2016 LIVE SHOW 3: Divas

[aradia22]

If next week is Fright Night the wheel is obviously rigged, right? Eh, we'll worry about that then. I'm more interested in how the Groups and Boys will handle "Divas" because I already have a good idea of what the Girls and Overs (well, minus Honey G) will do. 

[Gulftastic]

More slowed down dirges.

Zara was best.

[Kaoteek]

At least Saara Aalto was memorable, this week. The rest of them are already just a blur. Aside from Honey G, sadly.

[Kromm]

It's so easy to forget Nicole has such an amazing voice in the face of how total shit the songs she's had on her solo albums has been.

It's always made me wonder why every good songwriter in the business apparently stays away from her.

[Bill1978]

1 hour ago, Kromm said:

It's so easy to forget Nicole has such an amazing voice in the face of how total shit the songs she's had on her solo albums has been.

It's always made me wonder why every good songwriter in the business apparently stays away from her.

My guess is she has an ego. She probably demands more credit on a song than what she puts in. Or she only wants songs that she has had credit in writing.

[aradia22]

This got posted late for me so I'm going to try to get through as much as I can before crashing. 

I've liked Nicole since the Pussycat Dolls. I always knew she could sing. I don't think this was her best showing. As for songwriters, I don't think much of him (especially since he has a fondness for stealing melodies) but Andrew Lloyd Webber seems to like her. I haven't listened to her solo albums. They're not on Spotify and what I've heard from them hasn't made me want to pay to own them. As for songwriting credit, I don't think that's so much ego as getting part of the profits if a song is successful. Otherwise, you could get nothing when someone does a cover of a song you made popular or uses it in a commercial, etc.

[aradia22]

Ryan Lawrie: My comment got deleted but it doesn't matter. Ryan's not really worth critiquing anyway. He did well for him but it was still mediocre and only slightly less terrible than the "heartthrobs" who couldn't sing of X factor past. I love that Louis thought he sounded like a busker, Sharon tried to give him credit by saying he was 17, and that Simon called him a singing pancake. You poor, stupid child. They tried to give you Cyndi Lauper and you chose Adele. You only have yourself to blame.

Gifty Louise: The wig and the shiny black plinth that was not a piano and the all white jumpsuit were odd choices. To me, it wasn't the best song choice but she has a lovely depth to her singing voice. And another random choir? What the hell, X Factor? It wasn't perfect and a little boring (I'm not a big fan of Sam Smith) but it was solid. It is nice to keep seeing new elements of her voice.

Haha, Nicole tried to steal another mic.

5 After Midnight: Oof. Like, it wasn't horrifically bad but do not step to Amy Winehouse if you can't hack it. I didn't even like Naya Rivera's version on Glee. What is with this lame in unison singing? Things got better when tan jacket got his solo. I think silver jacket had the weakest solo. I feel like the song didn't always match the dancing.

Sam Lavery: Simon has the worst intros for his acts. Did everyone meet with John Legend or only some of them? I feel like Sam's makeup is starting to get heavy again. Especially the contour. How is MJ a diva? I feel like the yodel worked for the beginning of the song. I feel like she wandered away from the melody a bit or went flat. And she didn't really bring a lot of power or intensity except at moments when it wasn't necessary because the music and choir were kind of drowning her out. Aside from MJ not being a diva and the song not being a great fit for Sam's voice, this song is also really preachy and I don't think Sam pulled it off. And this is a really weird choice for X Factor. It's not even one of their charity weeks or whatever they used to do.

[aradia22]

Matt Terry: Is this supposed to be the Mariah Carey version? This was a bit off. I feel like they need to tell Matt where to look or get the camera guy to stop moving around. A little weak but otherwise a pretty decent vocal. Pretty riffs and high notes as usual but Matt didn't really give me the feeling that he'd be a reliable guy to call on. He really needs to work on the stage presence. Enough of this eyes closed, looking all over the place, uncertain emotion nonsense. The screaming got a little sloppy too at the end.

Relley C: Oh, good. I thought it was going to be all Brian and no Annabel. I don't like them giving the impression that Brian does everything. I think she didn't reach deep down for those notes (probably because she is/was sick) but even still, she's at a professional level of singing that easily clears Sam and Ryan this week. Slightly rough when she went for the big notes, but that's excused. I didn't expect to like her this much when Sharon picked her but she's impressed me.

Emily Middlemas: I didn't notice all the acne before. I hope they're not putting on a ton of makeup she doesn't need and messing up her skin. I don't mind a quiet version of a song but I feel like with so little underscoring and changing up the tempo, some of the notes were off. Like, she had to work hard to find the melody for herself. She also still has that shakiness and lack of control that means she wobbles her way there instead of landing on the note sometimes. I also have no idea what they were doing with this shy, vulnerable take on the song and this sexy outfit. I was going to critique her performance but with those mixed messages, I don't know how you perform this cover. It was pleasant. Not challenging so she did fine. But I also would never listen to this.

4 of Diamonds: Who's this bald guy at the piano? Lol, at lazily spinning the ship's wheel. What was that? The vocals started well. Only a few issues. The blond one with the side part seemed to struggle the most and be the one throwing things off. Though brunette with the super straight hair wasn't having an easy time of things either. They also don't have great stage presence. Also, am I being paranoid or is there a backing track or backup singers that we're not aware of? I am hearing more voices than are on that stage.

Saara Aalto: Hahaha! Bjork! Thank you for listening to me, X Factor gods. Perfect fit for her voice and so much more interesting than her Sia covers.

Rankings

1. Saara 2. Relley 3. Gifty 4. 5 After Midnight 5. Matt 6. Sam 7. Emily 8. Ryan 9. 4 of Diamonds 10. Honey G

[aradia22]

RESULTS

Spoiler

Safe: Sam, 5 AM, Saara, Matt, Emily, Honey G, Gifty

Bottom 3: Ryan, Relley C, 4 of Diamonds (RYAN SAVED BY LIFELINE VOTE)

I know Relley C was likely brought on to be cannon fodder but I thought she earned her place. This sing off vocal was a little off but I think she was still a little sick.

4 of Diamonds wasn't good either. They were nowhere near as good as Fifth Harmony singing that song. For a group they assembled, they didn't try very hard. They don't have great looks or stage presence so I assume they were chosen for their voices. But only eyebrows and bob seem to be any good. And even then, they need a lot of work. AND WE ALREADY HAVE LITTLE MIX AND FIFTH HARMONY. I'm not saying there can't be more girl groups, but they probably shouldn't be coming from X Factor.

ELIMINATED: Relley C (Sharon was the only one who voted to keep her.)

Oh, also I was trying to remember who the reinvented Emily reminds me of and someone in the youtube comments solved it for me... Abi Alton. I'd completely forgotten her name.

BULLSHIT results this week. Gifty better make it to the end. And Saara better make it a while too. With this week's elimination + losing Bratavio it's like they don't want me to have anyone entertaining to watch. Hopefully Matt, Sam, and 5 AM get better quickly.