Your Weekend Starts Right Here!
Last night saw the return of the X-Factor live shows and, being fans of the show ever since it discovered The Voice that is Leona Lewis, The Urbanite will be bringing you a weekly analysis of the show and our predictions for who will be voted off each week.
Last night's opening show saw a small twist added to it, with the twist being that for this week only the fate of the contestants are in the hands of the judges and not the public. Each judge will have to get rid of one of their contestants, trimming down the number of acts from 16 to 12.
Here is our analysis and predictions
1: Amelia Lily
First act up and opening the show was Kelly Rowland's act, Amelia Lily, a young 16 year old girl with an uncanny resemblance to a young Christina Aguilera. Initial thoughts were that the girl may crack under pressure, however Kelly did not share those fears when she gave the girl Billie Jean to sing. And boy, did she sing it. Her performance becomes even more impressive when one considers her tender age. And the fact that she made the song sound her own with a punchy, rock arrangement makes me think that she could go far in the competition. The only thing stopping her is the quality of the other girls in her category. Solid 7/10
2: Johnny Robinson
Next was the man with a woman's voice, Johnny Robinson. Despite having a unique recording voice, Johnny annoyed me from the first time he auditioned and seems limited in his vocal range. This limitation may be confirmed by the fact that he was given a Cher number to open with. Can this guy only do female songs? I think so. And saying that, he does not even do them well. His performance was karaoke like and his outfit was completely ludicrous, resembling something from outer space. His number was annoying and forgettable, and pissed me off even more when the judges claimed to have liked it. Awful 3/10
3: Rythmix
The first of the groups to appear were girl group Rythmix who, like 2 of the other groups in their category, were made up by the show by bringing together good but not amazing solo singers that had auditioned. Well, I guess it worked for One Direction, so it could work for others. To be fair, I cannot remember any of the girls auditioning but as a group they do look the piece. Tulisa gave them Nicki Minaj's 'Superbass' and, despite sort of messing up the rap, they did a good job with the track. Not only that, but the girls seemed like they had been together for years and the chemistry really worked between them. For a first performance, this was really good, and I can definitely see Rythmix progressing further and getting better. 7/10
4: Frankie Cocozza
With a name like that, you would be forgiven for thinking that Frankie's parents had dreams of him being a popstar from the moment he was born. And he sure has the swagger of a popstar, though maybe not the voice. Despite his vocal limitations, Frankie has Gary as his mentor. And Gary knows how to pick a song. Frankie was given The Urbanite favourite Ed Sheeran's 'A Team' and it worked a dream. He is an easy guy to get to like and, obviously, the ladies love him already so expect a lot of work to go into the young lad. Although his performance was not amazing, it was good enough, and I expect him to last until next week at least. 7/10
5: Sophie Habibis
Before watching last night's show I had completely forgotten that Sophie was even a contestant. She seemed to fluke her way into the live shows but, having watched her perform yesterday, I can see why she was picked. Her voice is amazing and she took Katy Perry's 'Teenage Dream' and made it sound like her own song. She also looked like a star as well, proving that anyone can look beautiful on TV when a lot of work is put in! It will be interesting to see if the girl can also do big productions and dance moves as well and she can definitely do with some more confidence. But Sophie is one to watch as the week's progress, as she could be the dark horse of the competition in the same way Alexandra Burke was a few years back. Great performance 8/10
6: Jonjo Kerr
Now, being a former soldier, it is easy to see why the producers on the X-Factor put Jonjo onto the live shows. Other than his life story, however, one cannot see why he is there. He isn't a great singer and does not look like a pop star. Combine that with the fact that he has Louis as his mentor and everything points to disaster for the poor guy. His performance yesterday confirmed this as he was awful from start to finish. So bad that I cannot even remember what he sang and I only watched it an hour ago! Seems like the judges, and Jonjo himself, agreed that he was shocking and it is difficult to see him lasting next week, or any longer than that. Poor 3/10
7: 2 Shoes
The annoying girls from essex are this year's Jedward, with the only differentiating factor being that they can actually sing. If only the X-Factor producers and judges could get away from the cliche Essex connotations and focus on the girls' voices. Which, typically, they can't. Their performance last night was fun as the sang an upbeat Girls Aloud number, though vocally weak, and with stronger groups in their category it is hard to see 2 shoes making it to next week. Which is a shame because, for an annoying act, they can actually sing. 6/10
8: James Michael
Like Sophie Habibis, James was another one that slipped the radar and went unnoticed into the live shows. Being the only singer in the competition that can play an instrument helps, but James has a great voice that can be adapted to many different genres. Which makes it inexcusable that they gave him a good, but boring, Beatles song for his first week performance. It all seemed to float by aimlessly and, whilst he may appeal to the over 40's crowd, James may struggle to steal the limelight from people like Frankie or the boybands. I do hope he stays, because I think he can offer much more, but yesterday James was extremely average. 6/10
9: Misha B
As soon as I heard Misha's first audition, I had high hopes for the girl. The fact that she had a new judge in Kelly as her mentor also made me feel confident that X-Factor would get the best out of her. And they sure have! I mean, can you imagine Danni Minogue letting Misha remix Adele's 'Rolling in the Deep' and including her own written rap? I can't. But Kelly did, and Misha blew the roof off. For the first time on X-Factor we have a contestant that is good at rapping (we did have Jedward and Cher Lloyd before) and she resembled an English Nicki Minaj. But Misha's main asset is her voice, which is immense. Her performance all round oozed confidence and was the best I have seen in an opening week, ever. I may even go as far as to say it was one of the best X-Factor performances I have ever seen, which is scary when you think that we have 2 months more of this to come. I for one cannot wait, and I just hope the public 'get' Misha and what she is about, because she is terrific. Amazing performance 10/10
10: Nu Vibe
Being given the task of following a performance as good as Misha's is hard for any seasoned artist, let alone a made-up boyband who, according to media reports, do not get on that well. Add that to the fact that Tulisa gave them a brilliant, but difficult song in Chris Brown's 'Beautiful People' and it is hard not to feel sorry for Nu Vibe. They did, however, give it their best shot and at least indicated that, given the chance, they could get better as the competition progresses. There is one weak link in the group, who does not seem as vocally strong as the others, but with time these problems may be ironed out. Very average and unimpressive, but I can see them surviving for another week at least. 6/10
11: Marcus Collins
Like Misha, scouser Marcus was one that I could remember from auditions with his soulful, energetic voice. The hairdresser from Liverpool was given another great, catchy song in Maroon 5's 'Move Like Jagger' and he did the song justice with a really fun, vocally strong performance. Gary would be a fool not to take him on to next week, as I feel that he has so much more to give. A very likeable guy and a good performance. 8/10
12: Sammie Brookes
If anyone wants confirmation that Louis Walsh smokes high grade weed, then look no further than the fact that he chose Goldie (the crazy Chinese woman) over Sammie at the judges' house. Sammie has a strong, powerful voice and can hold a note with the best of them. Only problem is that she does not look like a pop star, which should not be a problem in a singing competition. She reminds me of Mary from last year and has really taken her second chance with gusto. Which means that Louis will smoke some more grade and then get rid of her tonight. 7/10
13: The Risk
When Tulisa broke up boyband The Keys, I thought she was being very harsh. Yes the lead singer was ten times better than the rest, but at least they were a proper boyband that had been together for a while. Instead she broke them up and put the talented lead singer together with four other singers who were not good enough to be solo artists. And it worked. They look great together as a band and their performance of Plan B's 'She Said' was note perfect, including the rap. Their harmonies, unlike Nu Vibe, were spot on. JLS and One Direction should be worried, because The Risk can actually win this competition. Brilliant 9/10
14: Craig Coulton
Like Paige Richardson last year, Craig looks like this year's standard fat bloke that can sing. Only difference is that Craig can sing better than Paige and is looking to improve his image by losing weight. Singing a great Christina Perri song that suited his voice perfectly, Craig's performance was by far the most emotional of the night. With great staging this was the surprise performance of the night, but I do worry for the guy as he may not connect with the public and therefore may not last that long. He should definitely be kept in though, as he can grow as an artist. Good performance 9/10
15: Kitty
Above, I referred to 2 Shoes as the annoying act of this year's competition. I had forgotten that Kitty existed. Everything about her annoys me, from her desire to be controversial to her mimicking of Lady Gaga. But, let's be honest, she can sing. And through choosing a song that I love, Queen's 'Who Wants to Live Forever', Kitty endeared herself to me for all of 3 minutes. Until she opened her mouth to speak. Saying that, this competition does need a bat crazy act and Kitty will deliver. 7/10
16: Janet Devlin
Ending the show was the tiny flower that is Janet Devlin, the little Irish girl who's voice can make a room silent in an instant. It is clear that Kelly has high hopes for her, 'cos she looks like she is going to cry every time Janet sings. Singing a Coldplay number is usually quite hard, but the young girl delivered brilliantly and is one to watch as the weeks progress. Due to the fact that Kelly loves her, Janet is safe, but then again saying that Kelly loves everyone! She has a tough choice on her hands, but on form like this she cannot get rid of Janet. Brilliant 9/10
So there we have it. I managed to sit through all 16 acts and the accompanying adverts, and I must say that this year has some great acts, particularly in the girls and group categories. And in Misha, the show has an act that I hope can go on to achieve major things. So here are the predictions for who will get voted off tonight:
Boys: Despite being a solid performer, James Michael looks like he may struggle tonight. He failed to really excite and, with Craig putting in such a great performance, James stands out as one that will struggle in future weeks.
Girls: Kelly has a tough choice on her hands. Misha and Janet were two of the best performances of the night, so they have to stay. Sophie Habibis has a great voice and looked like a true diva, which leaves little old Emilia Lilly as the one that will be voted out. Harsh again, as she was very good. But her category was so strong I can not see Kelly voting any of the others out.
Groups: Again, tough choice as none of the acts were truly terrible. However Nu Vibe and 2 Shoes were not as strong as the others and I can not see either winning the competition, whereas The Risk and Rythmix can go far. My bet is on 2 Shoes to go tonight, but it is a tough call.
Over 30s: To be honest, I couldn't care less about this category. Louis is the mentor and his acts' have always pissed me off. Due to the fact that he was so bad, however, I think Jonjo has to go. Johnny was equally bad, but at least he has something unique, whereas Jonjo only has a great story in being a former soldier.
So these are The Urbanite's predictions and analysis from the first week of X-Factor. Let's see if my predictions are right! Either way, it looks like this year is going to be a good competition!
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