Thursday, November 1, 2012

X Factor US 2: Top 16

I'm exhausted just watching all those performances in one night. If this show somehow managed to become a hotter mess than it is now, it would burst into flames and homeless people could use it to warm themselves at night. Haha. Of course, I'm kidding. One thing I love about X Factor - the wacky outfits and extravagant production set. They'd NEVER do that on my beloved American Idol. Haha.

I guess, I've accepted the fact that to be able to enjoy X Factor as a show, I should not take this as a pure singing competition. This is NOT about finding the best vocalists, but the next pop star who'd be able to sell millions of records. Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Rihanna and Katy Perry are not exactly the greatest singers in the world, but they've sold more records than some of the better singers.

Now, the first live show this season was a little underwhelming, but that's expected since the contestants are still warming up to the whole thing. Still, I'm pretty optimistic about this season's Top 16. What I'm not so sure about this season though is Britney Spears. She's more useless than last year's host. She contributed NOTHING other than the word "true star" and "amazing". Those words are not going to cut it as her sole accolade all season.

On the other hand, I thought Demi Lovato was the one who put a lot of effort into mentoring her group. Even if the outcome might not be the best, she did work with these contestants. As a judge her comments were pretty accurate too and she didn't hold back with her constructive criticisms. Very nice.

Anyway, let's get on with the review!

TEENS
Britney Spears

04. Arin Ray
Keep Me Holding On
There's no denying that Arin has the charisma to be a potential pop star, but this performance was okay at best. The song choice was weird, his stage presence was a bit awkward, and his vocals were uneven. Plus, he seemed lost will all the stuff that was happening on stage. I kind of like Arin Ray, but this didn't do him any favors whatsoever. 5.5/10

03. Diamond White
Hey Soul Sister
Doesn't Britney realize the meaning of this song? I'm seriously worried about Britney's mentoring skills at this point because this was a terrible song choice to give to Diamond and she styled her like she was in a time warp back to the 90s. But while this wasn't as strong as her previous performances, I actually liked her tone on the song and she warmed up - at least performance wise - as the song went on. 6.5/10

02. Beatrice Miller
I Won't Give Up
I love Beatrice, but I genuinely didn't like the song choice for her. This would be a better fit for Carly because Beatrice has a tone that's more suited for something edgier than this Jason Mraz ditty. The key was a tad too low for her range, the arrangement was strange, and that giant version of her popping up on the screen behind here was terrible. Good thing, her rich voice somehow saved some parts of her performance. Oh, and Britney was like shrugging her off, "I disagree, I think it was really good, you are the best". What was that? I'm scared for her tomorrow as I have a funny feeling Britney may actually consider cutting her. 7.5/10

01. Carly Rose Sonenclar
Good Feeling
.. and the school uniforms were supposed to be relevant to this song.. HOW? Argh! Her vocals were pretty much spot on, especially at the beginning, but again, the staging was horrible - she looked like she was about to perform a magic trick during the first 10 seconds - the song choice was bad and it was actually odd to see her not really enjoying herself on stage. I was pretty sure this was Carly Rose competition to lose, but I'm having doubts now. 7.5/10

YOUNG ADULTS
Demi Lovato

04. Willie Jones
I'm Here For The Party
Eh. Average vocals. Strange staging. Cheesy choreography. Willie was fun to watch, but this was such an underwhelming mess. If he doesn't go after giving the most average performance in his category, I'll punch someone in the soul. Haha. 4.5/10

03. Cece Frey
Because The Night
Not sure if the song was made to be arranged like that, but I thought her vocals were strong enough despite the fact that she was moving a lot causing her voice to sound a little wobbly in parts. Her stage presence was obviously her best asset and I didn't mind her theatricality. I was hoping for a better song choice for her to showcase all her potential, but this wasn't that bad. 7/10

02. Paige Thomas
What Is Love
Say what you want, but I REALLY enjoyed Paige's ridiculous performance. This was like Tim Burton's interpretation of Rihanna. Haha. Yes, her vocals were uneven, the verses were shaky and I could barely hear her, but I thought she killed the chorus and the production value was outrageously riveting. She may fail where Melanie Amaro succeeds in vocals, but her star power is WAY more compared to the reigning X Factor champ. Treat her performance for what it was meant for, which was to entertain. I mean, that hasn't seemed to hurt quite a few pop stars so maybe they can make it work for her, yes? 7/10

01. Jennel Garcia
Home Sweet Home
While Jennel needed more power and conviction to really nail this song I though she possibly had one of the best vocal performances in this first live show. She had great stage presence, her vocals soared towards the end with enough grit, and she's very charismatic. Again, not crazy about the song choice, but I digress. 8/10

OVER 25s
LA Reid

04. Tate Stevens
I Thought I Was Tough
Yawn. I can't deny the fact that Tate is a good singer, but he doesn't really fit in with the rest of the show. His performance was refreshing in a sea of overblown production set, but at the same time seemed out of place. He stayed on par with what he has been doing for the entire competition and that's not entirely a good thing. 4/10

03. Vino Alan
Gotta Be
Oh man, this did not suit Vino AT ALL. He started out awfully off key and struggled to find his way after that. He did pick it up towards the end, but this was definitely not his best. To me, Vino is more soul than rock, so I don't understand why LA tried to position him in this lane. 5/10

02. Jason Brock
Dance Again
Fat Adam Lambert. Haha. Yes, I'm awful. Jason's performance was almost a parody. I personally loved the glittery explosion, but I just couldn't take it seriously. Simply put, it was an entertaining mess. At least, it was entertaining no? 5/10

01. David Correy
My Love Is Your Love
Arguably the best vocal performance of the night. I thought David sounded really good that he almost reminded me of Bruno Mars with his smooth tone and impressive range. I wasn't crazy about the song choice - shocker! - but he did an incredible job with it and he actually made it his own. I thought his runs were spot on and the liberties he took with the melody were flawless. Plus, I felt every bit of emotion into this performance. I disagree with Simon, it's not desperation but passion. I think David is LA's only hope of winning the show. 8/10

GROUPS
Simon Cowell

04. Lyric145
Boom! Shake The Room / Gangnam Style Mash up
OH. MY. GOD. I'm a big fan of this manufactured rap group - especially Lyric Da Queen - but this was WEIRD. It was perplexing because parts of it felt like an arena type of performance, but it was also embarrassingly horrifying. They had this early 90s throwback style that didn't sit with me well and then Gangnam Style came out of nowhere. I'm kinda impartial to rap, I just don't care of the genre, but I know this group has potentially. Sadly, Simon failed them totally. 5/10

03. 1432
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
When I heard about the name change fiasco, I certainly didn't think whatever Lylas ended up choosing could hurt them that bad. I was wrong. It's more like a hotel room number than an actual group name. Haha. As for their performance, it was mediocre at best. I thought the vocal arrangement was sloppy, the harmonies were off and the song choice wasn't a strong proof that they are actually some of the most talented singers in the competition. Somehow, this made me appreciate Taylor's rendition of the song. Haha. 6/10

02. Sister C
Hell On Heels
So, Lakoda Rayne is back? Haha. Coming into the live shows, I was pretty sure that Sister C's a goner. Well, they completely made me question that prediction. Sure, they looked awkward walking around the stage, but I thought they sounded lovely, it was a good song choice, the production wasn't over the top, the harmonies were incredibly spot on, and I liked how they feed off each other a certain amount of energy. I felt like Simon got it right this time. 7.5/10

01. Emblem3
One Day
As much as I'm starting to hate their cocky personalities, their version of One Day was bloody brilliant and probably the best performance of the night. The song choice was perfect, their vocals were solid, their harmonies were great, they made it current into a quisi hip-hop sound, they did the reggae aspect some justice and they didn't get swallowed up by the big stage. Oh, and they're ridiculously charismatic. Fantastic. 9/10

OVERALL RANKING

16. Tate Stevens
15. Willie Jones
14. Vino Alan
13. Lyric 145
12. Jason Brock
11. Arin Ray
10. 1432
09. Diamond White
08. Cece Frey
07. Paige Thomas
06. Sister C
05. Beatrice Miller
04. Carly Rose Sonenclar
03. Jennel Garcia
02. David Correy
01. Emblem 3

PREDICTION

Who should go home?
Arin Ray
Tate Stevens
Willie Jones
Lyric145

Who will go home?
Beatrice Miller
Jason Brock
Paige Thomas
Sister C

3 comments:

Desperate Houseboy said...

My own take:
Carly Rose Sonenclair
Cece Fray
Emblem 3
David Corey
Jason Brock
Paige Thomas
Lylas
Sister C
Jennel Garcia
Beatrice Miller
Lyric 145
Tate Stevens
Willie Jones
Diamond White
Arin Ray
Vino Allan

X said...

The judges on these type of shows are constantly going off about song choice... yet these judge's picks were pretty crappy. It's almost as if they were trying to derail the frontrunners.

That being said, as much as I want to dislike Emblem 3, they were pretty great. And despite the fact that I am not familiar with the song, Carly Rose's voice is amazing and that alone saved her for me.

I'm still rooting for Cece, but that song choice and the over-the-top staging really hurt her.

That brings up my biggest problem with the X Factor...these contestants are supposed to be singers... let them sing. They don't need all the dancers and crap.

DAM said...

I think X Factor is more of looking for a performer than an actual singer. It's more of star power than vocal talent. That's not to say these people are not talented vocalists, but I think what separates this show from The Voice and American Idol is that it gives more emphasis to the production value a la AMA or MTV Music Awards. :)

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