The X Factor Finals: Week 8
November 30, 2009 9 Comments
We’re down to five acts this week and I’m feeling as apathetic as I possibly could be towards the competition. Frankly, you should consider yourselves very lucky to be getting this post at all. The theme this week was Take That and Elton John – the contestants did 2 songs each.
Saturday
Running Time (including the Xtra Factor): 165 minutes
Time I watched it in: 66 minutes
X Factor Ratio: 40%
Danyl – Relight my Fire – In the VT, Cheryl looked like she was dressed to go to a court appearance, and it was the first time she’s looked like a real person in about 2 years. Danyl was strangely not very good, it sounded like his voice was constricted somehow. He also appeared to be wearing a woman’s t-shirt. After weeks of saying how much better he is than the others, I’m beginning to wonder if that’s true.
Louis was in his ultra-positive mode already; he’s boring when he has no acts left.
Lloyd – A Million Love Songs – Lloyd would be OK if he could actually project his voice. He can’t. He also looks distinctly uncomfortable on stage. A bit boring.
Olly – Love Ain’t Here Anymore – The best bit of the performance was when he was sat on the stage at the beginning and sang to a member of the audience. It was the best bit because it was incredibly cringey and so was quite funny. The rest of it was pretty dull.
Joe – Could it be Magic – I don’t want to repeat myself, as I say the same thing about Joe every week, so I’ll summarise: very talented cruise ship entertainer. That actually sounds a lot cattier than I intended to be; at the end of the day, who am I to have a go at anybody’s singing talent? Anyway, he is an excellent singer and is the only one to give consistent performances, week after week.
Simon is being a bit boring so far.
Stacey – Rule the World – I’m back to liking Stacey’s voice again, as I did early on in the competition. It was very pleasant (although she needs to sort out her breathing). I feel a bit mean that I’ve called her a gonk, because it’s clearly down to nerves. I do like her gonkiness though.
It was half-time and the judges said who they think had ‘delivered’ so far:
Simon – Danyl & Olly (shock)
Cheryl – Lloyd & Joe (shock)
Dannii – Stacey & Joe
Louis – Joe
And, with that, the second half kicked off.
Lloyd – I’m Still Standing – My gut feeling was that this was much better than his first song, although I don’t exactly know why. It must be bloody hard to stay focused when you have Cheryl beaming at you. Louis hates Lloyd – Cheryl stuck up for him, which was good to see. Simon said that it was like an amateur dramatics performance – it was good to see him back on form. Cheryl was livid, I love it when she’s feisty.
Danyl – Your Song – I thought the first half was a bit ropey but he had a real return to form in the second half of the song. It was a bit weird how a load of kids came on to the stage like the children of the corn. Simon came out with one of his classic lines: ‘it wasn’t good, it was sensational.’ I’m not convinced that it’s good enough to always start the song poorly, as Danyl often does, even if the second half is very good.
Olly – Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting) – Was Olly really sweaty or did he have a rubber shirt on? I just find him really lame. Louis said: ‘I like your funny dancing.’
Joe – Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word – The song actually really suited him and it was probably the least ‘musical theatre’ that he’s been all series. I’m slowly warming to Joe; I didn’t think it would ever happen.
Stacey – Something About the Way You Look Tonight – The judges didn’t seem to like it, but I thought it was pretty good.
Over on The Xtra Factor, what was the deal with Holly’s make-up? I don’t like to say anything that could remotely be considered a criticism of Holly, but it had to be said.
There’s no sing off this week, so it’s a straight prediction on who will go.
Should go home: Lloyd
Will go home: Danyl
Sunday
Running Time: 120 minutes
Time I watched it in: 41 minutes
X Factor Ratio: 34.2%
The group song was ‘I Don’t Feel Like Dancing’ by the Scissor Sisters. Strangely, Stacey’s voice was the lowest in the whole song. They also made her sit on a step again in a very short dress – they seem determined to get some upskirt action from her. It was the best group song of the series, but please don’t read this as meaning that it was any good.
With no sing-off, I was able to whizz through the results show in 8 minutes. The only thing worth noting is that Lloyd went home. I did say in my predictions that he should go home, but I found myself wishing that some of the others had gone home instead (Olly & Danyl). I think that’s just me being contrary, though.
Over on The Xtra Factor, I’m pleased to say that Holly’s make-up was looking much better, and she was back to her usual lovely self.
In Conclusion
It’s quite boring now that the twins have gone, so I’ll just tell you my favourite acts:
1. Stacey
2. Joe
3. Danyl
Total Duration: 285 minutes
Total time I spent watching it: 107 minutes
Overall X Factor Ratio: 37.5 %
About sherby57
I know what you mean about the apathy. I ended up only watching about 15mins of it in the end and even that felt like too much. Glad Lloyd went, reckon it’s Danyl or Olly next.
I think I was more interested when the final consisted of Rhydian and Leon – and that’s really saying something.
Currently, X-Factor is vying for viewing in our house with Rescue Me season 5 – which is awesome.
I gave up on Rescue Me after about half if the pilot – although I was quite possibly wrong to do so. I feel that, considering how much I blog about it, I should be defending the X Factor’s honour a little more vigourously.
Rescue Me is one of the best shows that I’ve watched – honest.
Evening, chaps.
In “controversial comment shocker!”, I disagree about a few things, Sherby. I actually thought Danyl’s first song was ok but his “Your Song” was absolutely appalling. Really bad. He didn’t even seem to be on the same street as the tune, and it just sounded like yelling to me. I think the song would have suited Lloyd’s tone better, as it works best when it’s more gentle and Lloyd wouldn’t have YELLED it (I agree with you that he can’t really project his voice, poor wee mite.)
I was bored yet again by Stacey except for the absolutely gorgeous starry light effects behind her. They were beautiful. Her singing – ah, not so much, but then both those songs are a bit dull. I agree with Simon that she’s not a Leona, and yet Dannii keeps pretending she is.
Olly – first song bad, second song passable – and Lloyd – first song passable, second song bad, I thought. I know Lloyd wasn’t great but I found myself wishing Danyl would go too, so it’s not just you.
Nothing was as bad as the results show, though. I made the mistake of only fastforwarding Rihanna – I should have skipped through all of it. The group performance was excruciating – I don’t think anybody hit any of the right notes, imagine how bad it would have been if it hadn’t been mimed – and the rest was total filler. Poor Lloyd. He’s not the best of singers but he seemed like a sweet kid and he handled his exit very well, I thought. I hope he finds success (and volume – of voice, not of hair, he’s doing fine on that front) in a few years.
I might not be able to give an in depth reply to your reply tonight, CJ, as I’m stuck with my phone and GPRS only. It’s like having my left plum cut off.
Anyway, the weird thing is that I can’t really disagree with anything you said, even the bits which are disagreeing with the bits that I wrote.
I feel like I can’t objectively comment on any of them. They can all basically sing, but then some of the performances seem awful. Even when they’re not actually that bad. I quite like Stacey, but that’s based on nothing more than a whim – I totally understand why you’d find her dull.
I think it’s all very symptomatic of some very mediocre finalists this year. I don’t think that the live auditions really helped the selection process.
what was wrong with Holly’s make up?
It looked a bit like when a six year old sneaks in to her mum’s bedroom and comes out looking like a cross between a clown and a prozzy.
I feel guilty as hell for criticising Holly. It just isn’t right. I hope she’ll forgive me.