Fright Night For the Top 9.

It's Fright night so there's make-up and scary-looking people everywhere. The songs are likely to be a bit predictable too so t's probably a good idea to get this stage out of the way sooner rather than later. As it happens, just about all the acts manage to bring their own individuality to the show - all credit due to them, with not one bad performance tonight.

Gifty

You can absolutely rely on this girl to perform well. This was not particularly memorable but precise and entertaining. She could do well with her own shows. Not amazingly well but, maybe with a good writer, she'd hit the charts as she is quite current.

I'm In Love With A Monster is what I am guessing the title is. Neither Louis nor Sharon know the song but that shows up their knowledge rather than any comment on Gifty's talents. It was a Fifth Harmony song, by the way.

1-2-3-4-5

Matt

Looks like they're starting with the two acts who can be relied upon to keep viewers rather than risking people wandering back to Strictly. Actually, I am sure most people will record this and watch it slightly delayed.

I Put A Spell On You is a great number. If everyone chose tracks as good as this then having a theme wouldn't be such a bad idea. (It is a bad idea still because the idea is to find an act who can steal the charts and also have a go at making it across the Pond too, rather than entertain in a set genre for one week at a time, switching in and out of what they like doing best).

Going back to Matt, though, this was really very good indeed. He should have had  four standing ovations for that. Everything about that performance was first class. Maybe not a chart hit but I can see him getting some great stuff written for him that would hit the charts. He'll make the final.

1-2-3

I do like the di di ra la la bit stripped from Whigfield that we get in the intervals.

5AM Five After Midnight

Thriller is, of course, a natural for these guys. They can sing the song and dance the dance. Good harmonies and well presented. That looked pretty faultless but it didn't sound as strong as it ought to have done. Not at all bad but I would like more depth and less tinny stuff. It seemed to go down well, though, and they may have played safe but that's understandable. For sheer quality and the fact that voters will remember that, I reckon they'll make it through to next week and I'll rate then above Gifty this week.

2-3-4

Honey G

Men In Black works really well for this girl. She is the 'comedy avt' this year but I have to say that she is getting better each week and this time she looked and sounded very professional. Not my style but it will be popular. Tremendous stage show. Impressive week for her. She may well survive another week or two yet after all! She clearly has been working hard. It would be a shame if she went this week, although I would have to place her 4th out of 4 so far.

4-5-6

Ryan

Another make-over this week and it suits him better, a rougher image. Rock Your Body is normally a big heavy number and this is a bit light in places but he tries to make it meaningful. Not a bad effort but, because the others have done so well so far, I feel that he will still struggle. As Louis says, that was his best performance so far but I don't know how much support he'll get. It was odd hearing Sharon, who had championed Nicholas Macdonald, saying Ryan had been a bit wet in previous weeks. Still vulnerable, though.

5-6-7-8

Sam

Super start to Total Eclipse Of The Heart. Her voice suits this sort of song well. Crazy range in the song and she manages. Just. That was impressive. Her voice is amazing. Instantly recordable. Find her a writer now. She probably just pipped Matt again.

1-2

Saara

Lady Gaga's Bad Romance sounds good. She puts on a great show, much to the credit too of the guy planning it all in the background but seriously she is excellent on stage. This could have been her own show again and that is very much to be appreciated. Where that will place her in the hearts of the voters here I do not know. I don't know whether she'll survive but she will be remembered and I do expect someone will take her on and give her a contract to do something in a show somewhere.

6-7

Four of Diamonds

Ghost is an odd choice. You almost wonder if Louis chose it because it had the word Ghost in it. The start is not good at all but once they get going it works quite well. I fear that it will not have worked well enough, though. That was not a great example of what they could do. Pity. They will be at risk this weekend. They may survive but they'll need some luck, and probably another good sing-off track.

8-9

Emily

Closing the show is another genuine contender this year. It's a good slot because people tend to remember the last one and a good performance here can garner more votes than it might have done in the middle of the show. Odd but that's just how things work. Both Sam and Matt can be beaten still. I can't imagine her failing and falling into the Bottom Three - she is Top 5 material.

This is amazing. It is Creep, the classic track that some people just excel at. This is different with a very slow and carefully phrased track that is not at all simple. It would display each and every fault but Emily makes none. Wonderful. She takes #1 spot this week for me.

1

So, safe this week, should be:

Emily | Sam | Matt

Needing some luck with the voters:

5AM | Gifty | Honey G

At risk:

Saara | Ryan | 4 of Diamonds

Four Of Diamonds make the Top 9

Despite its age, this show never ceases to surprise me. This week, after the now intriguing little excerpt from Whigfield's Saturday Night that we get before and during breaks in the show every week, the name of Busted is announced and on come some of the guys we used to know as Busted and McFly looking considerably older. That was actually the first vaguely entertaining 'sing-a-long' as the ten contestants joined them on stage.

We also get Shawn Mendes doing a classy version of his new single. That made me wonder whatever happened to Ben Haenow. He needs a good writer.

Then it is straight into the announcement of who gets through to the Top 9.

The delight on Saara's face when she hears her name is great to see. I had reckoned that she deserved to stay but had not thought she would have had more public votes than, at least, Ryan, Relley C and Four of Diamonds, placing her at least in 7th place.

On Diva Night, Relley C appearing in the Bottom Three was unexpected, although I have not been impressed with her ability to hit the right notes so far. Ryan was the only act I had expected to be in major trouble this week and he gets saved by the new 'second' public vote so must be relieved to be the most popular of those three.

The sing-off, therefore, is between Four of Diamonds and Relley C. I am thinking that, after Simon's remarks yesterday, he would favour Relley C and that Nicole would too so she would be the most likely to survive.

However, Relley C's singing really is not very good. So many poor notes that trail off in I Can't Make You Love Me. If the judges say how wonderful that was then they must surely just be being nice. Sorry, that was wobbly and not something I would want to listen to again.

Four of Diamonds are not at all well dressed. I don't know who suggested those combinations but they are awful. They are four attractive girls but one white affair makes the wearer look wide, like when you get the screen ratio wrong on an old film. Another has some loose black bits hanging down that ought to show a long bare leg but just look strange and not at all sexy either. The other two are not a great deal better. Basically they all look a bit desperate and that theme continues when they start singing. Who Are You Today is, I think, the title. Not a common track and not one you'd expect to be chosen for an important sing-off. Once they get going, though, they're a lot better and the harmonies begin to impress. The notes are good and it becomes a smarter performance with some excellent and quite impressive bits by a couple of the girls in particular. They were definitely a lot better than Relley C but whether that will have been enough to change Nicole or Simon is not clear.

It is. Both Nicole and Simon join Louis is saving the group and they live to fight another day. Fright week next week. Oh dear. Lots of annoying make-up and forced song choices. I do wish they'd just settle down to getting acts to do what they reckon they're best at and would be likely to be doing in future.

The Top 10 Perform. Simon's Girls 1,2, 3.

Those who think X Factor is a pointless show or that the acts appearing are pretty useless might care to note that this weekend sees X Factor acts at #1 and #2 in the UK Top 100. Olly Murs and Fifth Harmony (an X Factor USA finalist) have another five entries between them.

Look at the album charts and Rebecca Ferguson is at #7, Little Mix at #30, Fifth Harmony 61 and James Arthur #71.

Dermot wants to 'dance with somebody' and does his now traditional turn at the start and then we get Nicole singing as an intro. It's Diva Week so that makes some sense - and so much better than the group 'Sing-a-long'. Well done, producers. It's not often I say that.

Ryan

With a guitar, although he doesn't do a great deal with it. Rolling In The Deep is a pretty much over-done track at the best of times and it and Ryan seem to be opposites. He is no 'Diva' anyway but he does sing this very well. It's not his week and this will not really help him. I feel he's unlucky and may be at risk but he is going to go sooner or later.

Sharon is embarrassing again as she says he's 17. He's 20.

Gifty

Great start. Not a song I know. She looks attractive with the long, blonde hair. This is a tricky track to get right but she gets every note in place and, with no cover available in the backing, that's important. She is very good and deserved the standing ovation from all four judges at the end. She should fly through this week. That'll take some beating.

Five After Midnight

They choose an odd one - Valerie as in The Zutons but I suppose it is Amy Winehouse who adds the 'Diva' tag so they can use it. For all that, this is not that great. They put on a super performance and all credit to them for that but it was all a bit like a cartoon. Not at all something I want to hear again and I'm not sure they'll be doing that well on the downloads this week. They were the bookies' second favourite at the start of tonight's show but I suspect they may drop after that. Simon says he didn't like that but they ought to survive.

Sam

A major song for this young girl. Michael Jackson's Earth Song is full of potential mistakes and places to go wrong. It's a big risk but she takes it on and does very well. Very powerful and she gets a decent length too. Super voice, edgy and interesting. In places I feel she tried a bit too hard but that ought to see her through.

Matt

He starts as the bookies' favourite. He has a super voice and seems very professional so I expect him to sail through. He sings another Michael Jackson number, I'll Be There.  It's OK, but he does bring in some crazy falsetto stuff which I could probably have done without. It was better as a strong pop song. In places he tries way too hard and actually misses the key quite badly. Not a good ending. Not a memorable performance either. I expected a lot better.

The judges gave him rave reviews, however. He ought to be fine.

Honey G

John Legend says that her challenge every week is 'topping yourself'. OK. Let's hope she doesn't do that.

Here goes a strange 'Diva' track: Ice Ice Baby. She does it better than JEdward did. Actually a good solid performance. Switch to Under Pressure for no particular reason then back to rapping and the regular 'Ice Ice Baby' lyric. Well, that was OK. That could see her through. It was a good performance, even though I don't go for this at all and really would not want to see her get too much further. But that was more interesting than several acts tonight.

Relley C

She has been suffering from a sore throat so we're expecting her to have trouble but then I am sure the team will have got her organised and adjusted the song so that she can avoid the impossible notes. Her song is Natural Woman which is OK. Her voice must be better as she hits some loud and high notes out there. Not a bad performance but a bit bit messy in places. Good for tonight, I suppose. I still see her going fairly soon and she may be in the bottom three this week.

So far, no-one has really done anything we'll remember.

Emily

A completely different version of Whitney's How Will I Know? Very nice and she is making herself very hard to beat and certainly standing out against the others this week. Brilliant. Best of the night so far. Note perfect and delightful simplicity that says 'quality'. I take back the comment about nothing being memorable!

Louis says John Lewis should choose that as their Christmas Advert track!

Four Of Diamonds

Hoping that these girls do well again. Now that they have had time to settle a bit more. Lady Marmalade is a good start. Bang Bang is also a good sign of what they can do. Stylish for sure and no question that they can all sing. That was near perfect and not at all easy. It seemed to finish a bit soon but OK. Great choice and super performance. They could do a Fifth Harmony here.

Saara

What can this girl do? It ought to be her week as she is the best outright ballad singer in the competition. So what will she perform and how will the British voters take it? Even before she starts I see her in the Bottom Three - and that is a shame but probably true. She may find herself in yet another sing-off and the judges may simply decide that they cannot really support an act that can't get the public's support. It sounds terribly unfair to judge her even before she has sung but it would require something extraordinary to change people's likes and dislikes out there in voting land.

It's The Iceland Bork's It's So Quiet. Oh dear, that's a pity. It won't get her the votes she needs. A very good performance but just not what the show needs. All credit to her but I think that may see her going home.

She is a star, for sure. It's the West End she should be on. She could do well there. Great reviews from the panel. They are all full of praise and that's right.

Here, though, is how I predict the phone vote will go:

Safe and sound

Emily
Gifty Louise
Sam

Relying on getting the votes in

Four of Diamonds
Matt
Honey G
Relley C

Bottom three

Saara
Five After Midnight
Ryan

Saara makes the Top Ten

The bottom three from the public vote overnight are Saara, Freddy and Ryan. No big surprises there. I had expected Honey G might be one of them but it does look like she is getting the benefit of all the extra publicity.

Ryan is the contestant placed 9th in the vote so gets to fight again in Week 3, leaving Freddy and Saara to try and save their places.

Freddy's song is one I don't recognise at first. I think it's called Stay and, after a nervous start, it works quite well for him. He manages to get across some good emotional expression and displays a better range than before too. You get the feeling that it ought to be enough.

Saara goes next and is introduced by Sharon as 'the songbird from abroad'. Then there's a gap as no-one seems quite sure what to make of that. Louis adds 'from Finland' as a sort of effort to make it seem more polite but the damage has been done. Awful stuff from this woman who is making quite a few embarrassing goofs.

The song is a beautiful version of Run and it caps Leona Lewis's release. Really good and there is no sign of the desperation that crept in to her last number. Every note is perfect and the whole feeling you get from this performance is that here is a girl who could genuinely entertain a stadium full of doubtful people and have them admiring her talents before the first song has ended. Nevertheless, you do wonder where she fits in the charts today. Indeed, both acts seem destined for the West End and where they would certainly do extremely well. Of the two, though, Saara is by far the better, by a long way.

It is the judges' choice, though, and we know that it will be down to Simon and Lewis to decide. I am expecting Saara to go as I predict Louis to follow up on his 'No-one likes you' comment last night and send Saara home and Simon will let the public decide. It doesn't quite work out that way. Louis actually sends Freddy home. So Simon could save him by sending Saara home - still the public choice but the other wat round. Simon does so but there's another surprise: Freddy is the one who came 11th and so is out. The public have, after all, started to warm to the Finland girl.

There is a lot of disappointment around and a certain sense of shock as most people really had liked Freddy and expected him to get through and maybe somehow start to improve performance-wise. I felt a bit sorry for him but also for Saara who didn't get the credit she deserved for another remarkable performance. She must have been feeling pretty hard done-by to be around the bottom of the votes again but no-one really seemed to celebrate her success, all being consumed by sympathy for poor Freddy.

Next week we learn will be Diva Week, which ought to be a week when Saara can keep out of the bottom but this is an odd mix of contestants. We have three very good girls who are unlikely to be kicked out just yet, one boy who is almost guaranteed to reach the final and one who is probably going to go soon, one very professional and one very inexperienced group and three very different, and not expected to last long, over 25s. It was good to see Four of Diamonds get through. Theirs had not been a particularly brilliant performance but with such short notice and amid all the excitement of being brought back in to Week 2 of the Live Shows, something never achieved by any act before and a risky move for the producers too, I felt it would have been really cruel to kick them out immediately afterwards. They do need to improve for Week 3, though, and try to rise above Ryan and maybe Honey G and even Relley C who ought to do well in Week 3 but has shown poor skills so far.

Could there be a girlfriend - boyfriend sign of next week? Ryan v Emily is on the cards.

Week 1 Results: The Top Ten

I worry slightly when Dermot announces the 'traditional' sing-a-long introduction to the Sunday show. This really does spoil every effort that might have been made to support individual acts and promote them as viable chart performers. Seeing this year's batch descending, or in one or two cases, ascending to some average party song and dance number designed to ensure that everyone gets even camera time and with lyrics that won't upset anyone is depressing.

Actually, Saara got by far the most noticeable spot, the rest blending into the tedious nonsense that is this element. She was very good and even seemed to care a bit.

Anyway, that ended soon enough. No songs get a full length rendition unless it's a guest. Usually that will be mimed to a backing track too although I did get the impression that poor old James Arthur was genuinely doing is thing. He has struck lucky, finding that his Mumford-type style fits nicely in the current genre that is popular. He is now riding high in the charts after we had all thought he was done for. I could have done without the plug for a mental health charity that he adds at the end of his chat with Dermot and the judges. It may be a decent cause but that just looked dumb. The guy's famous enough at the moment to plug stuff properly in chat shows, radio interviews and magazines. I am sure that most acts have got a favourite charity but if they all started plugging them every time they saw a camera we'd soon get not only bored but a bit confused as to which we should give our donations to.

The make-over teams have been hard at work and made a reasonable job of everyone which is quite a relief as they have gone badly wrong in the past. I am not sure about the shaved stripes for Emily but no-one looked out of place this year. I suppose they still have time. And there's not a great deal you can do with Honey G anyway.

So, it's time to see who made it through to Week 2. Dermot fires through the list this time. With eight to announce I guess he had to. With Brooks Way not even getting a mention this time and, I presume, they have been dropped from the show, I was thinking the producers might have given everyone a second shot but, no, there's a 'Bottom Three' as usual. What is described as 'new' is that one act gets saved by the public vote. It is slightly different in that we get to vote again at that time for which of those three lives to sing another week. Before it was basically a delayed 'who gets through' announcement based on the main vote.

The three in competition are Freddy, Saara and Bratavio. That seems about right to me. I can't remember now what I had predicted but f I didn't predict these three then I should have done. Freddy did not come across very strongly and, however good looking he may be, that will not be enough at this stage. Saara was good but the Finnish thing will never help her and Bratavio just deserve to go anyway.

Freddy is the one saved, which seems right and there is a sing off between Saara and Bratavio.

Saara is quite remarkably good. Amazing, in fact, as she soars through the extremely difficult SIA's I'm Alive and that was pretty damn impressive. Very classy. I am not at all sure that she is someone that is for the UK market but she really does deserve to stay after that. It would really be quite wrong for the other pair to be the ones sending her home.


Yazz's The Only Way Is Up is actually not that bad. Camp and a bit dodgy and definitely out of tune in places but it is quite fun. Totally opposite to Saara. No class, no notes to speak of but you can see their appeal to some sectors of the crazy UK pop sales market. My guess is that a 50-50 vote between the judges would see them through with a higher public vote.

Louis, of course, votes for his act, although I did wonder for a moment whether he might change his mind in view of the amazingly good reviews that Saara had got, some describing her performance as the best sing-off in the whole 14 years of this show. Sharon sends the boys home. Nicole, who gave Saara the Wild Card, sends the boys home so it's up to Simon. I sit there hoping that he really will do the right thing. He does, and backs it up by saying that that was the easiest decision he'd had to make. So Saara will be back next week and she and Freddy will surely have to find a way to attract more votes.

The Top 3 Over 25s for the Live shows

Peter Dickson's back! I might have missed him yesterday but the familiar booming intro was certainly there for Sharon's Over 25s selection time. Robbie Williams is there to help Sharon make those decisions, although, as we'll see it doesn't exactly help her make any sensible decisions.

This is an odd bunch and, quite honestly, no-one stands out at all.

Relley C has not been impressive before and has an annoying Birmingham accent, made worse by the way she speaks. She made Judges Houses a few years ago but I really don't remember her. She is still a bit wobbly and tends to look for notes rather than hitting them first time. There's not much point putting her through as I can see her going pretty soon and she does not have much gong for her. Strangely, I think she's highly likely to go through, though, as she seems to have Sharon's affection.

Christopher Peyton is next. He has a fair bit of soul and possibly some passion in his voice but he's limited in any active range. He has worked hard but, again, is neither impressive nor memorable.

Adele's Make You Feel My Love is James Wilson's choice. He is a likeable character and has a decent voice. Pleasant personality and is the first of the Over 25s that seems to mean what he's singing. Nice audition. He could be popular on the show although I'm not sure he'd sell records. Best so far, easily.

Samantha Atkinson has some unattractive tattoos which may like fine on their own or close up but do not work at all well with a strange dress that shows some but not all of them. She just looks cheap, I'm afraid, and whoever made her up for this deserves the sack. Terrible. She looked quite friendly and reasonable before. She is a powerful singer, for all that, and produces a generally accurate performance.

Saara Aalto sings Abba's The Winner Takes It All and does so beautifully. Very accurate and quite serious. In past auditions she has been a bit over the top and 'theatrical' which, whilst obviously demonstrating excellent talent, doesn't work on the British pop show. This time, however, the accent actually helped! A very nice, well balanced, audition. However, Robbie said he got bored. Sharon didn't like her in the previous auditions so I guess she must be out.

Janet Grogan returns for another attempt too. I was expecting a lot more from her, though, and this was not a brilliant audition although she has probably been the best of he girls overall.

Honey G gets the spot that Ivy Grace had to give up due to making a small mistake on a visa application. Crazy, and you'd think that the money behind the people supposedly supporting talent in this country would have sorted that out pretty easily. Anyway, they didn't, She did remind me a bit of Melanie Amaro who won the first X Factor USA in Simon's category but then promptly disappeared without trace so perhaps it was just as well. In her place we get this weird woman who always wears the same ruddy style of baseball hat that looks 1990s and her hair looks 1970s. All in all this rapper girl is a good performer but I just don't like her style or songs at all.

In a very poor lot indeed, I would choose James, Janet and Honey G. Yes, the others really were that bad! None of these is likely to go very far anyway unless someone does something amazing with song choices and all the other nine contestants screw up badly. Even then I can only think of one of the other nine acts that may be worse and even they'll get more public support!

Sharon, however, goes completely for broke and a three week wipe-out by choosing Saara, Relly C and Honey G! I am amazed that she chose Saara. The girl is definitely a superb singer but I feel she will look completely out of place on the Live Shows. Having said that I am not at all sure how Honey G will fit in either. The Birmingham lass is needed to make up the numbers.