the x-factor

[iluvwillmellor]

Why on Earth are the Mcdonald Burgers still there they r cr@p, my nan could sing better then them, grrrr bl**dy ppl who r voting 4 them

Omg if Leona does'nt win I will kill she is by far the best singer there, & she is sooooooooooo hot Leona 2 win ;D


xxx

[juliejuliejulie]

I think Simon at least never went down to Ben's level and kept him because he is good at singing and quite talented, he could have always let him go as payback for what Ben said about Leona in the papers during that week so even though i am following what leona, ben and ray are doing - he should at least respect more of what simon says i think. but the mcdonals perfomance 2nd one was better than the first and also Eaton Road were just crap with their songs

[remaha]

For the McDonald brothers that Proclaimers' song was the last throw of the dice. If they couldn't do a good performance on that song, a Scottish anthem, they shouldn't have been in the competition at all. I don't know which brother is which but the one that sang the lead vocals on that song is far better than his sibling (the one who plays the electric guitar - well, I say plays . . !). This weaker brother lacks confidence, and for good reason. He is good at singing harmonies as the backing singer but should never be given the lead, not even for one line!

BEN - I actually predicted that Ben would be in the bottom two last week after his performance of "Your Song". I thought Simon was generous in his comments. He will not win if he keeps singing in his current style. He always starts off well and then ruins it by singing too loudly in a very rock-style voice. He has to learn that less is more, particularly when singing ballads. I don't think that rock is winning style on the x-factor anyway. So he needs to make use of voice in a more cross-over style.

[julian]

remaha said:

BEN - I actually predicted that Ben would be in the bottom two last week after his performance of "Your Song". I thought Simon was generous in his comments. He will not win if he keeps singing in his current style. He always starts off well and then ruins it by singing too loudly in a very rock-style voice. He has to learn that less is more, particularly when singing ballads. I don't think that rock is winning style on the x-factor anyway. So he needs to make use of voice in a more cross-over style.

Funnily enough I wasn't impressed by his second song because he spent most of it singing in a more sedate style. It was only when he upped the energy near the end that it came to life

I guess if you don't like Rock it will be hard to like Ben but that's what Ben's best at. I don't think Ben can compete with Leona if he tries to join her in the more mainstream style. He has to stick to what he does best and hope that enough people appreciate it.

Regards

Julian

[remaha]

;D At last, they're gone! ;D The MacDonald Brothers ;D
Now available for slightly bigger and more expensive weddings!

Mind you, I thought it was a close run thing between them, Ray and Ben tonight. None of them did particularly well. And I did not like Ray's "My Way". I think you probably had to be there!

[battybetty]

remaha said:

;D At last, they're gone! ;D The MacDonald Brothers ;D
Now available for slightly bigger and more expensive weddings!

Mind you, I thought it was a close run thing between them, Ray and Ben tonight. None of them did particularly well. And I did not like Ray's "My Way". I think you probably had to be there!

Remaha, I thought they hammered the nails in their own coffins when they decided to sing Shang A Lang! LOL For my sins, I was a great Bay City Rollers fan once. But in defence I was only about 12 at the time. They did actually sing it better than they did the first song but it was all a bit karaoke night down the local.
I always felt it was the voice of the dark haired brother that let them down the most. Very weak. As likable as they were, they honestly were never strong enough to have even been in the finals at all. I think far stronger groups failed to even make it to boot camp! (Sorry kirstie, I know you had a soft spot for them and will be sad to see them gone. )

I have to agree with Remaha about Rays rendering of 'My Way'. As much as technically there was nothing wrong with it, it left me cold. Basically that's because it totally jarred to have someone so young, singing a song so obviously meant to be sung by someone with a lifetime of experience behind them. I dont dislike Ray but it just seemed bliddy daft, and it proved impossible for me to suspend disbelief enough to be convinced of the emotion behind his performance! I just think it was a poor choice for him to make and underlined his inexperience.

[julian]

battybetty said:

I have to agree with Remaha about Rays rendering of 'My Way'. As much as technically there was nothing wrong with it, it left me cold. Basically that's because it totally jarred to have someone so young, singing a song so obviously meant to be sung by someone with a lifetime of experience behind them. I dont dislike Ray but it just seemed bliddy daft, and it proved impossible for me to suspend disbelief enough to be convinced of the emotion behind his performance! I just think it was a poor choice for him to make and underlined his inexperience.

I really liked Ray's "My Way". I thought he was surprisingly good, actually

I agree with Simon about the Mac Donald's first song. I thought it was one of their worst performances and, at times, quite painful to listen to. I'm certainly relieved they're gone now.

Regards

Julian

[juliejuliejulie]

I think basically Ray sang that song as a slap in the face to both Louis and Sharon - he has his own singing style which he is very good at and i love his voice, Leona just shone for me on Sat singing a Mariah song, she has the voice for it, just got worried in case she would go up higher and higher lol. Well done to Ben for singing with a choir and no music
And yes i think out of the Mcdonald brothers - the dark haired one sounds like he is out of tune all the time and the blond haired is the better singer (who also looks like the boy from backstreet boys - the one with the heart defect)

[remaha]

December 09
The Semi-finalists' Song Choice
This week, it is The X Factor semi-final and with just Ben, Leona and Ray remaining. Joining the semi-finalists this week will be special, guest star Gloria Estefan who will be performing as well as offering her advice to the contestants. The X Factor Live Show kicks off on this evening on ITV1, 6.30pm and 8.30pm and thereafter, join Ben Shephard on ITV2 for The Xtra Factor straight after both ITV1 shows.

Here are the songs that the finalists will be singing this week:

Simon's 16-24s

Leona Lewis - Somewhere Over The Rainbow by Judy Garland and I Have Nothing by Whitney Huston

Ray Quinn - Smile by Nat King Cole and You Never Walk Alone

Sharon's the over 25s

Ben Mills - Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by U2 and Everything I Do, I Do It For You



I forgot to mention in commenting about last week that the worst performance was by Barry Manilow. It is outrageous that a man of his experience and ability should come on a live show and mime very badly. He may as well not have bothered. They would have been better off showing a video.

I'd bet my shirt that Gloria belts one out live tonight.

[mich007]

Come on Leona outstanding outstanding

Felt sorry for Ray, he messed up in the beginning of his second song but he recovered, quite emotional poor lad. He could get into the final because of the cute factor

Ben well he is good a very passionate performer but I think he may go tonight


3 were in the final last year why 2 this year weird.

Leona Leona all the way