2016 LIVE SHOW 1: Express Yourself

[aradia22]

Very sadly Stuart Heritage/The Guardian is not doing live blogs this year so I'm going to need all of you to keep me invested in this. It's the first live show and the theme is "express yourself." Basically a blanket, do what you want kind of a theme like the first challenge of most competition shows. Like past years, I think we can post in the same thread for the live show and the results show. Personally, I'll put the results in spoilers in case someone watches the show later but you do you. 

[aradia22]

First thought. Sharon stole Nicole's dress and so now Nicole's wearing... that. Look, she's gorgeous and she still looks gorgeous but that does not explain what she's wearing.

Oh God, "Scha-slay." Why do you make it so hard for me to like you, Nicole. Why? It started on the Sing Off and it hasn't gotten better.

Brooks Way isn't performing tonight. What!?! Shenanigans already.

5 After Midnight: 5 AM was already a stupid name but this is worse. It started like karaoke. Nothing professional about the vocal. It mostly stayed there. I did notice some shadiness with the backup singers coming in. But I think they chose a good song at least in that was fun. You know, it was pleasant. The dancing was competent but not that challenging. This performance is not going to set the world on fire but I they maybe they played it safe enough to squeak by this week. The judges were soft on them. I don't think they want them to win but they want them around for a while.

Sam Lavery: What was wrong with Samantha? They've done a great job polishing her up. It was fine. I think it started too low for her. It wasn't particularly remarkable as a vocal. The pants were also very shiny. Were they latex/vinyl? And why is she wearing an NFL shirt? She just doesn't have the voice yet. But they REALLY want her to be Louisa Johnson. She's still got that crack/hiccup/yodel thing going on. I think by trying to force her to fit into one mold, they're limiting her ability to figure out what her voice is actually supposed to do. Maybe she's supposed to be more Alanis? Just spitballing. Also, LOL that X Factor's youtube channel is calling this James Arthur's Impossible. It was a Shontelle song first. And also, are we OK with acknowledging James Arthur again? When did that happen? I give her points for trying to perform. I did appreciate Simon acknowledging that she was shouting parts of the song. Yeah, no duh.

Saara Aalto: It's a little early for Sharon to be having a meltdown. Well, Saara, you obviously didn't grow up watching Frozen but I'll let it go. ;) She did a weird version of this song. The vocal was just OK. Her voice also isn't that big. She's got a good amount of control but not power. The whole thing felt very Eurovision. I'd also like to hear Saara get weird. Don't sing like a Whitney Houston or Celine Dion song because you can kind of do it. Explore that scream. Maybe try some rock. Try some Bjork. Find what makes you unique. Because I've definitely heard better versions of Let It Go. Idina's fine. She's busy being engaged.

Ryan Lawrie: Let's see how hard they sell they Ryan/Emily relationship. I think I've listened to most of One Direction but I had no idea what he was singing. Can't they crank up his mic or does that violate the rules? He's a decent performer. But he was acting too cool. With his little baby voice, he should have pulled this out at a later date to show his "sensitive" side and played it sweet and romantic. I think it was mostly in tune but I could barely hear it. I only figured out what the song was when the chorus kicked in and the backup singers came in. He really belongs in a boy band. He's not a solo act.

Relley C: Was it perfect? No. But it was the first performance I really liked. There's something there with her. She might get kicked off before anyone sees it but she might not be the cannon fodder they thought she was. There were moments I heard Mary J. Blige. Also, I kept thinking one of the backup dancers was one of the guys from 5 AM.

Matt Terry: LOL. You Don't Own Me by Grace. I know it's sort of a different version but not really. This is a Lesley Gore song. It was a fine vocal. It didn't really have the intensity I think it was supposed to have. He has a good voice. But this didn't play to his strengths. He needs to sing something that takes advantage of how smooth his voice is and all those pretty riffs. Once again, he's not a power vocalist. Also, this song sounds very different coming from a man.

Freddy Parker: Well, it wasn't Roberta Flack or Lauryn Hill but I think it's the best Freddy's ever sounded. I would not buy this album but he gets a lot of points for being one of the few acts to play to his strengths.

Bratavio: From the youtube comments, I think these guys are going to have a rough time of it, especially with the more made up looks they've adopted. Bad song choice. I know they're better singers than this. It was too much chaos. The Barbie Girl section was a little better. Chaos is not fun. Controlled chaos is fun. They got lost in the madness a little. I wanted more interaction with the dancers and less color explosion. I know these guys can be fun. They threw too much at them.

Emily Middlemas: So cute. Just fine as a vocal but I think for the most part Emily knows how to manage her abilities and I like that. This was a nice melding of pop Emily from her past season and guitar Emily. She's definitely got to work on her vocals though. It got rougher throughout the song.

Honey G: Rap is weird to do on a singing competition because it tends to be very personal and doing those covers feels wrong in a way doing a pop cover doesn't. A pop song equivalent would be something like 7 Years by Lucas Graham. I'll give her credit for getting a little better. But you know, it's still obviously not great. Her flow is just sloppy. I feel bad for her backup dancers. She can't just keep doing the "Honey G" bit. She actually has to rap.

I don't have access to Gifty's performance right now but I'll update when I see it.

[aradia22]

Rankings

1. Relley C 2. Matt Terry 3. Freddy Parker 4. Saara Alto 5. Sam Lavery 6. Emily Middlemas 7. 5 After Midnight 8. Honey G 9. Bratavio 10. Ryan Lawrie

Also, rumor is Brooks Way had a legal thing because one of them threatened an ex so I don't know if they're coming back.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

If the Brooks (Way) are out......what are the odds that we get no elimination this week, one of Skarl3t/4 of Diamonds/Yes Lad is brought back next week followed up with a double elimination out of a bottom three sing off??

[aradia22]

So Gifty performed a song that hasn't been released yet and the company is blocking all the videos with it so I may never see her performance. :(

The group song was actually not a complete mess. Honey G was sloppy again. Seriously, you can't even do a Fleur East song? Saara was surprisingly decent. Again, I'd like to hear her do different things like this to really find her niche. Bratavio were actually better at their spoken section than Honey G.

RESULTS

Spoiler

SAFE: Relley C, 5 After Midnight, Matt Terry, Sam Lavery, Ryan Lawrie, Emily Middlemas, Honey G, Gifty Louise

BOTTOM 3: Bratavio, Saara Alto, Freddy Parker

BOTTOM 2: Bratavio, Saara Alto (Freddy Parker saved by the Lifeline Vote)

ELIMINATED: Bratavio (only Louis voted to keep them)

Saara's song choice was pretty on the nose. Alive by Sia. I maintain that that's not the right fit for her. Her voice was too weak during the entire beginning. It got better when she started singing out. Though there was still a lot of scream/shout/yelping. I feel like post X Factor Saara will end up in Eurovision or musical theatre. 

Bratavio was slightly flat. They started out a little rough but it got better. It took me a while to realize they were singing TOWIE theme song. Vocally, they were no match for Saara but I wish they weren't in the bottom 2 at all. They could have been a lot of fun if Louis had handled their first week better. Based on past performances, I think maybe they weren't able to learn songs that quickly. 

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Welp, so much for my theory.

If Louis isn't careful....and the Brooks don't come back, he couldn't be out of the competition altogether by about week 4 (maybe 5 After Midnight holds on a couple weeks beyond that, but I doubt it). Serves him right for not actually putting the two girl groups who had the most raw vocal talent in the lives and/or the show for not creating some franken-groups this season.

[aradia22]

I will post as soon as I know but so far they haven't announced anything about a replacement for Brooks Way. Assuming there's some kind of contract/schedule they could just not eliminate someone one week but we'll see what happens.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

According to one source, Rickey.org Brooks Way have been booted, to be replaced by 4 of Diamonds.

According to the article, the timing was such that they couldn't call back 4 of Diamonds in time for a first week performance...they would've had almost no time to get anything prepared and ready to go.

Welp, I'm happy. I thought they got hosed at the house visits, and I'll be interested to see if this 2nd chance /redemption arc gives them some momentum to maybe make Top 5 or beyond...

Edited October 11, 2016 by PhD-Purgatory15

[pythonite]

Audience fav Honey G had a great night. Glad the girl group is coming back, those twins weren't ready. LouLou made some odd choices. He kind of gets a do over.

[aradia22]

Quote

Serves him right for not actually putting the two girl groups who had the most raw vocal talent in the lives and/or the show for not creating some franken-groups this season.

I think they did create Franken-groups (Ryan Lawrie was in one of them) but they must have been so unsuccessful that they kept them off camera. I liked 4 of Diamonds too but I didn't love them. My thoughts coming out of Boot Camp and Judges Houses was that everyone should have really tried harder so I didn't feel that bad about people getting eliminated. We'll see what happens if 4 of Diamonds really does come back. I mean, if Louis couldn't handle Bratavio, I don't have much faith in him managing 4 of Diamonds well and I really think they need direction. Little Mix and One Direction had a lot of time to fail on the show and personally, I don't think either group really figured out who they were until after the show. 

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Rickey.org just dropped another article. Apparently 4 of Diamonds was a franken-group after all.

I guess the producers invited a number of unsuccessful contestants who were eliminated at the very first stage (way before singing in front of Simon et al) of auditions to a "how to form a group" workshop. It was done far enough ahead of time that anyone who came out of that workshop as a newly formed group/duo still had to formally re-enter the competition as a group (not totally sure how that all went down)...

I kind of like that idea, it potentially strengthens the quality of groups the celebrity judges would get to see particularly in a season when the pre-established groups are rather weak. It's a little less chaotic than throwing them together after boot camp and the process of being in a tv show production environment is in full swing.

[aradia22]

What...? That's a little crazy if it's true. I'm trying to think back because they weren't very memorable. I guess they said a lot of stuff about their genre but I don't remember them talking that much about being friends or how close they were or how long they've been working together. It makes me like them a little better because I do think they were sort of talented but very rough. I'm not sure why people seized on the injustice of their elimination like they were already incredible. They weren't even Fourth Impact polished and I never really liked 4th Impact.

I know there are a lot of auditions before anyone gets in front of the judges (and a lot of those first auditions have pre-ordained decisions anyway) but Frankengroups before the formal competition even starts is fascinating to me. It's one thing to invite talented solo singers (who possibly have youtube success or something) to come on the show. This is another thing entirely and it's very interesting considering the success they've had with Little Mix and One Direction. Groups can be very lucrative but somehow the regular pipeline of the show doesn't seem made for them the way it can more easily launch the solo acts.