X Factor UK 2012: Top 11 Perform: Club Classics
22 October, 2012 8:59 PM
Well the show really is digging its' own grave at the moment isn't it? After a promising start, they ditched Carolynne and then last week, Melanie, two amazing acts gone in two weeks over two ridiculous acts, Rylan and District 3. It doesn't help that Louis and now Tulisa seem to think the 'sing-off' doesn't really hinge on the singing part. Melanie literally blew District 3 off the stage and then some more in her sing for survival yet apparently we'd much rather see dull, old-fashioned, generic boybands than bluesy, authentic rock and soul singers like Melanie who was also very likable and down to earth. Anyway, we also have to lay some of the blame to the teenagers who are using the new, ridiculous voting system to get their votes in for all the 'well fit' teenage singers. Obviously and sadly, ears don't develop fully in puberty until they age of about 16 or 17. Anyway, moving on, we still have a few stand-outs like Jade and James left, if either leave tonight, I'm going to throw something at my TV hoping it will go through the screen and knock one of the producers out. With club classics being tonight's theme, how relevant will the songs be? Not very relevant is the answer. Expect to hear Lucy singing original song 'Club Song', Jahmene belting out 'I Will Always Love You' and District 3 tackling club classic 'One Thing'. Oops, think I let the cat out of the bag ... It's Time To Face The Music!
Recap and videos after the JUMP ...
'Waiting On a Star To Fall' (Boy Meets Girl) - 2.5/10 - Christopher's big concern for this week is the dancing element of his performance, as it is Club Classics week, mentor Gary has told him he wants to see him busting a move so he's hard at work with chochoreographer Brian Friedman to perfect his dance moves and pull off the best performance possible. So with all that in mind, he is hoping to pull off a really good performance. On the plus side, he is at least pulling off a half decent stage performance this week, he may be dressed in an unusual silver suit with a revolving discoball being shown on the screen behind him but there's no peculiar people having a drink to try and block out the sound of his singing like in last week's performance. This week, his voice is every bit as average but the song isn't just as demanding as either Alone or Hero, I do personally agree that he has yet to do anything contemporary as pointed out by Tulisa. If Christopher wants to get everyone on his side then he needs to step out, take a risk and not keep singing songs that are stuck in the 80's, right now he's just a half-hearted karaoke belter, there's nothing stand-out about him.
'Gypsy Woman/Pass Out' (Crystal Waters/Tinie Tempah) - 7.5/10 - After last week's almost carcrash of a performance where Louis decided to pull out all the stops and give MK1 that ultra-cool, totally street song 'I Want You Back', Charlie and Sim are keen to take control this week and choose their own track. They're trying to convince Louis to allow them to do a mash-up and after a bit of twisting his arm, he agrees to let them mash two songs up for their performance. It seems to have worked as I love this first performance, I haven't heard Gypsy Woman in a while but Charlie's great voice and Sim's unique rap which he devises himself are really putting a modern stamp on the 90's dancefloor classic, I particularly enjoy Charlie's take on the 'La De Dee La De Da' part of the song. However, it soon turns into a song of two halves as they launch into the more modern song, Pass Out which doesn't impress me very much, Sim just sounds like a Tinie Tempah impressionist on this song and although Charlie's voice is good, it feels a little bit lost on the song choice. The judges agree with Tulisa and Gary both voicing concerns that they mashed it up unnecessarily when the first performance on its' own would have sufficed. I agree, I do think MK1 might actually have a bit of trouble tonight if the comments are to go by but I hope not as they're the more interesting performers.
'I Say A Little Prayer' (Aretha Franklin) - 6.5/10 - Jahmene has had a bit of a rough week after it came out in the tabloids that his father was jailed for beating his mother up and he opens up a little bit to Nicole revealing that his nervous giggle is a way of hiding the pain he retains from his childhood. He says that as a young boy, music was his sanctuary and he just wants to be able to give strength to other people who are going through a tough time or have went through a tough time in their past. As noble as all of this is, I really don't like it when people milk sob stories and although I don't think Jahmene is voluntarily milking it, I do think that the producers are using it to the maximum. Anyway, onto his performance, a very good song choice for him although I must say that I feel like it was a little bit predictable, the whole soul vibe has been done to death between the likes of last year's Marcus Collins and other contestants from the past like Andy Abraham however he did a good job with the vocals, a little bit too much falsetto but still a good performance. I just wish that he would try to control his voice a bit more, there is no denying that he has power and projection but that doesn't mean he has to throw all the vocal tricks he knows into every song he sings, last week was much better but it was a good performance nonetheless.
'Free' (Ultra Nate) - 9/10 - Jade has had a really difficult week after losing her voice at the beginning of the week and after the vocal coach (is Yvie Burnett not on the show anymore) decides that she needs to go and see a doctor, a quick endoscope reveals that her vocal chords are swollen and she needs to go on 48 hour voice rest. Not being able to practice her song, Tulisa and Brian are concerned that Jade won't be able to pull it off because she's not going to have the same amount of practice as everyone else but Jade is determined to get her song absolutely perfect. I love this performance, she really has an incredible tone, it's bloody marvellous to hear and though I was hoping to do hear her tackling a bit of TLC this week, I also love her take on this song, I thought the staging was perfect also, really great performance overall. On a side note, is Louis having a laugh? He says she didn't do the song justice and refuses to accept Tulisa's cries of 'She's had a really bad week' retorting with 'So have some of the others'. Yes Louis but none of the others lost their voice and weren't able to practice their song were they? I'll be seriously mad if Jade is in the Bottom Two tomorrow night, if she goes then that's the final nail in the coffin for me and this series of the show.
'Sexy And I Know It' (LMFAO) - 10/10 - Performing his song forI've Had A Hard Week Club Classics Week is James now who has surprisingly 'had a terrible week'. Wow, I haven't heard that phrase before to be honest. On topic, he did actually have a tough week, he suffered a panic attack after Saturday's show and Nicole voices her concerns that he is putting everything into his performances at the expense of his health. However, he's hoping to relax a bit more this week and reveals that this week, he won't be singing about pain but is going to be tackling a much funner song. Nicole says that she wants him to let loose so she fills his performance with lots of hot female dancers, can't say I don't envy him. Cue various jokes about raising his blood pressure, probably from Louis or Dermot. Anyway, wow, he actually makes me like one of the most abominable songs ever to be written. As Gary says, it probably took them about five minutes to come up with the lyrics to the song but James really puts his own spin on the song, I love his tone and the way he tackles the song and I'm glad that James performed that as him and Jade have restored my faith in this competition.
'When Love Takes Over' (David Guetta ft. Kelly Rowland) - 7/10 - Union J are vocally the better boyband if slightly duller to be honest. I think they could do far better if Louis didn't insist on styling them like One Direction especially as they're vocally stronger than the aforementioned boyband. This week they're singing a really great track although one that isn't really a club classic as it's only a few years old but a few of the others were the same so no point in complaining. They are vocally all very good, Jaymi is definitely the strongest singer but each and every one of them has at the very least, a good voice, usually the same cannot be said for boybands so that's a positive. However, as Nicole pointed out, they didn't sing the song with energy, even when the backing track sped up, they still sang it like they were singing a slow song and there was no energy, it sort of fell flat a bit and came across like a two-dimensional performance of the song. In addition, I do wish they had harmonized more as they are good at their harmonies so there should have been more in that line of things. Overall though, it was a really good performance.
'On The Floor/Don't Stop The Music/I See You Baby (Shakin That Ass)' (Jennifer Lopez/Rihanna/Groove Armada) - 1.5/10 - Rylan's tough week has seen him remind himself of his childhood days when he was bullied and was also ginger. He then had to go through the torturous process of having his beard trimmed, or rather, totally shaved off. What in the world if he wearing however? He looks a bit like Astroboy from the retro cartoon of the same name and it's a completely bizarre way to dress anybody. Anyway, he may go on about being a dance artist but the fact is that this week should be his week and packing about three dance tracks into one performance is overload, as always his vocals are terrible and for once, he actually didn't really stand out for my liking. I have slated him in the past and stand by my comments that he shouldn't be in the show but the one thing I can't deny is that I remembered both his past live show performances. Tonight is a different scenario entirely, I actually thought it was a really bland, forgettable performance, big disco beats does not always equal entertainment and I have a feeling Rylan will be in trouble tomorrow night.
'Save The World' (Swedish House Mafia) - 8/10 - Gary gives Kye a hard time in the VT, playing back last week's performance which got a lot of criticism and although I enjoyed last week, I can see where Gary is coming from when he points out the flat notes in the performance. Respect to Gary for having the balls to actually criticize his own act and Kye takes it on board in order to make this week's performance the best it possibly can be. I really hope it works out because it's evident that he has put a lot of effort into this week's song. I quite like the heap of industrial waste on the stage although it's maybe a little bit too 'Saviour Of The World', quite an unusual set-up with a piano on top for a theme like Club Classics but I'm looking forward to seeing Kye tackle this song as he sang part of it in his audition along with R.I.P. by Rita Ora. This is Kye back to his best in my opinion, he really has a great tone and although I'm a bit disappointed that he did a performance that he has already partially done before, he definitely did it justice and I 100% expect him to be safe tonight, he's Gary's only real hope of winning now that Melanie and Carolynne are both gone and Gary isn't going to want to lose him, I hope he stays for a long time to come.
'Beggin'/Turn Up The Music' (Madcon/Chris Brown) - 1/10 - I'm not in the minority I'm sure when I say that I was disappointed that Melanie was eliminated over these three last week due to the fact that their sing-off really wasn't any better than their terrible rendition of 'I Swear'. However, they're determined this week to let loose and not get too concerned with looking like a boyband as they imagine one to be and are just going to have fun. I love their first song choice but sadly, I really do not like their rendition of it, their harmonies are strange and individually, they are shouting the song, I loved the way it was performed on The Voice UK during the battle rounds but they are butchering it to be perfectly and brutally honest. Launching into a Chris Brown song in the middle of that doesn't exactly fill me with inspiration either, the judges seem to lap it up but it just doesn't impress me to be perfectly honest, I was a little bit disappointed that Louis didn't work with them a bit more on their harmonies. I definitely think they're safe as houses tonight but I personally don't think they have proven why they deserve to be in the competition.
'You've Got The Love' (Candy Staton) - 8/10 - This is probably one of the biggest club classics tonight, it's definitely a great pick for Ella's voice and her claims to be able to dance are good because the one thing people have said is that they don't think that she is capable of handling upbeat songs as well as she can do ballads. This is a good performance, not the best and I do think that the dance moves are a little lacklustre but she definitely has proven that she can do upbeat songs as well as she can do ballads. Gary criticizes her dance moves and says she doesn't need to dance but I personally think it added to the performance rather than detracted from it. Overall, it was a really good performance so congratulations to Ella on doing it so well.
Christopher Maloney
'Waiting On a Star To Fall' (Boy Meets Girl) - 2.5/10 - Christopher's big concern for this week is the dancing element of his performance, as it is Club Classics week, mentor Gary has told him he wants to see him busting a move so he's hard at work with chochoreographer Brian Friedman to perfect his dance moves and pull off the best performance possible. So with all that in mind, he is hoping to pull off a really good performance. On the plus side, he is at least pulling off a half decent stage performance this week, he may be dressed in an unusual silver suit with a revolving discoball being shown on the screen behind him but there's no peculiar people having a drink to try and block out the sound of his singing like in last week's performance. This week, his voice is every bit as average but the song isn't just as demanding as either Alone or Hero, I do personally agree that he has yet to do anything contemporary as pointed out by Tulisa. If Christopher wants to get everyone on his side then he needs to step out, take a risk and not keep singing songs that are stuck in the 80's, right now he's just a half-hearted karaoke belter, there's nothing stand-out about him.
MK1
'Gypsy Woman/Pass Out' (Crystal Waters/Tinie Tempah) - 7.5/10 - After last week's almost carcrash of a performance where Louis decided to pull out all the stops and give MK1 that ultra-cool, totally street song 'I Want You Back', Charlie and Sim are keen to take control this week and choose their own track. They're trying to convince Louis to allow them to do a mash-up and after a bit of twisting his arm, he agrees to let them mash two songs up for their performance. It seems to have worked as I love this first performance, I haven't heard Gypsy Woman in a while but Charlie's great voice and Sim's unique rap which he devises himself are really putting a modern stamp on the 90's dancefloor classic, I particularly enjoy Charlie's take on the 'La De Dee La De Da' part of the song. However, it soon turns into a song of two halves as they launch into the more modern song, Pass Out which doesn't impress me very much, Sim just sounds like a Tinie Tempah impressionist on this song and although Charlie's voice is good, it feels a little bit lost on the song choice. The judges agree with Tulisa and Gary both voicing concerns that they mashed it up unnecessarily when the first performance on its' own would have sufficed. I agree, I do think MK1 might actually have a bit of trouble tonight if the comments are to go by but I hope not as they're the more interesting performers.
Jahmene Douglas
'I Say A Little Prayer' (Aretha Franklin) - 6.5/10 - Jahmene has had a bit of a rough week after it came out in the tabloids that his father was jailed for beating his mother up and he opens up a little bit to Nicole revealing that his nervous giggle is a way of hiding the pain he retains from his childhood. He says that as a young boy, music was his sanctuary and he just wants to be able to give strength to other people who are going through a tough time or have went through a tough time in their past. As noble as all of this is, I really don't like it when people milk sob stories and although I don't think Jahmene is voluntarily milking it, I do think that the producers are using it to the maximum. Anyway, onto his performance, a very good song choice for him although I must say that I feel like it was a little bit predictable, the whole soul vibe has been done to death between the likes of last year's Marcus Collins and other contestants from the past like Andy Abraham however he did a good job with the vocals, a little bit too much falsetto but still a good performance. I just wish that he would try to control his voice a bit more, there is no denying that he has power and projection but that doesn't mean he has to throw all the vocal tricks he knows into every song he sings, last week was much better but it was a good performance nonetheless.
Jade Ellis
'Free' (Ultra Nate) - 9/10 - Jade has had a really difficult week after losing her voice at the beginning of the week and after the vocal coach (is Yvie Burnett not on the show anymore) decides that she needs to go and see a doctor, a quick endoscope reveals that her vocal chords are swollen and she needs to go on 48 hour voice rest. Not being able to practice her song, Tulisa and Brian are concerned that Jade won't be able to pull it off because she's not going to have the same amount of practice as everyone else but Jade is determined to get her song absolutely perfect. I love this performance, she really has an incredible tone, it's bloody marvellous to hear and though I was hoping to do hear her tackling a bit of TLC this week, I also love her take on this song, I thought the staging was perfect also, really great performance overall. On a side note, is Louis having a laugh? He says she didn't do the song justice and refuses to accept Tulisa's cries of 'She's had a really bad week' retorting with 'So have some of the others'. Yes Louis but none of the others lost their voice and weren't able to practice their song were they? I'll be seriously mad if Jade is in the Bottom Two tomorrow night, if she goes then that's the final nail in the coffin for me and this series of the show.
James Arthur
'Sexy And I Know It' (LMFAO) - 10/10 - Performing his song for
Union J
'When Love Takes Over' (David Guetta ft. Kelly Rowland) - 7/10 - Union J are vocally the better boyband if slightly duller to be honest. I think they could do far better if Louis didn't insist on styling them like One Direction especially as they're vocally stronger than the aforementioned boyband. This week they're singing a really great track although one that isn't really a club classic as it's only a few years old but a few of the others were the same so no point in complaining. They are vocally all very good, Jaymi is definitely the strongest singer but each and every one of them has at the very least, a good voice, usually the same cannot be said for boybands so that's a positive. However, as Nicole pointed out, they didn't sing the song with energy, even when the backing track sped up, they still sang it like they were singing a slow song and there was no energy, it sort of fell flat a bit and came across like a two-dimensional performance of the song. In addition, I do wish they had harmonized more as they are good at their harmonies so there should have been more in that line of things. Overall though, it was a really good performance.
Lucy Spraggan
'Titanium' (David Guetta feat. Sia) - 9/10 - Lucy has attracted a little bit of controversy this week after her and Rylan were kicked out of their hotel for drunken antics. She apologizes in her VT saying that her intention wasn't to upset anyone but she says that it was to be expected after her audition song about Beer Fear. She's singing another Guetta track, even more recent than Union J's song and probably not much of a club classic but a good song choice, I especially love how she sings with such passion and even though she doesn't have the greatest voice in the world, she did a great job at putting her own spin on it with self-penned verses which tell a story. Lucy is improving each week and this was a great performance, she's doing much better in the lives than I was expecting her too and although I would have liked a little bit more energy, it was overall a really good performance, well done to Lucy!
Rylan Clark
'On The Floor/Don't Stop The Music/I See You Baby (Shakin That Ass)' (Jennifer Lopez/Rihanna/Groove Armada) - 1.5/10 - Rylan's tough week has seen him remind himself of his childhood days when he was bullied and was also ginger. He then had to go through the torturous process of having his beard trimmed, or rather, totally shaved off. What in the world if he wearing however? He looks a bit like Astroboy from the retro cartoon of the same name and it's a completely bizarre way to dress anybody. Anyway, he may go on about being a dance artist but the fact is that this week should be his week and packing about three dance tracks into one performance is overload, as always his vocals are terrible and for once, he actually didn't really stand out for my liking. I have slated him in the past and stand by my comments that he shouldn't be in the show but the one thing I can't deny is that I remembered both his past live show performances. Tonight is a different scenario entirely, I actually thought it was a really bland, forgettable performance, big disco beats does not always equal entertainment and I have a feeling Rylan will be in trouble tomorrow night.
Kye Sones
'Save The World' (Swedish House Mafia) - 8/10 - Gary gives Kye a hard time in the VT, playing back last week's performance which got a lot of criticism and although I enjoyed last week, I can see where Gary is coming from when he points out the flat notes in the performance. Respect to Gary for having the balls to actually criticize his own act and Kye takes it on board in order to make this week's performance the best it possibly can be. I really hope it works out because it's evident that he has put a lot of effort into this week's song. I quite like the heap of industrial waste on the stage although it's maybe a little bit too 'Saviour Of The World', quite an unusual set-up with a piano on top for a theme like Club Classics but I'm looking forward to seeing Kye tackle this song as he sang part of it in his audition along with R.I.P. by Rita Ora. This is Kye back to his best in my opinion, he really has a great tone and although I'm a bit disappointed that he did a performance that he has already partially done before, he definitely did it justice and I 100% expect him to be safe tonight, he's Gary's only real hope of winning now that Melanie and Carolynne are both gone and Gary isn't going to want to lose him, I hope he stays for a long time to come.
District3
'Beggin'/Turn Up The Music' (Madcon/Chris Brown) - 1/10 - I'm not in the minority I'm sure when I say that I was disappointed that Melanie was eliminated over these three last week due to the fact that their sing-off really wasn't any better than their terrible rendition of 'I Swear'. However, they're determined this week to let loose and not get too concerned with looking like a boyband as they imagine one to be and are just going to have fun. I love their first song choice but sadly, I really do not like their rendition of it, their harmonies are strange and individually, they are shouting the song, I loved the way it was performed on The Voice UK during the battle rounds but they are butchering it to be perfectly and brutally honest. Launching into a Chris Brown song in the middle of that doesn't exactly fill me with inspiration either, the judges seem to lap it up but it just doesn't impress me to be perfectly honest, I was a little bit disappointed that Louis didn't work with them a bit more on their harmonies. I definitely think they're safe as houses tonight but I personally don't think they have proven why they deserve to be in the competition.
Ella Henderson
'You've Got The Love' (Candy Staton) - 8/10 - This is probably one of the biggest club classics tonight, it's definitely a great pick for Ella's voice and her claims to be able to dance are good because the one thing people have said is that they don't think that she is capable of handling upbeat songs as well as she can do ballads. This is a good performance, not the best and I do think that the dance moves are a little lacklustre but she definitely has proven that she can do upbeat songs as well as she can do ballads. Gary criticizes her dance moves and says she doesn't need to dance but I personally think it added to the performance rather than detracted from it. Overall, it was a really good performance so congratulations to Ella on doing it so well.
Ranking
1. James Arthur
2. Jade Ellis
3. Lucy Spraggan
4. Kye Sones
5. Ella Henderson
6. MK1
7. Union J
8. Jahmene Douglas
9. Christopher Maloney
10. Rylan Clark
11. District 3
Bottom Two Prediction:
MK1
Rylan Clark
Eliminated:
MK1
Results
Bottom Two:
MK1
Kye Sones
MK1 being here was only a matter of time as although I would much rather see them performing than the samey boybands despite them not being at their best in the live shows so far, they have no real fanbase. On the other hand, if Kye was going to land in the bottom two, I thought it would have been last week, I really wasn't expecting to see him there tonight. This is a disappointing bottom two, any two of District 3, Rylan and Christopher would have been more preferrable than this bottom two.
MK1 - 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved' (The Script) - The duo are doing a fantastic job of this song, I must say. They have such a creative style that really lends itself to all the songs they choose because it allows them to put their own unique twists on the songs. Charlie is a fantastic singer and Sim is a very good rapper and together, you can feel the chemistry they share. I'm really sad to see either act go tonight but if Kye can pull it out of the bag, I expect him to stay, a good but not unbeatable performance.
Kye Sones - 'I Can't Make You Love Me' (Bonnie Raitt) - I'm slightly disappointed that he is once again recycling an old performance and has chosen to sing his bootcamp solo as his save-me song but there is no denying that he is smashing this. This was the one performance where I felt he struck the perfect balance between his vocals which were great and his emotion and he's doing it even more justice tonight, I'll be majorly disappointed if Kye goes home because as great as MK1 are, Kye has a bit more to give in the competition.
Louis says that he has to base his decision on the fact that MK1 are his own act so without any hesitation (for once), he swiftly sends Kye home. Gary says pretty much the same thing but says that he feels like both acts really pulled it out of the bag in the sing-off song before concluding that Kye really smashed it and sending home MK1. Nicole says that she absolutely loves MK1, their voices, their style, their energy but although they did a great sing-off song, she says that Kye was incredible so sends MK1 home. Last we go to Tulisa who decides to be the silly judge for the second week in a row and says lots of meaningless drivel about how she connects to MK1 musically because of their style before calling them a mini N-Dubz (give them credit at least) and sending home Kye. So for the third week in a row, we're at deadlock!
Eliminated:
MK1
MK1
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October 22, 2012 at 9:58 PM
Sorry, but you must be deaf or extremely biased to say that Charlie was good on the sing of and District 3 were bad on they performance this week (and I´m not even a fan, last week they did poor and totally deserved to go home,but they totally change it up this week, giving probably on of the top 3 performance of the night -again, I´m not even a fan-).