It seems far to assume that three quarters of the panel were either drunk or slightly bonkers this evening. It was like they had forgotten that this was a Live Show. Luckily, most of the contestants didn't.
Yes, here are the Live Shows at last. All the contestants get equal attention and something approaching a full song. With a few exceptions we've really only had a few sections of performances really. No more wild cards. Pity. Although who knows what might happen as it seems that Brooks Way were suspended from tonight's performance at quite late notice. We weren't given a reason but it didn't take long to find out that one of the brothers is said to have been abusive towards an ex-girlfriend way back in January. Talk of innocent until proven guilty. It seems that they'll either get an automatic pass to Week 2, which seems a little unfair, or they'll get kicked out, which is also unfair unless there is proof of something bad happening.
I say bring back Four Of Diamonds.
Dermot gets six girls to dance with at the outset. I use the word 'dance' loosely. One great presenter, though. Welcome back.
The theme for Week 1 is 'Express Yourself'. A good idea as that enables each act to choose something that they can start off really well with. Is till disagree about chucking people out at these early stages, even those I dislike. It has to take a few weeks to get established and, indeed, to build a bit of a fan base and I feel it can be unfair to kick someone out on the basis of one performance. But that's the way it is.
5 After Midnight
First on are the three lads in this very impressive group. They sing Can't Stop The Feeling, a good, current track. They can dance and perform well but were a bit disorganised at times. Great vocals once they settled down and they get a great audience reception.
Sam Lavery
Nice stripped back Impossible. Nicely done. This is a strong performer who can bring some strong character to what she does. All the notes were in the right place. Not an easy track either. Excellent.
Saara
Sharon can't remember who put her in as a Wild Card (it was Louis) and goes on to say that she is from Norway. Chaos.
The Finnish lady has great English and you could almost have guessed she would sing Let It Go from Frozen. This week is probably her best chance to impress with a track like this as she may not get such an opportunity until Abba week. A super, confident start but she is wearing an oddly designed an distracting dress. Ignore that and you'll gather that she is well-trained and hits the notes well but it is a risky song, very difficult and what may actually be correct doesn't necessarily sound right. I respect this lady but don't think she'll last very long.
Ryan Lawrie
Another Wild Card. Nice version of the 1D Perfect. He started a bit quietly and tends to blend in too much with the background track which sounded pretty much like the 1D record! He needs work to strengthen some parts but when he does give it his all he does well. Sharon is embarrassing again, asking him to say 'Och the noo' which, she asserts, is what all Scots say.
It's like she has just wandered in from some shopping nearby and sat down and you wonder whether she has actually seen any of the acts before.
Gifty Louise
I was expecting good things from this girl. She has been very professional all the way through, with confidence in what she does. This was brilliant. That's My Girl I later discovered is the new release from Fifth Harmony (an act Simon Cowell took on board after coming 3rd on X Factor USA a few years ago). Not one note or step out of time and she just ruled the stage. Very impressive indeed. Well done. Simon remarks that the song isn't yet released here. Reminds me of Fleur East's marvellous version of the then unknown Uptown Funk.
Relley C
I have never been too sure about this one. Praise You seems more in tune than most of her earlier efforts and it does suit her but I still find her tuning and timing a bit out. She seems a bit desperate at times but this was by no means bad at all. She'll last longer than some others, no doubt.
Matt Terry
You Don't Own Me is a very good number for him. A great performance. He definitely has the X Factor and I am sure that the audience aren't the only ones who'll be backing him for a long period to come. Nicole is really OTT with her praise which is almost embarrassing! Nice job anyway.
Freddy Parker
He gets his song changed at 48 hours notice. He's now at the piano singing Killing Me Softly quite well. Then he gets up and it kinda goes wrong. There are quite a few la-la-las which make me wonder whether he had forgotten the words. He is quite confident and knows what he's doing so he can get away with that anyway. Very likeable and seems popular too with the audience. I agree with Simon's comment that he would have been better staying behind the piano as that had a classier, more believable feel to what he was doing.
Bratavio
Oh dear. Boom Boom Boom followed by Barbie Girl. All in a giant Dolly Mixture box. Awful. The singing wasn't quite as bad as I had expected but still the whole thing is pretty dreadful. They don't have any personality which all the previous Louis weird acts seemed to have in spades.
Emily
Another last minute switch - this time she just has 24 hours to get round Closer a big hit at the moment by Chainsmokers. This is a very likeable girl and she does well. A bit weak at the start and she just doesn't look as though the makeover team had much money left in the budget for her. It wasn't perfect and in places just didn't work but, despite that, she was impressive and had better survive.
Honey G
I had expected something marginally better than Bratavio. Actually, although I dislike the genre, that was a good performance and quite entertaining. She surely can't go on with the I say Honey, you say G thing forever, Good fun. Actually quite smart and good luck to her having some fun while it lasts.
So, with Brooks Way, and assuming they don't get eliminated and hence save one of these from going home, my ranking would be:
1 Gifty Louise
2 Matt Terry
3 Sam Lavery
4 Ryan Lawrie
5 5 After Midnight
6 Emily Middlemas
7 Freddy Parker
8 Relley C
9 Saara Aalto
10 Honey G
11 Bratavio
As things stand, tomorrow one f these goes home. My guess is Saara.
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