And then, here we are! The seventh season of X Factor Australia. Quite frankly, I had high hopes with this group. I've been following almost everyone's journey since their auditions and I thought that this group had potential to be great. I admit, this episode was a bit of a letdown, but I'm hoping for the best for the rest of the season.
On with the show!
Spectrum (Say My Name)
[OVERS]
Maybe she can't hear herself? I don't know. This was pretty bad. The verses sounded muddled, her lower range was shot, and when she tried to hit those higher notes, things just went awful. Natalie has a fantastic tone and there were glimpses here and there, but I thought she just overcompensated with too much vocal gymnastics that she lost her focus in the performance. 3
King
[GROUPS]
Wow. That beginning was terrible! Look, I've always admired In Stereo's ability to be on key when they harmonize, but their voices here sounded strangely off key throughout the song. Not sure if it was the sound mix or they just can't hear themselves, but it didn't sound good. They had some redeeming moments, but not enough to salvage the whole performance. I don't see them going anywhere though. 4
Is This You Or Is You Ain't My Baby
[GIRS]
The good thing about Mahalia is that she has a recognizable musical identity that's all her. However, she needs to work on her vocals. I found her diction to be all over the place, her pitch was a little under, and the falsetto was really weak. Not her strongest. 4.5
Satisfaction
[BOYS]
What was up with his wardrobe? Other than the fact that that he looked like a glorified pimp, this was a rather generic performance. Sure, his vocals were powerful and delivered with a good amount of passion despite his weak breath control, but there's nothing incredibly thrilling about this and it was a bit too much that it didn't seem authentic. 5
Hold My Hand
[GIRLS]
On paper, this should've worked, but the song was strangely big for her. Her voice got overpowered by the band as soon as the chorus hit and her tone got a little too thin for my taste. No, she didn't sound like she struggled, but she sure sounded like her vocals were almost at the edge of her range. 5
Wildest Dreams
[GIRLS]
Ehh. There was nothing wrong with Michaela's performance vocally, I thought she sounded nice for the most part, but her rendition came off as a competent karaoke version of this Taylor Swift hit. I didn't hate it, but it just left me cold. 6
Somebody To Love
[OVERS]
Good, but I thought I heard a better version of the song. She sounded really good though with a pretty effective reverb on her voice, which made the performance a little more riveting than I expected. 6.5
Long Train Running
[BOYS]
While the song choice was a total head scratcher - Mr. Isaac, really? - Jimmy made it somehow work backed by his consistent vocals. The grit in his voice and his flasetto, which were used sparingly, gave dimension to the performance. Not my favorite, but good enough. 6.5
This Love
[OVERS]
Vocally, this was pretty strong with a couple of interesting melodic liberties here and there. He was confident, he looked comfortable on stage, and there's just a sense of calm in his performance. There was something strangely mediocre about it though and that may be a problem. 7
Boyfriend
[BOYS]
Not a fan of the arrangement and the groove he infused in the chorus. I don't know. It sounded a little languid for my taste. He did sound awesome though. His transitions were clean, his runs were spot on - although he did a bit too much - and there's a quiet confidence to his delivery that's quite compelling. 7
Heart of Glass
[GROUPS]
Individually, there's nothing incredibly remarkable with their voices, but together, there's something inherently appealing. Their harmonies were pretty spot on, the verses were clean, and that last part sounded divine. Can they be the next Alex & Sierra? Let's see. 7.5
Can't Feel My Face
[GROUPS]
For a first live show performance, this was actually really good. Yes, the harmonies weren't exactly as tight as I would like, but the individual vocals - especially at the beginning - were solid. The staging was pretty neat, the choreography was a nice little touch, and it seemed like they were having fun on that stage. Very nice. 7.5
BOTTOM 2 PREDICTION
Georgia Denton
Michaela Baranov
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