing, I wish there was a record of that. "OMG" Ronan utters "We just witnessed something incredible".


Vendulka - "Romeo and Juliet" - "I feel like I've got lots to prove today. I haven't impressed Ronan as much as I'd like to and I hope that I'll be able to do that tonight" she says. The Vendulka we love is back. This is what her audition lacked, the folksy vocals and sweet guitar playing. A terrific cover, I really hope she goes all the way. "It's the best we've seen of her" Ronan says.



Gemma Thorpe performs "Clown", which sounds really good from what little we heard. Omar Dean takes on "Let Me Love You", which is cool but I still think he'd have been more suitable in a boy band. "I'm so hungry for this to become a reality" he says. Georgina Mastin impresses with "Mr Brightside", while Stright Up bring the fun with "Crazy In Love", Riv Ngwenya channels Jordin Sparks  with "Tattoo" and Tyler Hudson shows her country chops. "It's a payoff for all the hard work, all the late nights" he adds. 

Element - "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" - "Our biggest competition is Adira-Belle, we want to be that next group and we think we've got what it takes" they say. The group seems to have followed the judge's advice, with Nada as the apparent leader. The performance is really synchronized, their harmonies perfect. A great delivery, Nada's crazy note was the highlight of that. I wasn't a fan of that song but the singing was awesome.


Adira-Belle - "Begging" - "We need to make sure that this one is the best performance that we've ever given" they say. This had all the sass Element was lacking. These are four divas and they surprisingly work perfectly with each other. The rapping was really cool, the singing a bit shouty, but good work.



Ellie Lovegrove - "Call Your Girlfriend" - I'm so glad she picked that song. I like her a lot more now that she's done that. It was heartfelt and emotional plus her vocals were something stunning. Dannii gave her a standing ovation, clearly loving what Ellie had done.


Another montage. JTR sings "22", sending them back to annoying territory. Barry Southgate covers Bruno Mars' "It Will Rain". "Every day is like no guarantee, so this is like the make or break performance right here" he says. Former The Voice AU contestant Mitchell Thompson wows us with "Save The World", a video too short for my liking. Annoying NOA keeps annoying. Quirky hippie Adam O'Brien sings his way through "Dynamite" accompanied with his ukelele. And finally, Michael Ross gives us another impressive performance, one I'd have liked to see in full. "That's what I'm talking about connection and belief" Ronan says.

Ofisa Toleafoa - "One and Only" -"To make it through Bootcamp would mean the world to me. I just wish my mum and my family could be here" he says while crying. Very impressive Mr T. It feels as if he's poured all his emotions into that performance and that's what makes a star. His voice is powerful but it has a lot of different textures. He's like a better Will Perret, only difference I like Will's tone a lot more.



Taylor Henderson  - "Human Nature" - He's closing the show. "I'm freaking out because I'm the last person to be on tonight and I'm just doing stupid things like forgetting lyrics and switching other lyrics with other lyrics" he says. Wow! This is such a cool performance. I've enjoyed everything he's done since his audition and this is no different. It's obvious he's worked on making this song his own for a while now cause that felt like an original. I adored that. "He's shown us his soul tonight" Dannii says. He is given a deserved standing ovation. A lock for the liveshows.



Top 24

As usual, the acts in bold are the ones I'd like to make the liveshows.

 Over 24s

Oh, the obvious twist. "Why does it have to be Over 25? What if it was Over 24? Now this is stronger" Redfoo says. I've got to say, that I wanted this from the very beginning. Now more talented acts can make it through to the liveshows. Happy for this. The change has affected three acts, Matt Gresham, Adam O'Brien and Dami Im. I expect at least 2 of them to make it. Why make the change if not?

Top 6: 

Cat Vas, Barry Southgate, Tyler Hudson, Gemma Thorpe, Matt Gresham and Michael Ross

So they made the change only to advance Matt. I'm ok with that but I'd have swapped Gemma and Tyler for Dami and Adam. Then the category would have been actually stronger. "Ill just keep doing more music and moving on with life" Dami says.

Girls

"Last night performances were incredible. It makes our decision very, very difficult" Ronan announces.

Top 6: 

Jiordan Tolli, Georgina Mastin, Vendulka, Ellie Lovegrove, Riv Ngwenya and Joelle

Well, we've got the ideal 6, didn't we? Out of the eliminated girls, we only knew Calmell, and her previous performance was a great disappointment. Excited for their Home Visit. Now we only need Joelle, Jiordan and Vendulka as our Top 3 and everything will be perfect. "I'm definitely coming back next year" Calmell promises. 

Boys


Top 6: 

Ofisa Toleafoa, Mitchell Thompson,  Jai  Waetford, Taylor Henderson,  Omar Dean and Georgie Bannard

I'm sad to see Will go but honestly, he messed up during her last performance. It just wasn't good enough. Hopefully, he'll return next year. One person I'm not sad about, NOA. It was about time that annoying dude got cut. I still can't believe he made it to this stage.

Groups

"We've seen some amazing talent" Redfoo tells them.

Top 6: 

Mixed Group, Adira-Belle, Straight Up, Girl Group, JTR and Boy Band (minus Zac)

Wow. The judges sent Element home and kept their inferior mess of a boy band? "It didn't work last night but you three were strong, Zac, you were not strong last night. Zac, we've to send you home" Ronan told them. He agrees with the decision since he's not fit for a boy band. I mean, Element was amazing, the judges agreed on that, yet they kept their manufactured Girl Group and Boy Band over them. I just hope Ronan doesn't get the groups or otherwise, we'll be stuck with that ugly boy band for a while.



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