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X Factor UK 2014: The Arena Auditions - Episode 3
22 September, 2014 3:08 PM
Published by Kevin Mc Stravock
After one weekend of arena auditions, we're onto the final two arena auditions. There's still loads of talent that we haven't seen so maybe tonight will unveil lots of new faces set to go far in the competition.
Posh model Chloe Jasmine is up first tonight, her slightly quirky mannerisms and bluesy throwback sound, complete with her Marilyn Monroe-esque look impressed the entire panel. She's shown giving her parents a screening of her audition, they look utterly uninterested which makes for quite funny viewing. She's hoping to win over the audience this time as well as the judges and is singing 'Why Don't You Do Right' by Etta James. Her voice is great, she has a very authentic voice as the judges pointed out in the last round. I really love the whole vibe with Chloe though I suspect she could be turned into a hate figure, a little like Katie Waissel in the later rounds. She's through to bootcamp.
One returnee who we haven't seen yet is Fleur East. Her room audition wasn't shown so we're being introduced to her at this stage of the competition. Fleur may not look that familiar to most people as it was actually nine years ago that she competed in The X Factor, reaching the live shows as part of girlband Addictiv Ladies who were eliminated in the first week. She has grown a lot since then and hopes to be able to show that is capable of standing on her own two feet. She sings 'Fine China' by Chris Brown which wows the judges, in particular Simon who actually said 'No' to her in the first audition. He says that she's like a different person in the arenas. She's a really strong performer, one of the most memorable performers we've seen so far and I think she could be quite an interesting urban artist, vocally she's not perfect, there are some bum notes but I think with a bit of work, Fleur could be very good. She manages to turn Simon around and gets four yeses.
The next act, Raign divided the panel in the first audition, originally getting two no's until she turned Simon around, but not Cheryl who criticized her for not being likeable at all. It looks like she isn't showing any signs of mellowing as she gives the audience a slightly lengthy retelling of her story so far, her desperation coming across quite clearly in how she talks. Cheryl is already making eyeballs at the other judges, determined that she's correct to dislike the contestant. As she launches into her own song 'Don't Let Me Go', she asks for a microphone stand. It's clear the audience aren't quite sure what to make of her but she soon gets them onside with a brilliant performance, again, like Fleur, vocally she isn't pitch perfect but this song is brilliant. I love her voice, she has hints of Sia and definite hints of Florence Welch about her. The judges tell her that she needs to watch how she comes across as she's not likeable but everyone, bar Cheryl give her a 'yes'. It seems that she's not going to convince Cheryl that she deserves to go through, let's hope a certain Girls Aloud member doesn't have the Overs then.
Emily Middlemass impressed in the first auditions with her cover of 'Want U Back' by Cher Lloyd. How will she fare as takes to the arenas with a rendition of 'Yellow' by Coldplay? Her voice is quite thin, like previous artists such as Diana and Janet but I'm not sure that she has the same stage presence as they did. I like her but I feel that the arrangement of the song doesn't really lend itself brilliantly to her voice, she impresses the audience and the judges alike however and gets four yeses.
Another familiar face now, however Stephanie Nala isn't a returning auditionee, she has actually hopped over from another ITV talent show. Steph was a member of 'The Luminites', a four piece who made it all the way to the final of Britain's Got Talent in 2013. The band got signed but released a single which didn't do particularly well and disbanded at the end of last year. Steph is now attempting to make it as a solo artist, she sings 'Let Me Be Your Fantasy' by Baby D. I really like her, she seems like a nice girl and she has a great voice actually, it's interesting, it's not quite full soul or R & B but it has an R & B feel to it, mixed with a little bit of a reggae twist. I think she could be an interesting contestant. Steph gets a strong crowd reaction and four yeses from the judges.
The last time we saw Kerrianne Covell, Simon left her manager at work a voicemail telling them not to fire her. This came after she revealed that she was being marked down as AWOL because work wouldn't let her take the day off to audition for the show. She wowed them in the rooms with Adele's 'One And Only' and she hopes to do it again, singing 'I Know You Won't by Carrie Underwood. Simon reminds her that he helped discover Carrie Underwood (on American Idol) so as to ease her nerves and not put any pressure on her. Well, she has certainly rose to the challenge of topping her first audition, this vocal is even better than the room audition. She has a cracking voice and sings the song with heart, hitting all the big notes, and Carrie Underwood has a really strong voice. The audience are amazed by her voice, you can tell that the judges were also blown away. Simon tells her that her first audition was great but this was even better. Kerrianne is taken aback by the superb response she receives but with four yeses from the judges, she's through to bootcamp.
Major, made up of friends Elsa and Irene fail to impress the panel of judges with a bizarre cover of 'I Love It' by Icona Pop although the best part of the entire audition is probably Louis asking them 'You're two girls, yeah?' Tactile as ever Mr. Walsh, tactile as ever.
Michelle Lawson was seen briefly in the room auditions but she didn't impress everyone with Simon Cowell describing her as a wedding singer. She hopes to be able to do a Fleur and change the music mogul's mind about her with a cover of 'And I Am Telling You' by Jennifer Hudson. From the first note, it's quite obvious what she's going to be told, it's a good performance but she gives it way too much, like in the room audition, she belts when she could really be holding it back. The judges seem to enjoy it at the beginning but as it goes on, their faces grow more and more concerned looking. Simon stops the song and tells her that she has just proven him right, saying that the performance was shouty. Louis, Cheryl and Mel B echo his comments, adding that she has a nice voice but she needs to know when to hold back. She tries to argue her case but the judges aren't impressed and give her four no's. An upset Michelle storms off stage, gutted that she has been sent home. Again, it makes for uncomfortable viewing but oh well.
As if the editors have a ridiculous sense of humour, Scarlett Quinn is on next. She was originally one half of 'Kitten And The Hip', a duo who auditioned for the judges with their own song but the panel of judges told them that Scarlett would be better off on her own so she dumped her husband Ashley (from the group, they haven't split up) and is going solo. She sings 'Ain't No Other Man' by Christina Aguilera to her husband, it's alright, I find it a little bit shouty just like the previous audition but the judges feel that she has a lot of potential. I think she has star quality for certain but I just don't think she has really shown us anything we haven't already seen before. Despite not giving an amazing performance, she gets through to bootcamp.
The last auditionee of the day is van driver Ben Haenow who impressed the judges in the room auditions where he sang 'Ain't No Sunshine' by Bill Withers. He says that he doesn't mind his job but he has always wanted to get into music and praises his long term girlfriend who has been behind him every step of the way when he has been trying to pursue a career in music. He's singing The Rolling Stones' 'Wild Horses'. I love this song, not entirely sure about his performance of it however. I like his raspy tone but my big problem with him is something similar to the last two auditions, I think he's too shouty. Songs like these, are far better when there's more light and shade and although it starts off very well, as things go on, I find him way too shouty. He loses the melody and although I find him a lot more memorable than the first audition, I'm still not completely bowled over. I just think he needs to work on toning it down a little. Good audition however and he manages to get a superb response from the judges, gathering four yeses.
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