28 Acts Make Judges' Houses.

Boot Camp is mercifully over and now it is a matter of sorting out the (mostly) reasonable acts left, with the four judges selecting the six in each of their categories that they will take to 'Judges' Houses' round. This is a pretty important stage as half of those selected will be in the Live Shows and get a real opportunity to impress people in the industry. With a bit of luck, some will also entertain us and play their part in keeping the show on the road for another year.

In the past this stage has been a bit tedious, with little singing - just lots of people looking anxious with some excited at getting a chair only to be promptly removed later on. I am not sure this is the best way to do things at all but I can see that it makes a fairly good TV show so let's run with it and get on and see who made it through.

Simon starts with the Girls.

Sahaila Clifford is Miss My Parents Remortgaged Twice and we get this repeated again tonight. She is an attractive girl and confident. Despite working hard she can't fix what seems to be an 'unlikeability factor' and the audience are pretty quiet. Her version of Love Me Like You Do could have been a super choice but it was unconvincing. You tended to think of the film and there was no way that this girl's performance was anything other than competent. The notes were right but I couldn't see much understanding of the lyrics. She starts with a chair, though, which is fair enough. She could still be more inspiring perhaps.

Kayleigh Marie is OK but no pop star and I don't see any X Factor there. Yes, she can sing very well but no, I don't see her being someone we rush to download in years to come. Again, she gets a chair at start with at least.

Luena Martinez I don't remember. Seems a new girl to me. She is very good with some pretty amazing high notes, a nice attitude and quite professional too. Another chair.

Faye Horne is a bit desperate. I am not sure she'll last long. Not a good audition. She gets the fourth chair but probably not for long.

Samantha Lavery is just 16. A strong singer, quite rowdy like Faye but she does seem off-key. There's a jazzy side to her and she does make an impression and I'd like to see more of what she can do. There's talent there and I'd take a chance that the bad notes were just a one-off. She gets the fifth chair.

Caitlyn gets the best reception so far by a long way. Nice personality and her version of Rise Up is really good. The best so far by a mile. She gets the last chair.

Jordina Miller sings Amazing Grace. She is trying very hard and actually quite impressive. She gets Faye's chair.

Ellie Rose is not bad but would be unlikely to survive long and doesn't get to take any chair.

Gifty Louise does, of course. One of the stars so far. Crazy gets her a definite place, taking Jordina's place.

Emily Middlemas is another youngster at just 17. I like her. She has an attractive style and does a brilliant version of Girls Just Want To Have Fun. In many ways she strikes me as a Sahaila with an X Factor. She gets a chair, of course, taking Samantha's place, which I was a bit surprised at.

Olivia Garcia is the last that we see. She is another popular youngster and only 16 but she has been really impressive so far. She sings Changing by Paloma Faith which is not a track I know. A really very good performance and far better than most of the others on chairs already. Remarkably, Kayleigh stays and it is Luena who goes.


Olivia Garcia - Twitter – Youtube

Emily Middlemas  – Twitter – Youtube
Gifty Louise  – Twitter – Youtube
Caitlyn Vanbeck  – Twitter – Youtube
Kayleigh Marie – Twitter – Youtube
Sahaila Clifford - Twitter – Youtube

There are four very good girls there so a very good chance of this category being worth watching when they finally get to the Live Shows.

Nicole has the Boys.

Mike Hough has a very nervous start. His soft voice gets stronger but he's off-key. Not fr me. May get a chair but not for long. Nicole actually asks him to do something a capella. He did a bit better with that and gets a seat for a short time.

Will Rush sings something he wrote himself. Not good at all. He doesn't even get a seat.

James Hughes does. He's a nice girl-like guy. Great performance, well done. Finally someone seems to be able to bring the place alive. Louis is delighted, which is quite funny to watch. An easy choice.

Niall Sexton sings Nicole's song Run which I have not heard before. Classy. Dermot says he'll definitely get through. Very very good and, of course, yes, he does. One of the best who should make Live Shows.

Conor McGinty has a big voice. Sings a U2 number. Again, quite classy and he's better than some but I doubt he'll keep his chair for long.

Matt Terry is very popular with the audience. Coming on to lots of cheers and applause. A good looking chap and he can sing Bruno Mars well. A nice job but, strangely, Nicole wants him to sing in a lower key. That requires a lot of technical ability and some nerves for the poor fellow. I like this guy and can only conclude this was staged to make choosing him seem harder and more entertaining for us.

Luca Valenti has one of those voices that portrays emotions even when they're not necessary. Lots of character and passion but mostly growled really. An interesting chap but I doubt we'l see him go much further.

Freddie is another very popular guy. Despite the top know. How Deep Is Your Love doesn't really suit him. he meanders a lot, trying way too hard. We only get about 10 seconds, though and then he gets to play the piano and re-does his first audition. Nicole decides that she likes that better and gives him Conor's chair. All a bit staged again, I feel.

Nate SImpson will get a seat. They need him. Run (the Snow Patrol one) is really good. He is professional and has a good attitude and just performs well. Maybe not a winner but he deserves a place and ought to make teh Live Shows. Mike hoes.

Christian has been very good so far and is one of those guys you can find yourself rooting for. He is one of the best so he'll be there for sure. Feeling Good is always a good umber to perform but he gives it everything and really does make it his own. Remarkable really, even including a sort of rap element that you don't just throw in without some talent being required. Excellent, powerful and a possible winner.

Then we get an odd development, again probably fr the telly audience more than anything else. Nicole doesn't give Christian a seat. She wants Matt terry to come back and sing again. This is weird as both deserve to be there. She needs to drop Freddie or Luca not Matt.

After some silly nonsense Matt and Christian do both get their chairs after all and Luca goes.

That was quite a good show with some decent talent coming through and only one or two annoying ones to reappear.

Matt Terry - Twitter – Youtube
Christian Burrows - Twitter
Niall Sexton - Twitter – Youtube
Nate Simpson - Twitter – Youtube
James Hughes - Twitter
Freddie Parker - Twitter

Sharon has the Over 25s. 

That really is not very old. It was Over 28s at one point. It does mean that a 26 year old could get a great chance.

Samantha Atkinson starts off. Not very inspiring. A good singer but the tattoos are ugly. She gets the first seat and actually hangs on all the way through.

Meliisa Pedro is interesting but her raspy voice is not exceptional. She gets a chair for a while but doesn't survive.

Irina Dedyuk is not popular with the audience. She puts on a sort of show, including showing quite a lot of flesh which hardly helps her popularity other than with the older blokes. She can sing accurately but without any real emotion other than anger. She looks fierce and loses her seat after a while anyway.

James Wilson is the one we tend to want to do well and feel a bit sorry for when he forgets hs words. He solves that particular problem by singing Trouble which doesn't require much memory in that respect. He's good and could well make the Live Shows. Certainly makes Judges' Houses.

Honey G is annoying. I don't like this woman but the audience seem to want her. Remarkably, Sharon doesn't give her a seat. I was thinking that she would but it's not to be which I am more that happy with. I don't see how on earth the ageing rapper woman with stupid hats could make an entertaining show possible with the other acts.

Sada Vidoo you'll remember as the remarkable doll girl. We get a closer glimpse this time and overhear her talking with others quite normally. She looks quite attractive this time and much less like a 1970s toilet roll cover, A really good, clever, inspired version of a Linkin Park number. This is a star in the making. I just don't think Sharon gets her at all. Great pity and a loss to the programme.

Relley C is confident when she comes on but her singing is poor. Actually rubbish in places, off-key. No, please take her away. They may need someone like her for balance in the Live Shows but that was really not goo enough. Why is everyone clapping? Crazy she gets a seat. I must have missed something.

James Cruise sings Alive, the Sia number. He's average and quite forgettable.

Janet Grogan is returning from some years ago. She's one of only a few who deserve a place. She is a bit screechy and that was not the best of auditions but she is certainly one of the six best.

Rebekah Ryan is one of my own favourites. I just like the young woman and feel she could do well if she gets over her nerves and stops panicking so much. She does an Annie Lennox number that quite suits her but her nerves are very obvious and it's sad to see her not make it, especially with some poor acts still surviving.

Saara Aalto from Finland is someone I would put as competition for the doll. They both have a sort of odd, out there talent that is great but I can't see both on the Live Shows. There is always something difficult about singers whose English isn't brilliant and this is another example of  a very, very good singer but not someone for the X Factor. Talented but not very entertaining for me. Sharon is not impressed with her first song and asks for another. The girl does some awful French number which is way off key and weird. No-one likes it and there's no way she should get a seat after that. Odd. Very odd.

Christopher Peyton is called Peyton. That explains why I wondered what Simon called him that last week He's getting on a bit but has a confident attitude and a very strong voice. He's quite an exciting performer but i would probably get tired of him after a while. He gets a place, Sharon seems to like him.

Marianna Zappi is very wobbly with a poor version of Somewhere Over The Rainbow. We only get a couple of lines but that's all I would want to hear anyway.

Ivy Grace Paredes is one of the good ones. A certainty for the Top 6 and a likely Judges' Houses entrant too. An excellent singer and performer that we could see a lot more of.

Anna Lisa is last in this category. She is returning after 9 years. We are all expecting something good as she was qyte impressive in the auditions before and these returning people usually do well. Her version of Amazing Grace is awful. I don't quite know what went wrong but she was not good at all. Off-key and she divided sentences with gaps which were annoying. The dress was also a bit off-putting and she was not someone I could watch happily for very long. She doesn't get a place.

The six who survive are:
Ivy Grace
'Peyton' - Twitter – Youtube
Janet Grogan - Twitter – Youtube
Relley C. - Twitter – Youtube
James Wilson
Samantha Atkinson - Twitter – Youtube

That is not a strong line-up at all. I wouldn't be particularly bothered about who gets through as nobody will go very far. It is odd to think that three will actually make the Live Shows. The Doll and Rebekah would have made more interesting TV in my view. Oh well.

Louis has the Groups. 

He makes a complete mess of his selections, confusing and upsetting everyone. Rather than take you tediously through who gets a seat (basically everybody gets a seat at first!) and then who loses (they all seem to lose their seat at some point and then get brought back) in this chaotic and pretty meaningless farce I'll tell you who makes it and who doesn't.

Everyday Solution we have not seen before and they're boring. Nice enough chaps but just a boring audition that is in tune, quite professional and well-rehearsed but they have no X Factor. Sorry guys.

The Brooks have done well so far. I am not sure they'll do that well in the charts but they've got a good following already and look pretty certain to make the Live Shows this year.

Kayliegh & Stefan are simply dreadful. Not worth any comment.

Bradley & Ottavio. Oh dear. Why are these guys still on this show? We have yet to hear them sing anything. Pathetic. Not a patch on JEdward either who did, at least, have some personality. This is Louis at his worst. remember Wagner? Even worse in my view. Pointless. But they're in the six chosen. You do have to feel sorry for all of the groups not chosen.

5AM are one of the good groups. They deserve their place and ought to make the Live Shows. Good, modern style and they put on a performance as well worthy of BGT!

4 Of Diamonds are another good group, girls this time. Some struggle a bit with some notes but I can see them getting mentored and doing well.

Tom & Laura are like The Fat Shires. Not very nice to watch but they do have great harmonies and each can sing very well. They make it through. Not the best looking couple in the business and I'm not sure they'll make the Live Shows.

Girl Next Door are young and a bit more modern than 4 Of Diamonds but not as good singers. This performance was all over the place and not very good. I don't think they'd get very far and may be better advised to come back again next year. They don't make it.

Yes Lad have been one of the popular groups. The audience love them and they've also had lots of Xtra Factor publicity. Great singers, good harmonies and they know what they're doing. They could be seen as a bit old-fashioned, though. We've had boy bands like this before. Many of them. Remarkably. In a farcical end selection, they don't get a place. Most odd. Louis gives Bradley & Ottavio their seat!! Crazy.

No Get Away are another pretty boring and  uninteresting boy band, They eventually don't make it.

Sc3rl3t are three sassy girls who seem to know exactly what this is all about. To be honest they put everyone else in the shade with a marvellous and well-rehearsed performance of Bang Bang. Great group. They are clearly though.

After the farce that is Louis's selection process that goes on and on the final six are:

Sc3rl3t -  Twitter – Youtube 
The Brooks - Twitter – Youtube
5AM - – Twitter 
4 Of Diamonds – Twitter
Tom & Laura
Bradley & Ottavio

God help us.

STOP PRESS!!

Luckily I watched The Xtra Factor afterwards and there are some changes to who gets to Judges Houses!

Firstly, Ivy Grace has a 'visa problem' and so this potential Live Show contestant is dropped. I was hoping the doll or Rebekah would have taken her place but Sharon chooses the very annoying Honey G. Oh dear.

Then we get the news that there will be a Wild Card entry in each of the four categories which I am pretty sure had been 'engineered' in order to get one or two other people back in despite being dropped by their Judge.

The Wild Cards are:
Samantha Lavery joins the Girls.
Someone called Ryan joins the Boys. This is an odd one. Apparently he was put in a manufactured boy band that didn't work out (and which we didn't see anything of at all!) and Simon decided to put him through on his own after all.
Saara gets a place with Sharon's Over 25s. That's a shame, as I don't see her making the Live Shows and neither new addition does anything to improve this category.
Yes Lad get back in the Groups after all. I still think they're old-fashioned but they'll be one hell of a lot more entertaining than some of the others Louis has put through.

So now we know the 28 acts making Judges' Houses. My spoilers were mostly right. Now I need to find out who makes the Live Shows.

A good start for both The X and The Xtra Factors in 2016!

Here we go again. Dermot doesn't exactly twirl - he's probably saving that for the Live Shows - but he is back as are Louis Walsh, Sharon Osbourne and Nicole Scherzinger, joining Simon Cowell on the panel of this year's X Factor.

After a disappointing run last year in terms of ratings it is hoped that bringing back the older panel will give the show a more comfortable, warmer feel that Rita and Nick simply didn't provide. There are usually at least one or two acts that we see or hear quite a lot of in the following seven months between one series ending and the next starting but, apart from the expected hit for Louisa immediately after the Final and a recent collaboration with Clean Bandit, no-one else seems to have made much impact at all.

I had expected 4th Impact to do just that, not because of their name but they were fun and lively and I thought they'd get snapped up by SYCO and launched on the kids pretty quickly. They are around still but haven't exactly made the Big Time yet.

There is a lot of expectation for X Factor this year, a sort of last push for the flagging weekend shows that were once the most popular shows on UK television.

The start has been good, if a bit too warm and friendly, although we do have to remember that these first audition shows are all edited and put together specifically to bring certain emotions and create the right environment to try to hook us before we switch over to Strictly Come Dancing next week. Actually I am pretty sure most families will simply watch one and record the other.

Yes Lad kick off proceedings in a cheerful, boy band sort of way. Five Manchester personalities who can sing really well. Excellent start, especially when you remember that these people are singing without instruments or digital enhancement in a basic room with four people staring at them. Some get a bit of accompaniment but even that won't disguise missed notes or poor tuning. We'll see more of them.

Someone called Zac comes and goes and is a bit odd. Let's move on.

Samantha has a grandad and a nice back story, fortunately kept brief. Let's hope they keep them all that short. She may not have the 'pop' factor and could suit the West End stage better but at 16 that's a good audition. One to watch.

Christian Burroughs has a guitar and does 'Country Roads' in an honest, if nervous, audition. Then he gets a second chance and performs something he's written himself which is excellent. Lots of potential there. Another one to watch.

James Wilson lives in a caravan in Yorkshire. He has a nice tone and you want him to succeed. He forgets his words but you know he'll get through as he has lots of appeal as the older guy.

In Edinburgh we meed Richard in a joke spot. Move on. Caitlyn next. She's good. Very good and packed with emotion when singing about her father.

Ryan Lawrie is the first 'modern' performer we've seen. Nice version of the Vamps 'Cecelia' which I remember from Simon & Garfunkel days. Naturally good, as Christina would say. Another one to watch.

Melissa comes from Gateshead. Quite why she's in the Edinburgh section I don't know. She's been on stage before and knows what she's doing. Accurate singing and good but pretty uninspiring. It's interesting how the room auditions really do mean that if you can't sing you can't sing and it's obvious. This girl can but she has tough competition.

After some non-entities we get to Honey G who is a bit annoying but clearly the producers have decided to make her an early star for the show. She's a harsh urban type. All very modern but not very appealing on TV. She looks a bit scary but not as scary as many who have made the Live Shows in the past now I think of it!

Sunday's show continues the good feeling with a very Scottish Eddie Lee who dresses like Simon. It's all a good laugh but let's get on with the show, please. He sings Andy Williams' 'Can't Help Falling In Love With You' one word at a time. Not good. He's also 51.

For something completely different and maybe my first tip for a Final is Saara from Finland,. She sings a brilliant version of Sia's 'Chandelier'. Very, very good. Perhaps even too seriously good to win but she deserves to do well. A genuine artist.

Following on the good theme we have James Hughes with 'I'd Rather Go Blind'. Nice looking lad that I reckon we'll see a lot moire of.

Another good one - Emily Middlemas who auditioned a couple of years ago at the ripe old age of 15.She made Judges Houses so simply has to go a long way this year. Starts with Stevie Wonder's 'Master Blaster' in a gentle but competent audition.

Next we have a few of the joke acts and they take up a bit more time than I would have liked but I guess they'll make some people laugh. The last good one for the weekend is Rebekah Ryan from Tamworth. She had a single in the lower end of the charts 22 years ago and now wants to try to get back on the scene. The back story is a bit long and emotional but she eventually puts in a lovely performance that will have most of the older audience in tears. I'm not sure how far she should go in terms of how she'll compare as a star with the competition but she certainly makes good TV and so will be around for a while yet.

So, watch out for Saara from Finland, Yes Lad, Christian Burroughs, James Hughes and Emily Middlemas. Possibles are Rebekah Ryan, Samantha Lavery, Caitlyn and Ryan Lawrie.

After each main show you can switch over to ITV2, or whatever channel is used in other places, and there we have Rylan Clark and Matt Edmondson. An inspired choice there. They can both be risky but are really talented as presenters and will definitely have appeal across a wider audience to help the ratings when they start totalling up viewing numbers. The first two Xtra Factor shows have been excellent entertainment and so much better than the last couple of years. As well as lots more from some of the current contestants we also get to see acts from old editions brought back to life in various ways. Some sing, some don't but it is quite fun!

A good start. Let's hope the talent coming on the shows is good enough to produce some exciting Live Shows and some genuine stars for Britain.