Ok, so I know it's a little late in the series to start an X Factor blog but, I've found that I have too much to say to just confine my opinions of the show to Twitter. So, without any further ado, here's what I thought about tonight's X Factor...
Tonight's show kicked off hilariously, with the judges shifting desk places and Cheryl accidentally turning up wearing a costume from her latest video shoot (for those that haven't seen it, get yourselves on ITV Player now!) Geordie Joe McElderry opened the Rock Night 'show' singing Don't Stop Believin' by Journey. As the judges said in the VT, the song didn't suit him and his usual boyish charm just wasn't enough to carry him through the song and there was a lingering feeling of injustice when he failed to 'rock out'. As usual, mentor Cheryl championed him and, although the vocals were good, I'm now wondering if he's really as good as everyone seems to believe.
Following Joe was the lovely Welsh Lucie Jones who, following her 'heartbreak' over Simon's comments about her singing like an actress, knew how desperately she had to impress the judges this week. Her edgey rendition of Sweet Child o' Mine by Guns N' Roses was a lot more decent than last week's My Funny Valentine but again, we were all left wanting something more. Although vocals started great, she gradually lost the song and went flat during what could, and should, have been the defining moment of the song and again, Cowell called her an actress as opposed to a singer. But, in my opinion, he's right, she's just not got that connection with the audience - there's no 'hunger in her eyes'.
Up next was the controversial Danyl Johnson. Following his shock position in the bottom two last week he knew he had to up his game this week - but it seemed that instead he'd just simply given up. The usual confident sparkle had disappeared and, although his performance of Aerosmith's I Don't Want to Miss a Thing was emotional and the vocals were good as usual, the whole thing seemed flat and for the first time, the ''worse than Hitler'' Danyl could be in serious trouble. Mentor Simon fought his corner as usual and none of the judges were particularly scathing (unlike Dannii's gender reference comment a few weeks back) but it seems that the public's favourite is rapidly becoming the public's most hated.
The loveable, huggable Lloyd Daniels gave I Kissed A Girl by Katy Perry a bash next, but unfortunately his vocals were no where near strong enough to carry him through the song and, as Louis pointed out, he didn't actually sing a rock song... which defeated the whole idea of the theme night. Although he started well in week one, lovely Lloyd's vocals have weakened over the weeks and he could be another favourite to be in trouble this week.
Bringing the show back up to a high was then Stacey Solomon. Dagenham Stace managed to actually move around the stage this week (at the request of Mr Cowell) as she belted out the classic Somewhere Only We Know by Keane. Putting her own unique spin on the song towards the end, Stace received praise from all four judges and, as expected, her bubbly personality shone through.
'Pub singer' Jamie Afro (sorry, Archer) quickly followed, clearly at home with the theme of the night as he rocked out to Primal Scream's Rocks. The hair looked odd this week though and his jeans-scarf is starting to get on my nerves now. There's no denying that Jamie can sing, but it could be argued that he isn't versatile enough to win the show. Each week he comes out and sings a rock song, Simon loves him, and the public vote him through - but it's just not enough. Louis argues that he's not the sort of singer that you'd hear about in Kerrang or NME, more the sort of singer you'd hear had been in your local pub - and I can't help but agree with him. Mr Afro's good, but not good enough.
Next up is the resilient Rachel Adedeji. Having proven that she has the bounceback-ability that all great showmen and women need, she came out this week with new, less scary hair and sung her heart out to One by U2. For the very first time... even since her first audition... I felt that she connected with the audience, and I felt that she may actually stand a chance from now on. Thankfully, she didn't do her 'Stacey impression' from last week and this week, I think we finally saw a glimpse of the real Rachel.
Perhaps the biggest entertainers the show's seen to date, the marmite that is John and Edward followed Rachel, shouting (rather than singing) Queen's We Will Rock You while dressed up as, seen as there's no other way to describe it, goths. Even from the beginning of the song, Jedward managed to mess up the lyrics when they sung ''got blood on your face'' rather than the correct ''got mud on your face'' and towards the end of the song, they completely lost everything. Although Louis stood at the end of the song and cheered his only remaining act on, the remaining judges could only stutter a few lines about how entertaining they are, but they were all quick to point out that they still cannot sing. Hopefully, this week will be it for the gruesome twosome. Hopefully.
Finally, the cheeky Olly Murs took to the stage, giving his rendition of Come Together by The Beatles. He wasn't totally captivating like he usually is, but Olly's usual sparkle was still firmly in place and his vocals were still as good as ever. As is always with Simon, he championed Olly, with other judges saying he'd be in the final three.
Tonight was arguably the weakest night this series, but usual favourites Stacey and Olly shone through, with comeback queen Rachel shocking the audience and pulling off a great performance. My predictions are that Lloyd, Danyl or John and Edward could be in the bottom two tomorrow...but only time will tell.
Rachel (Webmistress)
Saturday 31 October 2009
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