X Factor Australia 8: Top 8

Last week was pretty tough watching four (4) people leaving the competition - especially with Adam's team being a strong group. This week, the competition continues with Makeover Week and we're now down to eight (8) people.

To be honest, the performances were okay in general. There were a couple of standouts, but for the most part, they were just decent. They need to step it up in the next couple of weeks because things will be brutal.

Oh, and the new host, Jason Dundas, was incredibly annoying and I was glad Iggy called him out on that rivalry thing he's trying to stir up. Good on you, Ms. Azalea.

On with the show!

X Factor UK 13: Top 9

There was A LOT of things to be afraid of in this episode - Honey G is one - but to be honest, I thought we just saw two of the best performances of the season. Not kidding. Something about the horrors of Fright Night made them better than usual. Of course, there's still Honey G, but I honestly don't care at this point.

On with the show!

Movie Review: Doctor Strange

If Marvel has any weakness, it is that they have no freaking clue how to make a bad film - the Man of Steel kind of terrible. I mean, with Doctor Strange, they amazingly extended the streak of successes that stretched all the way back to the original Iron Man. Quite frankly, I was expecting some heavy handed combination of outlandish special effects masking a superficial and convoluted story with two-dimensional characters, but instead, I was treated to an actual well-acted, well-crafted story with actual character development within the framework of a compelling plot. The casting was excellent. All of the actors fit into their roles in ways that transcend the normal Marvel movie. Benedict Cumberbatch, in particular, brought smugness, sincerity, and charisma to the role that I don't think many actor could have pulled off. I thought the action sequences were fine and the visual imagery and effects employed were outstanding. Doctor Strange was, to me, an appealing Marvel movie. It had enough moments of pizzazz to intermittently soar, and while not perfect, this was an excellent introduction to the character. 9

The Voice 11: The Knockouts Part 1

I'm back! The Battle Round is finally done - as you should know by now, I don't review them for the most part - and The Knockout Round is here. To be honest, I'm still not particularly fond of this stage of the competition as I feel like some of the pairings are a little unfair since they usually throw in favorites with some cannon fodders, but I digress.

On with the show!

X Factor Australia 8: Top 12

Can I just say one thing? X Factor Australia 8 > X Factor UK 13.

Not going to lie, there were still a couple of mediocre performances tonight, but for a first live show, there were no complete trainwrecks and some outstanding performances. Something I was unable to find on the other show across the globe.

Two things that I didn't like though was Mel B's choices for her category - maybe the other one was due to the fact that Mel B mentored her when she was part of The Voice Kids in 2014? - and the format of losing one person from each category. After watching the show, Adam can't lose any of his acts because they all delivered some pretty stellar performances. It makes me sad.

On with the show!

X Factor UK 13: Top 10

.. and they're back to being mediocre to awful. Yes, there were a couple of good performances, but even some of the reliable singers sounded weird tonight. I don't know what to think anymore. Imagine if we got Sam Atkinson, Janet Grogan, Caitlyn Vanbeck and Christian Burrows, this season would've been a lot interesting than this. But I digress.

Oh, and it's Diva Week and somehow I question some of the song choices. What's the point of having a theme if some of them will not even follow it. Ugh.

On with the show!

X Factor Australia 8: 3-Chair Challenge #TeamGuy #Overs

No matter how brutal and godawful this Chair Challenge is across all franchise of X Factor, one can't deny the sheer brilliance of it for good TV. I cringed. I laughed. I cheered. Name it.

This was the last category for the 3-Chair Challenge and I have some pretty strong opinion about Guy's decisions and eventual results. I'm hoping Mel B will correct everything and possibly have the strongest category this season.

On with the show!

X Factor Australia 8: 3-Chair Challenge #TeamIggy #Groups

Look, Iggy's set of performers to pick from wasn't as good as #TeamAdam, but I can't deny the fact that she has some killer groups in her category. She has two outstanding girl group, and a couple of great duos.

Oh, and can I say how much I'm enjoying Iggy as a judge? She's straight to the point, she can be funny, and she's sometimes brutal. Love her!

On with the show!

X Factor Australia 8: 3-Chair Challenge #TeamAdam #Unders

Ok. X Factor Australia Season 8 has been incredibly stellar - from the judges to the talent - that I decided to write about it as early as now. You see, I usually wait until the first live shows before I post something about it, but I just can't contain myself.

This season has been outstanding so far. I thought Adam Lambert and Iggy Azalea were fantastic additions to the show, the twist of an underdog judge with Mel B was BRILLIANT, and of course, the talent pool this season has been off the roof - case in point, Adam's Under 22s. I mean, just listen to each one of them and it's almost impossible to just pick three (3) out of these great singers.

On with the show!

DAM NATION: October 2016 Playlist

Timelines are improving! Hah. Here's another list of 15 songs that I (personally) fancy, that are already doing good on it's own and maybe some new singles from different artists that will probably - or maybe not - be hits in the next coming weeks in whatever format.
Enjoy!

01 This Town Niall Horan

02 Blended Family Alicia Keys (ft. A$AP Rocky)

03 All Time Low Jon Bellion

04 Million Reasons Lady GaGa

05 Where My Love Goes Lawson

06 Cool Girl Tove Lo

07 Love On The Brain Rihanna

08 Don't Wanna Know Maroon 5 (ft. Kendrick Lamar)

09 Do You Mind DJ Khaled (ft. Minaj and Brown)

10 Shout Out To My Ex Little Mix

11 Love Me Now John Legend

12 Body Moves DNCE

13 Still Falling For You Ellie Goulding

14 Bad Things Machine Gun Kelly (ft. Camila Cabello)

15 24K Magic Bruno Mars

DAM NATION

Password: Who ranked first in X Factor UK 13: Top 11? 

X Factor UK 13: Top 11

Whew! No, I still think this season's a disaster, but I'm not going to lie and say that they didn't improve from last week because most of them did. I thought the performances, in general, were a lot better than last week and I felt like everyone already settled and nerves were almost gone.

The song choices were baffling though as most of them aren't Motown, but whatever. Oh, and Four of Diamonds replaced Brooks Way!

On with the show!

X Factor UK 13: Top 12

Yikes. What a disaster!

I don't know. This season showed SO MUCH promise with fantastic contestants from Caitlyn Vanbeck, Samantha Antkinson, Christian Burrows, Matt Terry, Olivia Garcia, Janet Grogan, James Wilson, and we end up with this group? This has become a complete circus.

Ok. I'm not saying there's no talent left. I'm still keeping an open mind about things, but I'm not holding my breath for outstanding performances in the likes of Louisa Johnson, Leona Lewis, or James Arthur. This will be a loooong season. I can sense it. Haha.

Oh, and Brooks Way were axed from the show hours before the live shows! Wow.

On with the show!

The Voice 11: Blind Auditions Part 5

So, this was the last Blind Audition episode this season and, boy, was it fast. Did I enjoy this panel so bad that I didn't realize that we're now headed to the dreaded Battle Rounds - a phase I don't blog. Haha.

Tonight, no one really stood out. There were a couple of good ones, but nothing spectacular compared to prior episodes. We shall see.

On with the show!