Auditions 2K15!

[aradia22]

I think we can use the same judges threads from last year. We can put in new threads for Rita Ora and Nick once we come up with good headings. But I thought I'd start some new topics for the regular episodes to avoid confusion.

 

I'm not going to bother with the truly terrible/gimmick acts as there's no point.

 

Lauren Murray- Good. A little shaky in bits but that could be nerves. On the whole, very polished. I'll be interested to see how she develops and if she's a good performer in addition to being a good singer.

Jennifer Phillips- Great, obviously. I worry about acts like this, especially when they're older. They start off with a bang and then they get lost in the mix because they're too professional or not interesting enough in the context of a reality singing competition.

Tom Bleasby- Honestly not that impressed. I found it kind of irritating. I don't really like Sam Smith but this wasn't even that. It was like if you took Frankie Valli and then mixed it with these weird low riffs. I need to hear him do another song to see how much range he actually has. This got annoying and repetitive and he actually doesn't negotiate the break between his upper/lower register well. It was a little sloppy.

4th Power- Eh. They seem like a ringer. Even though we've gotten One Direction and Little Mix (both groups formed by the judges) the group categories have been weak the last few years. Not a big fan of bringing in acts from other countries though. Also, they've been performing since 2001 and have been entering a bunch of different competitions? If they're semi-pros they should be better. The vocals were a little sloppy and while good, they did have the kind of shouty, soulless quality that people ascribe to Christina Aguilera. Now, I like Christina Aguilera but I don't think they were at her level.

[aradia22]

Jon Goodey- Fine. Not remarkable but good. The problem is the people who get by with those vocals are really pretty. Or they have a good story. Or they at least engage the crowd instead of closing their eyes and looking down.

 

See, I don't know what happened with Kelly Kiernan and Jamie Mitchell in the "nerves" video but I can see them getting a second chance because they're pretty.

 

Louisa Johnson: I'm not a big fan of blue-eyed soul or whatever you want to call it. To me, she sounds more like rock/Janis Joplin than a real soul singer. Especially at 17, her voice lacks depth. Having a higher range doesn't help. Other than that, she's good. I think the best we can hope for from her is maybe Joss Stone.

[aradia22]

The First Kings- Since when do you get to show a video intro and bring back up dancers? The vocals were just OK. The leads were a little better... but they're no JLS. Singing in unison is not that impressive and I've learned to not get too attached to older groups.

 

Chloe Paige- MEH

 

Seann Miley Moore- Pretty good voice. A few rough points. Nothing too bad but he could use some training and polish. I question his range and stamina. They were really pumping the backing track at some points when I thought I heard some issues. But it was a solid audition. I like having camp acts who can sing. At this point he's definitely better than Rylan but I don't know if he's up there with Marcus yet.

 

Josh Daniel- Diamond in the rough. Needs some clean up but he's got a good voice. He's got a good natural voice. He doesn't have to force it the way the girls who don't naturally sound like Christina Aguilera or Adele have to.

[Kaoteek]

Aside from Jennifer Phillips, I think I enjoyed Seann Miley Moore the most out of these two shows. 4th Power were pretty impressive, but I'd like to see some more songs before deciding whether I like them or not. All the rest, I'm mostly indifferent to, so far.

[aradia22]

Jamie Benkert: The Olly Murs impressionist. He's got a very average voice. He needs the backing track. That's not a "voice."

Flaxen: I don't think their voices were as bad as the editing was making them out to be but they picked the wrong show. They belong on BGT not X Factor.

Alien: The lead singers had kind of irritating voices. I couldn't get a read on the way the group sounded because they covered it up with the backing track and the crowd reaction. That's never a good sign. I see you, editors. You can't fool me. Unless they break out amazing harmonies in a slow ballad, these girls are totally cannon fodder.

Zen: A little nasal and very mush-mouthed but a good voice. A decent foundation to work off of.

Simon Lynch: I'm not a huge fan of pop tenors. I think he has a good voice. But he has a lot of pop tics that make his voice irritating to me. They're the singing equivalent of vocal fry. It's like Britney/90's stuff. And his falsetto was deployed to mixed effect. It was rather rough but there's potential. He's lucky he's reasonably good looking.

Shianne Phillips: There was a shaky quality to her vocals. I'm not sure if it was nerves creeping in or bad breath control. She also pulled the sound back into her throat creating this ugly noise. It's a pop thing. That's not how Whitney sang. I couldn't accurately gauge her abilities because the song was clearly beyond her. There were moments I liked but you need to perform the whole song at a consistent level. If you can't make it through a minute how will you make it through your performances every week?

Stephanie McCourt: Shake It Off is a really bad song to show off your voice. She has a decent jazz voice but I don't know about her straight singing voice. The jazz vocalists never make it all the way. And it didn't sound like there was much smoothness to her jazz.

Bupsi Brown: I didn't think she sounded that bad on All My Loving. Very Macy Gray. I have to think the second song and the whole act was preplanned but I still like her and her voice. She's the only one I genuinely liked today.

[Sarnia]

The girl group (Alien) was a hot mess. The singing was terrible and the dancing looked all over the place. I hope it turned out better on the stage than on the screen, because otherwise I don't understand how the judges were so excited by this performance.

[aradia22]

Jasmin Leigh Morris: Emeli Sande songs are already hard because they meander a bit. It was really hard to understand her. Consonants! The singing was average. It needs work.

Max Stone: Pretty good voice. Not my thing. Again, difficult to understand.

Ebru: She makes me cringe a little because the way she cracks and rasps makes me think vocal damage. Other than that, she's good.

Sharon Rose: Pretty good. First one I really liked today. Only a few mistakes.

Joselito: He was so far from being in the pocket it was hard to judge his singing. I don't think it was fantastic but I could see him as a novelty act.

Che Chesterman: We've reviewed how I feel about pop tenors and blue-eyed soul. It was good but also not something I'd ever listen to. It got better after the very beginning but I found the riffs at the end SUPER irritating.

Karen Mav: I really enjoyed her vocals. I'm not sure about her versatility but I like her.

Laura Johnston: Remember the blond woman with the curly hair who dressed like a fairy? This was good but like a cruise ship version of the song. Not better than Aretha or Carole King, not different either.

Jordan Luke Gage: Pleasant voice. A bit of cracking but pretty damn good. It's nice to see someone more professional. They only have so many weeks to get them ready for pop stardom.

Tonatha: YES. Not 100% on her singing but she's got the stage presence that Fleur had and a few tricks with her growls and the like.

Hannah Marie Kilminster: I didn't see her VT. If the video description didn't have something about a farm I'd assume she came from musical theatre, especially with the close but not quite right American accent. She's great obviously but there's a disconnect for me.

Anton Stephans: A little affected and weird in the performance. Vocals aren't perfect (I think he made some weird choices) but obviously he's good. I am more sympathetic to backup singers after 20 Feet From Stardom.

 

This round I'll go with Sharon Rose, Karen Mav, Jordan Luke Gage, Tonatha, and Hannah Marie Kilminster.

[aradia22]

Papasidero: Look I've definitely heard worse gimmick acts but it was sloppy. Meh.

Alex Boye: OK, but I'm not into people who go from talent show to talent show. Next!

Rock & Rose: Decent, a little closed off. Not sure if that's strain or something she can be taught to fix. It was OK. Not terribly impressive.

Jade McGuire: It seemed like she was flat/singing the wrong notes until the "I'm in chains" part. It could have been better.

BEKLYN: Older male group. Never gonna make it. They should be better. They sound good in unison but they feel like guys from a choir who weren't strong enough to strike out on their own. The longer they stick around the longer we'll have to figure out who the real star is. They also didn't blend that well when they weren't all singing the same notes/part.

Silver Tone: Started off rough, like they weren't nailing the pitches. Then it seemed like it was very chill, but not intentionally. The harmony was nice. When they came back it sounded much better. (Was that a set up?) But there was still some roughness. Like Beklyn, I think they need to work on their blend. I think the show did some work on it in production to hide the roughness but I could still hear it coming out. Unlike Beklyn though, I think this group might have some stars.

Charli Beard: I was not on her side with this song choice. I don't care about your grandpa. This song means something. I still don't like blue eyed soul but she's a strong singer. I'd like her to go more rock or more towards Jessie J than traditional soul because it does feel a bit like caricature.

Vicki Ann Nash: A little rough like on that long "e" vowel. But good, obviously.

Rumour Has It: A little high and... I don't know what it is I'm not loving about their voices. It just doesn't sound pleasant to my ear. Aside from that, they're good.

Monica Michael: I think I remember her. I love her voice. The riffs in the beginning weren't great and I think she's a little shaky at the end of phrases but she's got a great voice.

 

From this round I'd take Monica Michael, Charli Beard, Silver Tone, and Vicki Ann Nash (in that order).

[aradia22]

Havva: Kind of sounded like she was putting on a voice. I think she's probably got a good voice in there but she's obscuring it by not singing naturally. It was also too big of a song for her.

PYT : Good but they don't have a natural blend or style yet. Also, are there always this many people from other shows? Jeez.

Calypso: Good. I liked her.

Katie Coleman: Not perfect but I like someone who sings with their real voice.

Neneth: It took me a while to get into it because I didn't really need a pop version of this song in my life but she's got a very good voice.

Brodie Kelly: I'm very meh on the whispery vocals. Very average. On the other hand, he does look and sound like a replacement One Direction member.

Ben Clark: He sounded like the guy from Nickelback to me.

Sunday Club: They sound pretty good. Don't care. At this point I don't get invested in older boy bands.

Joe Waller: I think he needs to go off and become Ed Sheeran or Jason Mraz. For a singing competition, I find his voice annoying.

[Kaoteek]

 

Hannah Marie Kilminster: I didn't see her VT. If the video description didn't have something about a farm I'd assume she came from musical theatre, especially with the close but not quite right American accent. She's great obviously but there's a disconnect for me.

 

You nailed it.

 

I especially like the "Vocalist for (Simon Cowell's) Britain's Got Talent." part.

 

(and I couldn't help to notice that her boot camp work was strangely cut out of the tv show, as if to avoid adding fuel to the flames)

Edited September 22, 2015 by Kaoteek

[aradia22]

Megan Dallas: Pretty things about her vocals but really not impressive. Breathy, cracking all over the place... I don't think she found the exact balance between changing the song completely/making it your own and doing an as good or better version of the original. I like her but I still think it was a bad song choice. I also feel like she might be a Lucy Spraggan who needs to do her own singer songwriter material. I'm already much more interested in her post X Factor music.

Kerrie-Anne Phillips: Good voice but this take on Diamonds had no emotional depth. No point in slowing it down. It didn't show off her voice well.

Lucy Duffield: I like the smoky quality to her voice and the fact that she's got a lower range. I do not like that she's kind of dragging down on her voice to get the sound she wants. I hear a little vocal damage. Forcing is bad. But yeah, she's good. Proper training to give her the right tools and get rid of the bad habits and we'll really have something. I did like the a capella version a little better but it also exposed problems like how shouty she gets.

Nige and Kay: He's got a nice rasp but I think he's lacking control. They're pleasant enough but I question their range.

Louel: I think they both have good voices. I think. They don't sound good together though. It confuses my brain because I can't pick out what's wrong.

The Shures: Meh. They might be good individually but they're a mediocre group.

Andy Taylor: The annoying side of pop tenors. I think some of it had to do with how he tilted his head and directed his breath but also... meh. I think I might like him as a novelty act, not so much as a serious act.

Anton Banaghan: I don't know what this song is supposed to sound like. Was I supposed to be able to understand the lyrics...? Because I didn't. Fine. Meh on the falsetto. I think he's got a voice that's nice if he writes his own songs but not too remarkable as a singer.

DTOUR: Rough the first time. I couldn't pinpoint what was wrong. But I do like them more than other groups we've heard. There's talent there.

Ollie Marland: Irritating tenor. Perfectly average. Draft him for the next boy band, eh?

[aradia22]

Joseph McCaul: I still don't like blue eyed soul and there was a bit of roughness there but overall he's talented and has a good voice. He just needs more guidance. He's definitely better than other people they've sent through. He just needs guidance. Just because he's not a pretty blond girl... He's not a "horrible performer." He was good both times.

Unit X: I thought Unit X were good in spite of what the editors wanted us to think. Everyone doesn't need to dance. There are different kinds of songs.

Menn on Poinnt: I think one of them had a decent voice but it was hard to tell in the fog of generic dance pop song. I'm not sure they're right for this but that song could be a hit.

Paul Robathan: Adorable. I'd love an X Factor UK version of Weird Al. Decent voice when he's not straining beyond his range. I get a pleasant Men At Work/folksy vibe from him. I mean, I wouldn't expect him to try Whitney Houston or anything.

Sherilyn Hamilton-Shaw: I skipped the sob story. I'm here to listen to you sing. I was underwhelmed. I find her voice rather irritating and it was kind of sloppy for her age. There are a lot of bad habits for her to unlearn and I don't know if the core voice there is strong enough.

 

I'd take Megan Dallas, DTOUR, Joseph McCaul, Unit X, and Paul Robathan but there was no one I really liked. This group has a lot of people who need work.

[kdm07]

I never remember the performers names until the Lives. I'm usually like "oh that guy who sang that" "or "oh that group that made everyone dance". That being said, I liked the gospel men ensemble, the blonde jazzy singer and the wannabe Chris Brown.

[Kaoteek]

Same here. Too many people so far for me to remember any name, so I don't even bother until the chairs are done.