One problem I have with the X Factor US is the mentor's song choices. Seriously. Most were dated and probably more than half were already done on American Idol too - at least, the latter was a much better show in terms of talent and drama. Oh, and don't get me started with The Voice, who had a much better song selection and The Sing-Off with THE best set of judges. Clearly, this show is on the losing end.
Plus, it's quite annoying to see the judges constantly giving props to each other for the song selection and for working with the contestants. Umm, why not praise the efforts of the contestants themselves? Ugh. I'm also not liking the contrived animosity between the judges. Simon's douche vibe made me miss Steven Tyler's incoherent ramblings. Nicole's cluelessness made me appreciate Jennifer Lopez' "nothing to judge there" antics. Haha. That's another show, but whatever.
Here are my rankings for this week!
DISCLAIMER: I am no expert, but this is my opinion - to each his own - and yours will be in the comments below! Haha.
Yes, this was a fun little number from the kids, but that's just about it for me. I didn't feel like they made an effort to do something with their voices as a GROUP. No harmonies - even an attempt - whatsoever. I do think that some are pretty strong vocalists, but being that many may prevent them to be artistically unique. Decent, but unremarkable. 5.5/10
Last week, Chris totally sucked! But while this performance was better vocally, that's not saying much. I still had issues with his breath control and his pitch was terribly inconsistent. Not sure why L.A. Reid keeps on giving him melodic songs when he's not exactly a good singer. That being said, I think he's awfully charismatic and I could really see a great commercial potential in him. I'm beginning to think that his impressive Young Homie audition was a fluke though. Haha. 6/10
What I liked about this group - contrary to inTENsity - was the fact that they, at the very least, tried to sound like an actual group act. Sure, the harmonies weren't always spot on and there were things that they need to improve on, but there was something incredibly engaging with this performance.. and no, I'm not talking about their ridiculous dresses. Haha. 6/10
To be fair, her lower register was absolutely beautiful, but when she decided to scream at us for no apparent reason, she just ruined the whole performance and everything became annoying. She completely lost the message of the song with those indulgent runs and whatnot. I admit, Stacy really could be great if only she had any idea when to pull it back. Such a shame. 6.5/10
Leroy, to me, is probably one of the best singers in the competition, but Nicole's song choice was annoyingly underwhelming! Seriously? Lonestar? He could really shine on soul or blues - not with this crappy ballad! Sigh. The performance then turned out to be boring and it just made him less commercial. Oh, and Simon, so you think Chris was great and Leroy was less than good? Really? 6.5/10
I honestly don't see where this group would fit in as far as the current musical climate goes, but I must say that this performance was pretty good. The beginning was HORRIBLE - I'm not kidding! The lead singer didn't hit a single note in tune - but once the beat kicked in in, they were able to recover fast. The staging was awesome, which worked with their flashy performance and the lead singer was actually pretty good. If not for the awfully pitchy start, this would've been one of the better performances. 7/10
Why didn't Nicole give this song to Leroy instead of Josh? I mean, I wanted a delicate interpretation of this song - something Leroy's good at - but what I got was something less subtle and more of a bombast from Josh. Yes, he sounded solid if a bit shaky in parts especially in the beginning, but it felt emotionless. I don't know. 7/10
Not a fan of the song choice as I felt like it was dated in comparison to what I expected, but her fantastic stage presence sold the overall performance to me. Her vocals were pretty solid and she was freakin' adorable on that stage. I didn't expect to like Rachel - not a fan of her audition - but I'm actually rooting for her now. Who knew? 7.5/10
Yet again, Astro impressed me this week. I'm still not a fan of this kid, but he's such a star. The rapping was stellar, his diction was great and when it comes to performing, he puts everyone else to shame. But I have to wonder though, why was he allowed to do his own original song? And can he offer anything else other than rap? Oh well. 8/10
Her awkwardness on stage and lack of rhythm reminded me so much of Brooke White, which was awesome! Haha. While I didn't think the song choice worked incredibly well compared to her other performances, she proved that she's not a one trick pony. Her phrasing was still impeccable, her voice was solid and I finally got to hear some range in her vocals. She seemed out of breath in spots, but that's just me nitpicking. 8/10
Wow. This was pretty spectacular! I thought his vocals were terrific, his stage presence was outstanding and the dancing was actually great. The performance looked effortless. He actually reminds me of Chris Brown in his peak years. Given the right material, he could seriously be a strong contender and give maybe Drew and Melanie a run for their money. 8.5/10
Please check your facts, Simon! Desperado got cleared before when Camile Velasco performed this in Season 3 of American Idol. Haha. Of course, Melanie's version was far more superior than Camile's. It wasn't the most exciting song choice as it's just another watered down power ballad, but her voice soared in this performance. Her tone was great, the delivery was shockingly powerful, her vocals were flawless especially during the a capella part and she looked very confident. Now, all I want is to see her tackle an uptempo song next week. 9/10
BOTTOM TWO PREDICTION
Lakoda Rayne and Leroy Bell
Lakoda Rayne just because girl groups die on this show very fast and Leroy Bell for the poor song choice and a middle of the pack slot.
8 comments:
melanie's was overdone..she is overrated
rachel crow begins to bore me
and astro???? don't get me started...
I loathe Simon's song choice for Drew!!!
And for the first time, i liked Stacy's perf. I think it was her best so far.
hmmmm... di ko nakita whole performance kagabi... sayang papanoorin ko nalang sa replay...
drew's performance was pretty good....until she stood up. then it got awkward FAST. still love her voice and tone and phrasing though. she needs to just sing while sitting down and staring emotionally into the camera. no awkward semi-dancing please!
Bottom two SHOULD have been Chris Rene and Astro. Drew was awesome, and I personally thought Lakoda Rayne sounded amazing. And, what about their dresses? Simon says they're silly, so you do too? Is that how it works? I thought they all looked and sounded fabulous.
As for Marcus, he's not bad, but I definitely wouldn't have rated him as high as you did.
But, seeing how you've rated past contestants on others shows, I'm not surprised that we disagree so much on a few of X Factor's performers.
S: the thing with just sitting down for the next 10 weeks is the fact that it will all get tiring/boring. she needs to mix things up every week to not be labeled as one note. and while I agree that she was awkward on stage, it didn't bother me one bit. personally, i find her awkwardness kind of endearing. besides, she's just 14.
Anonymous: About Lakoda Rayne's dresses - Yes, I found it ridiculous. No, I didn't say that just because Simon mentioned it. If that's how things work in my reviews, then I would simply just agree with his criticism on Leroy Bell - but I didn't. I have my own opinion, you know.
And maybe we just have different opinions on certain contestants and it's good because that makes this world a lot more interesting than usual. Thank you very much.
I agree, people just have different opinions on different people and it bugs me when other people say how dumb others are because of their thoughts.
Personally I agreed with Simon about who should have gone home in regards to who was in the bottom. (No I am not a tween either). I thought that Simon and Paula had the strongest acts and found it strange that two of her acts were in the bottom.
And I actually think that the top 12 is pretty strong all in all. So far I find it to be just as good as American Idol.
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