The prize for this weekend is announced as time with a writing team who have been responsible for a huge number of successes for, amongst others, Madonna, Aria Grande and 1 Direction. This is quite impressive and relevant too.
The producers still seem to think it is a good idea to have a theme each week, regardless of the fact that it will simply not suit some people at all, but I guess they'll cope. This time it's Latino music which has certainly begun to take the charts by storm of late.
Jack & Joel
SYCO's Camilla Cabello, once of Fifth Harmony, who I raved about when they were on X Factor USA some time ago, is at Number 1 at the time of writing and so choosing that track is a stroke of genius by the clever lads Jack & Joel who are first up.
I have to say that I was not expecting this duo to be good but one of them is a really good singer and they can actually pit on a really entertaining performance. I think having brains also helps. A Spanish rap gets included too, ticking all the boxes. They remind me for a moment of Wham.
Simon suggests that the acts should try to 'make a record' each week which is pretty good advice. We learn that Grace Davies was at #2 in downloads.
This weekend we get extremely long intros before each track. I do hope they don't get ever longer as the number of contestants reduces.
Leon
He chooses Get Lucky. The backing track does most of the work in his performance. No show of his range but he does seem reasonably professional. Not bad, but not great.
Sean & Conor Price
they like to put their own spin on a well-known song. But this time they try to do something with Cheap Thrills which didn't work for me. A bit awkward, I felt but, oddly, they seem to get a huge crowd response.
They did say themselves that they had wanted to strip the song back and that they felt it was over-produced. Fair enough.
Lloyd
a good week for this fellow. He does Hero and it's quite formal rather than sexy. All very good, solid stuff but simply not current or particularly imaginative.
The Cutkelvins
They choose a Little Mix track and it's nice and very current. Quite a contrast to Lloyd and really streets better than anyone else so far. Really well-performed. Maybe not their best but it works well. They fill the stage and deserve to get through.
Rak-Su
Yet another of their own songs! Amazing. This is also a genuine Latino number too. The crowd go mad for these boys. They're looking like winners at the moment.
Sam
Difficult to follow that but Sam does well, choosing La Bamba which suits him down to the ground. Coupling it with Twist & Shout he produces a really fun performance and looks confident on the stage.
Boys: 1 Sam | 2 Lloyd | 3 Leon
Groups: 1 Rak-Su | 2 Jack & Joel | 3 The Cutkelvins | 4 Sean & Conor price
I reckon Leon will be going home and Rak-Su will 'win' the night. Got that right!
Now it's the Girls and the Overs.
Grace
That was a reasonable performance of a cover. Good singing but she was not the stand-out of quality as before. Not at all bad and I hope she does get through. Judging by her popularity from last week, I imagine she should be safe.Trace Leanne
Although she is very confident on stage this didn't work. A poor song choice that is not well-known and, whilst suiting her style, may not appeal much to voters other than her core supporters. The audience response seems pretty good, though, so maybe that sounded better in the arena than on the TV.
Rae-Elle
A little live wire and she seems much more at home with this theme than the two before. Good Spanish too. She does seem off-key for quite a while which is annoying and a pity because if she chose a different key or simply stayed in the same one it would have been pretty brilliant. She is an excellent performer.Holly
The recent No. 1 that she chooses does suit her well although she seems to be thinking more about the words and she certainly doesn't come across as sexy as the song intends. At times she seemed a bit desperate too and she may suffer this week as a result. She looks nice and has a super voice but this was not a good theme for her.Kevin
Totally natural, this guy, with a lovely Santana style guitar spot too. He's good, very good. It's a superb rendition of the track. A bit dated, I suppose, but quality and a half. He gets a standing ovation from all four judges. That was well-deserved and says a lot.Alisah
Lots of energy and you have to admire the work that this girl puts into her songs and rehearsal. She lets herself go on this and the track is even quite sexy in places but it does seem like she is putting on an act, trying a bit too hard and just not natural. It's OK but I am not sure about where she's going in this competition.Matt
the final act is Matt with his own version of La Vida Loca. He even adds a rap to it and it is all on a very strange set - just a box that opens with dancers everywhere and then he's back in a box again. That was weird but a fairly good performance anyway.My rating:
Girls: 1 Rae-Elle | 2 Grace | 3 Holly | 4 Alisah
Overs: 1 Kevin | 2 Tracy | 3 Matt
I can see Matt going home and Kevin being the winner.
I'm right about Kevin, who also goes on to win the prize, with poor old Rack-Su missing out twice now.
I'm wrong about Matt, though, as it is Tracy who goes home.
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