You just gotta remember why you're there and keep telling yourself to be yourself.

Well it's been awhile since the last time I did one of these. Opps. I keep meaning to, but it just keeps slipping my mind every time I have time to go on the computer, so yeah, no excuses.

This quote I think pretty much embodies everything to do with working hard and not giving up at anything. Regardless of where you are in life, this quote would relate to you. No matter what, if you do what you love and be yourself, you won't ever be able to give up willingly at anything you do. And the most important part is truly to be yourself. If you send most of your time trying to be someone that you're not, then you're just making life different for yourself and the chances are you'll give up faster.

Labels: Notes to everyone, typography

Verdict night was tonight! Had another exciting night with THREE special guests. Rita Ora, James Morrison and The Script. To be quite honest, I don't really know any of them except for James Morrison and the song that he sang today. The songs they sang were alright, but just not songs that I love.

Also the bottom two. To tell you the truth the bottom two tonight were a surprise again. Did not think that they would be in the bottom two. Or at least one of them, since they probably have the biggest fan base of all of the contestants. In the bottom two tonight was What about Tonight and Nathaniel.


Rita Ora and Top 11 - "RIP"
So what can I say about this performance. I have no idea who Rita Ora is but her singing is alright. Not a fan of her songs that she sang though. The backing track was way too loud though. Could barely hear her live singing. Her dancers though... I like them. LOL The girls did great, but couldn't really hear the others singing since Rita's mic/backing track was so much louder wtf? Like how cheeky some of them were though.


James Morrison - "I Won't Let You Go"
I love his voice so so much. Also this song. Or more accurately, I love the chorus. The verses are such a bore I don't even. Not a fan of his falsetto though.


The Script - "Hall of Fame"
Not a fan of this song either. LOL But wow the lead hit all those high notes for the chorus really well.


What About Tonight - "The Way You Make Me Feel"
So tonight's performance was probably the first performance that I felt everyone hit their notes and blended well. But this performance also had fewer harmonisations than their other performances. I like how everyone had their chance singing the melody in the harmonisation. And you could see them just performing the song and enjoying it which is great to see.


Nathaniel - "It will Rain"
This was not his best performance. And the thing is, I can hear that his voice is the perfect fit for this song. But he did not hit most of his notes, especially when he went into his falsetto and the belting. It became kind of hard to listen to. And it's such a pity because he could do so much better with this song. Also wtf dude, at least look like you're enjoying yourself up there. I know it sucks that you were bottom two but it's a competition wtf did you expect? So unprofessional.


Verdict:
So the vote was up to Mel B and Nat to decide since it was clear that Guy (wasn't there) and Ronan would vote for the other contestant to go home. Nat said heaps like usual (why can't she keep it short and simple wtf?) and then she voted for WAT to go home. Mel B thought what everyone was thinking and voted for Nathaniel, just to know how the public voted. So 2-2 vote meant it went into deadlock so public votes. And the act that went home was What About Tonight!

Thoughts:
So based on the previous episode's performances, the two weakest performers were Bella and Justin, but I figured they would be safe because of how big their fanbase is. But I also thought for sure What About Tonight would've been safe but apparently their HUGE fan base didn't vote for them. I guess that's the bad point of having such a big fan base? Everyone thinks that everyone else will vote so no one does. Guessing this was a shock for everyone else too.

Labels: episode recaps, x factor

2nd week running! Oh yeah, I'm on a roll. Anyways, this week’s episodes were shown one day later because of Brownlow medals ceremony last night (award ceremony for AFL)

This week’s theme is PARTY WEEK! HELL YEAH! I love party week because it means lots of upbeat songs and dancing and generally party week is always a good show to watch. Overall this week was alright. A few highlights but heaps of lows as well. Everyone’s singing was on point, so yes that was a good point. However, there was so many bad song choices that I don’t even know what to say.

This week also had a few surprises. One of the contestants Josh Brookes had been disqualified from the show this week, so they had to find someone else to replace him from the top 6. I was really happy with the choice because I had thought from the beginning that he should’ve been in the top 3. When they revealed who it was, the screaming would not stop. LOL Also how cute is he? So giggly and smily and just makes me smile.


Angel Tupai - “Young Hearts Run Free”
Angel started off the show. To be quite honest, I was really excited because the girl is really great at singing and I love her voice. Overall, I guess her performance was alright. Not as great as I thought she could be but alright. I liked her entrance, it was cool and how she held herself sitting on that throne. However, how long did she sit on that thing for. Like half the performance right? But my main gripe with her performance is the fact that although she sang this perfectly well, I just did not feel anything from her. It’s party week girl! Inject from happiness into your voice! Or, you know, more attitude. To give the song more kick and umph. Quite disappointed in the end because she could do so much better.


Jason Owen - “Dancing In The Moonlight”
HE WAS ON PITCH AND KEY FOR THE WHOLE PERFORMANCE TODAY! YAY! I quite liked his performance. He’s the awkward boy next door that everyone wants to take care of isn't he? Some of those dancing moves were a little iffy but overall I quite liked that he actually went for it. He actually enjoyed singing this song and you can hear it in his voice and see it in the way that he moves around on the stage. Great improvement from last week.


Fourtunate - “Blame It On The Boogie”
YES! The brilliance that is Fourtunate is back! They were dancing and singing in harmonies all at the same time. For an UPBEAT song! Do you know how hard that is? OMG! Today everyone sounded so great by themselves as well as together. Got to be honest though the outfits were questionable unique, but considering I’ve seen much worse and on a regular basis, I don’t actually mind all that much. Fourtunate is back people!


Nathaniel Willemse - “Canned Heat”
So I have a love hate relationship with Nathaniel’s voice. With the right song, his voice is gorgeous, but anything that isn’t the right song tends to just make him sound flat because of how thin and soft his voice is. So yeah, not a fan of this song for him, especially the first part until he starts the 2nd verse. But I think his performance was fun to watch and he enjoyed himself so that’s good. And I laugh at the drum solo. LOL I can see where he was going with that, but it did not work. At all. I also hated that last note. He pushed and he pushed and he pushed too far and he kept that note for a few seconds. My ears were in hell for those few seconds.


Bella Ferraro - “What Makes You Beautiful”
When I heard that Bella was doing a 1D song in the preview after the end of Nathaniel’s song, I just about died laughing. Could not wait for the train wreck to come because Bella and 1D? Does not commute. And yeah I was pretty much proved right. How anyone could make WMYB so boring and bland I do not understand. Also what part of this version of the song says party song? Aside from the cheesy staging - the balloons and bubbles. I mean she sang it well but omg so boring for party week. I think I would’ve loved this if she sang it last week, but for this week? No, pretty much hated most of it since I was waiting for the beat to come in and the party to start. ROFL


What About Tonight - “Year 3000”
Didn’t love this song choice for them. The song sounds so much better with grittier and stronger vocals which these boys do not have as their voices are smooth and clean. But yes brought my mood back up so that’s good. Also the screaming. Can anyone tell the majority of their fan base are young teenagers? LOL Also props for them and that impromptu a cappella. It wasn’t great but they kind of understand the concept of it. It’s just their execution is a little lacking. But do they have anyone singing the bass line? I can’t hear it. Also why is the person singing the high part so loud? Shouldn’t the person singing the melody be the lead for the a cappella?


Justin Standley - “Bohemian Rhapsody”
So how do I say this nicely. First let’s just say that I do not think that this is a party song. Guy how could you say Jason’s song wasn’t a party song but soft rock... when this is TOTALLY rock. Hard rock. Hypocrite much? Also not a great song choice, did not think he sang this well at all. The beginning started off well though, when he was gentle and controlled but then the beat came in and he just exploded everywhere. Not in the good sense. I think that the problem is he went for it way too much that he overdid it.


Carmelo Munzone - “Everlasting Love”
I absolutely love his voice! It’s so smooth and rich and I just swoon when I hear him sing. Anyways on to tonight’s performance. So he did pretty good tonight considering the whirlwind week that he’s had and the fact that he only had 2 days to learn this song for this week. I think I love him singing swing and soul. Only thing I would say is that it felt like he was playing catch up during the chorus but other than that I think he did pretty good. I also love how he smiles through the whole thing. You can see how he just enjoys himself so much. I loved how he ended and then paused for a few seconds then “How cool was that?” HAHA I love him. He is so endearing and smiley and giggly. LOL


Samantha Jade - “Freefallin”
I love her staging! The cage was really cool and she looks great. Her dress is so awesome! I think her voice really suited this song to a tee. She was great tonight. However she sang the song a little too much like Kylie Minogue for my liking. Great that she moved around the stage a little. Progress on that front. LOL Voice is gorgeous as always but the judges are right, this is a competition and she needs votes so she should show her personality more. Also Mel WTF? ROFL!


Shiane Hawke - “Heard It Through The Grapevine”
First thing first, what is going on with Nat and her song choices for her girls tonight? What on earth? It was one disaster after another. This song is not working for her at all for me. I’m loving her look though. She looks cute and more her age than last week. However I still think she’s too young for the competition. I mean the girl also still has braces. That does not help with her enunciation at all, does it? Stage presence also hasn’t improved so...


The Collective - “Footloose”
Another great performance by the Collective this week! I was really happy that they ended up closing the show. They just have great chemistry and upbeat, which is already perfect for party night no? Also with a song like ‘Footloose’, it’s almost guaranteed to be a ball, a cheesy ball yes but a ball nonetheless lol. The question was how well they would pull it off. And they pulled it off great. The energy was great, dynamic was perfect and harmonizations were pretty much on spot. What more could you ask for, to be quite honest? I laughed at the fake car and scenery at the beginning though. It was so cheesy I don’t even. I like how they also had interaction with the girls. Will’s rap was awesome as always.

Labels: episode recaps, x factor

So I'd been planning to blog about this for awhile now, but I never got around to doing it. So here I am compiling the three into the one post! From what I can remember anyway. Not sure how I'll do this, so just bare with me. This past few months, I went to 3 different concerts!

And in case you couldn't tell from the title or pictures, I went to Jam Hsiao, Mayday and Gary Chou's concert! I LOVE Gary and Mayday! Jam is ok, but I really went because my friend loves him and it was my present for my friend's birthday. But I ended up loving Jam's concert too. Amazing how things work out isn't it?

Dates for the concerts were:
Jam - 12th May 2012
Mayday - 5th August 2012
Gary - 8th September 2012

Stage presence
First off, I have to say I LOVED it when all three of them sang. They are all such great singers at singing live! And the songs that they chose were ones that I really loved to listen to. Though majority of the songs that Gary sang in the beginning were from his new album, so I couldn't sing along as much. Also there were no music lyrics on the screens wtf?
Jam: I found that I could sing along with most of the songs that he had. Of course it helped that there were music lyrics on the screen as well since I barely knew most of the songs. I found it highly ironic that the song I remember most from his concert was that one Mayday song that he performed. LOL As I watched him performing, I found that he couldn't stand at the one spot for long. He was moving back and forth continuously.
Mayday: I could seriously watch them perform all day long. There's just something about a live band that makes everything so much better. And when they have performed together for the past decade and more? The chemistry is pretty much out of this world. I also really enjoyed the fact that we got to hear everyone sing. There was that song that Ah Shin wasn't in, in which every other member had a solo song and it made me realise what lovely voices they all had. Also my voice died at the end. Why do they have such catchy songs that you can't help but sing along. And when I say sing, I say it quite loosely... it was more of a scream the lyrics along in a melodic way. LOL
Gary: This man is AMAZING live. I do not know how he can sing his songs consecutively. My voice pretty much died one song in because of the high notes that he has in most of his songs. LOL I was croaking already. What fail. And he is so lazy I can't even. HAHAHA He was SITTING DOWN for half of his songs LOL.

Interaction time
Jam: He is so awkward, he is endearing. HAHAHAZ Seriously, every time there was a pause in singing and he had to speak he literally went "HELLO!!!! HELLO!!!" and my friend and I just died laughing by the second time. LOL
Mayday: OMG I could listen to them speak to me all day long and not get sick of it. They could even read me my text books I swear. LOL They are so eloquent and the way they speak is just... GAH! And the fact that it was a group was even better because they had interaction among each other and hilarious things ensured. Like the time when Ah Shin asked all the members if they passed high school --> then who entered university --> then who finished university and only the drummer had his hand up (and in a peace sign too!), only for Ah Shin to go who's the only one who doesn't know how to play the guitar among us and said drummer lifts his hand up in a peace sign. ROFL! I also laughed when Ah Shin was all what is there to eat here? And people were screaming KANGAROO and he was all WTH? No way right? LOL
Gary: He is so eloquent and talkative I don't even. LOL And one good thing about him being from Malaysia is multilingual. Gary was switching between languages without even realising it. He was all "ok I will speak in Mandarin instead of English/Cantonese" But then he spoke in English quite often. LOL

Labels: fan account

Pretty much my reaction

Labels: personal

Ok so here's part two of Week 1 of Live shows - the verdict. This post would be where I'll post most of my thoughts on who I think should've been in the bottom two/gone out/etc. Also, since it's the verdict, there'll only be the group performances, special guest performances as well as the two decider performances, which means there'll be more space for commentary.

Since this was the first week back and two judges just had songs come out recently, they were the "special" guests. We had Ronan Keating singing his new song "Fires" and Guy Sebastian singing "Battle Scars" with Lupe Fiasco


Top 12 - "Call me maybe"
So the Top 12 had their first group performance. I found it strange considering one of the performers had already kicked this one out of the park in bootcamp, but you know, I was interested in how they would sound together. Bad idea. I don't know if it was the song or what but most of them sounded ATROCIOUS! And the song just sounded all over the place because everyone tried to give their own twist to the song so it sounded so messy and clustered as all hell. So... yeah not a good start to the show.
Worst: What About Tonight, Nathaniel, Jason, Justine
Alright: Samantha (except for the last note when she went off), Angel, Bella (dodgy ad libs)
Better: Josh, Adil, Shiane, Fourtunate, The Collective


Ronan - "Fires"
I love Ronan Keating, his voice, and his old songs. His newer songs have been a bit of a hit or miss for me, and it's mostly been a miss. And this is another miss for me unfortunately. Anyways, I could listen to him sing live all the time. Although his low notes are flat for me


Adil - "Just The Way You Are"
First up to sing for the decider is Adil. I think this performance showed exactly how unprepared he is for the show. You look at his face and you can literally feel his nerves radiating at you. Looked like he was about to cry some of the times. And it affected his singing so bad. He had even less control over his voice than normal, and he cracked quite often. Poor boy. Such a pity. Think if he had another year under his belt, he would've been so much better. At least he stabilized a little more by the end of the song.


Samantha - "I can't Live"
Samantha's voice is stable and gorgeous as always. And you could tell that she really wanted to stay. And you can feel it in this song. Her desperation and want. But she didn't let it overwhelm her and instead used it to help her when she digs deep for the ad libs that she belted out. And she had a lot of those.


Guy Ft Lupe Fiasco - "Battle Scars"
Here Guy is to show everyone how it's done. His voice is pure heaven to listen to and the fact that he wrote the lyrics himself meant the song had even more meaning for me. And can I say that this sounds so much better than the recorded version. Though I could've done without so much rapping. But when have I ever been the biggest fan of rapping in pop songs? The staging looks pretty awesome.


Verdict:
So in the end it was down to the judges to choose who to send home. Some of the judges spoke for ages to bullshit explain their choice, but I think it was a no brainer who they would choose. Not really surprisingly (for me), it was 3:1 to send Adil home.

Thoughts:
Let me just say that the two that belonged in the bottom two based on performances were Jason and Justin or Fourtunate. However, we all know that performances hold no sway over the voters and sob stories and other things do. Which I suppose is why I was shocked to see that Adil was in the bottom two, because you would assume with his masses of fangirls (the demographic that votes the most) that he would be safe.

Labels: episode recaps, x factor

So look at what I thought I'd start doing. Yeah... episode recaps for X factor AU... am I insane or what? Me who couldn't seem to blog on a regular basis. But I think this is a good step in the right direction because it means I will have something to regularly post on my blog. I'm thinking I'll split the live shows and the verdict into two separate posts (more regurlar blogging aren't I good?) since they have separate performances and I can post more thoughts that way.

Anyways on Monday, it was the first live performances which marked the start of the voting frenzy in Australia. How will the tweens vote, only God knows, but yes, I'm happy that there is another singing competition for me to watch. First week was judge's choices so there were a few different

Bear with me here, going to try out a few different formats in the coming recaps to see which I prefer. First time trying something like this out.

What About Tonight - "Glad You Came" 
What About Tonight kicked off the night with an average performance of Glad You Came. The start was a bit of a let down. It was acapella and only the one singer. He was shaky in places with his pitch, and he couldn't maintain some of the notes very well. But that could be fixed if he learnt proper breathing techniques. However I quite like their harmonies. I mean it's not the best I've heard but it could be so much worse. Too bad for this song, it gets a little droll and dull for them, since there was no kick to the song at all. I like curly haired's voice, and it helps that he was stable in this performance. One good thing is that you could see how much they enjoyed being on the stage.


Josh Brookes - "Don’t Wanna Go Home" 
First thing first, I love his staging. Those gigantic headphones are cool. I don't like how he started with his back to audience and then slowly moved around to face the front. I mean its a cool effect for the cameras but no. And I heard a dimension of his voice that I hadn't heard in the auditions/bootcamp. I found it quite pretty. LOL But I'm sad to say that my enjoyment for the song was lowered when the beat started. I mean you could see that he enjoyed the performance more when the beat hit, because he could move. But I'm not too sure what it was, it just didn't translate to me. But I quite enjoy the end when he sang the 2nd part of the chorus, when his voice suddenly became stronger again. I do not know what happened there, but please make sure your voice stays that strong all the time.


Angel Tupai - "Happy" 
Angel, what can I say about her performance... This girl can definitely sing. I found her tone and range for this song gorgeous. Perfect song choice by Nat. Her ad libs were gorgeous. Everything was gorgeous. Is it odd that I preferred her low and soft range to when she was belting? The only thing I would say is that she could work on her stage presence and drawing people in. I wish the "drummers" were actually drumming from the moment they came on. It would have added more omph to the song that it didn't have.


Justin Standley - "Father and Son" 
I like Justin's timbre and voice most of the times when he sings. The beginning when he started all soft and gentle I found simply gorgeous and I could listen to it nonstop. But the drums came in, he just over sung. Like his singing was still alright but you could hear him straining at times. It would've been so much better if he'd toned it down a notch or two.


Fourtunate -  "Payphone" 
What the hell happened with this performance? It started out bad and just stagnated. It didn't get worse, but it also didn't get better. The beginning main singer did not hit all the notes, did he? It was a pity. I think they all have really nice voices individually and blended together but it just didn't come out in this performance. I was so disappointed with this performance. They could do so much better and have so much potential. I think that's what makes it worse. Knowing that they can and have done so much better before.


Jason Owen - "Heaven" 
Is it just me or did it start out pitchy and off key and kind of stayed that way for the rest of the song? In fact it seemed to get worse as he continued. I LOVE this song and I hate what he did to it. Stage presence can also be improved. Moving on now before I start spitting in rage.


Samantha Jade - "Wide Awake" 
Let me get something out first. I think her staging is ugly. I can see where they are going with it but it did not translate in real life. It just made her look a little... yeah. But the changing weather patterns on the white background of the dress is a really cool effect. Her voice is really pretty and surprisingly powerful when she digs deep. Also I love her ad libs. Some of it was so surprising with where she went with it. How gorgeous was that last high note? But she could work on her connection with the audience.


Adil Memon - "Fast Car" 
Adil. I have a love hate relationship towards him. I love the unique qualities in his voice, but I hate how nervous he gets and I feel he is just not ready for this competition at the moment and I do not know why he got through over some of the other under 25 boys. Wish he had more time under him to get over the nerves. ANYWAY sorry, went off on a tangent. Back to the performance. I like the gentleness and huskiness of his voice. However what was with the pace of the song? It was so fast I felt like he was just trying to keep pace with it instead of relaxing or stressing out I see what you did there Mel B. Wish they'd slowed down the pace of the song instead. I'm liking that he played the guitar though. Favourite part was when the song slowed for a bit as he did that ad lib and the ending with that other ad lib. LOL


The Collective  - "Domino"
LOVE LOVE THEIR STAGING! FAVOURITE OF THE NIGHT! Yeah I have no idea why that was in caps. Moving on, for me this is definitely the performance of the night. Everything about it was just perfect for me. I mean the way they move across the stage could be improved but for the 2nd performance as a group they've set the bar high. They have a really surprising strong group dynamic. Their harmonies have also improved so much from their first performance, which makes me really anticipate their growth as a group. I think they did a smart move putting Trent as the main/middle of the harmony as the other voices just blend together effortlessly. Some of Trent's ad libs were a bit odd and seemed pitchy but other than that it was great. Also don't know if it's kpop influence but I laughed when William rapped and the others were in front of him doing these arm movements and yeah.


Bella Ferraro - "Brother" 
Bella's voice is really quite unique and it's got these quirky elements to it when she sings that I find quite fascinating and interesting. However, I don't really feel like this song really suited her. It just stagnated for me and was really boring. She's not very stable when she has to go into the higher ranges is she? It's not a very good sound either. Hopefully she doesn't go that high again. Good to know that she didn't freak out and self-imploded again. Also I like her staging. It's quite whimsical and it's got an Alice in Wonderland feeling.


Nathaniel Willemse - "Love On Top"
What did he do to the make up artist? He is covered in foundation. Way too much foundation. They made him look so pasty and kind of like a mannequin. And what's with that suit and that shirt underneath the suit? It does not make the image any better. Looks like something a gigolo would wear... especially with that shirt /shot/ Also doesn't help that the back up dancers are in their underwear with suspenders and ugly black jackets. LOL just saying. I think Nathaniel did alright with this song. He was straining a little at the end when it went higher but I think that was because it wasn't in his range/key. Overall he did alright. Not all that great, but it was good.


Shiane Hawke- "Crazy" 
Well the girl definitely has a voice. It's got a quirky character to it as well. She sang this song really well and was stable throughout except for a few notes here and there. And it is obvious that she enjoyed performing this song. However, she has little to no stage presence at all. She needs to learn to work the stage as well. Also what was the ugly high last note. Really? Never do that note again please. My ear drums felt like they wanted to die, it was that ugly.

Labels: episode recaps, x factor

You just gotta remember why you're there and keep telling yourself to be yourself.

Well it's been awhile since the last time I did one of these. Opps. I keep meaning to, but it just keeps slipping my mind every time I have time to go on the computer, so yeah, no excuses.

This quote I think pretty much embodies everything to do with working hard and not giving up at anything. Regardless of where you are in life, this quote would relate to you. No matter what, if you do what you love and be yourself, you won't ever be able to give up willingly at anything you do. And the most important part is truly to be yourself. If you send most of your time trying to be someone that you're not, then you're just making life different for yourself and the chances are you'll give up faster.

Labels: Notes to everyone, typography

Verdict night was tonight! Had another exciting night with THREE special guests. Rita Ora, James Morrison and The Script. To be quite honest, I don't really know any of them except for James Morrison and the song that he sang today. The songs they sang were alright, but just not songs that I love.

Also the bottom two. To tell you the truth the bottom two tonight were a surprise again. Did not think that they would be in the bottom two. Or at least one of them, since they probably have the biggest fan base of all of the contestants. In the bottom two tonight was What about Tonight and Nathaniel.


Rita Ora and Top 11 - "RIP"
So what can I say about this performance. I have no idea who Rita Ora is but her singing is alright. Not a fan of her songs that she sang though. The backing track was way too loud though. Could barely hear her live singing. Her dancers though... I like them. LOL The girls did great, but couldn't really hear the others singing since Rita's mic/backing track was so much louder wtf? Like how cheeky some of them were though.


James Morrison - "I Won't Let You Go"
I love his voice so so much. Also this song. Or more accurately, I love the chorus. The verses are such a bore I don't even. Not a fan of his falsetto though.


The Script - "Hall of Fame"
Not a fan of this song either. LOL But wow the lead hit all those high notes for the chorus really well.


What About Tonight - "The Way You Make Me Feel"
So tonight's performance was probably the first performance that I felt everyone hit their notes and blended well. But this performance also had fewer harmonisations than their other performances. I like how everyone had their chance singing the melody in the harmonisation. And you could see them just performing the song and enjoying it which is great to see.


Nathaniel - "It will Rain"
This was not his best performance. And the thing is, I can hear that his voice is the perfect fit for this song. But he did not hit most of his notes, especially when he went into his falsetto and the belting. It became kind of hard to listen to. And it's such a pity because he could do so much better with this song. Also wtf dude, at least look like you're enjoying yourself up there. I know it sucks that you were bottom two but it's a competition wtf did you expect? So unprofessional.


Verdict:
So the vote was up to Mel B and Nat to decide since it was clear that Guy (wasn't there) and Ronan would vote for the other contestant to go home. Nat said heaps like usual (why can't she keep it short and simple wtf?) and then she voted for WAT to go home. Mel B thought what everyone was thinking and voted for Nathaniel, just to know how the public voted. So 2-2 vote meant it went into deadlock so public votes. And the act that went home was What About Tonight!

Thoughts:
So based on the previous episode's performances, the two weakest performers were Bella and Justin, but I figured they would be safe because of how big their fanbase is. But I also thought for sure What About Tonight would've been safe but apparently their HUGE fan base didn't vote for them. I guess that's the bad point of having such a big fan base? Everyone thinks that everyone else will vote so no one does. Guessing this was a shock for everyone else too.

Labels: episode recaps, x factor

2nd week running! Oh yeah, I'm on a roll. Anyways, this week’s episodes were shown one day later because of Brownlow medals ceremony last night (award ceremony for AFL)

This week’s theme is PARTY WEEK! HELL YEAH! I love party week because it means lots of upbeat songs and dancing and generally party week is always a good show to watch. Overall this week was alright. A few highlights but heaps of lows as well. Everyone’s singing was on point, so yes that was a good point. However, there was so many bad song choices that I don’t even know what to say.

This week also had a few surprises. One of the contestants Josh Brookes had been disqualified from the show this week, so they had to find someone else to replace him from the top 6. I was really happy with the choice because I had thought from the beginning that he should’ve been in the top 3. When they revealed who it was, the screaming would not stop. LOL Also how cute is he? So giggly and smily and just makes me smile.


Angel Tupai - “Young Hearts Run Free”
Angel started off the show. To be quite honest, I was really excited because the girl is really great at singing and I love her voice. Overall, I guess her performance was alright. Not as great as I thought she could be but alright. I liked her entrance, it was cool and how she held herself sitting on that throne. However, how long did she sit on that thing for. Like half the performance right? But my main gripe with her performance is the fact that although she sang this perfectly well, I just did not feel anything from her. It’s party week girl! Inject from happiness into your voice! Or, you know, more attitude. To give the song more kick and umph. Quite disappointed in the end because she could do so much better.


Jason Owen - “Dancing In The Moonlight”
HE WAS ON PITCH AND KEY FOR THE WHOLE PERFORMANCE TODAY! YAY! I quite liked his performance. He’s the awkward boy next door that everyone wants to take care of isn't he? Some of those dancing moves were a little iffy but overall I quite liked that he actually went for it. He actually enjoyed singing this song and you can hear it in his voice and see it in the way that he moves around on the stage. Great improvement from last week.


Fourtunate - “Blame It On The Boogie”
YES! The brilliance that is Fourtunate is back! They were dancing and singing in harmonies all at the same time. For an UPBEAT song! Do you know how hard that is? OMG! Today everyone sounded so great by themselves as well as together. Got to be honest though the outfits were questionable unique, but considering I’ve seen much worse and on a regular basis, I don’t actually mind all that much. Fourtunate is back people!


Nathaniel Willemse - “Canned Heat”
So I have a love hate relationship with Nathaniel’s voice. With the right song, his voice is gorgeous, but anything that isn’t the right song tends to just make him sound flat because of how thin and soft his voice is. So yeah, not a fan of this song for him, especially the first part until he starts the 2nd verse. But I think his performance was fun to watch and he enjoyed himself so that’s good. And I laugh at the drum solo. LOL I can see where he was going with that, but it did not work. At all. I also hated that last note. He pushed and he pushed and he pushed too far and he kept that note for a few seconds. My ears were in hell for those few seconds.


Bella Ferraro - “What Makes You Beautiful”
When I heard that Bella was doing a 1D song in the preview after the end of Nathaniel’s song, I just about died laughing. Could not wait for the train wreck to come because Bella and 1D? Does not commute. And yeah I was pretty much proved right. How anyone could make WMYB so boring and bland I do not understand. Also what part of this version of the song says party song? Aside from the cheesy staging - the balloons and bubbles. I mean she sang it well but omg so boring for party week. I think I would’ve loved this if she sang it last week, but for this week? No, pretty much hated most of it since I was waiting for the beat to come in and the party to start. ROFL


What About Tonight - “Year 3000”
Didn’t love this song choice for them. The song sounds so much better with grittier and stronger vocals which these boys do not have as their voices are smooth and clean. But yes brought my mood back up so that’s good. Also the screaming. Can anyone tell the majority of their fan base are young teenagers? LOL Also props for them and that impromptu a cappella. It wasn’t great but they kind of understand the concept of it. It’s just their execution is a little lacking. But do they have anyone singing the bass line? I can’t hear it. Also why is the person singing the high part so loud? Shouldn’t the person singing the melody be the lead for the a cappella?


Justin Standley - “Bohemian Rhapsody”
So how do I say this nicely. First let’s just say that I do not think that this is a party song. Guy how could you say Jason’s song wasn’t a party song but soft rock... when this is TOTALLY rock. Hard rock. Hypocrite much? Also not a great song choice, did not think he sang this well at all. The beginning started off well though, when he was gentle and controlled but then the beat came in and he just exploded everywhere. Not in the good sense. I think that the problem is he went for it way too much that he overdid it.


Carmelo Munzone - “Everlasting Love”
I absolutely love his voice! It’s so smooth and rich and I just swoon when I hear him sing. Anyways on to tonight’s performance. So he did pretty good tonight considering the whirlwind week that he’s had and the fact that he only had 2 days to learn this song for this week. I think I love him singing swing and soul. Only thing I would say is that it felt like he was playing catch up during the chorus but other than that I think he did pretty good. I also love how he smiles through the whole thing. You can see how he just enjoys himself so much. I loved how he ended and then paused for a few seconds then “How cool was that?” HAHA I love him. He is so endearing and smiley and giggly. LOL


Samantha Jade - “Freefallin”
I love her staging! The cage was really cool and she looks great. Her dress is so awesome! I think her voice really suited this song to a tee. She was great tonight. However she sang the song a little too much like Kylie Minogue for my liking. Great that she moved around the stage a little. Progress on that front. LOL Voice is gorgeous as always but the judges are right, this is a competition and she needs votes so she should show her personality more. Also Mel WTF? ROFL!


Shiane Hawke - “Heard It Through The Grapevine”
First thing first, what is going on with Nat and her song choices for her girls tonight? What on earth? It was one disaster after another. This song is not working for her at all for me. I’m loving her look though. She looks cute and more her age than last week. However I still think she’s too young for the competition. I mean the girl also still has braces. That does not help with her enunciation at all, does it? Stage presence also hasn’t improved so...


The Collective - “Footloose”
Another great performance by the Collective this week! I was really happy that they ended up closing the show. They just have great chemistry and upbeat, which is already perfect for party night no? Also with a song like ‘Footloose’, it’s almost guaranteed to be a ball, a cheesy ball yes but a ball nonetheless lol. The question was how well they would pull it off. And they pulled it off great. The energy was great, dynamic was perfect and harmonizations were pretty much on spot. What more could you ask for, to be quite honest? I laughed at the fake car and scenery at the beginning though. It was so cheesy I don’t even. I like how they also had interaction with the girls. Will’s rap was awesome as always.

Labels: episode recaps, x factor

So I'd been planning to blog about this for awhile now, but I never got around to doing it. So here I am compiling the three into the one post! From what I can remember anyway. Not sure how I'll do this, so just bare with me. This past few months, I went to 3 different concerts!

And in case you couldn't tell from the title or pictures, I went to Jam Hsiao, Mayday and Gary Chou's concert! I LOVE Gary and Mayday! Jam is ok, but I really went because my friend loves him and it was my present for my friend's birthday. But I ended up loving Jam's concert too. Amazing how things work out isn't it?

Dates for the concerts were:
Jam - 12th May 2012
Mayday - 5th August 2012
Gary - 8th September 2012

Stage presence
First off, I have to say I LOVED it when all three of them sang. They are all such great singers at singing live! And the songs that they chose were ones that I really loved to listen to. Though majority of the songs that Gary sang in the beginning were from his new album, so I couldn't sing along as much. Also there were no music lyrics on the screens wtf?
Jam: I found that I could sing along with most of the songs that he had. Of course it helped that there were music lyrics on the screen as well since I barely knew most of the songs. I found it highly ironic that the song I remember most from his concert was that one Mayday song that he performed. LOL As I watched him performing, I found that he couldn't stand at the one spot for long. He was moving back and forth continuously.
Mayday: I could seriously watch them perform all day long. There's just something about a live band that makes everything so much better. And when they have performed together for the past decade and more? The chemistry is pretty much out of this world. I also really enjoyed the fact that we got to hear everyone sing. There was that song that Ah Shin wasn't in, in which every other member had a solo song and it made me realise what lovely voices they all had. Also my voice died at the end. Why do they have such catchy songs that you can't help but sing along. And when I say sing, I say it quite loosely... it was more of a scream the lyrics along in a melodic way. LOL
Gary: This man is AMAZING live. I do not know how he can sing his songs consecutively. My voice pretty much died one song in because of the high notes that he has in most of his songs. LOL I was croaking already. What fail. And he is so lazy I can't even. HAHAHA He was SITTING DOWN for half of his songs LOL.

Interaction time
Jam: He is so awkward, he is endearing. HAHAHAZ Seriously, every time there was a pause in singing and he had to speak he literally went "HELLO!!!! HELLO!!!" and my friend and I just died laughing by the second time. LOL
Mayday: OMG I could listen to them speak to me all day long and not get sick of it. They could even read me my text books I swear. LOL They are so eloquent and the way they speak is just... GAH! And the fact that it was a group was even better because they had interaction among each other and hilarious things ensured. Like the time when Ah Shin asked all the members if they passed high school --> then who entered university --> then who finished university and only the drummer had his hand up (and in a peace sign too!), only for Ah Shin to go who's the only one who doesn't know how to play the guitar among us and said drummer lifts his hand up in a peace sign. ROFL! I also laughed when Ah Shin was all what is there to eat here? And people were screaming KANGAROO and he was all WTH? No way right? LOL
Gary: He is so eloquent and talkative I don't even. LOL And one good thing about him being from Malaysia is multilingual. Gary was switching between languages without even realising it. He was all "ok I will speak in Mandarin instead of English/Cantonese" But then he spoke in English quite often. LOL

Labels: fan account

Pretty much my reaction

Labels: personal

Ok so here's part two of Week 1 of Live shows - the verdict. This post would be where I'll post most of my thoughts on who I think should've been in the bottom two/gone out/etc. Also, since it's the verdict, there'll only be the group performances, special guest performances as well as the two decider performances, which means there'll be more space for commentary.

Since this was the first week back and two judges just had songs come out recently, they were the "special" guests. We had Ronan Keating singing his new song "Fires" and Guy Sebastian singing "Battle Scars" with Lupe Fiasco


Top 12 - "Call me maybe"
So the Top 12 had their first group performance. I found it strange considering one of the performers had already kicked this one out of the park in bootcamp, but you know, I was interested in how they would sound together. Bad idea. I don't know if it was the song or what but most of them sounded ATROCIOUS! And the song just sounded all over the place because everyone tried to give their own twist to the song so it sounded so messy and clustered as all hell. So... yeah not a good start to the show.
Worst: What About Tonight, Nathaniel, Jason, Justine
Alright: Samantha (except for the last note when she went off), Angel, Bella (dodgy ad libs)
Better: Josh, Adil, Shiane, Fourtunate, The Collective


Ronan - "Fires"
I love Ronan Keating, his voice, and his old songs. His newer songs have been a bit of a hit or miss for me, and it's mostly been a miss. And this is another miss for me unfortunately. Anyways, I could listen to him sing live all the time. Although his low notes are flat for me


Adil - "Just The Way You Are"
First up to sing for the decider is Adil. I think this performance showed exactly how unprepared he is for the show. You look at his face and you can literally feel his nerves radiating at you. Looked like he was about to cry some of the times. And it affected his singing so bad. He had even less control over his voice than normal, and he cracked quite often. Poor boy. Such a pity. Think if he had another year under his belt, he would've been so much better. At least he stabilized a little more by the end of the song.


Samantha - "I can't Live"
Samantha's voice is stable and gorgeous as always. And you could tell that she really wanted to stay. And you can feel it in this song. Her desperation and want. But she didn't let it overwhelm her and instead used it to help her when she digs deep for the ad libs that she belted out. And she had a lot of those.


Guy Ft Lupe Fiasco - "Battle Scars"
Here Guy is to show everyone how it's done. His voice is pure heaven to listen to and the fact that he wrote the lyrics himself meant the song had even more meaning for me. And can I say that this sounds so much better than the recorded version. Though I could've done without so much rapping. But when have I ever been the biggest fan of rapping in pop songs? The staging looks pretty awesome.


Verdict:
So in the end it was down to the judges to choose who to send home. Some of the judges spoke for ages to bullshit explain their choice, but I think it was a no brainer who they would choose. Not really surprisingly (for me), it was 3:1 to send Adil home.

Thoughts:
Let me just say that the two that belonged in the bottom two based on performances were Jason and Justin or Fourtunate. However, we all know that performances hold no sway over the voters and sob stories and other things do. Which I suppose is why I was shocked to see that Adil was in the bottom two, because you would assume with his masses of fangirls (the demographic that votes the most) that he would be safe.

Labels: episode recaps, x factor

So look at what I thought I'd start doing. Yeah... episode recaps for X factor AU... am I insane or what? Me who couldn't seem to blog on a regular basis. But I think this is a good step in the right direction because it means I will have something to regularly post on my blog. I'm thinking I'll split the live shows and the verdict into two separate posts (more regurlar blogging aren't I good?) since they have separate performances and I can post more thoughts that way.

Anyways on Monday, it was the first live performances which marked the start of the voting frenzy in Australia. How will the tweens vote, only God knows, but yes, I'm happy that there is another singing competition for me to watch. First week was judge's choices so there were a few different

Bear with me here, going to try out a few different formats in the coming recaps to see which I prefer. First time trying something like this out.

What About Tonight - "Glad You Came" 
What About Tonight kicked off the night with an average performance of Glad You Came. The start was a bit of a let down. It was acapella and only the one singer. He was shaky in places with his pitch, and he couldn't maintain some of the notes very well. But that could be fixed if he learnt proper breathing techniques. However I quite like their harmonies. I mean it's not the best I've heard but it could be so much worse. Too bad for this song, it gets a little droll and dull for them, since there was no kick to the song at all. I like curly haired's voice, and it helps that he was stable in this performance. One good thing is that you could see how much they enjoyed being on the stage.


Josh Brookes - "Don’t Wanna Go Home" 
First thing first, I love his staging. Those gigantic headphones are cool. I don't like how he started with his back to audience and then slowly moved around to face the front. I mean its a cool effect for the cameras but no. And I heard a dimension of his voice that I hadn't heard in the auditions/bootcamp. I found it quite pretty. LOL But I'm sad to say that my enjoyment for the song was lowered when the beat started. I mean you could see that he enjoyed the performance more when the beat hit, because he could move. But I'm not too sure what it was, it just didn't translate to me. But I quite enjoy the end when he sang the 2nd part of the chorus, when his voice suddenly became stronger again. I do not know what happened there, but please make sure your voice stays that strong all the time.


Angel Tupai - "Happy" 
Angel, what can I say about her performance... This girl can definitely sing. I found her tone and range for this song gorgeous. Perfect song choice by Nat. Her ad libs were gorgeous. Everything was gorgeous. Is it odd that I preferred her low and soft range to when she was belting? The only thing I would say is that she could work on her stage presence and drawing people in. I wish the "drummers" were actually drumming from the moment they came on. It would have added more omph to the song that it didn't have.


Justin Standley - "Father and Son" 
I like Justin's timbre and voice most of the times when he sings. The beginning when he started all soft and gentle I found simply gorgeous and I could listen to it nonstop. But the drums came in, he just over sung. Like his singing was still alright but you could hear him straining at times. It would've been so much better if he'd toned it down a notch or two.


Fourtunate -  "Payphone" 
What the hell happened with this performance? It started out bad and just stagnated. It didn't get worse, but it also didn't get better. The beginning main singer did not hit all the notes, did he? It was a pity. I think they all have really nice voices individually and blended together but it just didn't come out in this performance. I was so disappointed with this performance. They could do so much better and have so much potential. I think that's what makes it worse. Knowing that they can and have done so much better before.


Jason Owen - "Heaven" 
Is it just me or did it start out pitchy and off key and kind of stayed that way for the rest of the song? In fact it seemed to get worse as he continued. I LOVE this song and I hate what he did to it. Stage presence can also be improved. Moving on now before I start spitting in rage.


Samantha Jade - "Wide Awake" 
Let me get something out first. I think her staging is ugly. I can see where they are going with it but it did not translate in real life. It just made her look a little... yeah. But the changing weather patterns on the white background of the dress is a really cool effect. Her voice is really pretty and surprisingly powerful when she digs deep. Also I love her ad libs. Some of it was so surprising with where she went with it. How gorgeous was that last high note? But she could work on her connection with the audience.


Adil Memon - "Fast Car" 
Adil. I have a love hate relationship towards him. I love the unique qualities in his voice, but I hate how nervous he gets and I feel he is just not ready for this competition at the moment and I do not know why he got through over some of the other under 25 boys. Wish he had more time under him to get over the nerves. ANYWAY sorry, went off on a tangent. Back to the performance. I like the gentleness and huskiness of his voice. However what was with the pace of the song? It was so fast I felt like he was just trying to keep pace with it instead of relaxing or stressing out I see what you did there Mel B. Wish they'd slowed down the pace of the song instead. I'm liking that he played the guitar though. Favourite part was when the song slowed for a bit as he did that ad lib and the ending with that other ad lib. LOL


The Collective  - "Domino"
LOVE LOVE THEIR STAGING! FAVOURITE OF THE NIGHT! Yeah I have no idea why that was in caps. Moving on, for me this is definitely the performance of the night. Everything about it was just perfect for me. I mean the way they move across the stage could be improved but for the 2nd performance as a group they've set the bar high. They have a really surprising strong group dynamic. Their harmonies have also improved so much from their first performance, which makes me really anticipate their growth as a group. I think they did a smart move putting Trent as the main/middle of the harmony as the other voices just blend together effortlessly. Some of Trent's ad libs were a bit odd and seemed pitchy but other than that it was great. Also don't know if it's kpop influence but I laughed when William rapped and the others were in front of him doing these arm movements and yeah.


Bella Ferraro - "Brother" 
Bella's voice is really quite unique and it's got these quirky elements to it when she sings that I find quite fascinating and interesting. However, I don't really feel like this song really suited her. It just stagnated for me and was really boring. She's not very stable when she has to go into the higher ranges is she? It's not a very good sound either. Hopefully she doesn't go that high again. Good to know that she didn't freak out and self-imploded again. Also I like her staging. It's quite whimsical and it's got an Alice in Wonderland feeling.


Nathaniel Willemse - "Love On Top"
What did he do to the make up artist? He is covered in foundation. Way too much foundation. They made him look so pasty and kind of like a mannequin. And what's with that suit and that shirt underneath the suit? It does not make the image any better. Looks like something a gigolo would wear... especially with that shirt /shot/ Also doesn't help that the back up dancers are in their underwear with suspenders and ugly black jackets. LOL just saying. I think Nathaniel did alright with this song. He was straining a little at the end when it went higher but I think that was because it wasn't in his range/key. Overall he did alright. Not all that great, but it was good.


Shiane Hawke- "Crazy" 
Well the girl definitely has a voice. It's got a quirky character to it as well. She sang this song really well and was stable throughout except for a few notes here and there. And it is obvious that she enjoyed performing this song. However, she has little to no stage presence at all. She needs to learn to work the stage as well. Also what was the ugly high last note. Really? Never do that note again please. My ear drums felt like they wanted to die, it was that ugly.

Labels: episode recaps, x factor

Who I am? Hey guys! Just call me Merran, Mezzy, or even Siri if you want. (don't ask, I'm not even sure how that came about). I'm born on 24th of December 1990. My hometown is Singapore, but I'm currently studying in Melbourne, Australia. I'm studying an Arts degree right now, and have no real idea what I want to do still with the rest of my life =/ Music is something that has kept me company through all my ups and downs. Especially through my downs when I feel like there is no one who understands.