Song choices have been later than usual in coming today, presumably because there was a song change drama around Stereo Kicks. Punters had been waiting with anticipation to see if anyone would get the kiss-of-death song choice ‘That’s Life’, which has a 3-for-3 record in eliminating acts who have sung it in Big Band week – but having helpfully telegraphed their targets for the last three weeks, TPTB decided not to be quite so obvious (assuming that Stereo Kicks, still “to be confirmed”, aren’t getting it). The full list of songs is here:
Andrea Faustini – Summertime (by Ella Fitzgerald)
Lauren Platt – Smile (by Nat King Cole)
Only The Young – I Wanna Be Like You (From The Jungle Book)
Stereo Kicks – to be confirmed…
Ben Haenow – Cry Me A River (by Michael Buble)
Fleur East – Bang Bang (by Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj)
Jay James – Empire State of Mind/New York New York medley (by Alicia Keys/Frank Sinatra)
Stevi Ritchie – Mambo Number 5/ She Bangs medley (by Lou Bega/Ricky Martin)
Please use this as a fresh thread to let us know what you make of them.
Fleur singing her judges house song? End of journey warning signal or just to show how far she’s better now?
Either way I dont really see it as a good sign cause people already know it hm.
Alexandra Burke performed ‘Listen’ in both week 8 and the final despite performing it originally at Judges Houses.
I find it more worrying for Fleur that Jessie J just sang that on the result show a few weeks ago. Fleur just does not have the vocal chops to come close to Jessie J, so that may be an unflattering comparison for her…
The alarm bell for me with Fleur is that I can’t see the Middle England audience taking to that song at all. It does in theory delight the demographic but there’s little crossover appeal.
I can’t see anything too damaging at first glance for anyone else. It’s a wait and see week.
Stevi on a medley? He’s staying.
Especially with those two songs – She Bangs is a Wagner number as well.
The choices for Andrea and Lauren seem perfect; it appears that, if they are looking to de-ramp Andrea, they’re in for the long haul.
I Wanna Be Like You and Cry Me a River seem fine for Only the Young and Ben respectively but Empire State of the Mind/New York New York for Jay? The fact it’s a medley and New York New York has a big finish is making me waver but can he carry that?
I’m actually looking forward to Stevi’s performance this week, i definately think he will be safe with those 2 choices. I have a feeling we may see Lauren and Jay in the b2 this week. Another boring ‘yawn’ performance for Lauren
initial thoughts…
Katie W got a sizeable bounce doing that jungle book song… very fun… are the judges finally on the OTY train?
Cowell loves Summertime… i think he said when Fantasia did it on AI, it was his favourite AI performance ever… Leona did it… didn’t Ruth Lorenzo do quite a sultry version also?
Lauren finally gets a Diana Vickers song with Smile… will be cute, but a bit sickly…
I assume Ben will do the Michael Buble version… all James Bond like…
Stevi finally doing a Wagner-esque mash-up…
Jay… vocals too weak for Empire state of mind… NY NY too cheesy… I smell B2 again..
Fleur… not exactly big bang… unless they play with the arrangement… she was great at Judges Houses with this… can she recreate it on the big stage…
SK… who knows what to think… maybe they have That’s Life… but tptb are making us wait???
I think Stereo Kicks are in a spot of bother here. If their new song transpires to be “That’s Life” I’ll be putting the money on straight away!
OTY’s song worked nicely for Katie Waissel, though largely because it was performed from the pimp slot. Still I can see it being a good performance, particularly assisted by the big band.
Oh I forgot Fleur. Is Bang Bang teeing up a judges argument over whether it’s a Big Band song? Plus it’s a repeat of a pre-live song – it’s ripe for a ‘cheat’ allegation to rear it’s head again. But then the pre-live song part could be twisted as a representation of how far she’s come and she’ll stand out as modern against the older numbers. Will they include the rap? The last rap in Big Band week was Miss Frank and that resulted in elimination.
There doesn’t seem to be a clear target this week unlike Queen v Michael Jackson… unless Stereo Kicks are handed That’s Life.
Speaks volumes, the lack of a Stereo Kicks song choice reveal. Something is not working out there and if there has been a late change, no way will it be as polished as any of the others who would have had the week to practice. Pretty much guaranteed bottom two then, especially coming off a bounce. Not liking Jay’s chances either. He hasn’t got the voice for it – he’ll be drowned out by the band and the mash-up sounds crap.
Not sure if Stevi has run his course yet. The mash-up sounds fun, certainly better than Jay’s and maybe that will be a comparison that the judges will make. I do wonder, if like my household, that people are chucking their free votes at him for the lolz.
Re: the last point. I had this thought too. Anyone can download the app and vote for the worst – especially people who really hate XF/are annoyed their favourite was eliminated/stitched-up. The only thing making me think he isn’t getting a high number of votes is the fact that he is always performing late in the show and there’s no sign of a bus.
My thoughts:
Andrea – he’s more than likely going to be through anyway. Simon could possibly compare it negatively to the Leona version like he did Ruth’s in 2008.
Lauren – I predicted this song choice right from the start. The song that Diana Vickers did 6 years ago. She doesn’t have as much character to her voice as Diana did so I think this will come across quite dull but could still be hyped up as a “moment” for her. If it isn’t, I think an Ella-style shock may be coming her way.
Only The Young – this could go either way. Depends if they can pull it off the way they pulled off BIOTB. I don’t think it will connect with the public that much but then I could be underestimating the strength of the fun factor. Jungle Book lovers may love it.
Stereo Kicks – I still think this mess will go in their favour. I can’t see them being bussed this week.
Ben – I think this will be another solid performance from him. No danger at all of being in the sing-off.
Fleur – I’m not sure about this. Rapping and Big Band don’t work together – just ask Miss Frank – which is a shame since her rap is what made BB so amazing. But with a stage and choreography this could be just as great as her original performance but in a different way.
Jay – this sounds really messy. I still think he’ll get a sympathy bounce though.
Stevi – will he be seen as just a less funny Wagner? Probably.
I think the story with SK changing their song is to generate publicity (the fact that they have not yet stated what are the actually singing speaks for it).
I think that the producers also want to create sympathy for SK with the coments such as “you sang briliantly and that after practicing your sng only 24 hours”.It can also motivate their fans to vote more as they would see SK as beeing in danger.
The change of song can also be used as one of the reasons to save them if they land in bottom two.
Probably right, especially with all the tricks they pulled for them last week
Yep – sympathy ploy. They have even tweeted ‘we hope 1 day is enough to learn a brand new song!’
I wonder if TPTB will also give Stereo Kicks the pimp slot with their mystery song?
Four acts fishing in the same pool demo for votes based on song choices, OTY, SK, Lauren and Fleur song puts her in there also.
What their reason for doing that with Fleur as outside of Lauren SK and OTY have finished up in bottom two fishing in that demo pool for votes which means it not big so bringing Fleur into that type of voting will not help her. Maybe they trying to drag down.
This SK song choice situation is probably another stunt.
Stevie looks to have decent enough chance with song choice.
Jay song is odd for him.
Running order going to be critical and the bus.
Hard to call, caution I think until tomorrow. Already have Lauren and Fleur at big odds so waiting until the show unless SK get That’s Life.
Andrea could take gurning to a whole new level with Summertime.
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That was exactly what I thought. Forget the tonsils, we’re going to see what he had for dinner. I also think it is a song where diction is important, so the accent could be off-putting if it comes across strongly.
But his talent and all round niceness will probably counteract these factors.
Concerned for Lauren. Smile is a bit of a snooze-fest
There’s a photo of her and Cheryl (the one on the right) which looks like another little wobble going on https://twitter.com/CherylColeRu/status/533368104353820672/photo/1
Hmmm:
http://goo.gl/TBYSsu
Hold your horses…
https://twitter.com/StereoKicks/status/533392387352297473
Firstly I am taking all credit for Fleur’s song choice, she clearly read this site last week and saw my comment on Monday.
I’ve not been a fan of her so far at all but I think this will be good for her. It’s the only recent song choice on there (save Jay’s mash up) and it will stand out to younger voters. We already know she’s good at it, but as others have said it’s not strictly big band and rapping will be a risk. Plus the original has been performed by the artist this series very well – it could all be used against her just as much as it could for her. Based on her treatment so far i would suggest that it’s a positive choice but you never know.
Lauren’s song choice won’t delight the younger demo, it’s a very safe choice but the song itself doesn’t really go anywhere. I can see a few negatives her way potentially.
Excited for for OTY – it’s playing right to their strengths, if they are trying to harm them it’s not an obvious song to give them. Based on ‘Monster Mash’ this exactly what they’re about and their demo will most likely be delighted. Can’t wait to see Stevi too – mambo number 5 on x factor will be a sight.
Jay is odd. A risky choice – gives him the chance to be creative and do what he is praised for and he’s due a bounce. That will probably be enough for him to get by.
Andrea and Ben, decent choices for them.
The SK situation is odd. From what I can see, there’s nobody else at an obvious disadvantage on song choice alone. The song change, I think, is being used as a positive for SK but I’m not sure it will wash. Obviously it depends on the show but unless they’re actually yknow… good, I can’t see them avoiding bottom two. From song choice, there’s cases for lauren and fleur being shock bottom twos, perhaps even OTY based on logic but I wouldn’t be confident until after the show.
Yeah I agree there is no real tempo or change in the song for Lauren, unless she adds something to it, could become a durge
Andrea – I think Andrea could sing almost anything this week and pull it off, but this is a good choice so no real signs of a de-ramp. Possible criticism that it’s another female song, and he may tend to overplay the vocal tricks again – but that’s just my opinion.
Lauren – I think this will be nice, but at this stage Lauren needs a bit more than nice to make any challenge. Her voice lacks real richness or texture so I think this will possibly sound a bit light. I don’t see her being in danger but equally I don’t see it gaining many new votes.
OTY – assuming this is similar to Katie Waissel’s version I think that they might pull this off with another fun performance. Still likely to be near the bottom depending on other performances on the night.
Ben – I love the version of this song by Diana Krall, unfortunately I detest the Buble version – it’s just too overblown. I hope they don’t literally give him that, because I just don’t think he’s got the right vocal for it anyway. Please surprise us by going for a more mellow arrangement – I live in hope more than expectation.
Fleur – The jury’s out on this until we hear it – not too sure how well it’s going to translate as a big band song.
Jay – FFS (I’m reduced to swearing). Is murdering one song not enough? Empire State of Mind is an empowering song. Alicia Keys vocals are clear and soaring. I cannot see how Jay’s depressing whinging whining vocal is going to carry this off. Less Ohhhhh New York, more oh nu yuk. That’s before he even starts on New York, New York. Big trouble I think, bounce or not.
Stevi – After Jay I’m past caring. After Jay he’s probably be safe anyway.
Stereo Kicks – Who knows – not even them apparently (probably a big lie to cover up the fact that after a weeks practice they’re still crap (reduced to swearing again) at whatever they were supposed to be doing in the first place, which is what they’ll still be doing).
So there we have it – Jay, SK or OTY probably – not much better off than before we got the song choices.
LOL’ing at your Jay comments… agree 100%
as for comments on Ben doing CMAR… when has XF ever gone down the mellow, understated route when there is a overblown, hyped up route available!!
plus, the fact the web site says by Michael Buble seems enough of an indication he will be doing that version… 😉
Would have liked someone to sing ‘She Said’ by Plan B, not sure who though as none of the males could probably do the rap part, would have to take that out of the song, love the song though.
I’m sure after drum and bass’ing the crap out of Mad World, Jay would give She Said a go!!
though whether he could pull it off successfully is another thing altogether… I don’t think he could!
Thought SK cover with song title might be up on iTunes but it not. All the other acts with song choices are.
Smile could work out two ways for Lauren, either very beautifully, or very boring. Depends how it comes over on TV.
Fleur I think with a strong song, but will middle England take to it? Lets see.
Really hope SK are in B2 again and see what excuse they have to keep them in the competition
Some Saturday morning odds for you
Next Elimination
OTY 5/2 (Stand out at Lads, everyone else 7/4)
Stevi Ritchie 3/1 (Various)
Stereo Kicks 7/2 (Sportingbet)
Jay James 9/2 (Various)
Fleur East 40/1 (Bwin)
Lauren Platt 50/1 (Paddypower)
Ben Haenow 100/1 (Betfred)
Andrea Faustini 100/1 (Various)
Bottom Two – Oddschecker only has Bwin market
OTY 10/11
Stereo Kicks 5/4
Jay James 6/4
Stevi Ritchie 6/4
Lauren Platt 4/1
Fleur East 7/1
Ben Haenow 14/1
Andrea Faustini 14/1
Win market
Andrea Faustini 7/5 (bwin)
Ben Haenow 7/2 (various)
Fleur East 5/1 (various)
Lauren Platt 6/1 (various)
Jay James 40/1 (various)
OTY 50/1 (Sportingbet)
Stereo Kicks 50/1 (Lads, Corals)
Stevi Ritchie 66/1 (various)
This is Sumera Espinel singing ‘Smile’ on X Factor Netherlands, Big Band week 6 in 2010. I think she did a good job but surprisingly she landed in the B2 and was eliminated. That says something about the song choice.
There’s a feeling about Lauren this week that I’m also sensing – a sing-off appearance is exactly what she needs right now to make for a more interesting ‘journey’ to the final. However, she will of course be saved – Cheryl wants her act in the showpiece.
TPTB may well attempt a Lauren/Fleur sing-off with Fleur saying goodbye.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO-ZkgNSLW8
They would be silly to get rid of Fleur at this stage IMO. Along with Only the Young and Stevie she can put on a true performance and liven up the show. Plus would they throw her under the bus after trying to give her a ‘moment’? And after Brian (presumably instructed) said she could crack America?
I can see Smile possibly pushing Lauren into the bottom two. Her version of What A Feeling was slow tempo going nowhere but there were easier targets that week to pick off ahead of her.
I have doubts about Jay and think they might be trying to limit his bounce. Personally, I think they should have eliminated him last week but they were always aiming for Paul. But I think he is the most disposable act left now and they could act on it.
Smile is also a Steve Brookstein Live Final song…
They’re not aiming at Fleur. That’s crazy talk. Jay is the target this week with those songs.
I expect OTY to do well assuming their performance is good. They are a fun, upbeat band hitting the demo right between the eyes with that selection.
Lauren could b2. If so I expect her to be saved, bounce next week and go the week after so that one of the groups can join who most here seem to agree are the chosen (Andrea, Ben, Fleur).
Obviously a bit of speculation in the last para but Lauren has been performing poorly the last few weeks. As ever it will be interesting to see the poll results when they are released. Has she lost public favour?
Most people I talk to are still either for Ben or Andrea for the win.
Hard to be sure sure re Fleur and what they doing. Running order will tell more.
SK song still not named on iTunes.
Will Stevi’s mashup of two super-Saturday-night-friendly songs not take votes away from Only The Young? I don’t see how you can say Jay is the target when he is more likely than not to bounce. When an act gets a mashup, as Jay has, it suggests that producers want to keep people interested to the end of their performance. And we still don’t know what Stereo Kicks are doing.
I doubt it. Stevi is getting the joke act vote. Only The Young and Fleur are getting the “fun factor” vote.
I can’t see Jay handling Empire State of the Mind and New York, New York with aplomb, though.
Only the Young being left as the last ‘safe’ act last week is nagging me though. This series that’s been next week’s ‘target’ position. If they perform first in the Strictly clash zone with Stevi left late to mop up the ‘fun’ vote they could be in trouble.
More than ever, it’s a case of seeing the running order, staging and judges comments before knowing who they’re aiming at.
iTunes currently have Stereo Kicks doing “Mack The Knife” tonight.