With two songs having to be changed at short notice, much about tonight’s show may have been improvised, so it should be treated with some caution. That said, with the three elimination favourites in the first four slots – alongside outright favourite Louisa Johnson – producers seemed to make their intentions at the bottom of the pile pretty clear.
Up first, in the 15 minutes while Strictly was still on the other side, was Mason Noise. He got a sympathetic enough VT, as we saw him feeling down about his singoff appearance and returning home to be cheered up by his dad – although that scene may also have created a sense that Mason will have plenty of emotional support when he exits the show, so no need to feel too bad about not voting for him.
There was plenty of red and black in the ‘Men In Black’ production, and it wasn’t as big a production as we had been promised. There were certain similarities to what Kiera had been given last week: some dance interludes; a sense of style over substance. Rita said: “I don’t think you need to worry about being in the bottom two”, a classic example of reverse psychology intended to suggest an act is safe and therefore there’s no need to vote. Simon, amusingly, praised his “cockiness and arrogance” – twice, just to make sure we got that Mason is cocky. And arrogant.
It wasn’t any better for Max; arguably it was worse. His VT warned us that the song had no big moments, priming viewers to be bored, before he returned to an empty pub where he used to sing to reminisce with the landlord about how he once got drunk and sang the same line over and over again.
Everything about the performance was dull: the backdrop, the dry ice, the slow walk right from the back of the stage. Nick said he wanted Max to be a “bit more emotional” which translates as, “you were dull and robotic”. Rita said she had become a “Max fan” in the dullest voice she could muster. Cheryl got the word “boring” in, advising Max to open up and show his emotions, to which Max replied “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. Simon said Max was starting to relax and believe he should be there, which is another moment of reverse psychology. Olly reminded us of that empty pub, and Caroline’s “after the break, Louisa Johnson” sounded very much like it carried a subtext of “viewers, we know the show has been abysmal so far, please don’t turn off yet”.
Mason and Max were memoryholed by Mogg, the Sainsburys Christmas advert cat, and then by Louisa, who had a segment of her own between ad breaks. We’ve been puzzled by how producers are packaging Louisa and again the VT was a mixed affair. At one point, Louisa admitted to struggling with feeling the lyrics, to which vocal coach Annabel replied she should just “stand there and sing”, something we feel is precisely the problem. She had a nice bonding moment at home with her mother in the VT, though it also suggested she’s been a stage school kid since Leona’s year, 2006.
A heavenly-looking Louisa featured in the backdrop, and she looked angelic in white. The song spent a while too long at Ella Henderson pace before Louisa showed off her powerful voice and the faux gospel choir duly appeared. Judges’ praise was immense again, and this time featured tears from Rita and Louisa herself and an epic, sustained close-up on Louisa’s tearful face. It maintained her position at the head of the market and Louisa backers will be encouraged that producers had the confidence to send her out third rather than feeling the need for a pimp slot, but you could also argue that it smelled a bit desperate at times.
Monica’s VT started with a reminder of last week’s “what have they turned you into” and how much Monica hated the dress. She got a nice section with the kids she mentors, though. As with Lauren later, the change in song choice was referenced without further explanation, which felt like the fairest balance for the show to strike.
Staging aficionados will have noticed the eclipse backdrop – a star that’s been blocked out? And some dead trees on stage. But Monica had a few strong moments with a song that she clearly relates to. Simon agreed and said, “it takes guts to do that on live TV” as he and Cheryl awkwardly and obliquely referenced recent news events. Nick called Monica “an artist” and “I can hear that voice on the radio”. Still, the act singing directly after Louisa has finished bottom and second-bottom of the vote in the last two weeks, and she was followed by one of the evening’s more memorable performances.
“Bollie, what are you doing, nobody wants these boring slow songs – they want to be entertained!” said Reggie. Would someone tell that to Louisa? This felt like a definite deramp for the likeable Ghanaians, and it will be interesting to see whether they came anywhere near to topping the vote in week 2 when the stats are announced after the series – it would explain the elements of dampening in this week’s treatment and, if it had leaked, also the price crash on them in the outright market through the week.
The dampening elements? Whereas commenters last week debated whether or not they fitted the classic definition of a novelty act, this felt like firmly pigeonholing them in that category. The Titanic skit reminded us how ropey their vocals are. The cut from them in their normal jobs to them dressed in suits made from money was not a good look. The judges staged a distracting argument about the movie. As Cowell said, “was it as good as last week? No.”
West End was the theme for Anton’s performance, which felt like he was being shoved into the musical theatre box recently vacated by Seann Miley Moore. The VT focused on Anton’s history on the musical theatre stage, which rather undercut his anonymous backing vocalist backstory, and the staging was very… stagey, with theatre lights and artsy monochromatic lighting.
Nick told him there were offputting musical theatre tics in his performance style, and Simon’s “back in the game” didn’t feel convincing. Still, one source of encouragement for Anton backers is that Max seemed to be a clear target this week, and it’s debatable whether Cowell’s ego will allow him to lose all his acts well before the final; for now we’ll assume the intention is to keep a lid on Anton’s popularity, rather than to open the trapdoor.
There was some confusion around 4th Impact’s introduction, as Cheryl announced that Selina would be missing the performance but she turned up on stage anyway. There were arguably slight hints of a deramp in the VT as we saw the girls saying how much they missed being at home in the Philippines, but this was counterbalanced by the effort to introduce them as individuals. Their staging was fun, their performance was highly professional, and they got a glitter cannon at the end, to go with a four-judge standing ovation.
Olly saying “is there a chair?” while standing in front of four chairs is a moment that sums up how the new presenting team has yet to reach Dermot’s heights of professionalism. Once the wobbly-looking Selina was safely sitting down, judges’ comments focused on the girls’ professionalism and they should surely poll well this week.
Lauren got a nice homecoming VT, showing her as recognised and popular on a hometown walkabout – much more so than her namesake Lauren Platt, who got a similar VT last year. The new song turned out to suit her well, and showcased her ability to sell the emotions of a song much more than her category rival Louisa – it wasn’t note perfect, but it was moving.
Simon said “the competition has started”, comparing her to Fleur (then, as an afterthought, Ben); but it was Nick’s comments that raised an eyebrow, naming her “definitely my favourite girl in the competition” as well as saying she has a “Great British” similarity to Adele and Amy Winehouse. If producers are confident of getting Louisa to the win, they aren’t showing it in any urgency to turn down the gas under Lauren. Our forum debated whether Nick’s comment suggested a new alpha girl or not.
Closing the show was Che, who had a sweet VT portraying him as cheerful and fun, and showcasing a touching moment on the phone with his dad, Che senior, whom we later saw looking proud after his son’s performance. The VT ended with Nick namechecking him as a potential finalist.
The styling and staging was reminiscent of James Arthur, with Che’s name up on a movie drive-in sign as an old-school leading man. However, we were disappointed in places by Che’s vocal, which felt underpowered and exposed compared to recent weeks – though he got a four-judge ovation and a full-on pimping regardless. There was a concerted effort to cast Che as an unlikely sex symbol, with Rita admitting she’s starting to fancy him and Cowell saying his love life is going to improve after the show (one wonders how his girlfriend feels about that). “You have soul,” Simon concluded.
Che held steady in second-favouritism in the outright after this performance, with Louisa drifting slightly and Lauren coming in. Of more immediate concern, with another double elimination promised, Max and Mason are vying for favouritism to finish bottom of the vote, at 11/8 and 7/4 respectively, with Monica at 5/1 and the rest nowhere. Can you see outside of the first two for the automatic elimination? Will one of the three escape the bottom three, and if so who might the surprise be? Let us know your impressions below.
Interesting point to make about Fourth Impact – the little drama that unfolded after the performance was kept in the Youtube video of their performance. Producers encouraging as much sympathy as possible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ly159_1dIw
And that Olly “Is there a chair?” moment was simply classic!
One thing is we’ll never forget Selina’s name now!
I think Nick’s comment re Laure wasn’t scripted, but a honest and spontaneous opinion. All that went down earlier shows clearlu that Louisa is still very much alpha.
I felt Louisa was memoryholed by the muppets. Probably not deliberate but nonetheless I was as fascinated and delighted by them as ever and completely forgot about Louisa. As I said elsewhere I reckon she’s a good punt for a surprise b2, although the three Ms are most likely imo.
Louisa would be a good bet next week but I can’t see past Mason, Max and Monica. I’d be surprised if they weren’t a good couple of percentage points behind.
As I say, it’s an outside bet, a punt. Double’s are unpredictable though. My strategy is to put trivial amounts on outsiders. I expect to lose most of them. If 1 in 10 comes in I still make a profit. maybe even 1 in 20.
And massive apologies for that apostrophe. I feel like I should go outside with a service revolver.
thats basically my strategy as well. worked very nicely for me last with with SMM 1/25 elimination odds.
For the record I think Louisa is safe as houses again. She had plenty going for her, including a nice performance and most importantly, tears. Would I have said Seann was safe last week? Yeah, I would, but not as safe as Louisa is this week!
I wonder if it’s better to be in the middle while there are still this many people in the competition. The idea being that rather than watch the full 1hr 45mins people will just tune in until their favorite is on and then switch off.
Jess, as you mentioned it, oranyone that can help,Which bookmaker site has a market for ‘bottom 3’ or which 2 acts will be eliminated?
I can only seem to find the next elimination market
Thanks
Betwin had it. Don’t know if it still does.
I don’t know about Betfair. Mr Hamby has suggested that I avoid exchange betting.
I think Che must really be quite low in the vote considering the pimping of him over the last two weeks. I think Mason is a lost cause in terms of getting the voting public on side, and the producers know this, so they are putting a lot of their effort behind Che in order for there to be a Boy remaining in the latter stages of the competition. I think the producers may also be pimping Che in order for some of Anton’s vote to be transferred over to the more favoured male belter.
Also, I honestly think that if Louisa makes the final, she could be duetting with her “idol” Leona and it could give her the edge just like Alexandra and Beyonce in 2008. I feel like the Leona mentions (both in her audition and in this week’s VT) are building up to a moment.
Listen I don’t know if it will save him but I absolutely enjoyed Mason’s performance. Was different.
Also Louisa was stunning
Monica to go first. Nice performance but meandering song and no real motivation to vote for her.
I think there’ll be a surprise in the remaining B2. Max’s has held up well before in the face of a nuking and Mason is on a sympathy bounce. Not sure who, although Anton’s staging was comically bad… Voting history shows that early front runners are hard to drag down, but I wonder why at this point anyone would vote for him over Ché or Lauren. Could be in trouble.
Totally agree re deramp on R+B. It was like the interlude after Act 1 and a lot of people hate that song.
The fact they sang Teletubbies before Anton’s performance is also proof positive TPTB read Sofabet comments, so if anyone has any requests for next week post away…! Personally I’d like to see Louisa’s take on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Nice intro cfom Simon too. Good idea that.
…now you’re going to see a 17 year old girl, whose life has literally been flipped, turned upside down. It’s Louisa.
Yeah. Woteva. 😉
It’s harder to make a mess of that arrangement than it is to do it well and the 17 year old girl was outsung by the 12 year old boy who did the original.
But that wasn’t the intro I was referring to.
For Monica to be after Louisa and before Anton should be deadly based on previous weeks.
Especially as she was in position 4.
The deadly signs from weeks one and two –
After Louisa: Bupsi and Seann
Before Anton: Alien Uncovered and Mason
Position 4: Kiera and Kiera
I said last week: If an act is placed in a Louisa-Anton sandwich next week (especially if performing in slot four) I’ll call a taxi for them.
https://sofabet.com/2015/11/08/x-factor-2015-week-2-post-mortem-seann-miley-no-moore/#more-11124
I wonder if the curse will continue?
Agreed re Monica. She didn’t look at all happy after her performance. She knows her time is up
Watching it again it was interesting to hear Cheryl address her as “my friend” twice. As Terry Pratchett says, when someone calls you my friend, that person is not your friend.
Ouch.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/x_factor/6744013/X-Factor-wannabe-taunted-girl-whose-lover-she-stole.html
Just to make sure the quell any sympathy bounce from last week’s treatment.
Note to future contestants: when they ask you if there is anything in your past that could come out and damage you SAY NO!
I’d be pretty surprised if Max and Mason weren’t in the bottom 3, which one finishes dead last depends on how much of a bounce Mason can get.
I felt Mason’s performance struck a much better tone than last week, more fun and the dancing looked like dancing rather than random muscle spasms. I gave him my votes. But the best predictor of future vote is still past vote and we know he finished 9th last week.
Max was just okay but indifference is the worst emotion to evoke and there’s the issue of Che being given the pimp spot, was it to try and take his votes?
Most likely to join them is Monica. The eclipsed sun contrasts with the blazing sun she sang in front of in week one, as if she’s fading away.
If there’s to be a surprise I would think it’ll be Anton, middling comments, mid running order, a clichéd song that never really broke though but he has probably still got enough good will to keep going.
The real unknown here is just how much of a base Max has. I’ve just got a feeling his support is a little more durable than we might initially have thought – I mean somehow he avoided bottom 3 with that awful rendition of Someone Like You in week 1. That’s why I just have the feeling Mason will finish bottom.
I haven’t seen the show yet because I am away in the US, but this is exactly how I feel about Max. I was surprised that there was so little confidence in his vote in the finishing order predictions, and now each week in the elimination predictions. I would love him to go tomorrow as I think he’s just *so* dull but I won’t be shocked if he escapes again.
The real unknown here?
There’s plenty of those.
I wonder how many people assume Louisa is safe so give their votes to someone else.
Personally I think that if Louisa wasn’t safe she would be on much nearer the end of the running order. The fact she’s been middle to early suggests that TPTB are happy with how she has been polling. Louisa and 4I are the chosen ones still I’d say. Lauren and Che would be decent enough feel good / worthy winners as an alternative. Still both utterly disposable tho depending on Circumstances. The rest are just being lined up for execution and / or to get a decent spilt of acts in the final as long as they have no chance of winning.
You’ve just proved my point. You’re assuming she’s safe. In a double that is dangerous. Obviously it’s not a dead cert but that’s why it’s called gambling.
I’m honestly not sure why Louisa is any different to anyone else here. There’s probably a lot of people assuming Ché is safe too – and there were probably a lot of people assuming Ben Haenow was safe every week last year.
The point is that I think the base of Louisa will be more than enough to avoid B3 – and the fact that producers put her on early suggests that they think so too.
Lousia isn’t in danger. Whatever indicator you want to look at facebook likes / itunes sales / twitter reaction / the odds / dailystar leak /producer treatment there’s no sign she’ll be anywhere near 7th.
I may have predicted 4th Impact as one of the bottom three acts pre-show but I am glad the song worked for them and “Celinagate” really will help them in the vote this week. Celinagate actually allowed the public to see the sisterly bond they all have. Considering a lot of girlbands are plagued by reports of catfights and bitchiness, tonight reinforced the notion that 4th Impact are sweet, friendly and non-threatening to other girls.
watching late on catchup.
Mason = poor but not horrible – bland sure, but tolerable. May survive another sing-off against Max or Monica (which would not be so controversial this week)
Max = boring boring boring (why did he not go for purple rain – answer = deramp by TPTB). Think he is a gonna – unless in a sing off against Monica
Monica = dreadful – both in song,. voice and styling, Cant see why she is 6/1 to go tomorrow? She could very well finish bottom if there is a small bounce for Mason and Max’s vote holds up. But anywhere in bottom 3 means she is going home.
Anton = showed he had no real voice tonight and cannot win this. If Max survives Simon needs a hard think as to who is his Alpha. (in theory there is still time to turn Max around if they so desire)
Reggie/Bollie = Fun with a capital F, no danger of going out yet but no danger of winning at the moment. The “fun” Titanic skit highlighted that neither can actually sing! Have doubled in odds tonight and are back at a “proper” price now. The debate over Rugrats after the song took attention away from them so TPTB want to cap any momentum they may get.
Louisa = Hmmmm – other than the 3 M’s she is the only loser in my outright book (albeit only £17) but I’m quite comfortable with that at the moment. 6/4 is still a false price although the number of possible winners is really shrinking now. Maybe this is just a very bad year.
4th Impact – WERE THEY MIMING? Looked very much like it to me. Possibly due to Celine deciding to perform at the last minute and TPTB not wanting to risk it. Definitely pimped and I may need to increase my stake on them (18/1). Really feel that they are now the main threat, although the Filipino background might still count against them in the final.
Lauren = rushed nervy vocals in intro but got stronger after the first chorus albeit a little shouty. Styling still very laid back compared to Louisa – which may be a positive as TPTB have the opportunity to transform her if they so desire but right now I’m uncertain she can win it with those vocals. She is the biggest winner in my book though as I topped up at 18/1 in midweek and i’m very happy with that given she is now 5/1 at best
Che = was my biggest win before my top-up on Lauren midweek. Pimp slot and they are trying hard with him, but can we really see him as a credible winner yet? (again I hark back to the fact that this is a really poor year). Still needs a style transformation (as per Lauren) as at the moment he is more Paul Akister than James Arthur (and the latters styling was not brilliant)
Conclusion : TPTB are really struggling this year.
# They want 4I in the final three and would be more than happy with a win.
# They are really uncertain who to back between Louisa and Lauren – public votes this week may have a heavy influence – if Louisa not topping the vote then she may well be binned. Either way, given the truncated competition, one has to be seriously de- ramped next week as they are fishing in the same pond.
# Anton/Max gives Simon a conundrum, unless he is prepared to park his ego, accept that neither are going to win, and spend the final few weeks as the “neutral” judge. If both stay, then we may see Max given a surprising uplift next week
# Che/Lauren – are both fence-sitters for TPTB. Public response could well see at least one of them promoted to Alpha and given a major makeover this week (at Lousia’s cost)
Phew that was long-winded! Sorry!
Lauren is still shortening.
She can still improve. If she’s listening to good singers and hearing how they make songs come alive then she’s going to do well.
It’s been mentioned a bit during conversation and I’ve posted this before…
Can anyone tell me which bookmakers offer a bottom 2 market or similar?
I can only seem to find the next elimination market??!
When the herd starts thinning out I have noticed that more and more bookmakers pull b2 markets and just have elimination and outright. Didn’t used to be the case but imagine it was eating into their profits…
edit: Actually betfair looks like they have b2 markets.
Betfair Exchange
Cant find any regular bookies offering but Betfair have a bottom three market .
(back prices)
Mason and Max are both 1/5 odds on ,
Monica is 3/10 odds on
Reggie & Bollie 6/4
Anton and 4th impact are around the 11/4 mark,
Lauren 4/1
Che and Louisa 15/2
Hi all
I’m back!!
First and foremost an apology, I promised to comment this series after every show. Unfortunately, this hasn’t happened due to unforgiving work commitments which has only now allowed me to catch up with all the episodes.
Although commenting on from boot camp is a bit of a moot point at this stage. Ill make quick comment, the rugby World Cup put a totally different context on this stage with limited and irregular air time. Personally, I felt boot camp had more of the original judges houses feel in the open air/judges in sunglasses etc.
The new judges houses format is not a winner with me, the reaction cam in the corner of the screen was awful. Surely, reaction on the day is reaction enough? Also, the rouse of ‘the judges decide on the night’ was rubbish, the chosen acts had already been selected pre show (highlighted by the vt slip during smm/che/max announcement)
The 2 main talking points to take from these stages
– the selection of r and b over the 2 gospel groups (which I had a feeling tptb might have mixed together for a supergroup, alas not to be)
– the rapid demise and disposal of Keira weathers
So, a quick view on the categories:
Groups
Alien – Awful, unrelatable and were never going to be a good winner. When the decision to eliminate was announced, Simon referred to them as ‘alien nation’ not alien uncovered (in the same week they were shown to have changed their own song)
I think they had a few to many ‘ideas of their own’, which is never going to end well
Reggie and bollie – the inclusion of these 2 over the gospel groups…? The show needed a novelty act, which these 2 have been slotted into.
4th impact – Alpha group, great producer support with staging and song choice. Previous multiple foreign ‘X factor winners’.
Overs
Bupsi – the unfortunate early ‘overs’ fatality.
Max – what an odd inclusion at the 6cc. A nice voice, Paolo nutiniesque in vocal. Alan Hansenesque in personality. Also, his look and demeanour, it just doesn’t click with me. Looks like somebody who happened to sneak in to the studios and is trying to pretend he belongs before being caught by security and removed.
Anton – Extremely likeable and a Demi diva. His voice is good, great soulful notes. Is in danger of being maloneyed by tptb (the eyes and facial expressions will be his downfall… Tptb will dress him in a cape one week and that will be that?!)
Boys
Mason noise – great bit of publicity for the show in the 6cc. Average judges houses. Unfortunately, he has served his purpose, his vote will probably be from the 14-21 female demographic. Votes which need to be successfully transferred before the final.
Che – Sam smith style voice with the look of Billy Bunter. I feel his transformation is complete, he has sung the same style for a few weeks and will be asked to sing something different. I likened him to Paul akister on my first post during first auditions, this remains his course. A dirgy dance number with strobe lights in about 3/4 weeks awaits, gone before the final. Do they want another male winner, I don’t think so!
Sean miley Moore- an unfortunate casualty of the tastes of the viewing public. He was not going to be slotted as he novelty act (that would have been openly demeaning) and his theatrical voice would not have slotted in after the ‘novelty’ had worn off. The show was a bad fit for him.
Girls
Louisa – a great, belter of a voice. No connection. The general persona, let’s not forget she’s 17, is cold and quite unforgiving. There are rumours of unrest in the house and if there was a market where they were coming from I would place my money on her (maybe with mason?).. But that didn’t come form me! I think she’s had her moment and she will be deramped next week.
Monica – the wildcard, last chance (before she becomes an over) and all that. She had a personality which might connect with a certain demographic, are they going to get her rapping again? They will and that will be her elimination week
Lauren – I called this from show one, she was my winner I an in heavily at 33/1. People were unsure of my comments, they were treated to quite a lot of distain and disagreement. She’s likeable, has a great voice and as grimmy stated has that quality that all ‘British singers have *mockney impersonation*.
So, where does this leave us with 5 weeks remaining and 8 contestants.
I think the final 3 will be:
Lauren – my winner picked out from show one, so will stay with that
Anton – Simon has never been in a final without an act
4th impact – great push from tptb, slowly building up the act. Stereo kicks were forefront for a while last year until it all went wrong.
This weeks show elimination thoughts:
Mason bottom of the vote.
Max v che in the sing off.
I’m off to put a few pennies on 4th impact at their current price.
I thought it was quite a good show this week, better than the previous two anyway.
Most weeks I’ve liked Reggie n Bollie’s performances and disliked Mason’s, but it reversed this week. I kind of enjoyed Mason’s performance this week, though I still think he’ll end up in the bottom 3. It was on early, not that memorable and Simon’s comments (“cocky, arrogant, vocals iffy”) won’t have done him any favours.
This week Reggie n Bollie crossed the line into joke act territory I think, with the fake Titanic stuff and Simon’s dogs appearing on the background screen.
For me the worst were the two Overs. Max’s performance was such a snoozefest. He should end up in the bottom 2 really, but he might dodge it. I think I said on here last year that I never get sick of hearing ‘I Have Nothing’, but Anton’s performance last night turned out to be the final straw. It was so cheesy. This year’s version of Andrea in terms of producer treatment I’d say, except accellerated because there are fewer live shows.
I thought the three best performances were the Girls, but Louisa is my least favourite. She has a decent voice, but something doesn’t work for me for some reason. Though I suppose it depends on if it works for enough of the audience. I actually really liked Monica’s performance and the staging (but again, perhaps a lot of the wider audience might not). I loved Lauren’s performance again, I think she has a lovely voice.
4th Impact should get a sympathy vote. As for Che, I do like him, but that performance didn’t feel like a showstopper the way a lot of pimp slot performances do, so yeah perhaps his vote might not be doing as well as they’d like it to.
Really bad story about monica in today’s sun. The only question is whether she finishes bottom tonight or goes in the sing off
Going off Facebook likes, there’s potential value in Che being in the sing off. I’d also exercise caution with Mason, he seems to have picked up more likes than usual.
At the lower end of likes (below 1000) is Che, Monika, Anton and Max. 4th Impact way out in the lead as usual.
Just out of interest, how many likes do each of those you mentioned have as of late?
For last nights performances, they are currently:
Che 978
Lauren 1.3k
4th Impact 3.3k
Anton 654
Reggie n Bollie 1.4k
Monica 563
Louisa 2.1k
Max 768
Mason 1.4k
In terms of overall likes for their individual Facebook pages:
Che 15056
Lauren 12955
4th Impact 69993
Anton 2572
Reggie n Bollie 16908
Monica 27078
Louisa 23697
Max 6906
Mason 15703
On that, Monica certainly jumps out as having way more fans than we’d expect – although how much of this comes from her treatment last year I wonder?
Also important again for both of these how many for 4th Impact come from people overseas who won’t be voting.
Thanks Phil. Am I right in saying the last 2 weeks eliminations have been the 2 acts with the least likes on Facebook? I know we can’t read much into but it is a good indication at least. I invested in monica to be eliminated at relatively short odds Friday afternoon so hoping the low amount of likes is true to the actual voting.
Che is doing well on iTunes, as he always seems to. I know it’s unreliable, but it shows some level of support I guess. I think Che is middling the vote to be honest.
Whilst we’re talking about iTunes, Lauren is doing remarkably well. Arianna grande’s original is back on the chart, as is Lauren’s version. I hadn’t considered her as a contender as yet, but considering just how last minute her performance and how little there was, staging wise, for her, she did amazingly. There’s a sense that they’ll have to put a lot of toothpaste back in the tube if they do want to drag her down IMO. After last nights treatment I think they’d be happy for her to do well.
I’ve only just seen Louisa’s song this morning. Oh my God who is choosing this rubbish for the poor girl? I thought I didnt know the song she was singing as the only Everybodys Free I had ever heard of was the cheesey but pleasey early 90s house screamer by Rozalla and there was no way on earth Louisa would be doing a John Lewis version of that. How wrong was I? Seriousy what a load of dog&*%$. If thats the sort of rubbish Cowell has in store for her post-show she’s probably better off going this week and not getting signed by Syco.
Rewatching it and hearing the comments I take back what I said about her dropping in the pecking order.
Winners song going to be Forever Young Bob Dylan. Been a few good covers.
Thought they made 4I look old last night, changing target. Then had FOOD and Lauren joining eating. Maybd TPTB just having fun with Sofabet.
Anton looked dull last night and song did not really happen for him but rumours sah he could have topped poll last week.
Monica looks in troble and Mason was under bus. 4 weeks to final as mentioned by Simon. Maybe it is weekend of a shock but would say Monica and Mason on the road home with Anton maybe in danger.
Small stakes day. Wonder if any late movers today like pasg two weeks.
If this song choice is correct it”s curious. I can’t think of any of them particularly favored by it…
Maybe Che at best?
I think it will work well for any of the favourites. The Jahmene Douglas version was pretty good. The song survives an X Factoring like Hallelujah did. I think it would best suit Che, but no reason why Louisa and Lauren wouldn’t be able to do it justice either.
Are they sandbagging Max because Anton’s vote is in check? My choice bet for first out is in because Monica and Mason had redeeming qualities in their performances (kinda). Not sure why some people think Lauren is the new alpha Girl; it’s not enough to lift her up, they would have knocked Louisa down a peg or two, as well. Maybe Che isn’t dominating as much as we think because he’s been getting top-notch treatment despite being CLEARLY not the top choice for a winner.
Mason is the blue on oddschecker today… which is pleasing as I want my first profitable elimination of the series after breaking even week 1 and losing on Mason at 6/1 last week.
Longer term, I’m now trying to get Lauren onside, as she reminds me of Ben from last year. Everyone seems to like her, or at least mention her.
Only problem with that is I have Louisa backed at 11/4 with the bookies, so I can’t release funds… so more money will be tied up.
Leaves a big red on 4th Impact which is a worry.
I still don’t see Che winning and I think they’ll get Antons vote under control.
This years winners single is interesting, if they are going to get a female to sing it then I can see it suiting Lauren and her personality better than that of Louisa. I really cannot imagine 4th Impact singing and dancing to it.
A few people have mentioned problems in the house. I’ve seen the stories about Lauren moving out. Are there any others?
Ah… the Sophie Habibis Memorial Empty Pub. Max is walking.
Also, how awkward was it when they realised Who Let The Dogs Out was from, er, Rugrats in Paris?!
Nearly as awkward as the fake tears from Rita and Louisa to show how emotional and connected she is to her songs. 😀
Think we should see a pretty straight forward bottom 3 tonight, the 3 M’s. Just a case of who is bottom and who out of the other 2 goes in the sing off. Personally I am hoping Mason’s bounce is just enough to avoid being bottom, leaving Max stranded last and I think Monica goes in the sing off against either of them. That’s my ideal scenario anyway.
I’ve got Anton/Max/Mason B3 with Anton to be saved.
I felt Max and Mason got the worst treatment. Mason’s I need to go home VT, red & blacked performance with limited entertainment and cocky / arrogant judges comments was very demotivating. Max’s empty pub, low key song and poor comments were equally damning. Monica at least had the “doing it for the kids” bit and a song she chose. The story in The Sun is a blow, but it may have appeared too late to hurt her too badly this week.
see my post below – you could well be right James … although i wonder if they might bin Anton off and save Max in that scenario?
Anton crashing across the boards as insider trading takes hold (similar to the plunge on Monica last week – someone thinks they know something)
Suspect he’s not far off bottom three and potentially close enough to drop into the zone once tonight’s voters hit the phones in the first 20 minutes.
On that note I wonder how close to transmission time TPTB decide on the content of those first 20 mins – they have full insight into who they need to attract votes for and who they need to spike at that moment.
I wonder if they have multiple clips prepared ready to drop in at very short notice dependent on if they want to present an act in a good or bad light?
What am I saying? Of course they do!! Could we see a double Simon sing-off?
I had Monica, Max and Lauren pegged as B3 earlier in the week but that was before the song changes. I think it’s wide open in light of the two girls changing songs and we could be in for quite a shock.
Cant believe Anton is anywhere near the bottom 3. Im on Mason to be bottom so there u go thats the one to avoid. Better get my app votes on monica and max!
I’m saying Max, Anton and Che for bottom 3. Max to stay.
That’s a bold call.
A very polite way of putting it. Would love to know what odds you could get for that bottom 3.
My proverbial hat to be eaten if Mason is not bottom 3. His time has come!
😀
I think Mason did enough not to be bottom, it’s pretty rare for there to be no bounce at all after the first week and I’m coming around the idea that Max might more solid fan base than we think. So it’s Monica bottom for me, based on returning to her comfort zone, other girls having a strong night and being the best value.
Mason bottom, max and anton (max to go)
Everybody felt it was too much against Monica last week. Even non sofabetters last week thought Simon was out to get her. Maybe she’s had a sympathy bounce?
“For two Acts the dream will end!”
Switches to clips of Mason and Monica…
Blimey. If you lie on your tummy in front of the telly and look up you see what Rita had for dinner.
Mason is Marmite enough to not bounce, whereas Monica has had a bit of help from sympathy for her nuking week. I think ironically ISIS might have done her a favour.
If Reggie and Boillie go B2 they’ll be saved, seems too early in to kill of the twat act though.
Dermot is somewhere seething.
And there we go. The survivors make the tour.
Was Monica in the group performance at all?
Yes. She had a couple of lines at the beginning.
So tonight is the tour decider. Any of the M’s they’re going to be particularly keen about getting on the tour?
mason would sell a few tickets you would think – Monica wouldn’t.
Are we able to vote to eliminate Rita’s hair?
I feel as has been mentioned by others that support for Max may be stronger than we think. He is the only remaining bland male singer that seems to be a vote magnet in this conversation. Judges comments weren’t bad either.
Mason wasn’t as bad as I thought he would be even though he was red and blacked he may the first act to bounce.
For me Monica had an end of journey feel, she bounced back from last week, she has achieved this week, did well doing a 2nd song at the last minute but the staging was dire. Gloomy, sun blocked out and she wore a black dress that seemed more appropriate to wear on Halloween. Almost funeral like.
Monica bottom for me at 9/2 seemed good value.
Are we able to eliminate Jess Glynne. Screechy performance. Would suit Lauren’s voice better than hers…
Is olly being red & blacked tonight? Personally would keep him over Caroline but maybe the double elimination is him to go?
Out of those in danger who are the viewers who don’t usually watch but are for 1D voting for?
Not sure if its been mentioned already, but Lauren is trouncing the opposition on iTunes. Her version of One Last Time is at number 20 while Ariana’s original has re-entered at 14.
Louisa’s doing okay at 36, Che not far behind her at 52.
Interestingly, next highest is Max’s song – Bruce Springsteen’s original version of Secret Garden is up at 62. Next highest after that is Monica’s song – original at 75 and her version at 102.
Might be interesting for general popularity’s sake given that everyone has free votes.
BETTING ENDS!
Good luck everybody. I’m having a cheeky beer whilst 1D are on.
ok – am green on the 3m’s and Anton 🙂 Very Green on Monica.
Cant see any of the other 5 finishing bottom so i’m happy. Tough call this week. TBH i hate double eliminations and having to second guess the public. Far prefer taking on TPTB in a single elimination.
How off-putting is the lighting and camera work floor 1D?
Wow
Fuck me. He bounced.
Has a male act ever not bounced?
Jay James last year didn’t bounce, bottom 2 and 8th place in the vote in week 5 and week 6.
Someone’s goin’ dahn….
When’s the flip for Lauren to become favourite?
Louisa is still tptb favourite in my view. Until and unless that clearly changes?
ok – so the insider trading on Anton was correct -he is in the bottom three … i;m saying Monica last (but only because i win decent) and Max to be saved over Anton and heavily pimped next week.
annoyingly in post lines close trading i placed £40 on Mason to equalise my greens. What a waste of money!!!
Edit! Wrong! Made £2 for my efforts – thats about 25p an hour!!
Saved Order:
Mason
Lauren
Che
Reggie & Bollie
Louisa
4th Impact
If Anton was top in week one they’ve done a brilliant job to get him down to 7th, at best, so quickly.
I loved Anton last week despite fashionable opinion, he was a powerhouse. This week seemed deflationary by comparison. PS Max just eliminated first – got him at 8/1 last Monday to go first tonight. Pass the Bollinger!
paddy power by any chance? (I did too! … shame i backed the others as well!!)
Yes Ferret, up the Paddy, yee ha!!
I knew Mason would get through. Glad I stuck to my guns. And he was good last night.
Soon as Mason was called safe, it looked like Anton was in a situation.
I think Anton saved over Max, they got a very clear handle on his vote now, but sure they will want Anton on the tour over the other 2
I’m going on an Anton elim.
I think they’ll eliminate Monica – but staying out of it on these odds.
tote paddy and will hill doing sing off betting along with betfair
If they want to restrict the bounce they might be wise to get rid of Anton here and let Simon be a neutral judge on the panel.
anton would be toast tonight if he wasn’t Simon’s last act,,,
What are they playing at? Why are they leaving Simon to last?
Christ what a fucking shambles.
lol – they sent Monica home twice! Olly – you’re not supposed to spill the beans – keep the suspense!!
This is too funny for words!
What a shower. And a serious loss for me.
Gosh that was embarrassing to watch. Get Olly Murs out of there.
They wanted her out so much they eliminated her twice.
What did Olly think had actually happened? Under which circumstances would that happen?
He just got ahead of himself I think.
Yeah, but as someone who was on the show, surely he’d know that isn’t how it works, in the most basic form.
Hilarious.
Given that he said if Simon voted Anton it would go to deadlock, maybe he wasn’t counting how the others cast their votes.
All 3 of them!
Yeah, it seemed to be a simple miscount. I don’t recall Dermot EVER doing that even once.
The look on her poor face when Olly cocked it up… She knew she was done for…
Is Paul “glasses man” from the Big Brother spinoffs? He irritates the bejesus out of me.
Not doing well with my bets this year. Thought Max was excellent value for bottom last week and he wasnt even bottom three. Thought Mason was a dead man walking this week and he wasnt even bottom three.
What price was Monica in the sing-off? Thought it was a certainty she’d be going but was too gutted to get online and look.
Around the 1.20-1.25 mark. Anton was between 3 and 4 during the singoff.
Good. I wouldnt have risked anything at that price. Thought Anton was awful in the sing-off personally but have never liked him vocally or personality-wise.
Paddy went 1.57!! Thank you very much!
If they have a Rita v Cheryl week they should have them wrestling in bikinis in a paddling pool full of custard. That’d get the ratings up.
The question we need to explore next week is why did TPTB reintroduce Monica just to nuke her in 3 weeks and eliminate her from the tour? I honestly don’t get it. Last night didn’t seem much of a deramp either, apart from a Paris-induced song change.
She probably proved to be a bit too independent and had her own opinions. Something happened between weeks one and two that put them off.
I think it’s odd too, but then again they generally want the wildcards and last minute replacements (like Mason for example) out quickly don’t they? Like last year they seemed eager to get rid of all the wildcards as soon as they could. I guess if the act wasn’t chosen to make it into the initial final 12, it kind of implies they don’t want them there that much.
Finally the right two and in the right order. I actually went in on the sing off as well, which I don’t often do. But this one seemed clear to me as I thought they’d want an Over on the tour and I don’t think they’d want Simon with no acts this early. Now bring on the kangaroo penis!
Rita pushing Monica as a songwriter there at the end seemed off-script, Simon seemed to be reaching for the mic to try and shut that down.
Maybe he just disliked her? Notably she thanked Nick, Cheryl and Rita but not him. Maybe they brought her back but Simon ended up not getting on with her on a personal level.
It think it was clear yesterday that Monica was unhappy from the look on her face throughout the performance and the post-act chat. Today she hardly cracked a smile – of course, no surprise if you are being eliminated, but it was hard to believe the usual guff about the “great experience” she had had. The only time she sounded and looked genuinely happy was when asked about her feelings for the remaining contestants. I really think she had far too much attitude for Simon Cowell and as things wore on, she had become aware of it and knew she was going.
The sight of Olly Murs and Caroline Flack being completely eclipsed, physically, by the taller Anton and Monica, who were standing in front of them all the while they were reading the final all-important results of deadlock, was just beyond parody. Live TV at its worst. Just when you thought Olly couldn’t get anything more wrong….I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or to hide behind the sofa.
I suspect Anton polled highly last week despite being B3 tonight. The big ballad style after the James Brown-in-Vegas number last week was a de facto deramp but gave the judges the intellectual high ground by deeming tonight a “return to form”. Himself and Lauren Murray are head and shoulders above everyone else in the competition (Lauren is now miles better a singer than Louisa) and they deserve to be in the final.
Damn a near miss on monica. Obvious she was gone tonight one way or the other. How many times can Olly Murs mess up that sing off situation up. Hes making complete rocket science out of it
Why did they take it to deadlock? Don’t see why they didn’t just vote Monica off.
Will have to rewatch it but I am pretty sure Olly said it all back to front to Simon when explaining the situation. It was a complete shambles and I bet Dermot is pissing himself but I think he got confused all along.
I’m beginning to think he’s a bit dim.
Che Chesterman in trouble next week.
That’s a bold call.
Three weeks in and to my own surprise most of all, cynic and reactionary that I am, I’ve been right.
Well at least we have a dead cert for first out next week (is it another double?). Other than that, let the competition begin!
I thought Monica was most likely to escape b3 tonight. Definitely didn’t think Mason would escape or that Anton would fall although they did hit him hard with the musical theatre tag.
I think Olly got told the wrong thing by the producers, but still, hilarious.
I wonder how close 3rd and 4th was (and who was 4th)?
Next week is tough to call, you’d think one of Mason/R+B/Anton, but all three have their fans. Will depend who they nuke and how well they do it, song choices could be revealing. Have a feeling time may be up for R+B.