{"id":7983,"date":"2014-12-08T14:11:11","date_gmt":"2014-12-08T14:11:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/195.21.21.161\/epop\/?p=7983"},"modified":"2019-03-21T15:55:57","modified_gmt":"2019-03-21T15:55:57","slug":"ho-ho-ho-its-the-semi-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2014\/12\/ho-ho-ho-its-the-semi-final\/","title":{"rendered":"Ho Ho Ho &#8230;It&#8217;s the X Factor Semi Final!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/CHRISTMAS-XF.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"7984\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2014\/12\/ho-ho-ho-its-the-semi-final\/christmas-xf\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/CHRISTMAS-XF.jpg?fit=722%2C819&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"722,819\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-title=\"CHRISTMAS XF\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/CHRISTMAS-XF.jpg?fit=640%2C726&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7984\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/CHRISTMAS-XF.jpg?resize=640%2C726&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"CHRISTMAS XF\" width=\"640\" height=\"726\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Yes, it was the X Factor semi final and being the month of December, there was a decidedly festive flavour to proceedings. But who was going to be safe and who was going home for Christmas? Read on to find out&#8230;&#8230;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">For the first round, all of the contestants sang Christmas songs. I didn&#8217;t feel that any of them sparkled with their first performances.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fleur East with &#8216;All I Want for Christmas&#8217;, while she looked fabulous, I didn&#8217;t feel delivered. Her rendition just didn&#8217;t compare with the original.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Lauren was as wishy washy as ever with &#8216;Stay Another Day&#8217;. Even the judges &#8211; in between throwing snowballs at each other- were quite critical of her &#8211; Always the kiss of death at this late stage.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ben looked very tasty as always but I didn&#8217;t like the choice of song.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">And as for Andrea&#8217;s rendition of &#8216;Oh Holy Night&#8217; &#8211; All I can say is Oh, holy crap! did he have to warble so much. I always feel that less is more when it comes to this song.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- Random Ad stuff --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-2076862002005673\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"3107208401\"\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins><\/p>\n<p><script>\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The second round kind of brought the front runners in the competition to the fore, I thought.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Lauren sang &#8216;Story of my Life&#8217; complete with pictures of her life in the background which, in my opinion, couldn&#8217;t save it from being a mediocre performance.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fleur brought the competition to a new level with &#8216;Uptown Funk&#8217; (newly released). Everyone agreed she killed it in every way, looking amazing and bringing an energy to the performance with some very professional dancing.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Andrea is starting to slip down the line up, I think. His second song, &#8216;Wrecking Ball&#8217; didn&#8217;t really do it for me. He sang it really well but I don&#8217;t think he has enough stage presence for that type of song.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ben, who I think is looking second place at the moment, sang &#8216;Hallelujah&#8217;. I found it a bit boring and thought the display of tears at the was a bit yeuch. To me, it was just a cynical attempt at getting the sympathy vote.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Very predictably, Lauren was voted off on Sunday after a sing off with Andrea. So it&#8217;s looking very much like Fleur to win, Ben second and Andrea third but of course this poor sucker will still watch the final and I hope you all will have a look at my last X Factor round up next Monday!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yes, it was the X Factor semi final and being the month of December, there was a decidedly festive flavour to proceedings. But who&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7984,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[433,494,522,477,275,479,276,154,308,157],"class_list":["post-7983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-andrea-faustini","tag-ben-haenow","tag-christmas-songs","tag-fleur-east","tag-itv","tag-lauren-platt","tag-louis-walsh","tag-simon-cowell","tag-singers","tag-x-factor"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5yMhl-24L","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":57245,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2019\/11\/fleur-east-size\/","url_meta":{"origin":7983,"position":0},"title":"Fleur East &#8211; &#8216;Size&#8217;","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"18\/11\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Fleur East, famous for being The X-Factor 2014 runner-up released new single \u2018Size\u2019. Part of Debenhams\u2019 2019 Autumn campaign, this infectious song is going to be also featured in the 2019 Christmas campaign, which includes a new commercial featuring the singer herself.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Christmas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Christmas","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/archived-categories\/christmas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/fleur-east-size.jpg?fit=1200%2C680&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/fleur-east-size.jpg?fit=1200%2C680&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/fleur-east-size.jpg?fit=1200%2C680&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/fleur-east-size.jpg?fit=1200%2C680&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/fleur-east-size.jpg?fit=1200%2C680&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8012,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2014\/12\/get-uptown-funking-around-the-christmas-tree\/","url_meta":{"origin":7983,"position":1},"title":"Uptown Funking Round The Christmas Tree","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"18\/12\/2014","format":"image","excerpt":"Mark Ronson has had to rush release his collaboration song with Bruno Mars - \"Uptown Funk\" - due to the fact that Fleur East performed a cover version on the X Factor which has reached the top end of the iTunes chart. It wasn't due to be released for another\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;New Releases&quot;","block_context":{"text":"New Releases","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/new-releases\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/markronson_brunomars.jpg?fit=960%2C560&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/markronson_brunomars.jpg?fit=960%2C560&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/markronson_brunomars.jpg?fit=960%2C560&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/markronson_brunomars.jpg?fit=960%2C560&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":61026,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2020\/03\/fleur-east-returns-with-new-album-fearless-and-new-video-for-mine\/","url_meta":{"origin":7983,"position":2},"title":"Fleur East Returns With New Album &#8216;Fearless&#8217; And New Video For &#8216;Mine&#8217;","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"20\/03\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Fleur East today unveils her highly anticipated second album 'Fearless'. Tracks include the rhythmic and pulsating current single 'Lucky', the smooth electro pop of future single 'Mine', the sweet funk of 'Easy To Love, last year's Radio 2 play listed tune 'Favourite Thing', and the soundtrack to Debenhams Christmas ad\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Music&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/fearless-fleur-east-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/fearless-fleur-east-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/fearless-fleur-east-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/fearless-fleur-east-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/fearless-fleur-east-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7925,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2014\/11\/whitney-v-elton-whos-still-standing\/","url_meta":{"origin":7983,"position":3},"title":"Whitney V Elton. 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'It's going to be big,' the judges said. Mel B said she liked it big. (And no doubt she was looking forward to some big songs as well!) The word big was being bandied about a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Music&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/louis-and-the-chicken-wings.png?fit=604%2C387&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/louis-and-the-chicken-wings.png?fit=604%2C387&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/louis-and-the-chicken-wings.png?fit=604%2C387&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7941,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2014\/12\/ive-a-guest-reviewer\/","url_meta":{"origin":7983,"position":5},"title":"XF Quarter Finals \u2013 And I\u2019ve a guest reviewer!","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"02\/12\/2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Yes, that's right it was the quarter finals this weekend and because there were only 5 acts left in the competition they were now singing 2 songs each. Oh no! I groaned. This is too much for me to handle and then I had a bright idea. Why not get\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Music&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/the-x-factor1.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/the-x-factor1.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/the-x-factor1.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/the-x-factor1.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/the-x-factor1.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/CHRISTMAS-XF.jpg?fit=722%2C819&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7983\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}