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

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.