Little Mix!

Little Mix!
2011 WINNERS!!

Sunday 25 September 2011

Boot Camp BABY!!

Well what an exciting weekend this has been. I actually have a sore throat from shouting too much at the T.V. - and my hands are red from all the clapping! Let's recap!
Ok, so on Saturday we saw the excited bootcamp hopefuls drastically but deservedly stripped down by 40 before even getting a chance to sing again, if I'm honest a few others should have gone with them but hey, I'm not on the panel! The remaining artists were separated into groups to perform to the judges which in most cases was an absolute disaster, a bit of advice for future reference, don't lie to the judges - cameras are following you everywhere, if you can't stand each other then just say that! I'm sure the judges would have admired the honesty.

Anyway lets get back on track, the groups performed "together" and the quiet/shy and dreadful artists were sent packing, the remainder were given 24hrs to prepare another song and were told to 'Make it their own' which could only bring disaster in the most fabulous way! And it did! For those of you who saw, all I need to say is 'Kitty' and 'Goldie' - wow what a display.
On a serious note, I was disappointed in a few of the people that I had been excited to see again, on the flip side I was WOW'd by a few I didn't relate to first time around. Jade Richards for one, I didn't get her in her 1st audition, maybe I compared her too much to Adele, but last night she shone for me, and tonight she blew me away with 'Nobody Knows' I'm excited to see what she can do at judges houses. Opposite goes for Kitty - I'm sorry but how irritating can one person be? I liked her originally but now I can't stand watching her, and because she annoys me so much I can't appreciate her voice, she needs to calm down and get a grip - although with Louis as her mentor, he'll probably encourage her!

That brings me to my next topic - Judges categories. It appears everyone got who they wanted, and I think it's going to work really well. Gary got the boys, and I think he has a tough job with them, some very talented artists there - but he is more than capable, picked the right man for the job Mr X Factor producer. Well done. Craig is my favourite, beautiful tone to his voice, I would buy his album. I would not buy Frankie's album though, in my opinion he is too cocky and not talented enough to compete with the others. Joe Cox was a shocker, he didn't stand out for me until tonight, very surprised - but in a very good way.

Kelly got the girls, which to me was a shock because I thought she would've got the groups, I'm pleased though because I thought Tulisa would be good with the groups. The girl's are another tough category, Amelia Lily is amazing, how such a young girl can have that much talent is beyond me, and Janet got a 'living room in my PJ's' standing ovation from me with her rendition of 'I don't wanna miss a thing' goosebumps and everything. And there's Jade Richards, amazing too! Hmmm good luck Kelly! I think you may have a winner in there.

Tulisa got the groups, and I think she's got her work cut out for her, but she's a tough cookie and can handle them! I hope they don't think for one second that because she's young she'll be a push over, she knows her stuff and has been in the business long enough, don't mess with her. The Key's were good in Saturdays performance, and I've got a soft spot for Girl v Boy, didn't see much of them this weekend but I love the Glee/High school musical theme! This will be an interesting category to watch, see what Tulisa can do with them.

Last but not least, we've got Louis with the over 25's - ouch. For a normal judge this would be an easy choice however Louis isn't a normal judge - remember Wagner?? I just hope he has the sense to keep Sami, she's amazing, and probably his only real chance in this competition, she makes me happy inside when she comes on the screen, so bubbly and such a beautiful voice. No doubt Goldie will get through, he loves anything like that, she's entertaining but she doesn't have the voice for the competition. I'm soooo pleased he didn't take them to Ireland!

Next week is going to be interesting to say the least!

My parting thoughts this week have to be......WOW how much do I want one of those Minority Report style computers, as Gary would say 'That was AH-MAY-ZING!'

Monday 19 September 2011

Tears, Tantrums and Tight trousers!

So this weekend saw the end of the audition shows, and although the weekend was filled with class A entertainment, it pains me to say it, they didn't leave the best to last. Don't get me wrong, we saw some great talent, mainly on Saturday, but in my opinion not as good as previous weeks.
The judges however, they cracked me up, Louis getting his knickers in a twist because the other judges disagreed with him, get used to it Louis, your not always right! And the girls having a few disagreements, it's nice to see some passion for a change, for me the best thing about the girls arguing was the fact it wasn't plastered all over a paper/magazine with a headline 'Tulisa and Kelly - war of the women' or something, they both know the deal, they are professional young women who respect each other enough to not always have to agree and be able to voice that without animosity. It's nice. Gary was great as usual, straight talking with a hint of humour/sarcasm.

As well as the end of the auditions, this weekend also brought us the vulnerable side of Tulisa, usually the one to hold it together we saw her have a weak moment on Saturday, and why the hell not, she's human isn't she, and clearly she has an amazing bond with her Mam - that's Northern for Mum if you didn't know! Again it also showed the girls visible bond with each other as she leaned towards Kelly for support, who immediately comforted her, you wouldn't have seen that with Cheryl and Dannii!

Ok, so now for my thoughts on the talent...
I have to start with John Wilding, WOW, what a come back, his rendition of Jennifer Hudson I love you I do made me stand up and clap in my PJ's - and not feel silly, ok maybe a little. His dress sense however was questionable - how on earth did he get into those trousers, more to the point, how will he get out of them - watch out at boot-camp, he may still have them on - Wow they were tight!
He's one to watch, if he keeps up his confidence he may have a real chance at this - it's happened before with Alexandra Burke.

Another John blew the judges socks off, this time I'm referring to the 'Handsome Young Fellow' John Adams - unfortunately I'm not as amazed as the judges, I'm sitting on the fence until I hear him sing again. Brilliant song choice, 'Cannonball' at parts sang it beautifully but for me he also had a nervousness to his voice. At times I didn't like his stage presence either, found him a bit creepy and awkward, especially when he went down to the panel, hmmm. Pleased he got through though and I look forward to hearing him again. Have to mention little ol' Dermot singing along back stage with the family - bless!

For those of you who watched Xtra Factor you will remember Faye Horne who sang a unique version of 'She Said' by Plan B. It was very interesting, I wasn't keen on her at first but as she got into it I started to enjoy it, especially when she started to rap, won me over - not many females can pull that off and still sound good, she done a good job.

And lastly I have to mention the reformed bad lad Bradley Johnson, again I'm on the fence with this lad, he has potential but he didn't give me the spine tingling wow factor, he sounded like he was doing an Ed Sheeran impression rather than just singing 'The A Team' he will be another act I'm interested to hear again.

Wow I'm hard to please!

My favourite part of Sunday night was the recap from the all the auditions, got me really excited for boot-camp seeing all those that first time around gave me goosebumps, Janet Devlin, Amelia Lily, Craig Colton to name a few. I just hope they don't fail to impress second time around, as that is sometimes the case, only time will tell - and if I'm honest, I can't wait!!!

Finishing words for the day - there's someone who, although may not be on the judging panel, gets all the fans revved up for the show and lets normal everyday people like me get involved in the hype, TheXFactor Twitter Guy! If you don't already, follow him!

Thursday 15 September 2011

So then, it allll begins...........

Whether you like it or not The X Factor is back, with a bang! Personally I started to go off it in recent years, got bored with the usual sob stories, sympathy votes and the endless amount of rubbish acts being shown on the live auditions, then all of a sudden these amazing acts just appearing at boot camp or judges houses. To be honest I got bored with judges to, Simon started to be predictable, Cheryl was always predictable, Dannii was fab at first but started to be lost in Cheryl's shadow which was a shame as she was funny on the Xtra Factor, and Louis....well Louis was just an idiot!
However having said all that, I was very dubious about the new line up, didn't think it would work with a complete shake up, not just one or two judges replaced, but 3 - leaving Louis as the only original ARGH it's never going to work. How wrong was I??? All honestly I watched the first episode expecting to cancel the Sky+ recording and start reading on a Saturday night, OH MY GOD, I have never enjoyed X factor as much ever. The judges seem to gel much better, there's no war between the girls or awkward atmosphere, Gary is brilliant, doesn't take any s**t say's it how it is, Kelly is sensitive, funny but honest, Tulisa is so refreshing, young but wise and very honest, straight to the point, and Louis, well he is actually bearable, at a push I'd say he's funny! I've actually become obsessed with X Factor now, I literally can't wait for next week just to see the judges, it's all I talk about, which is the point I guess. Also I've noticed that they've stopped concentrating on the crap acts all the time, sure there's still a few but that's acceptable.
I think Simon Cowell has made the complete right decision with this years line up, he's got it spot on. Even the Xtra Factor is better, to be fair it couldn't have been worse that last year, Konnie bless her was rubbish, so wooden and awkward to watch. Olly and Caroline and brilliant together, their backstage shenanigans are hilarious, and the side stage presence when the acts are performing is genius.
Overall I think this year's X Factor is going to be a good one, so long as nothing changes, personally I think if you meddle too much then you run the risk of p***ing people off, causing confusion, frustration and eventually lost patient and channel changing!
I know the recent rumour mill is that Cheryl is after her old job and there's allegedly discussions between her and Simon about her making a comeback as a guest judge, as I say these are just rumours at the minute and may not have any truth at all in them, but my opinion is that there's just no room for Cheryl anymore, she needs to move on try new things, and Simon needs to realise that the show is brilliant without her, bringing her back will annoy quite a few viewers and possible ruin her reputation as 'The nations sweetheart', especially if she replaces any of the new judges. Both Kelly and Tulisa are doing a sterling job and have earned their place on that panel, bonds have been made, and things should be left as they are. I'm hooked and I've actually watched a few episodes again just to fill the gap between Sunday and Saturday - shameful! I'd hate to have to switch off in protest, or worse, watch it but cringe and not really enjoy it - actually that's more shameful!
This Blog is going to be used to review each week, give my opinion, maybe make a few predictions, I hope you enjoy reading and make any comments, good or bad.