Sunday, August 12, 2012

X Factor Philippines: Top 11

This week was a bit of a mixed bag for everyone. There were a few contestants who have managed to build some incredible momentum, but a couple of them were pretty atrocious. I thought the theme was lame, it was like "We were too lazy to think of a theme so you just pick some random word.. Yay! LIFE". Haha. Oh, and the judges suddenly became cheerleaders. Haha.

I have nothing more to say, so here we go!

DISCLAIMER: I am no expert, but this is my opinion - to each his own - and yours will be in the comments below! Haha.  

11. Take Off
Larger Than Life
Take Off? No, they crashed. Haha. This was a vocal disaster and the judges praised them for their astonishing ability to ruin a song. Can't. Even. If this is the next big boy band, then I'm sorry for the future generations. 2/10

10. Gabriel Maturan
One Day In Your Life
Who knew he'd fail miserably on a slow song? This song unexpectedly just exposed a tremulousness in Gabriel's vocals. The verses were pitched too low, he went flat on the opening verse, and he seemed to be just under the melody for most of the performance. His tone also bordered on the unpleasant when he tried to hit some of the higher notes. Vocally, this was surprisingly weak and I somehow couldn’t shake this awful karaoke vibe when I listened to the performance again. 4/10

09. Daddy's Home
The Best Things In Life Are Free
Pedestrian rendition. On paper, this should've worked for them, but this uptempo number ate them alive. They couldn’t seem to get their mouths around most of the words, their diction was terrible, and there was a slight tentativeness in the whole performance. The arrangement was all over the place, the breakdown was pointless and they looked unaware of their blocking on stage pushing each other on where to stand. Such a mess. 4/10

08. Kedebon Colim
I Live My Life For You
This provided a smart, stark contrast to his annoyingly energetic performance last week. To be honest, I was kind of excited to hear him cover this song, mainly because I wanted to see what he could do with a song that's more about precision and restraint than full-fledged mockery of the whole franchise. Yes, he sounded better than last week, but that's not saying much. I’m not going to critique the vocals because that’s not OBVIOUSLY the strategic path Kedebon is on and he knows his strengths and he is playing to them. I can’t fault him for that, but whatever. 5/10

07. Jeric Medina
Time Of My Life
There’s something inherently soulful about Jeric's voice, but somehow there was a serious disconnect with his performance this week. I felt like he lost his place in the song towards the end and left his voice sounding strained and sharp. I wouldn't say that this was vocally all over the place, but this just didn't work. A melody with all that airy tenderness would've been better, I think. 5.5/10

06. Mark Mabasa
Got To Get You Into My Life
Admittedly, Mark is a very strong vocalist - too strong, it's actually kind of scary. Haha - and the power was there, but the soul was severely lacking and it felt way too mechanical for my liking. Plus, his tone sounded weirdly affected, the growls didn't work for the song and his transitions were rough. 6/10

05. Modesto Taran
Habang May Buhay
Sure, his vocal was fairly impressive - despite the superfluous vibrato - and he hit all the right notes, but I have nothing else good or bad to say about the performance aside from the fact that, yeah, he connected with the song stunningly well. I just couldn't bring myself to care. Sorry. 6/10

04. Joan Da
Gusto Ko Lamang Sa Buhay
This was actually a stable, uptempo choice, that showed a different side of her voice. I did notice some diction issues when she hit the verses and Joan's vocal in itself came off a little winded and withering. All things considered though, this performance worked in her favor. It gave her a much needed personality and I was glad to see her throw away the guitar for this performance, as I think it holds her back. 6.5/10

03. Allen Sta. Maria
Bring Me To Life
I never really saw her as an actual contender for the title, but she's proving to be that little dark horse in the competition. So while I found the verses and chorus to be a bit chopped up in a way that kept interrupting her momentum, Allen for the most part sold the song with her typical natural swagger. I liked that she brought a beautiful aggression to the tune but still showcasing a good amount of range and a surprisingly clear vocals. The performance ended in such a weird place though - the show really needs to sharpen their song cutting skills. Haha. 7.5/10

02. AKA JAM
This Is My Life
I admit, this performance wasn't nearly as good as last week's showstopper, but still fairly strong. It was serene, haunting, perfectly rehearsed, and technically impressive from a pure vocal standpoint. There were a couple of rough spots when they started singing together and parts of it came off a bit shouty towards the end, but those were just minor nitpicks. I thought the staging was great and this allowed them to connect with a song on a visceral level. 8.5/10

01. KZ Tandingan
For Once In My Life
Impeccable phrasing. Stunning tone. Fantastic dynamics. This, to me, was a brilliant song choice for her that started off slow and passionate with a merciful restraint to her voice, but then heated to a full boil with impassioned delivery. I kind of wish the band had never kicked in and that the performance had stayed small and intimate, but KZ pulled it off with this performance, and it was pretty spectacular to watch her get into the nitty gritty. Solid moment for her. 9/10

11 comments:

Unknown said...

You should replace the judges of XFactor...they are not good...

Anonymous said...

You obviously know what you like, and what you are saying. I respect that. However, you're right in saying too, you nitpick. That is also why, I believe these judges really know what they are doing. I believe the whole point of x factor is the over-all performance and how a contestants could affect, move or draw the audience to their performances. You know, that elusive quality that makes people want to buy records or want to listen and watch you more and more. After all, the Madonnas, Michael Jacksons, and Justin Biebers et. al. of the world aren't even the best voices out there. Yet, look at the millions of records they have sold and the amount of people they could pack into a place to watch them perform. Exactly, that is called the x factor.

Jordan Q.

Anonymous said...

Takeoff really clashed! I'm actually looking forward to what you'll say. The judges are just too soft. They need a Simon Cowell in the panel. In my opinion though... The bottom 2 was Takeoff and Jeric. And Gab's performance is not that good but it is not 'bottom 2' bad.

Anonymous said...

yeah... the judges are only doing half of what they are paid of... they just do the mentoring... the judging, not so much... they don't criticize.. they're like "great, good..whatever." when in truth, most performances were so bad... like Gab's so flat and off-key... and Jeric's? So no good...

_Garry

Anonymous said...

For me Jeric should be out. I did not like both his performances (1st & 2nd)or maybe Gab based on his last. Popularity will be the name of the game in XFPh. Not the the best singer exactly. I see KZ as the likely winner 'cuz she got both.

Anonymous said...

The judges did their job picking the top 12 - now it is up to the people to vote in their favorites. I agree with the reviewer's ranking of the 11 performances. :)
The judges are doing their job following Filipino sensibility, I guess. Asians say "no" indirectly.
Victoria

Anonymous said...

yes,sometimes to be a singer is not just hitting those hi big notes,u can be a voice of JB & sells records,just the fan's choice,even no judges,hehehe, pure luck! just like charice who lost fr Little Big Star & still able to fame-made some money-even she gots lots of haters-doesnt matter she makes money, good for charice,coz there's loyal fans called chasters all the way who supports her. i geared for KZ Tandingan since the audition of xfactorPH in digos davao-she awed me thats all for me,KZ,KZ,KZ!!from spring texas

Anonymous said...

yeah i agree with what anon says that judges should also point out where the contestant failed in his/her performance so that the the next performance will get better. and i think x factor lost a great contestant in jerianne templo

Anonymous said...

The whole concept is entertainment. You bring in judging that is too technical and too rigid, you kill entertainment. If one judge starts nitpicking, then everyone will do the same and guess what you get? Judges competing with each other. I'm sure the judges were told by the producers not to be too much of a judge.

DAM said...

Everything is about entertainment, and yes, too technical judges will kill it. However, let's keep in mind that they were hired to JUDGE and MENTOR and not to be mere CHEERLEADERS.

They can give constructive criticisms without being too technical - try watching The Sing-Off and listen to the judges (Ben Folds, Sara Bareilles and Shawn Stockman). If they keep on saying that everyone's good, what's the use of listening to their comments after every performance?

Anonymous said...

anyone know where i can watch some decent clips of this or download some studio version cause the youtube quality is just dreadful.
btw Charice girls group is awesome plus A.K.A Jam, 'take off' was just plain horrible but they are the Phillipine's 'one direction' so they won't leave anytime soon.

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