The highly-anticipated anniversary celebration of a much-loved television institution started with the Doctor’s assistant, Clara a guest performance by Olly Murs. Nothing says “look how much we’ve achieved in ten years” more than Olly Murs singing out of tune.
After that it was time for Matt Smith Nicholas McDonald to come face to face with the actor who played his character in an earlier series, David Tennant Joe McElderry. Our feeling was that Joe schooling Nick in ‘The Climb’ made the latter come across as a bit of a pale imitation. We’d also got a honking of the Scottish klaxon in the VT, Nick wearing tartan and singing at Hampden.
Staging aficionados will have enjoyed the mixed messages of the gold (good) plinth (bad). Comments were fairly muted, Sharon praising his reliability, Gary asking for more individuality, and Nicole saying something about him moving his hands around. He got a rousing birthday cheer, though. Think of it – Wee Nick is no longer 16! It’s like Luke getting a Shayne Ward haircut.
Overall this felt like it was intended as a gentle de-ramp for Nick after last week’s pimp slot. He’ll most probably be safe this week, but it wasn’t an encouraging night for his propects of the win.
Lyrically, Hannah went from last week’s Mick Jagger lament about sexual frustration to Leonard Cohen’s bittersweet paean to sexual ecstasy, although we suspect that’s probably not what Alexandra had in mind when she told Hannah to think about the meaning or the judges when they praised her for having done so. At least Hannah’s mentoring VT didn’t show Alexandra doing a better version of the same line.
Stephen Muckle and EM pointed out in the comments that Hannah was dressed and styled as Alexandra was when singing this as her winner’s song. Staging-wise, the choir was more discreet than for Nick and she got lovely halo lighting at the end. Comments could hardly have been more positive, either, with Louis calling it her best performance of the series, and Gary praising her for being real and getting better and better.
Hannah remains by far the most obvious candidate to hit the bottom two this week, coming down off her second bounce. Running order was unhelpful and the comments arguably had a valedictory feel, but overall this has given her a fighting chance.
While Hannah’s due a comedown, Luke is due a bounce. His VT started by reminding us about his sadness at being in the singoff last week, and ensured everyone knew about Adele tweeting her support. Poor old Shayne Ward became the first mentor of the night to advise an act on how to sing a more famous artist’s song.
The acoustic take on One Direction could have gone either way in viewers’ minds – we weren’t wild on the arrangement, but the judges certainly set out to frame it positively. Sharon returned to the “dark horse” epithet from week 4 and there were references aplenty to the final and to albums. Louis spoiled the effect somewhat by wheeling out “busker from Devon” again, but at least he put it in the past tense this time.
The sympathy bounce has been working like clockwork this year and Luke has been given every chance of benefitting.
Rough Copy got the now-obligatory Gary bonding VT, and the meeting with Little Mix reminded us that this was a song that had propelled them to victory. It was wise to pair them with the only group winners, not inviting direct comparisons as would have been the case with JLS.
Gary made sure we knew that they brought an “urban flavour” to the stage, one which Nicole tasted as caramel following last week’s vanilla – as well as pointing out that one of them was rather ludicrously dressed for the ski slopes. Whether it will tickle the palate of the Middle England voting audience remains to be seen; for the first time, this felt like a performance with more of an eye on post-show positioning than safety-first electioneering.
JLS, James Arthur and Olly Murs all benefited from a singoff save at this stage of the competition. Perhaps this departure from the formula that’s kept them safe so far is an indication that producers wouldn’t be averse to them following a similar trajectory?
If they are sanguine about Rough Copy falling into the bottom two, however, we assume they’d rather it not be with Tamera. It’ll be no accident that she was introduced just as Doctor Who viewers will have been turning over. The VT recalled last week’s lyrics flub and had Olly Murs obligingly teeing her up for the much anticipated “moment”. The staging did, too, with gold and a shower of fireworks at the end.
Unfortunately, it looks like it was all too much pressure for Tamera, who we should recall is only 16 – now even younger than Wee Nick. She mumbled – as Gary pointed out, the verse was too low. She barely managed to walk down the stairs. And she twice flubbed her lyrics. After a brief moment of disconnect when it seemed like Louis was going to plough on with the “global megastar” script, reality returned with Gary pointing out it was “excruciating” and a “car crash”.
Tamera’s elimination odds understandably plummeted, and in this initial quick reaction post we’re unsure what to make of this situation. Will she get sympathy, after she presumably relied on sympathy to keep her safe last time? Logic says no, although on the other hand we felt genuinely sorry for her this week, whereas last week we’d been too busy wondering if the flub was staged (this week’s clearly genuine flub obviously casts a new light on that).
If she hits the singoff, will producers now consider she’s a lost cause, or will they work on the basis that everyone will be tuning in next week in guilty fascination to see if she can get through a song? It’s a “dark side of the moon” situation, which requires further reflection.
Sam Bailey capped off a fascinating, eventful show with a pimp slot performance of ‘Bleeding Love’ that left us underwhelmed staging-wise but had the panel gushing and Sharon alluding to last week’s Sun story, claiming she was walking it, as she explicitly pleaded for votes.
Sam is the only act we’d be shocked to see in the singoff tomorrow night. What were your thoughts? Do let us know below.
I think anyone on Sam at decent odds will have a nice Christmas present. Well done to anyone who is on, I think it would be a tough call whether to lay off as she is beginning to look home and hosed.
Do you think if Tamera does land B2 against anyone she really deserves to be saved?
Wide open tonight, I agree that only Sam is safe from the bottom two. Tamera was obviously lined right up for the stand out game changing performance, right as Doctor Who finished, big popular song and all the staging. But she blew it big time.
Which must mean sooner or later she’s toast. There’s no way she can be allowed in the final now, it would be an embarrassment for the show to have a potential winner most known for forgetting the words.
I’d put good money on them jettisoning her as soon as they get the chance.
Had to feel for Tamera after her performance. She did exceptionally well to pick herself up and finish the song with some kind of dignity, because she was falling to pieces at the beginning. The sympathy may be enough to save her this week, but I think it’s fair to say now that she’s crumbling under the pressure of this competition. The producers gave her every opportunity tonight to have a breakout performance. I’m not convinced they’ll be affording her that luxury next week.
Sam looking increasingly like the winner.
That was a bit of a subpar performance from Sam B, and she looked like she knew it afterwards. Still, subpar means she only gave me goosebumps intermittently and had a tiny hiccup at the end. With everyone tuning over from Dr. Who (right? here’s a little culture shock: I’ve never seen it) for a taste of how tonight’s XF was, the judges had to be fulsome in their praise.
I thought RC helped themselves. Good VT that individualized them a bit. More importantly, it was the first time I was really sold on their vocals. Despite the strong backing track they sounded very good in the little unsupported sections, which the show made sure to replay. DLG looks like a song R&B groups can tee off on and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it in the rotation every couple of years now. I see a mix of reactions between “meh” and “wow” online. The judge and costume comments suggested that perhaps producers wouldn’t have minded a B2, but I like their odds of avoiding it this week.
Luke gave a slightly above average performance for him that drew me in very effectively. Between that and the 1D and Adele support and bounce, I’d also guess he’s safe.
Nicholas, Hannah – pretty much agreed on everything. Not terrible performances but didn’t stand out and early slots. I enjoyed Hannah more than Nicholas but not enough to make a big difference. Thought the judges could have picked on Nicholas’s vocals but they didn’t. This is the week the power of Nicholas’s regional base gets tested.
Tamera – going to have to digest this one for a while. Surprised Barlow teed off on her (and fairly so) beyond the vocal slips. She’d do much better for herself crying rather than turning away from the camera and holding it in, but I for one am glad she did.
The first thing my bf (he is not aware of all the manipulation) said when RC sang: Another 90’s ballad?? I think they are setting them up for a bottom2 and I wouldn’t be surprised.
Tamera is a lost case. She def blew it and I wouldnt be surprised if even the producers turned their back on her now too. Who could they save her against? Hannah? But would it be fair?? At least she was a talking point so that really may save Tamera another time.
Hannah is in danger too. People could see her performance as trying to copy Alexandra. Notice how Shannon said shed have a career outside the show? While Nicholas got talk about his album once more.
I liked Luke’s performance but I think singing a 1D song might have been bad. Today is 1D day and the fans are busy watching that instead of Luke’s performance (which also got a weird arrangement). He is due a bounce but you never know.
Nicholas got a lot of gold, but being first and teamed up with Joe might harm him. Doubt about bottom2.
Sam is the only one really safe.
I guess it will be Hannah and Rough Copy or Tamera if no sympathy votes.
Watching Xtra Factor right now and Caroline asked Tamera about getting a DM on twitter from Niall from 1D. Tamera didnt want to answer first and then said he was giving her advices.
After Sam C gone are they setting her up with another guy? 1D are always good for that.
Someone said it a few weeks ago… this series is just full of bad bad casting.
Shelly – Novelty Act – Fail
Sam C – Tried to push him in the Villian/Novelty Act – Fail
Tamera – International Star – Fail
Simple as this, this series would of been better with the likes of Melanie McCabe and Joseph Whelan at least the viewers had some connection with them, instead of letting some acts go through we had hardly saw… Sam C/Lorna
I’m not sure what the show’s thinking was with Shelley. Surely there were better novelty acts out there. It struck me that they set up the whole category to boil down to Sam B pretty quickly, and were hoping she’d provide a few weeks of light fun on the way.
Let’s not forget the market made Tamera the favorite for several weeks, either
As for Sam C, 100% agreed. Given the comments about Wagner and featuring of Rylan today I’d be very surprised indeed not to have a true novelty act or two back on next year’s show.
As you suggest Melanie McCabe & Joseph Whelan had already “connected” with the public, as they always bleat on about. I am baffled on it to be honest. It appears to make no commercial sense.
Favoring getting their commercial launches over ratings. Those acts could have displaced Tamera/RC/etc. from 3rd/4th place.
It all started with not picking Souli Roots
Surprised some were underwhelmed by Sam, I thought she was sensational once again, especially in the second half of the song. She is totally unbeatable now.
I backed it so maybe it is skewing my thoughts but would saving Tamera at this stage be cruel?
All the other contestants were upbeat, having a good time. As pointed out above she is only 16 and clearly struggling to cope. Her welfare is vastly more important than a TV show or a 20 quid bet. The pressure will only build after tonight.
Another person being chewed up in the name of “light” entertainment, castigated in newspapers while being told she will be a “whirl wide star” by people who couldn’t care less about her.
Events.
http://bit.ly/1epO2WU
Somewhat criptic Richard, will there be a follow-up article?
Even Louis wasn’t too pleased with following the script after Tamera blew it and added his “BUT” with frustration. His comments about Sam B showing Tamera how it’s done might have been the go ahead from TPTB to let her go. Nicole tried to say “she’s only 16” but he shouted “so is Hannah” back. Even though she’s 17 now, like Nick, they haven’t botched their lyrics and Tamera’s done it 3 times. If that’s because of age, she’s just not ready for the pressure of the competition and should have waited a couple more years to enter.
Again, I believe producers have given up on her.
Tamera’s performance was bloodcurdlingly awful, but someone else should take responsibility for the song being in the wrong key. It was clearly too low for her. After last week’s dreadful song choice and staging one would think, if it weren’t for the judges comments, that she was being set up to fail.
And I think Hannah was given great treatment (other than slot 2 accepted) Had they anticipated Tamera’s meltdown beforehand? I doubt that dress rehearsals were going smoothly.
Was she set up to fail just as Dr Who’s minions turned on? This alone would have put more pressure on her. As would Hannah’s performance. Again I suggest dress rehearsals would have hinted that Hannah was going to perform strongly. It all added heat to the cauldron.
If they suspected it would make car crash TV and saw this as a positive it is truly a disgrace.
It’s the age old question… cock-up or conspiracy. I faviur cock-up but someone at x-factor towers should be getting their sandwiches wrapped in a road map about now. Didn’t anyone listen to it? Did Nicole hear it and think it was ok? It was dreadful. No wonder the poor girl was so nervous she could hardly walk down the stairs.
One thing though, I haven’t been a big fan of Tamera but if they wanted to humanise her and make me feel for her they couldn’t have done a better job than these last two weeks.
And before we all disappear down the rabbit hole let me add that I truly don’t think they did it on purpose. These last two weeks have been so traumatic for her that if they don’t watch out her confidence will be completely shot.
For Tameras performance convient close ups of the words flunking and later as her performance built the close camera shots of her got further and further away
Well for me all the acts on the anniversary show were pretty good tonight, but if I had to call it I thought Tom Baker edged it on the night, even from fourth in the running order. If only we could vote him through to next week. Peter Capaldi was a pleasant surprise in the pimp slot as well.
Just caught up with the late X showing. Tamera’s the obvious talking point. It’s not so much the lyrics, she looked petrified on stage until the last 30s, andI was holding my breath even when she tried to walk down the stairs, it was that nervy. When someone like OllyMurs is on stage, you’re led to relax watchinghim but it’s totally the opposite with Tamera and she is an uncomfortable watch. The judges did seem to be winging it, and using Sam B’s comments to do down Tamera did seem like a plan moving into action.
I thought Rough Copy started to shine as individuals this evening so may be ok. Possibly both girls b2?
That lighting on Rough Copy. wow. Not to be racist, but they were dressed like off-the-street gangsters instead of Kanye West impersonators.
These are someone’s views on Tamera ‘a performance from Digital Spy.
Tamera didn’t start late, they deliberately messed with the track. Listen carefully..
Okay so I had to listen to this again because something didn’t feel the right. The look on her face was more like WTF than oh no I forgot my words.
Look.. From “I remember years ago…” up until where she goes into the pre-chorus on “And now, when all is done there is nothing to say..” , listen carefully, and you will hear the piano clearly changes key with her.
So she carries on singing, through to “Go ahead, tell them…” just before the chorus starts.
She starts, yet the piano and the live vocals start one bar later.
She didn’t forget s***. X Factor did that on purpose and I’m actually so angry for her.
I wasn’t the biggest Tamera fan starting out but you know what, they are taking the p*** out of her now.
I don’t know if I can watch this crap again tbh.
That is one of my favourite DS threads off all time. 6 pages of how the backing track has been tampered with so that the chorus cuts in late, absolutely no one stops to consider if Tamera actually started early!
Even most people on DS aren’t taking that seriously.
I’ve been wondering when someone else would notice the interference with the musical side of unfavoured acts. Last week Sam C was subjected to what I believe to be one of the worst examples of outright intererence ever perpetrated in a talent show.
It was mentioned that the ‘drummer’ played an arrhythmic beat but that isn’t the full picture. Watch the video on Youtube, lots of camera on the drummer in the first two minutes to establish in your mind that the timing is a problem and that Sam has the beat right there behind him on stage.
Now, listen to the snare drum ( the sharp treble sound ), It’s a fancy cross stick Clava, essentially a three over two, but in the first verse it keeps changing, almost impossible to hear the basic rhythm. Likewise very hard to play an instrument with if you haven’t rehearsed it.
Particularly if someone in the control room ‘accidentally’ forgot to turn on your foldback so you have no metronome.
And consider, the stage drummer was miming, that wasn’t a live drum it was part of the backing track (sounded like a drum machine but not entirely sure).
So not just unhelpful staging, lighting, VT’s, comments, etc.
That was musical sabotage
Anyone else notice how Dermot the Mermot snatched the mic off him and literally pushed him towards stage exit when he started to talk about the ‘trick’?
I think Sam’s case is different from Tamera’s. Sam presumably irked the producers by forcing the guitar to the performance; Tamera seemed to be set up for the wow moment. Everything was very helpful.
I would agree it seems she was being given a wow moment. Though in xf land things aren’t always what they seem.
As EM posted below, it could just as easily be a set up for a fall. Given that it is known Tamara does not yet have the maturity of a stage performer and that she wilts under pressure. Is it a help to keep piling the pressure on by seeming to favour her? A rabbit hole moment perhaps but IMO the praise she does get works against her… “You could have it all if only… Equates to more pressure,
I think she isn’t ready and I think professional music business people can see that a mile away. Her case is similar to Sam’s in that they both were given a deramp by not preparing them for the entry points of their stage input, There is always a possibility that they both screwed up ( Sam’s is a much clearer case of sabotage than Tamara’s ) but If I was stage directing Tamara I would already know that I had to find a way to cue her, That would come out in stage rehearsal, They focus on the problem in the VT’s so they are aware of it. In other words, the help she is given is not the help she needs.
No-one is saying ” You don’t need to remember lyrics in the studio and after all this is a show to find a RECORDING artist”.
It’s a subtle assassination, IMO.
Footnote, Luke isn’t being told to drop the guitar because of the disconnect, he even had it in the sing-off last week, Has anyone wondered why they didn’t want Sam to use a guitar in the first place? Could it be because they wanted the ‘musician’ image for another act? Note how often they point out recently that artists pen their own material, etc Credibility Klaxon.
I laughed when Borelow said there is no strategy to the show and then went on to tell everyone it’s all about development at this stage etc, eventually listing several strategies before the end of the show.
That is one reason I think Hanna will be saved over Tamara, Hanna has battled through her tribulations, mastered her shortcomings and has developed’. The narrative has been provided for the shock of keeping her at the expense of one who has markedly failed to develop.
I see your point. Maybe this is another come-what-may thing because they could have easily just shoved her into an early slot…
… of course, they could believe in some “curse of the 5th”, which dragged Hannah and Sam C in the last two weeks.
Surely a more obvious pronlem for Tamera is that the song was in the wrong key and she could hardly reach the low notes in the verses. You can’t tell me noone noticed that in a week of rehearsals. It is an extraordinary error.
Absolutely Jessica, it isn’t as if they are restricted to off the shelf backing tracks. They will be recording their own and it isn’t unknown for XF to change the key of songs to suit a contestants vocal range,
It isn’t so much the Key of the song but rather the extent of the vocal range needed to sing it, Raise the key and you might sort the low end problem but you run the risk of introducing higher notes at the treble end which the singer might struggle with.
Most Pop is sung in that difficult range where chest and head voices meet. Some vocalists can handle the interchange keeping their timbre and power (like Sam C) others struggle. Luke’s attempt at a U2 song in the sing-off for example, a busker’s choice, he really did kill that Bono vocal he sang his heart out but he illustrated that his voice can’t handle such songs.
There are ways around it though
Take Olly Murs rendition of Elton John’s ‘Saturday Night’, It is a fairly difficult song to sing because it has a key modulation (5th upwards if memory serves) and the chorus melody calls for a range of two octaves on the final line alone (alright, alright alright). Danni mentioned it was hard to sing but she didn’t mention that they dropped the key modulation entirely and altered the cut down song to suit his voice, rendering it much easier to manage.
No reason why something similar couldn’t have been worked out for Tamara
pmsl. I meant… Some vocalists can handle the interchange keeping their timbre and power (like Sam B) others struggle.
not having much luck with my brain burps today, 🙂
That wasn’t the first time Sam C had problems with the backing track, in one of the earlier weeks you could see him take his monitor out part-way through the song.
In Tamera’s case, there’s no benefit to the show, of teeing up Tamera for an expected wow moment, whilst trying to deramp all the other contestants aside from Sam B, to mess with the arrangement.
Was that Week 2? I think I saw that and shrugged it off as the in-ears falling off.
“In Tamera’s case, there’s no benefit to the show, of teeing up Tamera for an expected wow moment, whilst trying to deramp all the other contestants aside from Sam B, to mess with the arrangement.”
The show benefits because:
Re-introduces unpredictability into a product which has become dull of late, We know tptb have been looking for ways to spice things up, flash vote, etc.
Provides and tests another avenue for creating narrative which has NOT been previously highlighted by commentaries.
Provides the ‘shock’ factor which has been sorely missed by this years exclusion of a novelty/baddie act.
Improves the perception of the show concerning it’s credibility and it’s ability to test the talent it acquires whilst being ‘fair’ to all contestants.
Could be a rabbit hole moment like I said in a previous post but, and a big but, It really is the easiest thing imaginable to cue a vocalist into a song when you are using a click track through an ear-piece, You can download a metronome for your phone that can do it, takes about two seconds to change the tone of the clicks on the entry bar, you can do it with quite small sub-divisions.
Do you really think tptb employ engineers who don’t know how to program a click track?
I definitely think they can, and do manipulate the backing tracks (though, am not an expert in how, but trust they have the expertise to). Problems referred to above for Sam C, I think are producer inflicted. With Tamera, I still think she’s the golden girl. If it was deliberate (open to that, though don’t think it was intended), they’ve got a story in store to get her to the final – you don’t deramp 5 contestants out of 6 in a show when the other has already won. Of course, she’s the only act people are talking about today though…
I agree, it is a valid point Luke, doesn’t seem to make sense that tptb would deramp everyone when the ‘winner’ seems to be a shoe in anyway.
Could be a couple of things we are losing sight of, first there is the show, then there is the after-market. The mismatch between the two being the basic premise of the need for manipulation. If we are prepared to consider that, ‘ Choking the cat with cream’ is a subtle nuking of an act with Tamara’s frailties and that the pimp slot isn’t so important in latter stages, then could it be possible that what we saw last night was a deramp for Sam B? IE give her the prime slot and a song which she clearly didn’t feel comfortable with, prime it with a press leak highlighting her discomfort.
They don’t want the final being a forgone conclusion, I think both NIck and Sam B are being deramped to make the final more interesting, Hannah and Luke are getting helped to fill that void,
The best case scenario for tptb is that EVERY act could be feasibly killed off in one show, and that a narrative could also be created to salvage a seeming no-hoper (like Hannah was) all options open.
Sam B wasn’t deramped though, some doubts are needed to make her seem more vulnerable which in turn makes her more endearing. She sung perfectly well, and got a 4 judge standing ovation out of the pimp slot (where there’s sufficient data that the pimp slot is important). Leona Lewis said today that she likes Sam’s version. Not much more you can do to help Sam. She even pimped Tamera!
I think most people here will disagree with them not wanting the final to be a foregone conclusion – they would just prefer it to seem to the public like it isn’t a foregone conclusion whilst Plan A is nailed on to win.
“they would just prefer it to seem to the public like it isn’t a foregone conclusion whilst Plan A is nailed on to win”
Apologies, my bad english. That is exactly what i meant, ie, they don’t want it to ‘appear’ to be a forgone conclusion,
If we are considering the ‘choke with cream’ angle then damping the run away winner whilst appearing to support the act totally will work for that. They don’t want to kill her, they just want the appearance of a closer contest.
For every positive sign there was a negative which is serving to confuse analysis, the plinth, less helpful lighting, ( no more ticker tape for Sam ) the Red Dress.etc. I doubt it will affect her voting enough to endanger her final place but it now looks more of a contest. Same goes for the mixed messages given out for wee Nic
Here is what I made of the show at first as it happened
Nicholas – VT “ok” yes Scottish connection, but running order could of dampened that anyway. Thought the lighting was poor, the plinth was bigger than ones we normally see, it made him look higher up (further away from audience) and smaller. Their was a couple of moments when the choir circled the judges, where it outshone Nicholas, there was a moment i was saying to myself “Where is Nicholas” also he was wearing red and black. Judges comments where average.
Hannah – Good VT for hannah i thought, lots of smiling, she was wearing a long gold dress, to me, TPTB had made her look like a golden angel with the backdrop of the clouds in the like blue sky, on this point lets remember Nicole introduced her as “my little Angel”or something like that. Putting her on second is the next worst to putting her on first though, which they already did last week, this concerns me. Maybe she is normally that low they know that even with good comments she wont escape again like last week? Overall I liked it, just the running order makes me question.
Luke Friend – Personally I wasnt a fan of the performance but everyone else seems to be. Judges comments where very good, suggests to me that he would be saved in a sing-off anyway, or at least deadlock. The hair was back on show so cant of done him any harm
RC – Like everyone I thought it was all over the place, red and black lighting, someone pointed out to me later that in the highlights that. the clip they chose to show was the Red and Black features. I dont think their was as much backing vocal as in the early weeks. I’m all over RC bottom two already from early in the week, I would of took this performance.
Tamera – Well what more can be said which hasnt already been said, she was set up for a pimp imo, but absolutely stunk. Louis seemed fuming genuinely fuming, like he knew what was meant to happen but she let the team down. Wether she can survive twice? I really doubt it, I think she is destined for bottom 2, she didnt come off upset enough, no tears, nothing in the interview with dermot, just that “You know what, i gave it my all” But will the producers decide, sorry enoughs enough, lets drop her, and eliminate her in sing off?
Last one,
X Factor 2013 Winner – Sam Bailey, Thought she struggled early on with the song, but it didnt matter, judges ignored it told viewers how fantastic she was, the VT was all about her not being a diva like alot of other popstars. Sam Bailey has won.
Only two I would say are safe Luke & Sam Bailey, and I think Hannah will have done just enough.
One thing to add… later on we were reminded how old Tamera was during Judges Comments. But were we even told how old Nicholas was? it was his birthday? not once do I remember having it drummed down my head “he is only…”
Bizarre
Other than the running slot I think Nic is safe. I think like Little Mic in week 8 of their show, they see Nic as safe as houses even if on first and that’s what they did. No pimping, maybe saved for next week? But no deramping for me.
Tamera was nonchalant on xtra, not bothered much – “i didn’t forget the lyrics, I started too early but later I gave it all”. Hardly vote inspiring stuff…
I think the only person Tamera could be saved against is Hannah. Assuming Syco will still take her on their books do they want her ending the show in this way?
That’s a good point really. If she isn’t given a chance to redeem herself people will just remember her as the girl who kept forgetting her words. They’ll try to save her if they can.
I saw the last night’s show a little differently from some:
The opening VT showing last week’s highlights seemed to either cast doubt on Rough Copy and Tamera’s credentials as they were the only ones whose negative comments were shown, or were they being set up for big redemption performances?
Onto the songs. I have to say Nic who? He was given one of the shows least memorable winners to work with, the least memorable song to sing, he was made to look of little stature during his VT and almost disappeared at times on stage. Lots of distraction comments about his birthday rather than his vocal and off he went. As he was on first will anyone remember it to vote?
Hannah seemed to get great treatment in all but running order. The video continued to soften her, Alexandra is a popular winner and Hannah was styled to be sooooo reminiscent of la Burke’s winning performance. Great comments too. Like I say the only soft spot was the running order.
Luke next, a VT geared up to get him sympathy and support. The performance wasn’t as bad as I thought it could be but did it hit the spot? I’m not sure. Certainly not one sign he was in their sights this week apart from the appearance of the lesser spotted Shayne Ward.
Then came what I would suggest would be the producer’s preferred top three this year. Rough Copy, Tamera and Sam Bailey. I don’t this this closing order was any coincidence.
I rated Rough Copy better than many. The VT was very soft, set up to make them look like fun, charismatic and nice guys. They introduced the “hard work” line they used many times to get One Direction over the line. As with Luke the singing wasn’t as bad as I feared and the song did actually work for a male group. I remember pointing out at the time that Little Mix did it that Don’t Let Go is a hugely popular song which will go in their favour and the judges comments couldn’t have been more helpful. They were one of two acts being set up to steal the show this week, for me they didn’t quite deliver that but far from failed.
One other point on Rough Copy, they were the only act who went to meet their past-winner mentors rather than the other way round. I couldn’t work out if this was a good or bad thing but the sight of Little Mix sitting down and waiting for Rough Copy to arrive certainly gave the boy band the power.
And then… Tamera. No doubt what was planned here. She came on right after the Doctor Who event show had finished, had a ready-to-steal-the-show VT, a great song and simple staging all the focus on her. So it couldn’t be clearer she stuffed it. It was uncomfortable to watch. his could go either way but remember people vote *for* an act rather than against one so she may pick up major sympathy votes.
Do they still want her around though? It could be embarrassing that one of the finalists is best known for stumbling through performances. I’d watch for them getting rid as soon as they can, either killing with kindness if she hits the bottom two “it’s not fair to keep putting you through this” or ending her journey next week “well done you finally nailed it”. I can’t see them taking the danger of morbid fascination as to whether she’ll remember the words next week versus a potentially awful final.
Then Sam Bailey, only one reason she gets the top slot, sings on a winners podium and gets Leona to work with her. She’s the only one I can’t see a reason for falling into the bottom two.
I can make a case for anyone else getting into the bottom two and I’d see their preference order of Tamera, Luke, Nic, Hannah, Rough Copy and Sam B.
Good luck!
I think the signs are that Tamara will go, I think she will even be sent home if the Hanna shares B2 with her,
I agree with the assessment that the running order was selected to expose Tamara’s major weakness again. Tptb have known from the beginning that she gets flustered and makes mistakes when she is under pressure,
Her continued presence at the end of the running order might not be to pimp her, as is usually the case, it might be to choke her with cream.
The narrative thread if Hanna is saved a third time at the expense of Tamara would have been unpredictable as little as 3 weeks ago.
Sharon, ” We can’t save you a third time ”
OH YES THEY CAN!
EM – I totally agree with your views on last night’s show. I felt it really shook things up and for once I feel like Nick is in danger of B2, whilst Hannah gave a fantastic performance.
I have Hannah in a double with something else to go, did this bet before the show, but I don’t feel as confident about it now. Tamera showed not much emotion about fluffing the lines, will not get votes for it.
Ive just watched Hannahs performance again, few more things
Her plinth was a lot smaller than the one Nicolas was on, made her look more powerful and him smaller.
As the final chorus hit the stage opened and the choir where in shot, but not too much that they over showered Hannah, unlike Nicholas.
Finally the lighting was perfect for hannahs end of the song, a spiraling white light behind her looked fantastic and has a great effect.
I think she is safe
Can a direct comparison be made between Hannah and Nick, and Hannah outshone Nick, keep in mind Hannah was on straight after Nicholas
I see the final 3 now being Sam B, Nicholas and Luke. They again last night reinstated the ‘dark horse’ narrative and also stated that he was ‘coming into his own’. Rough Copy 4th, Hannah 5th and Tamera out tonight
I still think Rough Copy will be forced into the final, rather than Luke. Tamera’s flub definitely extended Luke’s shelf life, though.
If i’m right in saying, Luke is due a pimp slot and its way overdue so has to come next week? If so, this should see him in the top 4 and may sneak above Rough Copy for 3rd place. Rough Copy imo still havent given ‘the performance’ which would cement their place in the final. They need to do a current number without the big backing track,
Recall that neither Rylan nor Union J had a pimp slot and TPTB are probably making up for their excellent treatment of him early on. It will depend on whether he will be pushed or not, not whether he deserves it or not.
No such thing as due a pimp slot, don’t ever count on that happening
Proof of this that Sam Bailey got her second last night when Luke should have if it was based on fairness
If thats the case then i see it going to rough copy, especially if they land b2 tonight
I think at this stage it might go even further than that EM, Does a pimp slot really matter that much when you get down to 6 contestants?
Taking James Arthur as an example, voting figures prove that he was pulling a low vote all the way into his B2 bounce. His next vote total showed an increase way over the number of freed votes.
The reason given is that old chestnut ‘ people think they are safe so they don’t vote ‘ to hide the anomaly of massively improved votes against the votes which have become available from the last ejection and viewing figures.
We don’t question this because it is plausible but what if we decide to ask how that can be proven?
No way to prove it, and it is entirely possible that the real reason for the mathematical mismatch is that the same number of fans decide to vote many times more than once to keep their favourite in the competition after a shock b2.
For our purposes, the result is the same AFTER the fact but the reason could be crucial for predicting a future one.
Even the app is charged at 69p per TWO votes, as Dermot the Mermot keeps informing us ( in case anyone wonders, mer-mot because he dances like a fish and looks like a small furry animal )
Which demo groups are more likely to vote multiple times if they think their chosen one is at risk?
The betting fraternity buys a LOT of advertising on tv channels, IMO there has to be a certain amount of pressure applied to make sure that shows which attract a betting market don’t become too predictable. Analysis has to react to the notion that researches will be sampling the market and advising that new methods are needed when the old ones become too well known.
I do feel rather sorry for Tamera now but she has shown time and time again that she can’t remember song lyrics. This has happened at every stage of the competition. Whether that’s nerves or something else matters not; in the last few weeks of the show this is unforgivable. She needs to go away for a while and sort it out as she has great potential but I don’t think she’s ready for it now. It was also interesting to see that she was the only act who didn’t meet with a winner. Was the plan to meet James Arthur originally?
They went all out jock on Nick which, being non-jock, I found slightly alienating. I wonder why the obvious push for the regional vote – perhaps he needs some help to get to the top three?
Hannah was good. Her voice is very soulful on the low notes but poor position in the running order and hitting bottom two twice already means trouble.
Luke should bounce; I think he’s done enough and the Adele endorsement helps with his credibility but I can see him gone in week 9 with a commendable fourth place given the lack of interest shown in him at the early stages.
We’ve now finally seen an “edge” to Rough Copy, but not too much of an edge. Good song choice but I think even if the public hate it and don’t vote for them, TPTB will do everything to ensure that they’re in the final.
As for Sam B, there’s your winner this year. Pimp slot, praise from the judges, and a plea for votes. She’s safe. Note also her meeting with Leona Lewis, the most commercially successful winner of X-Factor.
Bottom two this week I’m thinking Hannah and Tamera and it will be a tough one to call who would go. Nicole would no doubt abstain which means no deadlock unless another judge was to also abstain. Wouldn’t it be fair to cut Tamera loose as someone who can’t cope with the competition?
Dan – it’s easy for them to go to deadlock when it’s 2 acts in the same category. Simply go to their mentor last with the vote at 2-1, and they say let the people decide. Going to the mentor first, as they’ve done so far this series, then means 2 votes only are needed, useful when the desired victim isn’t bottom and one judge has to support them.
If they know who has the lowest votes and who they want to get rid of, they could even go to the mentor first who will say “I have to be honest blah blah blah” and vote to keep the act they know will stay.
The other judges could then take it to deadlock and the act the mentor saved stays anyway.
But this would damage the judges image. Hence why they go to their mentor first, so they can say “I dont want to vote”
As opposed to looking like going send one home if they dont send it to deadlock.
Following on from the Niall Horan from 1d’s DM last night (how exactly do private messages get leaked?) the papers are reporting a “romance” between Niall & Tamera.
http://metro.co.uk/2013/11/24/x-factors-tamera-foster-and-one-directions-niall-horan-in-blossoming-friendship-4199401/
Having searched their names on Twitter, this actually looks like a massive deramp with every single comment telling the $%*$*£$^ to keep away from their “innocent” Niall.
No doubt he will deny it all once she gets kicked off.
He does do a lot for Syco. He had a rumoured romance with Ellie Goulding just before her album & single releases, which gave her massive publicity & ensured she reached no.1.
That says a lot more about how big 1D already is (the “lesser member” hooks uo with XF person; compare to Harry + Caroline a few years back) more than anything. I don’t think the jealous girls will vote for her anyway.
I think Niall has been linked with about every girl ever on XF
I think anyone on Nicholas for B2 is not without hope, his performance was forgettable in truth. What a shock it would be if he went home, I think the Sofabet advice before the show was sound, I didn’t buy it at the time. It could be the kind of shock that would get column inches.
I might be completely wrong, but I thought Tamera’s slip up was intended.. it was the only way producers could save her from a bottom 2 this week, and if by any chance she was in the bottom 2 next week she would be saved against them (except Nic and Sam) and bounce to the finals. We always said a performance that would save someone was either a really bad one or a really good one. (Diana Vickers awful rendition of Yellow a week after her illness had the most votes that week). They probably thought letting her do a good performance wouldn’t be as memorable as a bad one and she would be in the bottom 2. Also, why would Tamera’s “Wow moment” like Olly said, not be saved for last and even worse, be put just before XF’s strongest act (Sam)
Nicolas- good performance (for an annoying song), not great, a bit of negative from the judges comments but the whole birthday thing should see him safe.
Hannah- her best performance for me (that doesn’t mean a lot though, since I haven’t like many of hers) but too much karaoke and I do agree with the post, trying to be like the next Alex wont help her
Luke- awful, he tried to tone it down but it just sounded forced and probably the only performance I forgot right after he sang it
Rough Copy- by far their best performance, it does sound like what they would sing on their album, good styling choices, which reinforces the fact they might actually end up in the finals
Sam- good performance not the best but obviously pimped to the max and their ideal winner.
Tamera’s odds tightening all day, hopefully significant.
The trouble with Bleeding Love is that it’s one of those songs which are so iconic and should remain untouched. Every year whether it’s Lloyd/Matt or even Sam Bailey, you cannot reproduce the magic of that song. Sam did as much justice to it as Matt did I felt. Also I think Sam B isn’t as popular as Nick in the voting, she may be up there as the person people will remember for the vocal but how often has the person with best vocal topped the votes? We have to remember this isn’t American Idol where someone can get away with just having strong vocals. I think the Sun leak was designed to help Sam B actually – she’s not actually topping the votes but making her appear to top the votes makes her look like the people’s winner, and as we know people are more inclined to support a winner. Sharon’s cry for votes also makes me think this way (same as Tulisa last year when Ella was in the B2 – her plea for Ella’s votes).
BUT Sam had the pimp slot with stunning comments and the most well-known XF song, she isn’t going anywhere combined with Sharon’s cry for votes and Sam B lovely defense of Tamera during Louis’s comments (first time I think a contestant has mentioned another contestant during their comments in a thoughtful way). And Luke had a rebound vote. Nick will forever be popular after his last pimp slot (no way he’s going anywhere just one week after that) and with the in your face Scottish VT, it’s quite clear that regional vote will get him.
It can only be Hannah and Tamera/Rough Copy. From these statistics, I’m thinking it’s Rough Copy (mixed in with bad comments from judges and middle of the order performance, proceeded by controversial Tamera and people’s favorite Sam B) but that was all before Tamera’s performance. Tamera’s vote will go like so: will people give her another chance? After the first time yes. After the second time separated by at least 8 performances when she didn’t, maybe. After the third time, just after she forgot them the second time, I’d think not. Even though technically she didn’t forget her words this time (came in too early), it would still appear as a word lyric mishap. BUT with those judge’s comments and her teary eyes we could see a sympathy backlash. Then again like Janet, she didn’t seem particularly sorry about it (though I think we all felt a little bit sorry for her after Gary’s comments).
I’m saying Hannah vs Tamera but Rough Copy vs Hannah looks equally as likely. They want Hannah to go this week, that’s the idea, so her votes can go to the last girl (T) OR the last big belter (Sam B) OR one of the last R&B/soul acts (RC or T). Hannah hasn’t connected with viewers and while Tamera has polarised opinion, she has lot of people on both sides of the argument. So for that sake of that, they will get rid of Hannah for Tamera.
I do hope you’re right as I have Hannah/Tamera B2 for a good profit & the Hannah/Tamera/RC combinations for a smaller profit or breakeven.
My one area of concern is whether Luke will bounce enough. I haven’t seen much of this week, but he looked grubby in his VT and a little bit of a chunky monkey. Certainly not someone the girls would swoon over.
Hannah’s VT was very positive. They seemed to build Alexandre Burke up to be a bigger star than she is before Hannah met her. We had lots of laughing and an engaging weepie scene to bring the public on board, and then her performance was one of the best of the night.
The only difference to last week was that 3 judges pleaded for votes last week and, despite all the great comments, we had that missing this time around.
Also let’s not forget about the smoke in the background. It’s what contributed to Janet Devlin’s downfall.
There is a lot of emphasis on the running order of the show. Obviously tptb want to pimp the acts they think will have the most commercial appeal after the competition. I wonder if this year there has been an emphasis behind the scene on making sure each judge has at least one act in the later stages of the competition. I’m sure at least one of the judges have lost all of their acts by this point in previous years.
Perhaps this is why Rough Copy are being helped so much. Or at least not being thrown under the bus. And Hannah is just getting screwed as the producers picked Tamera over her in the girls category.
Does the running order try to avoid two girls or two boys being scheduled one after the other? Is that why Hannah was on so early?
Also let’s not forget about the smoke in the background for Hannah’s performance. It’s what contributed to Janet’s demise in Week 8.
The problem with Janet’s smoke was that it was almost enveloping her at some points. Hannah’s smoke seem doesn’t look too bad. Watching again. Hannah has a bright light directly behind her as she finishes the song, creating a halo effect. Very Jahmene Douglas with all the religious connotations.
Rough copy odds plummeted on Betfair for elimination. Any ideas why?
Basically opening the show with Tamera’s cock-up last night seems obvious who they are gunning for!
Some pre-results observations:
Where’s Nicky?
http://goo.gl/vh3N0Y
A very forgettable, unengaging performance with a fair amount of obtrusive visual distraction including suggestions of background fire throughout… and the last person to be presented with a birthday cake by Dermot on stage (Shelley) landed in the sing-off.
7 seconds Rough Copy will never get back.
http://goo.gl/R7qcyB
When your slot runs for 2 min 40 secs, why not waste 7 seconds of airtime focusing on the dancers? Very deliberate bad staging, multi-layered distractions and very few close-ups in comparison to the other acts.
Conversely, Hannah had more close-ups than anyone else and also had the loudest audience reaction of the night (along with Sam Bailey). Like last week, treatment could have been far, far worse if they’d wanted to ensure her exit.
Richard on the Betsfactor podcast used the phrase, “protect the franchise” and that’s why I think Tamera will be sent home if she lands B2 against anybody. Two songs to learn next week, perhaps three in the final – too risky.
Are we forgetting how damaging all the negative press stories made Tamera getting to the final were, they have constantly said she has the most post show potential, and what the show wants what the show gets and that is what the show wants, these poor performances could all be engineered to ramp, dermas, bump and bounce her to the finals??
While I recognise there are elements in the last two weeks for Tanera that look like deliberate sabotage, I still can’t see what tptb have to gain by making their number 1 prospect sound shit.
Maybe because your only as good as your last performance, so all the bad ones will be forgotten if the wow moment comes, as a disclaimer all my posts are extremely biased as I have Tamera at 20/1 EW
Was that mary J. Blige & Jessie J…… or Dionne Warwick & Danny from The Script?
Will she fluff her lines again if she is in the sing off ?????
They will have to send her home if she does.
Of course not. She’ll sing “I Have Nothing” again :).
Time to put the house on Hannah?
Oh come onnn.. How is Tamera not in the bottom 2? I guess she got the sympathy vote after all.
She got some boos though, and head-shaking from Gary. I wonder if they’ll change her into the villain.
I guess Hannah is toast. Shame. I thought she was starting to do well.
Have to agree on Tamera. If they wanted rid they would have kept Rough Copy safe. This was all about creating controversy for next week.
Rough Copy came bottom of the vote then
Not necessarily. RC is higher in the pecking order than Hannah and would be 3-1’d regardless.
Yes but a bit of deadlock to show tthe public getting rid of Hannah while saving Tamera would have helped drive the story
Could they make it any clearer that they wanted Tamera out? Judges stating that it’s a travesty Hannah & Rough Copy are in the bottom two, Nicole being disappointed with the British public and Louis stressing that they remembered their lyrics! How big is the bus going to be that they aim at Tamera next week?!
Much as I enjoy X-Factor & love reading sofabet & all the speculation…I found that hard to watch tonight. Felt very sorry for Hannah.
Yes. I thimk Louis is done with her. But it’s their own fault. They took her too soon. Two or tree years time and she’d either be ready or ruined but right now they are the ones to blame.
She hasn’t been nasty like this since Cher Lloyd.
Very underhand for Louis to say that about Cher Lloyd. I’m guessing she’s turned her back on the whole thing now she’s married and this is their way of getting back at her.
I would have believed him if he’d said James Arthur is a toad and we’ll never have him back on the show, but it seems he’s still making them good money.
This was one of the nasty XF weeks.