Well, it’s finally happened – The X Factor live shows have kicked off and I have to wonder if Lola brought some squid with her to the studio, because there seemed to be a big damp one knocking about.
As I sat through one boring performance after the other, I had to ask myself is this meant to be an entertainment show, because I am not entertained. And I did wonder if Louis had a prior engagement and they created a robot to sit in for him, because everything that came out of his mouth was a stock clichéd comment. Mel probably was pressing a button under the table every time it came to his turn. “You deserve to be here”, “You’ll go far in the competition”, “You remind me of a young….”
We had a series of bland unmemorable solo performances interspersed with a few faster numbers. I thought all of the bands were brutal. Overload Generation, a pretentious name for a band which I thought had no talent. seemed to be on course to go far in the competition (in the words of Louis) due to all the hormonal teenagers voting for them.
Stereo Kicks – the much hyped 8 piece boy band – were disappointing also. Let’s put it this way – If I heard them on the stereo, I would give it a kick! Only The Young would have been better if they’d been given the right song and I felt this was the case for a lot the acts. The choreography was all wrong and the outfits were badly chosen – Lola looked a bit like a lobster in her dress. Stevi Ritchie was a victim of too many sexy girls dancing around him. I felt they overshadowed him completely. Blonde Electra had too many props, and were done up in such a zany way that it just took away from their individuality.
The only acts I thought were worth watching were Ben Haenow – Hey now, he’s not half bad looking and he’s a great singer – and of course the best which was deliberately left til last, Andrea Faustini. His performance was pretty much electric and at the moment he is the clear front runner.
On Sunday night, the two acts that had the edge on the others in terms of being atrocious, were sent home. Louis Walsh’s monster, Blonde Electra – hewn together with all the ingredients that Louis felt would form an imitation Jedward: hyperactivity, false happiness, in your face flamboyance and childishness. So what went wrong? I think we could all see the stitches! Overload Generation – the name is enough to make you groan and they certainly lived up to it.
So, in conclusion, everyone should be sent home except Ben and Andrea and they should have the final next week.
