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!

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.