Tonight’s programme was more about the addition than the elimination. Predictably, Amelia Lily won the phone vote to return (with 48%) and performed in the pimp slot. The song choice, ‘The Show Must Go On’, was clearly going to suit her much more than her rivals and told us all we needed to know about who producers wanted back. It also suggested they might have a sense of humour considering some of its lyrics:
Another hero – another mindless crime.
Behind the curtain, in the pantomime.
Hold the line!
Does anybody want to take it anymore?
To compound the sense of pantomime about this series, the start of the show was delayed by technical problems. Cue highlights from auditions starting with Goldie Cheung, the contestant who allegedly walked out because she felt like she was being manipulated. Not to mention Jade Richards being told of her audition, “that performance is going to change your life”. Producers may as well have captioned this moment, “and while we try to sort out the technical difficulties, here are some auditions of people who are better than the ones we put through to the lives”.
Finally, the show did go on.
We wrote yesterday about how producers had shown no love for Kitty last week, but that was nothing compared to tonight: she came on first; her VT was all about being “denied” doing her favourite Lady Gaga number (interestingly, painting Misha B in an unfavourable light in the process); her performance of ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ was underwhelming; and the judges could not have been more lukewarm in their comments.
Pre-show odds of 6/5 against for elimination now look generous, because producers did everything they could to show us they have no interest in keeping her around. Should she be in the bottom two again, which looks highly likely, I don’t expect her to survive – unless producers really are looking to cut Janet Devlin loose, on which more below.
To complete the kill on Kitty by shoving her down the memory hole, she was followed up by another over-praised performance from Craig Colton. Coiffured like David Brent, Craig did what he has always done, and it wasn’t credible when Tulisa reckoned this was “his best performance ever”. It was competent, dull and no ‘Jar of Hearts’.
Nonetheless, his VT showed that programme makers are continuing to invest in him, suggesting he would be making records after the series ended and reminding us how “distinctive” he is, which is his main asset.
Meanwhile, Little Mix were definitely set up for a pimping next week. We’d already been told during the week that they were looking forward to doing a stripped back ballad in the performance after next, which seemed unusually forward-looking. The judges continued to tee up this storyline with their comments about them “becoming a little bit predictable”.
Their production of ‘Telephone’ and ‘Radio Gaga’ featured the curse of the perspex boxes (used for Nu Vibe’s assassination), and felt like a re-run of ‘Please Don’t Stop The Music’. ‘Radio Gaga’ is also the song that killed Jamie Archer in Queen week in 2009.
We have mentioned before that Little Mix may be fishing in the same waters as Amelia Lily, and it seems increasingly clear that producers are hoping for a post-show career for Little Mix. Could it be that they are actually hoping to engineer a Little Mix vs Kitty bottom two this week, so that the sympathy bounce Little Mix should then be in line for can help them outlast Amelia?
Next up came Janet Devlin promising to go back to basics with ‘Somebody To Love’. To our ears it was better than anything she had done since week 1 of the live shows, but the judges did their best to dampen enthusiasm for her. Tulisa voiced what may be Janet’s Achilles Heel when she said her style “is a bit one-dimensional”. Gary Barlow could not have been more damning in calling her “boring” and explaining, “I don’t feel like you’re making enough of an effort out there”.
No surprise that she drifted right out in the win market as a result, losing her spot as second favourite, and indeed becoming second favourite for this week’s elimination. Could producers really be attempting to cut her loose altogether, rather than simply cut her down to size if she is being difficult behind the scenes, as some have speculated?
It’s no longer so inconceivable. On balance I still think they would save her if in a sing-off against Kitty, though. She is by far the more marketable act of the two, after all.
Pre-show favourite Marcus Collins was also set up for a fall from grace after judges had raved about last week’s ‘Reet Petite’. Marcus has shown he could do rock with his week 3 ‘Are You Gonna Go My Way?’ so the ghastly big band arrangement to Queen’s rock anthem ‘Another One Bites The Dust’ was a completely unnecessary way to pigeonhole him into last week’s persona.
We’re still not feeling that producers want him to win, though the momentum he gained from last week should see him safe this time.
Despite her unflattering role in Kitty’s VT, the attempted rehabilitation of Misha B continued. She was last on of last week’s survivors and her VT continued to soften her image as well as shill for the Manchester vote. The different arrangement of ‘Born This Way’ was very much meant to help: taking a song that could be seen as provocative and stripping it back, making it as unthreatening as possible. Tulisa reminded us of this in her comments, and the judges did their best to make her seem as humble as possible.
Finally we had Amelia’s big return. She’s certainly the big-voiced female belter that the show currently lacks. I wasn’t feeling inspired by her rendition of ‘The Show Must Go On’ but then I have to admit that I’ve never rated her as highly as many anyway. I don’t think that she is likeable or outstanding enough to overcome the perceived unfairness of her return mid-way through the competition.
What do you think of tonight’s show? Were you more inspired by Amelia Lily? Do you agree with us in thinking that the Bruck stops here? Or might they be gearing Janet up for a shock elimination? Do let us know.
I think your post sums up the continuing confusion over what the producers are up to re: their overall plan.
I too am no big Amelia fan and was a bit underwhelmed by her performance, but had to do some rapid post show covering based on the instant twitter/forum/blog reaction, which seems hugely positive.
Yes it’s a stupid twist, entirely unfair on the others and she should find this to her cost later on in the series, but placing faith in the X Factor voting public who have memories of goldfish and generally do what they are told…I’m beginning to have doubts.
1. A bit of a mess of a show really, firstly the tech problems (they couldn’t even manage a caption at the bottom to say what was going on, what would a late-joining viewer think?) then the rehabilitation of Misha (apart from being the bully who stole Kitty’s song) and the judges labelling act after act predictable and boring (so why should we watch the show) and finally the almighty shock of the hot favourite’s return. Yawn.
2. Apart from the clanger in Kitty’s VT, looks like I was wrong that Misha was lined up for the chop. However the pleading for votes was very desperate so she may not be that safe.
3. Agree that Kitty is staring into the abyss, no favours at all tonight.
4. Janet the most interesting; my wife and I felt it was a successful rehab job, but the judges and online forums not impressed. The one I wasn’t sure about.
If I had to call, a Kitty and Craig bottom 2, with Janet behind. Pity my money’s on Misha 🙁
i dont get it! Devlins peformance for me was kinda what i expect and she delivered, now Craig was doing same thing for 6 weeks now?
btw remember Amelia’s and her parents comments after she was cut of Xfactor ppl might remember that as well:) so i wouldnt be surprised to see b2 Amelia/Littlemix/Kitty
48% of voters for Amelia. That has to be a lot of people who surely are not going to not vote for her again to consolidate their decision to bring her back, especially after what was a great performance considering the pressure she must have been under
Does anyone have any data on whether you get a sympathy bounce if you’re first up performing? Can’t imagine it’s happened too much before where the saved act opens the singing the next week.
Despite the absurdity of it all, I found tonight’s show to be, at the very least, the most interesting in a while. I would not be surprised if ratings were a little better than they previously were. If nothing else, there were more surprises.
The Kitty Brucknell Show, so incredibly worth the trouble in the days of ‘It’s Oh So Quiet’, is clearly as dead as the chance us seeing her eyebrows moving. I’m sad to see her so underplayed because she has always brought me great moments of entertainment. I have to agree that a shock exit for Janet is really the only way she could survive. If she’s not in the bottom two, I will eat my latex-horse-feather-headdress.
Let’s face it, Craig is boring. I appreciated his arrangement tonight more than you guys did but he was definitely in Borelowezone. Having said that, I could still see him selling more records than Marcus. The latter is obviously far more interesting and talented but I can’t help but think that a potential (and maybe likely) win for Marcus would only result in an eventual role as Seaweed in Hairspray on the West End. I love that show and it’s an amazing role but it’s not the pop charts. Let’s be fair. Craig relies on being ‘distinctive’ but I think he’s more X-factor material than his Liverpudlian competitor.
Did anyone want to killy themselves when they saw Gary singing along in the VT? Vocal coach, Gary? Please no.
I was shocked by the negative comments regarding Little Mix’s performance but your theory that an appearance in the bottom two could benefit them makes a lot of sense to me. The perspex boxes don’t bode well but neither did the rope-swings and face paint at Halloween and ‘E.T.’ has come to be discussed as one of the highlights of the series. ‘Telephone’ was, in my opinion, the next best show that the girlband have put on and I see a big future for them. In a previous comment I likened them to early Sugababes and you guys referenced the Spice Girls in a response to this comment. I certainly wouldn’t compare them to the latter but I see a HUGE gap in the market for them right now.
I’m totally with you on Janet having the strongest (and least affected/obnoxious) vocal so far in her X-factor career. However, I’m not sold on the idea that her attitude behind the scenes has led producers to cut her down to size. If anything, I would worry that her regional vote is proving too strong an element and a shock elimination would open up the competition a lot more. I know she’s no longer favourite to win but her presence is still a looming, overbearing staple in a stale competition. I would be shocked to see judges save her from a sing-off against an easier-to-shift-next-week contestant.
When Gary started talking about the niche carved out for Marcus, I immediately shouted BRUNO MARS at the TV and moments later the ukulele child was featured in this discussion. I felt very smug.
Misha may have needed a softening in order to increase wider appeal but I feel she has lost a lot of what made me love her in the first place. Despite massive praise, I found her performance boring. As much as I hated her initial overstyling, I feel the producers have gone to the opposite extreme and attempted to erase her identity. The Rachel Adedeji pattern continues after last week’s ‘Proud Mary’ and I now feel that my favourite contestant was eliminated a few weeks ago and replaced by someone else.
I think that the hard push for the regional Manchester vote shows that Misha must be in danger. I also feel that the extent to which this appeal was pushed may alienate any voters NOT from Manchester.
Unlike you guys, I was always a believer in Amelia. I think she gave the strongest vocal so far (her’s and anyone’s) tonight. But I can’t make any calls on her place in the contest. It’s too odd, too unprecedented. Who the jizzum knows? She’s trading very well right now but I imagine it’s a fleeting sentiment based on a strange week. Whilst she’s a seriously pretty girl, she has small eyes and nobody trusts a woman with tiny eyes. That’s why they love Devlin. The pink hair, black dress and huge vocal made her more Kitty Brucknell than Leona Lewis and I am very interested to see what happens with her next week. Will they try to make her more ‘current’ in the vein of Little Mix and early-days Misha?
Who knows?
I was puzzled by some things tonight, here are my remarks:
– Kitty’s performance very ordinary so based on that bot2 looks certain. But I had a feeling her VT insisted that she’s the victim becuse of that denial (poor Kitty, she wanted Gaga song so bad) – can that work for her favor regarding votes? But agree, she wouldn’t be saved almost against anyone.
– LMix next contender for bottom 2 imo based on the performance
– Janet was solid at what she does best and despite lot of punters would like to see her fail I believe those people who vote for her will just continue to do so. Her treatment is still odd, even Kelly is not defending her as it should so maybe they really want to ditch her (and embrace Amelia back) but no bottom 2 for her this week imo.
– Marcus was treated with that “next week you will etc.” comments, I learned here that those comments could be dangerous because the fans are put to false security he will be there for sure. Comment on that?
– Was really surprised to see Misha as a thief who stole Kitty’s song, whole presentation made me hate her even more 🙂 Seriously, they are continuing the rehab but this VT was no good, together with bad press articles makes her my 3rd candidate for bottom 2.
– No comment on Amelia, the whole thing around her makes me going to puke.
Boki very interesting analysis, to tell you the truth i think as much hate as Devlin gets, more fans are voting for her, so that might bite producers back:D and about b2 im sure kitty will be there but whos next have no idea
I am thonking Kitty/Craig or Little Mix but Kity yes it was a poor performance
I agree with the comments about Janet – still not entirely sure how much to read into twitter/youtube views etc but Janet is and always has been miles ahead-which would lead me to believe she’s safe and getting votes
despite the odds and negativity on forums, perhaps the people who vote aren’t on digitalspy or posting negative statuses on twitter etc
dont know how much truth is there but found this on DS forum:
TEEN sensation Janet Devlin has aced every X Factor vote so far, the Daily Star Sunday can reveal.
The 16-year-old from Northern Ireland – who has been criticised for occasionally stumbling performances – is still a hit with viewers.
Janet polled as much as a quarter of the vote in some weeks.
And overall, one in five of all votes cast so far have been for her.
X Factor bosses were due to reinstate a rival last night in a bid to give Janet a challenge.
One of her strongest opponents – madcap Johnny Robinson – was booted off
last week after falling into the bottom three.
In earlier weeks he had polled well, fuelling suspicions he was given the hated fi rst slot on last week’s show to nobble him before he caused an upset.
Johnny, 45, came second in weeks two and three of the votes, with axed band The Risk bagging second spot in week one.
Of the remaining contestants, only scouser Marcus Collins, has emerged as a challenger to Janet – after bagging 17% of last week’s votes.
A show insider revealed the details last night as viewers voted to give a second chance to one of the four acts axed by judges in the first live show. The source
said: “Whoever it is will have their work cut out to reel in Janet’s support.”
they say that Daily Star was right last year on vote leaks…
That’s interesting because the Star were correct with their voting leaks last year and in 2009.
If the info is accurate, you’d wonder what Barlow is up to by heavily criticising Janet : is Louis correct when he says that Barlow sees her as a threat to his acts?
it might be that Craig is not getting enough votes so they really pimped him this week, and you know to have in competition only 1 male singer is kinda bad… but really i dont know it confuses me… also it was funny to see that not Kelly but DERMOT was defending her..
I just came on to post this, but it’s already here, so:
1. Is it true? Well it’s plausible, but if I was trying to make something up to convince you I had inside info, it would read just like that.
2. If so, it ties into the theory of the long-range game on Janet, either to stop her winning or just to make it competitive.
3. One of Craig/Misha v likely to be bottom 2 if we go with this – backing both (little liquidity on betfair) may be a sound investment.
4. If not true, part of the assassination attempt on Janet?
Misha was the worst of the night but was getting hard pimpage; the only thing that might work against her was Amelia coming on next and totally pwning her.
With Amelia’s return, Janet’s days are numbered; the series has clearly written her off. There also seems to be a trend to pimp Craig over Marcus, which strikes me as perverse given how often this show has been won by bland boys destined to tank after their first single.
Sad to say, Kitty is gone tomorrow. It won’t save her, but if there’s any justice she’ll do the stripped down ‘Born This Way’ in the sing-off.
The regional pimping of Misha came across as somewhat desperate – the word “Manchester” was used no fewer than 11 times during her segment.
wow I knew it was a lot..but didn’t know that many, could it have a negative affect? 11 times is just WAY too many
As serious XF punters are all too aware the judges comments distort what viewers have just heard but tonight’s comments took this to an unprecedented ceiling. It was like they had all been drinking an anti-truth serum. Craig’s song was so, so dull, off-key at times and ripe for panning but again they raved about him. Janet sang her heart out and put in a vocally near flawless, captivating performance and she gets panned for it. Misha’s song was very mediocre, and included, again, that annoying, trademark, ‘ha-ha-ha’ faux rapping of hers that must be a big vote-loser, and the shoe-horning of Marcus as a z-list Bruno Mars – I copyrighted that description after his performance last week btw 🙂 – was sad to witness.
I can only conclude Misha has been getting a very thin vote and based on tonight, I think it’s Misha and Craig in the mix for b2 with Kitty – despite their desperate ramping of Craig it was the true death slot for him and a very forgettable song. Misha then got usurped by Amelia.
Amelia was bound to get the kitchen sink thrown at her tonight, but I’d expect to see her bow out of the competition before the final. She looks a great lay on the Outright to me as she has a hard-as-nails veneer and vocally she’s not that great. They won’t want her winning either, as it’ll degrade the show letting someone who has had a bye until halfway win… though they’ve done a great job of degrading the show already.
I think it’s a skill to talk about this stuff without the bias of personal taste but I HAVE to disagree with you about Janet’s ‘captivating’ performance. I was shocked to see the judges speak what I have been thinking all along and whilst her performance was very solid, there WERE (no opinion, just fact) a few very flat notes in there. There were more on-the-spot notes that made the duds less important but she was not flawless. Agreed on Misha, but I don’t know why you reference rapping. Whilst Craig was as boring as ever and I am not interested in him as an artist, his vocal was tighter note-wise than Janet’s. I would like to see him in trouble but I am looking at a bottom two of Kitty and the new and unimproved Misha B. Seeing Janet there would be great but if the regional vote took Yoggan Quigg to the final without touching the bottom two, I don’t see how the much more appealing (annoying) Janet Devlin would fare any worse.
i dont know Rob i think they are seriously after Devlin http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/tv/news/2011/11/13/kelly-rowland-falls-out-with-janet-devlin-and-louis-walsh-argues-with-kitty-brucknell-115875-23557433/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Been working tonight, so I’m just watching the repeat ITV2 start of the ‘delayed’ show. Nicely planned move XF (just in time to catch all the Stricly customers to watch ALL of the show perhaps ???).
This show’s just hard to read at times, is it all scripted and pre planned or are we just cynics I sometimes wonder? I think the first 🙂
I wish we had some ideas of the total number of votes/week perhaps if we did, we could use the twitter followers/comments/youtube views in correlation with estimated figures..maybe not
Is it not more likely than Janet to be Craig thinking about it, poor slot, dull as dishwater and splitting a regional vote 3-way now? Craig/Kitty with I would guess Kitty being sent packing in this case?
So the producers clearly want Janet out. I have no idea why. I mean, who do they actually want to win? The only acts they don’t seem to be stifling are Little Mix and Craig, but surely Little Mix can’t win and Craig…well they can’t want him to win! I’m so confused as to their intentions for this series. Maybe they want Amelia Lily to win, but I can’t really see it happening.
To be honest, as much as it pains me to say it, I’m expecting Kitty and Janet to be in the bottom 2, and Janet getting sent home to cause some form of controversy (what it will actually cause is a remote through my TV screen). It all seems to be set up for that to me. It seems clear to me that 4 weeks of sabotaging Janet must be leading to her being sent home at the first opportunity.
Little Mix/Craig get good treatment, but are they marketable? Craig seems doubtful
Little Mix..maybe?
I read it the other way I couldn’t see Kitty being saved in a bottom 2 singoff with Janet – Kitty has been getting a lot of negative coverage/poor comments/bad slot this week/comments which suggest they aren’t interested
As to Amelia Lilly – personally I can’t see how she can win from here, but I also wouldn’t have thought they would want to bring someone back making a mockery of the show as it is!! With that in mind, perhaps producers do want Amelia as the victor, and can say it waas a huge mistake getting rid of her in week 1? The show has no integrity and wbilst you/I may think that would be beyond a joke coming in week6/10 and winning and mean the death of the show..the reality is, that most people would probably have forgotten about all this by the time next years X Factor rolls round and would happily watch it as normal?!
I’m surprised that anyone could even question Little Mix’s marketability. Personal taste aside, they’re the only act I can imagine filling a gap in the charts. Everyone else is a version of something already happening (Kitty/Gaga) (Janet/Birdie-cum-Florence) (Craig/Adele).
Whatever you think of Little Mix, they certainly have a lot of potential to sell songs.
The reason that I see them sending home Janet over Kitty is that Janet is obviously the bigger threat to whoever they want to win, and it would be controversial to send Janet home over Kitty. I’d just be surprised if they spent 4 weeks stifling Janet just to let her off the hook when they start to influence the public.
The more I think about it more it seems Janet would NOT be saved against Kitty if she ends up in a bottom 2 (although I still don’t think she ends down there). I would really like to see an updated Sofabet team opinion on this – you guys still think the same ?
To be honest, Boki, we’re just not sure what’s going on with Janet. If they hadn’t invested so much in her at auditions and bootcamp, then it would be clear as day that they were gunning for her. But the fact that everything up to live show 1 so strongly suggested they were behind her at least demands that we consider a couple of alternative explanations –
(i) they got worried that her winning would seem too much like a foregone conclusion if they didn’t keep slagging her off;
(ii) she’s proving uppity behind the scenes and they want to break her in.
It’s quite possible they have just changed their minds and want rid. But if there is a Kitty-Janet singoff, personally I’d probably plan on sitting it out, to be on the safe side.
Hi Andrew,
Thinking of explanations we can only guess. But if she ends down in bottom 2 tonight that didn’t happen within one week (when she was on par with her best). So they must have known from last week she could be in danger and yet they keep sabotaging her (as Curtis said) – it would suggest she’s no longer needed and this would be a good chance for shock elimination since the only “Janet supporter” last night was Louis who will vote for his own Kitty.
i m in agreement with rob, janet sang amazingly tonight probably the most unique haunting vocals of the series,it makes me wonder why they seem out to get her she looks a lot more marketable then most the other acts especially the much pimped craig
amelia gave a crackin performance too like expected and might be on course for a final wit craig and little mix now.
I would argue against Janet’s marketability. Much like the Risk were, Janet is aiming at an extremely over-saturated corner of the market. Birdie/Florence/Goulding etc. I think that the charts are currently experiencing a bit of a comedown from the ‘unique’, ‘haunting’, ‘ethereal’ trend which has been dominating for a while. That’s why I argue that Misha, Little Mix or Amelia are more marketable – even if they’re not potential X-factor winners. They all represent gaps in the pop charts, which I sincerely don’t believe Janet does (rather she reflects a trend which is already past its sell-by date).
Well that was all up to standard. The filler tape while waiting for the show was a reminder of how many decent or interesting acts got passed over for the dull bunch that made it through.
As for the performances. Kitty was made to look petulant on her VT, interesting they showed Mischa as being the other person in the “row” bearing in mind the racism allegations. The performance was pretty boring, the comments lukewarm. The audience probably not in a receptive mood after the long delay. Gotta be bottom two and won’t be saved against anyone.
I think Craig was put on next to make Kitty look even worse which suggests producers still believe in him. I’m never sure new arrangements of songs work as you have to get your head round them and then see if it’s a good performance. In comparison to Kitty it was good but as the night wore on became forgettable.
Little Mix had the kitchen sink thrown at them! Upbeat VT, sympathetic breakdown VT, big production number, great judges comments. I actually thought it was their best performance yet, strong solo vocals, not too many hard to do harmonies and good song.
Janet is looking more and more unlikeable and more and more one dimentional. Loads of reverb on her mic though so she’s getting help. I don’t buy theories about them trying to dampen her support. It’s a money making machine and if the public seem to love they’d want to keep her close. Producers are unlikely to care about the margin of victory. And if they want to reign in her personality a one to one off camera chat will be more effective than the panto grillings from the judges. This of course assumes total competence from the producers…
Marcus seemed to getting much more promotion than Craig this week with an upbeat vt showcasing his “dynamic” performances and happy character who seems grateful to be their. No calling for that Liverpool vote though. His performnce was too similar to last weeks though, but he has been the most consistanly good performer this series.
Mischa B’s softening continues apace where she’s gone from a British Lady Gaga to a British Gladys Knight, she was positively frumpy tonight. I have conflicting thoughts on her performance. On one hand it’s the first time I’ve thought of her as Leona-esque in terms of looks and ability but the arrangment was awful. He quiet and humble reaction to the judges shows she’s being worked on and she got a “hard worker” comment that always goes to favoured acts.
Amelia got 48% of the vote and put in a vocally strong performance that should see her safe. They made a “mistake” not putting her through.
Kitty bottom two and going should be cut n dried, joining her Craig or Marcus I think.
I agree that it’s a money-making machine but a large proportion of that money comes from advertising and Janet looking to be too far out ahead could be bad for ratings. Ultimately, whatever their plan, producers wouldn’t have a problem with a large margin but they don’t want to contest to look predictable because they don’t want to lose viewers who don’t bother to tune in because they know who is or isn’t going home.
As they don’t reveal voting figures weekly I don’t see this as a problem
I can’t explain why they’re dampening her support, but they clearly are. Unflattering VTs, poor slots in the running order, mixed judge’s comments, and poor song choices and arrangements. You can at least concede that she is no longer the producer’s favourite anymore like she was earlier on the in competition.
An odd week for sure, heaps of speculation before the show as to why it had been delayed. Still it started with all the judges still alive and maybe for once they told the truth and there really was a power cut.
Thought my plan was going to pay off when Craig went on 2nd, but then he was praised a little too much. From this moment it seemed that Kitty’s time on the show had run out and she’ll be trampled by her galloping dancers tonight. … Still that chariot dance routine has given me the most entertaining moment of the series so far.
Completely confused now, Marcus; if he is the chosen one, still hasn’t offered up a single xfactorwow moment in the whole series. He’s leaving it very late. Plenty of show time moments. Bring back Summertime Special.
My bet on Amelia returning paid off, I knew it would and i knew it really really would as soon as Louie plugged her instead of Jonjo at the start of the show.
Great analysis as always Daniel. Kitty does look in real trouble this week I think. Interesting you saw Misha’s appearance in Kitty VT as a negative for Misha. I interpreted this as a positive – judges showing her their preferred act is, suggesting that Misha could do a better job of the song (a bit of a slap in the face for Kitty as that’s her job!) Shame really as my money was on Misha to go pre-show and I don’t think there is much value on Kitty to go even though I think she is most likely to go as i don’t think its too clear what their intentions with Janet would be were she land in B2.
I agree with many of the comments made above.
Kitty was uninspiring (Don’t Stop Me Now felt more like Put Me Out of My Misery) and the VT beforehand and comments afterwards didn’t help (‘I want my Gaga song’ tantrum followed by thoroughly lukewarm judging (Gary in particular praising the song choice and then telling Kitty if she is lucky enough to be back next week her problem is connecting with the audience). Fated to go now I think.
Craig got positive VT showing him working hard and very closely with Gary (something Marcus did not get as much of), perhaps trying to identify him as the favoured boy. He was competent and boring as ever, at least he seems to have reigned in his gurning substatially at this stage in the competition. I still think he’s the producers’ preferred boy (as Dug sums it up perfectly, “I can’t help but think that a potential (and maybe likely) win for Marcus would only result in an eventual role as Seaweed in Hairspray on the West End.”)
Little Mix got interesting VT showing them working hard, feeling the pressure, bouncing back and being the only group left so bonding with Tulisa. I think the producers want a top three (and possibly even top 2) spot for them to launch a career, but also suspect they may be struggling for votes. Their judges comments were mixed after a competent but samey high energy track but, as said in the main article, they are being set up nicely to persuade viewers to vote them back for next week and get something different (indeed, Gary tells us he is “ready for a game changer”, are we to expect this?). We do keep getting told how well they actually sing in rehearsals when they don’t have a thumping bass behind them, and for me this was the first week I noticed Blond Mix’s fairly strong voice being showcased.
Janet’s VT told a story of last week’s “disaster”, tears at being saved, Kelly taking her back to where she started but then the hint of Janet still being difficult and demanding about how things are staged. I am frankly starting to dislike her quite a lot due to her irritating voice flicks after every second line (I’m sure there’s a technical term for this I don’t know) and her seeming lack of a personality (smiling ghost faced Irish girl who, we are given the hint, may be a bit stroppy). Dug points out that “I would worry that her regional vote is proving too strong an element and a shock elimination would open up the competition a lot more”, something with which I wholeheartedly agree. I worry she is getting a lot of regional votes and that she’s consequntly doing rather well. Thus the pimping of Misha B (Amelia aside) and the focus on her regional vote.
Marcus’ VT was all about how he has found his musical identity (both he and Gary referenced this). He then did a reasonable performance of a bad arrangement that was basically the same as last week and was shot down for this by the other judges. This was a ‘put Marcus back in his box a bit’ moment by the producers for me. I’m sure they’d prefer that, if a boy does win, it’s Craig rather than him. I agree with Boki that, “Marcus was treated with that “next week you will etc.” comments, I learned here that those comments could be dangerous because the fans are put to false security he will be there for sure.”
Misha B’s VT focussed on Manchester – the radio, the supermarket, the ‘nail shop’ – and her post song comments from both Louis and Kelly referenced the local vote. Her performance was best of the night for me and her comments from Tulisa’s “one of the strongest vocals” to Gary’s mention of her great attitude were entirely positive. Back to Janet, I suspect Janet is doing better in the votes than Misha B, the latter being by far the more credible artist.
Finally the ‘massive shock’ that Amelia got back in followed by a ‘story of the X Factor so far’ VT about her and an average performance. She sang averagely but I wonder if she may be safe for next week – she’d be saved in a sing off I think. Her comments were universally great. I personally thought her vocal was weak at times. A few other thoughts. Singing The Show Must Go On, I wonder how many people, like me, were thinking ‘I bet Kitty would really go for this one’. Probably better than Amelia too. However, in her favour note the styling. Her and Janet are about the same age. Janet is given a translucent dress showing off a pair of what looked liked demurely thick stockinged pins that hardly flattered. Amelia is given a semi Terminatrix style with a serious flash of leg. One the slightly creepy, innocent, dull, irritating voice flick Irish girl; the other a sassy, sexy, power vocal mistress. I am sure the producers do not want this return to fall flat and keep her for, probably, two or three votes (going the week or two before the finals).
As for the whole thing, I’m not sure the producers even have a firmed up game plan for the win. I think they have more of a top 3 plan. Noticeably 7 acts sung, three girls in the final four to sing. I’d say the producers would be happy with a Misha B win, then Little Mix and Craig in second and third (either way). I’d go so far as to say that I suspect they’d be OK with those three in any order, although would prefer Craig not to win. I think, perhaps this week and Kitty aside, Janet will go if she drops into the bottom two. I don’t think Amelia will last too long and, sadly, I fear for Marcus as he’s not prime recording artist material and I think he has been built up early to drop him off a bit as the contest draws to a conclusion.
My bet this week is for Janet to go, doesn’t seem too popular an outcome on the comments above but this is my reasoning, I think its been commented before that the judges seem to go through a couple of weeks of softening a contestant up then go in for the kill to get them in the bottom two. Janet’s last 3 weeks of performances have just not lived up to the hype from the auditions. I think the comments from the judges showed they have lost interest. Two weeks ago they criticised her and told her she needed to do something different, last week she did and they criticised her saying it didn’t suit her and she should stick to what she does best, this week so goes back to her original self and they criticised her again saying she has become boring. Dermot’s comment “dammed if you do, dammed if you don’t” was fitting. The amount of coverage they gave her in the audition stages of the show made her the clear favourite, but the judges comments don’t even come close to praise they are giving Little Mix, Misha, Craig and now Amelia too. When she finished her song last night Gary and Louis couldn’t even be bothered to clap and the effort that Tulisa and Kelly gave to a round of applause, well putting chips in lukewarm cooking oil would make more of a noise. Gary’s comments are what I think will put her in the bottom two, coupled with the fact that Kelly talking straight afterwards didn’t even retaliate in her defence, saying she respects her for going back to her own style lacked any praise for the performance. Isn’t the normal tactic of the judges that when a judge makes a cutting comment of a contestant not being worthy, another judge will spring to their defence start a “fake” row and this is what makes people pick up the phone because they agree it was unfair “fake”. For Janet’s mentor not to defend her I think speaks volumes. Compare that with Kelly’s reaction to Amelia, she couldn’t seem happier to have her back. A friend of mine reckons they are knocking Janet down to build her back up as being favourite from the start would make it difficult to maintain to the final. My view is Misha’s knocking down only lasted a week, I think that if this is the plan by the producers the have gone too far and created non repairable damage. Where can Janet go now with song choice? slow your boring, up tempo it doesn’t suit you. I think Janet is a gonna, my only doubt is that both Louis and Tulisa said she can sell records and that is what the show wants. But with all the above I just feel she is in big danger coupled with the fact that her spark has gone, she just doesn’t look happy or comfortable at all.
I also think Kitty will be in the bottom two but I think they are going to save her, all the judges clapped!! They gave her good comments and I think that the being denied the chance to sing Lady Ga Ga is going to throw her a life line to come back and do the stripped down performance the Judges are telling her they want to see. I think her VT will bring sympathy rather than people think she was being demanding. The show ruled her out of doing any Lady Ga Ga song not just the one Misha had and in the public eye I think this looks unfair. If for this reason Kitty manages to escape the bottom two, I think the show is defiantly not going to save Janet over any of the others. Kitty is the headline maker and I don’t think they are at the stage of the show where they want to get rid of her just let, they clearly want Little Mix and Misha to finish as high as possible for post show success, so they need to get rid of some of people who have the ability to take those final 4 positions. Kitty they can get rid of any time, with Amelia back I think the X Factor axe has started to fall on Janet and there is no way back.
On Marcus, last week they praised him so much for finding a style in music that suits him, only to come back one week later with the same style and be called predictable!!!, total nonsense comments, especially so as Craig has been the same every week, I’m hoping its not the start of raising the axe to Marcus, instead they are setting him up for the pimp slot ballad and road to victory!!
Tend to agree with Shoulders. The mass teenage entertainment market isn’t that subtle is it ? They want a feelgood factor sound and Amelia is the producers new favourite. Janet delivers something else, hopefully longer lasting and a potentially better quality musical artist as most of us seem to agree on. Expect Janet to get dumped after being bottom 2 with Kitty. The producers are really going for that now, hoping that the core XF public will gradually forget it all in the weeks ahead. Will they? Some won’t.
WAS Amelia’s vote fixed perhaps ? Was the ‘convenient technical hitch’ a cover up for it. Any thoughts on it out there ?
http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2011/11/13/cries-of-fix-as-x-factor-announce-amelia-lily-as-wildcard-winner-an-hour-before-public-vote-ends-115875-23557786/
I very much doubt it, Pete. Amusing as the conspiracy theories are, I would bet what happened is simply that someone wrote the “Amelia returns” story ahead of time on the strong presumption that she would be coming back, to save time if and when it happened. It’s common practice in journalism. Actually, I noticed this morning that a google news search for X Factor brought up these URLs as well (you just get an error page when you click them)
http://programmes.stv.tv/the-x-factor/news/278829-x-factor-return-result-shock-2-shoes-voted-back-in/
http://programmes.stv.tv/the-x-factor/news/278827-x-factor-return-result-shock-jonjo-kerr-voted-back-in/
I would bet somebody prepared stories for all eventualities, and accidentally pressed “publish” too soon. It happens (actually, in the age of online news, it’s surprising that it doesn’t happen more often).
This should have been Kitty’s week but it turned out to be a bit of a letdown. Big memorable production, fairly positive comments from the judges, but wrong song for her. She wasn’t bad though and has hell of a voice on her but I think that it would have worked better with Marcus singing it. Being first in the line-up doesn’t bode well for her either so bottom two tonight I think.
After last night, I’m sure the plan is to get shot of Janet at some point soon (hopefully tonight as I’ve got money on it!) Louis was the only judge giving her unqualified support, Gary’s comments were scathing but nothing I’d disagree with and her own mentor didn’t even try and defend her. My wife was shouting at the TV during her performance for killing one of her favourite songs. I think they’ll end up with a female Matt Cardle on their hands if they don’t get her out soon.
Bringing Amelia Lily back was no surprise and she sung well and looked great. Far more marketable than boring Janet.
Dan. I wholeheartedly agree with you and your good lady on JANET. Anyone who thinks that she can sing must have their ears painted on. XF have known their mistake for weeks now and are doing their best to sumbliminally convince viewers to throw her overboard.
She has absolutely no power or fluidity in her lower range, yet always sings those samey songs in keys that take her down there. To be honest, I am not a fan of the yodelling craze but Diana Vickers and the Cranberries do it so much better.
This ‘affected’ girl lives in a bubble away from the ‘real world’ where she is constantly fed unconstuctive compliments all day from Mummy and Daddy (which is why she can’t hack the truth from the panel here, or handle the rigors showbiz).
Seen it all before when I used to run big talent competions in the 90’s. Her best friends are her mirror and a hairbrush microphone and her stage is YouTube through her ‘please adore me’ camera.
I can’t imagine any manager (bar mug Louis) wanting to risk his name and money on this spoilt little minx.
She was pants again last night (as usual). She had that defiant ‘I’m great and I know better’ look in here eyes, her hand motions were wooden and I have seen more life in a Tramp’s vest. I nearly fell asleep.
The big big difference between Janet and Diana is that the latter was usually very exuberant and passionate, even in her smaller-scale performances. Janet comes across as rather dour and joyless, like she’s not enjoying being there at all.
I wonder if the producers’ hoped that Janet would be a less marmite version of Diana – with all of Diana’s strengths but none of the polarising personality quirks – but instead ended up with a contestant who’s every bit as Marmite as Diana was but with none of her vivacity.
I’m with you all on Janet. About as ‘subtle’ and ‘authentic’ as Wednesday Addams warbling ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ whilst releasing doves from a golden basket. The vocal flicks are infuriating and nobody ever calls her out for being vocally flat on a lot of her big notes and weak on the smaller ones. Because she has a ‘haunting’ and ‘unique’ style, serious vocal criticism is a formality that can apparently be overlooked. Did anyone notice the last “Meee…?” before the final line of “Somebody to love”? Absolutely shocking.
my theory is that she is having a very bad experience with the process. there’s a certain exuberance to her youtube channel, her audition and the stuff up to judges houses that is missing now. she started the shows fairly solidly but you can tell by her body language that she has practically quit the show. i think she was surprised that she survived last week and thinks its only a matter of time now – she must know they are trying to ditch her?
out last night at a friends. saw bits and pieces of performances whilst quaffing jack daniels (and talking of the other JD i nearly asking for an iphone to bet on her to go as so unimpressed by the bit i saw).
anyway i’ve seen them all again on youtube and i don’t really know what to make of it. is it gary barlow who is the loose cannon? is he so competitive he’s determined to destroy any opposition that gets in the way of craig?
anyway here’s my 2 cents:
kitty was given vt, styling and son arrangment. unlike others i thought the comments were warm and the performance ok. the whole set up though was distracting with those ridiculous horse dancers!! seems a likely bottom 2.
craig next up. performance was quite good imo but what drugs are the judges on. the pimping was way over the top for the level of delivery and craig appears to be immune to the ‘your always the same’ criticism the others endure. this could mean he has a weak vote, but my reading is that he is trong enough to go from 2nd but they want to keep him ahead of marcus.
littlemix gave another samey (good) performance which won’t gain them any new fans but won’t do them any harm either. the mash up wasn’t too dislocating imo. they seem to be setting them up for next week so if they do slip into bottom 2 i think they’ll be saved.
dammit janet!! i’m with gary barlow with the ‘boring’ criticism but i’m not so sure of a bottom 2 appearance after hearing it again? reasons being that i think the fanbase will hold just about enough this week (she needs about 15% of the vote) and the vocal was actually good. i also think there are those that vote who just like someone to stand and sing and with all the pyrotechnics with the others perversely this one may stand out. however, it is clear now that janet’s removal is the show’s primary consideration. barlow’s attacks, amelia lily’s return and press reports of ‘strops’ are seriously damaging and it’s clear there has been a complete breakdown with kelly rowland, it’s sad really that a huge corporation feels so threatened by a teenager that wants to do her own thing that they make these immense efforts to steamroller her. certainly worth a speculative bet imo.
marcus struggled this week imo. he didn’t seem comfortable with the song and for the first time his vocals seemed slightly off. the back end of the performance was very good though. i think this was caused by him having to remember too many things – the performances are getting too complicated. the judges comments suggest a softening up for a fall and also the vt suggested he’d come to the end of his journey with ‘i’ve found my identity now’. should be safe this week as still riding previous week’s wave.
misha’s for me was the best vocal of the night. it’s a case of whether she is overcoming the unlikeability factor. the serious pimping and the begging of regional votes appears to suggest she’s hovering perilously close to the bottom 2 and they are desparate to keep her in the competition. her appearance in kitty’s vt was a bit of a faux pas though. again perhaps worth a speculative bet.
which brings us to amelia lily. this is too much of an unknown – there are so many variables. her hard core fans will vote for her but does her reappearance turn off the rest of the voters or turn them on. the performance imo wasn’t very good – i found myself comparing her to past big vocalists and found her wanting (kitty would have done this better also). there’s also a hardness and neediness about her. also will the negative publicity about ‘the fix’ effect her vote? clearly the ramping indicates that they need her to stick around for at least one week.
it’s confusing as to figure out what the masterplan is and i like to think someone was having a little joke with AM’s song choice containing the lyric ‘does anybody know what we’re looking for’. overall i think the producers want a craig, littlemix, misha b final now (amelia lily if they can’t get misha over the line). but i think we can look on it now as not so much a talent show an OPERATION: STOP JANET show as they appear to throwing everything at that including the kitchen sink!
personally was thinking of hedging my bet on janet as it appears lost but as i’m up a long way this year i’ll keep it on as a type of anti-SYCO protest bet. it would be interesting if anyone started an anti-SYCO campaign around JD but it wouldn’t work as they’d just turn it around in a ‘we always loved janet’ victory dance for themselves.
Here is another masterplan theory (consider it as a joke please although I guess someone could belive in it) 🙂
Everything from beginning was diabolically planned and still on track. Janet & Amelia were favorites and Amelia ditched in a twist because of Janet. Then comes manufactured Frankie axe which open doors for (another twist) Amelia return while Janet keeps getting bad treatment. At the end everyone admits mistake about ditching of exciting Amelia which was The One winning the show while boring Janet fades from memory.
I think its fair to say alot of people on this are getting very worried about amelia actually going on to win the show now and are getting worried about there own favourite not winning.
If she isnt likeable why would she get 48 percent of the vote last night.
Her performance last night was head and shoulders above the rest and looked like she was singing in the final i thought it was pretty epic or mini epic.
Maybe another year the unfair advantage of her would of cost her but this year i still think she is going to romp to victory why??who can actually beat her.
Janet is tiring alot of people she is incredibly boring and even if she survives for another week or so she is going to do the same thing again and its going to come to the point that no one will want her in the show no more
kitty be gone this week
craig is just craig he is the kinda guy who is like joe who won it and that guy who won britans got talent bland as bland i really cant see another bland person winning a big show like this.
little mix will always be known as the best girl group x factor ever had i personally like them and think they got great personailtys but i cant see them picking up enough votes to challenge ameelia in the latter stages i say they could miss final
mishca b just cant see it to be honest
marcus is obviously the favourite and i always liked him but he has become pretty predictible right now and is becoming a karoke singner who just does his little dance in a corner thats the 3rd time in a row that he has done something the same
amelia lily is gorgeous has a very decent voice for her age and brings huge energy to her performance
my question to you is who could actually beat this lady ?
If she makes it into the top 2 or 3 I can imagine the other contestants might attract a strong anti-Amelia vote.
Not sure if this has been posted on here but the star have a story that janet has won every vote.
no voting results are publicised during the show only when the winner is announced
they did the same thing last year making out wagner was very high and mary byrne won 3 vote weeks in a row when she only won 1 and matt won the rest.
could be true tho but dont believe it
i be surprised if janet was winning the vote every week considering her last few performances
That was The Sun,
The Star have an excellent record on voting leaks.
I’d be very surprised if this wasn’t true.
Ultimately I see her going the same way as Eggnog though, as I see it as by and large a regional vote.
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s103/the-x-factor/news/a350625/kelly-rowland-barely-speaking-to-janet-devlin.html
Yep, the show want Janet out. I really don’t understand why they want Janet out but are desperate to keep Craig…
Which is really odd as I don’t see Craig as being marketable at all, unlike Janet. He looks and sounds like a run of the mill contestant on a talent show and nothing like a pop star.
Exactly. It’s confusing.
http://anlytk.wordpress.com/2011/11/13/xfactor-week-6-wtf/
Quick update – looks tough for Misha and Craig…
so this is not after last nights performances but a midweek snapshot?
No, from mid Thursday to lunchtime today
Toby – I think your analysis looks better for Craig than for Misha. Here’s my thinking:
Look at positive/negatives for only these 2 acts, crucially the ratio Craig: Misha across the weeks. The absolutes won’t tell us much, but the relative position against each other should give a trend.
Raw Figures: (Week, Craig +, Craig -, Misha +,Misha -)
6,1000,300,1100,800
5,800,150,2200,700
4,1900,500,1700,900
3,1400,600,2200,1700
2,1900,600,2000,500
week 2 – week 3 – week 4 – week 5 – week 6
The positive ratio (Craig:Misha) shows:
0.95 – 0.64 – 1.12 – 0.36 – 0.91
Repeat for negatives:
1.2 – 0.36 – 0.56 – 0.21 – 0.38
We know that Misha was B2 in week 4, so behind Craig. That week is the closest ratio to this week (her positives a little better, her negatives worse.) So I would conclude she is likely behind Craig again.
This also suggests her week 5 sympathy bounce was huge.
As forcast AMELIA was a shoe in to return and with 48% of the vote it is as clear a public endorsement that you can get that she should never have gone in the first place. Kelly Roland, what were you thinking of or rather who was pulling your strings?
AMELIA is now the clear second favourite to win the competition – she might not do that because although she looks and dresses like a star, her vocals are not quite -not quite- good enough. She’ll survive though (the show would look even bigger fools if she went out a second time) and I expect her to be called safe first.
I believe KITTY is in trouble and there is likely to be either CRAIG or MISHA B down there with her. I know JANET is second fav to be eliminated but THE STAR have a great record for accurate leaks and if JANET really is topping the vote very week so far, she is not going to be bottom 2.
MARCUS sang well but whoever picks his backing tracks needs their arse lkicking! Last nights track for “another one bites the dust” was awful , nearly as bad as the INXS riff for superstition. I wonder what will happen when MARCUS is eventually given a free hand and allowed to sing what he wants.
There is a week where the contestants can sing what they like- no doubt Biscuit Boy will treat us to “Jar of hearts” again, but he has to survive in the compatition until then which I reckon is no certainty.
KITTY and CRAIG bottom 2, KITTY to go – there are too many girls remaining.
The full star article.
Not sure it’s in the online edition.
TEEN sensation Janet Devlin has aced every X Factor vote so far, the Daily Star Sunday can reveal.
The 16-year-old from Northern Ireland – who has been criticised for occasionally stumbling performances – is still a hit with viewers.
Janet polled as much as a quarter of the vote in some weeks.
And overall, one in five of all votes cast so far have been for her.
X Factor bosses were due to reinstate a rival last night in a bid to give Janet a challenge.
One of her strongest opponents – madcap Johnny Robinson – was booted off
last week after falling into the bottom three.
In earlier weeks he had polled well, fuelling suspicions he was given the hated fi rst slot on last week’s show to nobble him before he caused an upset.
Johnny, 45, came second in weeks two and three of the votes, with axed band The Risk bagging second spot in week one.
Of the remaining contestants, only scouser Marcus Collins, has emerged as a challenger to Janet – after bagging 17% of last week’s votes.
A show insider revealed the details last night as viewers voted to give a second chance to one of the four acts axed by judges in the first live show. The source
said: “Whoever it is will have their work cut out to reel in Janet’s support.”
Sorry to hijack thread off topic but nugget, anyone else who backed Coral’s “fireworks” special last week…you got anywhere with Coral?
Bob re Coral. I have completed the IBAS forms online, following receipt of an email from Coral saying that the fireworks mention was not in the live section of the show. I have had a receipt from IBAS informing me that my case is/will be investigated. I will tell people on here the IBAS outcome when I know it.
Coral have posted me what they claimn is a screenshot showing that the stipulation about it being on the live segment. This was conveniently added to the site 12 hours or so before I placed my bet. They say it was added around 5pm on the 3rd November – not sure when you placed your bet.
itunes ratings are a little unusual this week:
niether amelia lily nor janet devlin have received enough ratings to score an average?
Here is my run down of show 6 Circus for what it is worth.
Not a fan of KITTY but I did find this to be her best and most entertaining and professional performance yet. It was likably cheesey and the ‘Queen’ Boadicea LADY GA GA-esque theme was amusingly great and also cleverly in keeping with the Queen ‘Flash Gordon’ fantasy theme (and of her home planet ‘Mongo’).
CRAIG COLTON, Yaaaaawn, but less sleepy than the fickle deluded JANET (who I covered in my reply to Dan above).
CRAIG here also NOT ‘looking like a young Gary Borelow’ as Louis put it, but much rather like a schoolboy ‘Robbie Coltrane’ with an ill fitting AC/DC’s Angus Young school blazer. All he needed was a satchel and a peaked cap to complete the daft carved in bequiffed look.
Sack his blind stylist too who doesn’t know what ‘chubby’ means by openly exposing his ‘biscuit store’ and love handles. I still don’t get what or who is keeping this Joe Average here ??
LITTLE MIX. Ahhh, my hard working LITTLE BEAUTIES constantly cheerleaded by the lovely, bubbly and gutsy (ordinary girl next door) Jesy.
What a winning team and chemistry, WOW !! All great singers in their own right and now finding a sassy, punchy, colourful, trendsetting girlie themed packaging to sock it to the world. The best is yet to come as their harmonies mature and as the LM ‘Steamroller’ relentessly chuggs along to the final 2 with MARCUS (if not indeed to first place).
MARCUS. Still my other and my ‘original’ champion from the start along now with LM.
He is now finding his true footing (and so bloody what if one foot IS in the BRUNO camp…there’s plenty of room). When Amy Whinehouse came out, her laid back ‘well emulated’ jazzy style produced many stars.
Wasn’t so keen on the OTT brassed up song and arrangement though (or the doubting inference in its title). It reminded me of the horribly depressing ‘The Race by Yellow’. Rather, and more in keeping with last week’s successful vintage theme, he could have done Queen’s ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ complete with the FREDDIE motorbike leathers, dancers, Motorbike prop and the sexy torn white t-shirt.
Golden opportunity missed now though, as he would have smashed it with this great crowd pleaser and it would also have got the audience involved and clapping along in time to the middle eight music break.
MISHA (ok, ‘bullygate’ and my personal feelings aside) she DID turn out the best vocal of the night with a polished performance. It’s such a shame that she is now a lost soul as her planned Grace Jones come rapper image has now been mashed up with the famous ‘XF softening’ and she is in identity ‘no mans land’ with her embarrassing begging bowl out now for local votes.
After last nights VT, I never want to hear the word ‘Manchester’ ever again ( as I went to sleep with it in my brain).
AMELIA. Take away the ‘welcome back’ pomp and ceromony of the big Roman Emperor entrance with the heavy kettle drum arrangement, the Star Rostrum and the always stunning Gerb firework rain (distraction), she was nothing special.
(Listen again, without watching this time).
Looking like a pink haired version of Kat Moon (and just as orange faced, cheap and tarty), her voice is not strong enough to hold the big soaring ‘sustained’ notes of this classic song and they were thin and shakey. Nor is it tunefuly olympic enough to properly control the soulful trills that she attempts.
FREDDIE MERCURY did this song with such emotion, angst and gusto and set the benchmark for it. So what happened to her own audition Janis Joplin ‘Piece of my heart’ style that would have got her somewhere nearer to what was required for it ?
Once the newness of the OTT hype is over we will be back to understanding why the now “so freakin elated” hypocrite Kelly BOOTED HER OFF in the first place. She is facing losing JANET and MISHA so no wonder she is deleriously happy. She just is a typical Yank who does not like to lose face.
Unfortunately the gullible public are buying this fresh meat ‘pimped up’ hype for the moment and will be messing up the voting for the true talented stars here MARCUS and LITTLE MIX.
‘The truth will out’ as they say though and I think my win and forecast bets are still safe as all the rest can just fight it out for 3rd place.
I am really wanting GRAIG to go soon (when they unchain him from that invisible concrete post that is propping him up) BUT for for me and tonight, it logically has to be MISHA or JANET to get the gallows trap door, as I rather warmed to KITTY this week. I must be getting soft (or senile), LOL.
lol, as entertaining as ever pete
Thanks Rob (I love your analogies too), I had battery acid again for brekky and the oxygen thieves JANET and local Karaoke Queen wannabe AMELIA are really getting my hackles up now, LOL.
Super-glued CRAIG too, but he IS such a nice guy really and its so hard to hit someone when they are smiling so creepily at you like in the M&S advert (shudders).
Difficult unpredictable week this one, so gone for some very small bets on varied high priced b2 combos in the hope that I get lucky with my meger spare sick pay.
MISHA to go (unfortunately as she WAS good/but good too late last night), and KITTY to be first announced safe, against my other better wishes (as that brainstorm bet worked well last week for my lovely LM), and KITTY does still have a strong fan base and the panel were nice to her last night.
She seems needed by XF to show off their BIG production techniques.
JANET could b2 with MISHA (but survive sing off) tonight for XF to chop her down to a more managable Leprechaun size and to make it easier to slap her smug little ‘I know better’ face back into shape.
I had to laugh at ‘always gets it wrong’ LOUIS too last night comparing MISHA to ‘Jackie Khan’, ROFLMAO. What a complete pratt he is.
Actually she would have totally smashed Chaka’s ‘I’m every Woman’ had she done it.
BTW, I’m not keen either on M&S chopping into my MARCUS’s clip in the advert to show someone opening a present and producing a clothing item that pertains to ladies ‘t*ts’ (and then showing/editing him acting like a demented one on crack).
They should rather be thanking him for the marketing idea and featuring him more.
Maybe it’s GRAIG they prefer instead now to reach the Liverpool DSS clients to convince them that they actually CAN afford to shop INSIDE M&S instead of walking past (as they likely provided his school blazer, but don’t do it in adult XXXL size)
Not specifically related to this week’s performance, but I just saw this from this last night’s Xtra Factor, and it made me wonder how long it will be before LITTLE MIX do something similar on the show.
http://www.unrealitytv.co.uk/x-factor/x-factor-kelly-rowland-gets-her-wish-and-little-mix-sing-acapella-video/
Gary and Kelly have both said that they want to see the girls do something a little bit different, and it sounds like they want to, so maybe Tulisa is being cautious and saving a more acoustic performance for later.
I also wonder if they plan to let Jesy beatbox at some stage – I don’t remember anyone every doing it in the live shows!
The endorsement of LITTLE MIX by One Direction on the results show will surely help them to add a few more supporters from the teen girl demographic.
Difficult to see Kitty not being bottom two. Her only hope of survival is probably against Janet if they want rid. It felt like last chance saloon for Janet and again, she gave another polarising, patchy performance and is clearly unable to control the yodelling, ‘flick’ thing that breaks the line of her phrases and irritates the hell out of some people. Every week, Janet’s been top on youtube hits and so the article in the Star is plausible. However, this is the first time she is behind on youtube, but still in third place. I feel she might get through this week, but her dominance is over. The reinstatement of Amelia seems to have done the trick of diluting her following amongst the kidz. On the forums and polls, they seem to have abandoned her for the new girl on the block. Fickle lot, but hey ho.
Could be a dodgy week for Marcus, not because he wasn’t good, but because the same fickle youngsters who’ve dumped Janet seem less interested in Marcus this week. Marcus is also plum last on youtube. He could find himself in no man’s land, like The Risk last week, with no one particularly motivated to vote for him.
Amelia and Craig are the only one’s definitely safe, imo, Little Mix should get through and I reckon Kitty will be joined in the bottom two with either Janet, Misha or Marcus.
Nicky, SPOT ON about Janet there matey !!
I run a small studio and if you listen carefully to the M&S advert they have done some corrective treating on thet very ‘rough yodelling’ subject to try and smooth it out for her part on the soundtrack.
BTW, as I write and watch he results show, there goes some more of the constant XF subliminals (through ONE DIRECTION this time ) to influence their teenie fan masses to vote up LITTLE MIX (with a big resounding Yaaaay from the audience too).
Eat yer heart out Derren Brown, you’re not the only one who can do it.
kitty, janet, misha… one has to go!
the devil in me would like it to be amelia, just to shove it to the producers…
Go on Rob, BE a Devil then. Can I watch (and which orifice is it going in) ?
lol the producers don’t deserve an orifice
Hope this goes to deadlock – Louis and Tulisa saving Kitty. Fingers crossed!
If Misha sings 1st I’m not lumping on Kitty, have a bad feeling this might go wrong, even consider a small bet on Misha to go…
Boki. You nearly tempted me there but my SKYBET just came in from 4 to 5/2 on MISHA and so I dropped it when she opened her mouth to sing and started to smash it.
She didn’t sing 1st so no bet… I skipped this evening, bad feeling…
Misha clearly finished bottom of the vote then!
yes it surely was. if they can’t get her off the bottom after last night why are they bothering flogging a dead horse!
I totally agree. How much pimping did she get last night and still finishing bottom. Surely they can’t save her all the way into the final.
aiight now i know why they are keeping Biscuit boy, so they want Littmix to win and Biscuit to finish in top2, so next week Devlin slot nr 1:D
Oh well. The one week I actually sort of liked the loonytunes from planet Mongo and I didn’t really want her to go tonight (as much as JANET, MISHA or CRAIG) and she just lost me a bet for MISHA to go just by being there against her in b2.
Never mind dear, you just go ahead now and click the heels of those ‘Ruby Red Slippers’ together and think of ‘home'(and DON’T EVER ruin a McCarntey song again y’hear !!. (For me, you DID die that night, but I forgave your folly and let you live because I am seeing the real thing next month and I am in a good mood).
Now I am off to watch Clint Eastwood’s ‘Hang em High’ on Channel 5 to get some ideas of what to do with JANET and AMELIA SILLY.
Biscuit boy is awful – he really is and I have no idea why the producers seem to think he can seel records.
He never will – he’s too porky and gurning and if that seems a little personal, it is because looks and image sell records and I have so far not seen any in the top 20 by either Robby Coltrane or Hagrid.
AMELIA LILLY now the 3/1 fav to win the whole thing – I wonder what the bloke on Betfair who laid £86 on her at 1000/1 a couple of weeks ago is going through?
Good ship Marcus sails quietly on.
Just want biscuit boy out of the way which he will be as soon as the judges stop lying about his performances.
man i totaly agree with you he is terrible, but i LIttlemix have better chance against him than against Marcus… god its gonna be funny if anti-Symco are now supporting Devlin.. she’ll be invincible:D
Simon.
Shall we nip round to the XF house when they are all asleep and nobble CRAIG’s Hobnob bikkies with some Rat poison ?
And whilst we are at it, put hair remover in SILLY’s shampoo bottle and shout BOO !! (with ‘Scream’ masks on in the pitch dark) to JANET so that she might run home back to Ireland to Mummy and Daddy ?
Superb website by the way. Very hard to find reasoned and intelligent discussion on these sorts of shows so massive kudos on that.
My point is relating to the early market for next weeks elimination. It would appear only Bwin have this priced up yet, and go
2/1 Misha
5/2 Janet
11/4 Littlemix
9/2 Craig
14/1 Amelia
14/1 Marcus
I think there has the potential to major rick in this market in the form of 14/1 Amelia. Let me try and explain why.
This week, it was all about her comeback, and throwing her straight into the pimp slot. Now what? Her performance on Saturday was moderate at best, and was made to appear better by the rediculous pimping after the performance. All friends/family/locals have the novelty factor of their star on TV for the first time that none of the others have. Next week, thats gone.
Possibly more importantly, given the limited information we have on similar situations to this, notable Nikki being parachuted back into Big Brother, the viewing audience will not vote in droves for someone who has taken a shortcut.
Give her a middle draw, a song that shows up her limited vocals, and we could see the smoggie packing her bags back to the Boro. I’ve taken that 14’s
Thoughts?
Thanks, Chris – for the kudos, and for the heads-up on 14/1 Amelia. Couldn’t agree more – it’s a “dark side of the moon” situation but totally plausible and I’ve just taken some 14/1 too.
But that means in case Misha vs Amelia they would save Misha again?
Yes for sure. Misha has beautiful vocals but no fans. In a sing off, Misha would get a deadlock at least, if not a save.
Deadlock doesn’t help if you are at bottom like Misha and they would not send Amelia away so fast imo.