| kirklancaster |
16-11-2014 10:56 AM |
The X-Factor - A Personal Opinion
Fleur East – This girl is the full package. She has the figure, the face, the voice, is very sexy and instantly recognisable, and has the style to become a huge star. We have not seen the best of her yet because she is still so young, but when she performs, she already looks and moves like an established star, and has huge stage presence.
If she does not win this competition I will eat my own peanut head.
Andrea Faustini – Week after week, this (thoroughly nice) man overcomes the fact that English is not his natural language and sings his heart out – no matter what style has been imposed upon him – and tonight was no exception, despite the added burden of having to sing a Gershwin American standard which is essentially a Negro spiritual written to be sung by American black singers. He is genuinely one of the best singers in the competition.
As for Cowell’s comments regarding Andrea’s ‘facial contortions’ whilst singing – what relevance has that? ‘Facial contortions’ whilst singing never detracted from the performances of legends like James Brown, Janis Joplin or even Elvis with that curled lip and occasional ‘pop eyes’ during his early days.
Lauren Platt – A very pretty young girl who is a good singer with the potential to become a very good singer. However, she is becoming something of a ‘one trick pony’ and becoming boring. In her defence, tonight, singing the classic ‘Smile’ , she was faced with an impossible task, because the song is so memorably linked with American legends such as Nat King Cole, and Lauren has not yet gained enough ‘life experience’ to be able to perform such a song with the sincerity and soul it needs. Her performance, while good, was instead merely ‘sweet’.
Ben Haenow – Ben has the ‘whole package’; he is seriously good looking, can sing, and is the near male equivalent of Fleur East in this respect. However, this week, singing another ‘Standard’ in ‘Cry Me A River’, Ben was seriously out of his depth. He struggled from the onset like a ‘fish out of water’ – it was as if someone had forced PeeWee Herman to sing ‘Dock of The Bay’.
Although Michael Buble made this song his own, Robbie Williams - not the greatest singer in the world - got away with his version because he sang it with ‘conviction’ – something Ben lacked. It seemed as though Ben didn’t really want to sing the song, or had no confidence in his ability to sing it- either way, he lacked conviction, and his performance suffered as a result, perhaps fatally if Stevi’s public support holds.
Only The Young - The smaller ‘Joey Essex’ type boy singer and the ‘Blond’ girl are the two weakest singers and the worst dancers – as this week’s performance proved, because the other two members sang better and danced with more gusto and natural rhythm.
All in all though, it did not matter, because once again this group very cleverly chose a well known, well loved song which was delivered with gusto in the ‘fun’ style OTY are making their own, and this – once again – had the audience (and I’m sure viewers) tapping their feet and singing along.
There is some really great music around currently, and some really great singers, but current ‘Pop’ is increasingly becoming ‘worthy’, taking itself too seriously and the ‘fun’ element has been missing over recent years. OTY won’t win the X Factor, but they will fill a niche in the market and have ample success.
Jay James – Usually a decent singer, but this week – as with so many of the others – he was completely out of his depth. Big Band/Swing is not his genre, and Frank Sinatra’s classic ‘New York’ New York’ was definitely the last song he should have attempted even if it was, because the song was never intended to be sung in a weak English accent.
As it was, Jay struggled, never sang with any conviction or oomph, and in my opinion this was his very worst performance. Throughout his performance, I kept waiting for him to lift the song and inject some power into it, but it never materialised.
Stereokicks – These are not a great ‘boy’ band, and have not the potential to become great, and perhaps they are only still in the competition because there are so many of them they are virtually guaranteed to satisfy the diverse ‘pin up’ ideals of all the different teeny bopper girl fans out there.
This week’s performance was embarrassing to watch, because, an American classic such as ‘Mack The Knife’ which has been ‘owned’ by American music legends such as Bobby Darin, Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra, was never, ever, going to be well performed in an English accent by a bunch of weak-voiced English boys who are barely out of puberty.
I’m sorry, but it’s true. It’s akin to when Brit Film Production Companies have attempted to produce certain thrillers in the American idiom – somehow Charles Dance’s plummy accent will always come off second best to the Humphrey Bogarts, Bruce Willis’s and Harison Fords of the movie world – no matter how good an actor he may be.
Stevi – A ‘wannabe’, who because of his personality, and the British fondness for adopting underdogs and losers, has become a ‘Nearly Am’ – despite an obvious lack of talent.
Stevi’s best performance was the piece from ‘Phantom of The Opera’ because it allowed him to utilise the skills gleaned during his theatrical training – slight as those skills are.
Every other week, however, neither Stevi’s personality, his undoubted enthusiasm, nor the increasingly elaborate sets, have been enough to compensate for the fact that he is – almost – devoid of singing ability, and I feel that this latest performance is probably his ‘swan-song’.
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