I'm currently looking for some new writers in order to expand the blog given that I can't post the amount of things I'd like to. So if you are interested in writing about anything related to music (news, TV shows, album reviews, introducing artists) just drop me an email to musicisthedoor@gmail.com and we can discuss some of your ideas.
X Factor UK 2012: Top 7 Perform: Best Of British
11 November, 2012 11:11 PM
Published by Kevin Mc Stravock
The public suck, I have come to that conclusion after another awful elimination when talented Kye Sones was eliminated in favour of Rylan Clark, who I am warming to but was all the same considerably weaker than Kye. What annoys me is that Christopher and District 3 are sailing through despite weak performances every week and the likes of Kye and Jade Ellis who were great singers and performers have been eliminated. Tonight, the remaining seven contestants will sing Best Of British. It's Time To Face The Music!
Recap and videos after the JUMP ...
Christopher Maloney
'I'm Still Standing' (Elton John) - 4/10 - This is very blergh as usual from Christopher, I'm aware that that isn't even a word but right now, Christopher is beyond the human language. It's not even that he's a bad singer, he's just like the musical equivalent of water, perfectly fine but not different or exciting or unique. He has nothing relevant about him as a singer and why Gary continues to give him rubbish songs from decades ago to sing is beyond me by now, he's just dull as hell really, there's no way he should be here at this point in the competition in favour of some of the much better acts who have gone like Carolynne. This was an okay performance though, better than most of his previous performances overall.
Jahmene Douglas
'Angels' (Robbie Williams) - 7/10 - Could Nicole have chosen a duller song for him to sing? The Robbie Williams classic might be one of his better tracks but after five weeks of relatively dull song choices, another ballad really isn't filling me with confidence. The annoying thing is that I know if Ella or James was singing the same material, week in week out, they would be brought up on it but because Jahmene is the soul ballad singer, he's not questioned about it. His voice is the most restrained it has been so far to be honest, for once it doesn't feel like he overdoes it so much but there was nothing interesting or different about his performance, even the vocals felt like he had listened to the Beverley Knight cover and just went from there. Jahmene is a good singer but I don't honestly see him selling out concerts if he just stands there singing ballads for an hour and a half or two hours, he needs to change it up a bit and frankly, Week 7 is a bit late to start and show versatility, nevertheless he'll be safe.
District3
'Tears In Heaven' (Eric Clapton) - 6/10 - Finally the boys are going to be stripped back and given a more harmony influenced performance. They have been singing songs that are way too fast for them and the result has been a series of terrible vocal performances but finally they are getting the chance to show if they really can sing. Well they can certainly sing, their harmonies aren't bad at all and individually they are okay, still nowhere near the standard of Union J in my humble opinion but Louis has went too far the other side to be honest. Giving them a song about the topic this track is about, namely about the loss of his four-year-old son in 1991 was wholly inappropriate especially as they sang it with no meaning. Their blank expressions and lack of emotion just did the song no justice, vocally it was fine but Louis really has a lot to answer for in giving them that song, it's one of those tracks that shouldn't be touched. Nicole cries and says that the song has a deep personal meaning and she loved how they performed it, I felt zero emotion from them singing it, I agree with Gary, vocally good but they're a bit old fashioned and I honestly don't think they will be able to meet the standards of Union J.
Ella Henderson
'Written In The Stars' (Tinie Tempah) - 9.5/10 - I really wasn't expecting to enjoy this performance, the song choice just seemed utterly bizarre, I wouldn't consider Tinie Tempah established long enough to be considered Best Of British and the song choice just shouldn't work for Ella but she sang it really well. I love her tone and I loved how she arranged the song, it was really different to the original and vocally she was brilliant on it. Ella hasn't been brilliant in the lives and until now though she was always vocally good bar one week, she hasn't been able to match the standard of her pre-live performances. Tonight was a different story, this is the best she has sang in the lives, a really good performance from Ella. Also, Nicole can't really talk about ad-libs when Jahmene sings all the vocal tricks he can during his performances, in fact this was the first week where I thought Ella kept her ad-libbing to a minimum.
Rylan Clark
'Spice Girls Mash-Up' (The Spice Girls) - 5.5/10 - Rylan says that he was determined to do a Spice Girls mash-up this week because they are his favourite band. He has been into their music since he was a youngster and used to always fight with his friends in the playground to be Ginger Spice. And in a completely natural and not for the cameras moment, none other than Geri Haliwell pays him a visit where she tells him that she is loving his performances and wants him to keep doing what he's doing. He fanboys over her and tells her that he dressed up in her Union Jack dress when watching The Spice Girls at the Olympics Closing Ceremony. He definitely brings the big guns out this week in terms of the performance, there is no denying that it was entertaining but once again, his vocals were below par and although I could make allowances down to the fact that it was an energetic performance, he hasn't exactly proven his vocal prowess at other points in the competition so it's just a case of not having the goods rather than not producing them. Rylan is probably better than Christopher or District 3 overall but I think he may go tonight.
Union J
'Fix You' (Coldplay) - 9/10 - Union J are dedicating this week's performance to the armed forces especially as George has a brother serving currently and some of the others have had relatives serving. Although I feel like they need to do something edgy or upbeat as their performances always seem to be ballads, this is the best they have sounded in the lives. I don't know what it was but there was something special about that performance, maybe it was the emotion that made it sound so polished but I really enjoyed it and I think that they deserve to go much farther than their boyband rivals. I expect that one band will go tonight as there is only so far both can go without stealing each other's votes considering that they're aimed at exactly the same market. Union J are probably less unique than District 3 but they were better tonight and have been better nearly every week so it's another win for these four tonight, in my humble opinion.
James Arthur
'Hometown Glory' (Adele) - 9/10 - This is my favourite Adele song, I love the feel of it and there is so much emotion in it and I couldn't think of anyone better to cover it than James. He says he is taking a bit of a risk this week by adding a bit of a dubstep element to it, hopefully there isn't too much dubstep or it could sound horribly out of place on a talent show. Thankfully, he manages to arrange it perfectly, his acoustic accompanied vocals are sublime and the dubstep mix really adds something special to it, it's not the best he has sung but I really enjoyed it. James doesn't need to be given a particular route or direction because he can take basically any song and add his own spin to it, right now, there is no denying that he is the most marketable of the final seven really, he is completely different to what is out there at the moment and I would buy his album tomorrow.
Ranking
1. Ella Henderson
2. James Arthur
3. Union J
4. Jahmene Douglas
5. District 3
6. Rylan Clark
7. Christoper Maloney
Bottom Two Prediction:
Union J
District 3
Eliminated:
District 3
Results
Bottom Two:
Union J
District 3
Not a surprising bottom three, as I said earlier, there is only so long that two boybands can go in the competition without splitting the votes, they're trying to appeal to similar demographics without much avail. I think Union J are better singers but District 3 might work better under pressure as Union J fell apart the last time they appeared in the sing-off. However, let's see what happens in the sing-off!
District 3 - 'Just The Way You Are' (Bruno Mars) - Hmm, this is pretty average, it's not as car crash as their bad weeks have been in the live shows but there wasn't a lot of oomph to it. It lacked energy, their harmonies were okay but at times felt a bit flat but they did okay, I suppose. I still don't think they have any star quality, neither them nor Union J have stood out in the competition compared to some of the other contestants. I don't know if this will be enough for them to make it through to be perfectly honest, it was just okay but Union J might not be much better.
Union J - 'Set Fire To The Rain' (Adele) - This is what they needed to be singing two weeks ago in the sing-off, this is so much better than their last sing-off performance, they have energy, tight harmonies, Jaymi is leading them superbly, this is a really good sing-off performance. There's no doubt that they deserve to stay in the competition after that so I seriously hope that the judges save them, they have been better than District 3 in the competition, they should be saved.
Louis is asked first for the drama probably and does a sulky face before saying he won't be sending anyone home. Dermot reveals that the vote will then be based on the other three's decisions. Gary is first and he says that he is saving the act who he believes have an edge and have a better chance of progressing in the competition, he therefore saves Union J . Nicole says that she loves District 3 and thinks they really improved last night but the act who she thinks have came further in the competition and she thinks will be better in the long run are Union J. So District 3 are heading home! Tulisa says she would have saved District 3. No surprises tonight, no big loss.
Elimination:
District3
Share this : | Email This BlogThis! Share to X Share to Facebook |
This entry was posted on 11:11 PM, and is filed under
Christopher Maloney,
District3,
Ella Henderson,
Jahmene Douglas,
James Arthur,
Rylan Clark,
TV,
Union J,
X Factor UK,
XF Series
. Follow any responses to this post through RSS. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
November 12, 2012 at 7:42 AM
Well, in the end, I think neither boybands can win this show.. (even they being better than OD). While I think District 3 shines the most once they are on they best and have more charisma, they are really inconsistent, only having two great performances during the lives agains all meh/bad performances; Union J in other hand, seems more ready, they are consistent, but they lack charisma and uniqueness. At the end of the day, the judges THIS WEEK made the right decision taking in count the sing off. Union J are more consistent, so they can last longer.
And YES, totallý agree about the judges keep giving free pass for Jahmene do the same old thing every single week and pretend that he will sell alot, while Ella and James needs to change it up and be original pretty much every single week to not be called at it. Even Marcus Collins was more versatily/relevant than Jahmene! Yes, he will make it until the end, but on the real life, what they will do to promote him? Play a video with his backstorie eveytime he performes?
And Christopher is the Janet Devlin of this year. Receiving he liverpool blind support. Hope he have the same fate as her, otherwise this will be the end of the show.
November 12, 2012 at 12:01 PM
I feel that the judges are idiots i dont think they relise with district3 they are all great singers and all have good harmoneys unlike unionJ only 1 has a great voice which is Jaymi and the other 3 are just very average and dont stand a chance in the music industry unlike district3 do and i feel that they where robbed
November 17, 2012 at 2:24 PM
Union J can all sing and although Jaymi is the best, they're still all good singers. District 3 have been way too inconsistent during the lives, their live vocals aren't anywhere near the standard they'd be expected to be at and even when they had a ballad, I wasn't really feeling it, they felt a bit blank and robotic on a really touching song.
I don't see the Janet and Christopher comparisons, Janet was marketable and just sort of struggled to deal with the pressure of the show, Christopher is vocally okay but has zero marketability