Miro's Musings:: X-Factor 2009

Oct 18, 2009

X-Factor 2009 - Top 12

(I'm a bit late on this one as this is a recap of last week's episode).

Rachel Adedeji opened the show with "Let Me Entertain You" from Robbie Williams. She sounded really good to me, but she was missing that something extra - that X-Factor. It may have been the nerves as she was the first performer on the first live show. I look forward to getting to know her and hope she shows more personality.

Kandy Rain is an interesting group. They recieved a lot of negative press for being former strippers. They said they wanted to prove they could sing, but they came out looking really seductive and sang "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer. They rightfully got scrutiniezed by the two female judges - if you want to prove you can sing, turn down the sex-factor and sing.

Olly Murs is super cool and slick. He took a Robbie Williams classic, "She's The One" and nailed it. He put his own cool stamp on it, had amazing vocals and really got the emotions of the song. He is a great performer, is super cool and has unique style. I reckon he will go far in the compeition.

Rikki Loney did his rendition of "Back To Black" by Amy Winehouse, and for me, it didn't work. It was an odd song choice, he looked odd with his suit. It came across as bad karaoke and he can do better.

Stacey Solomon is going to surprise us every week. Her is very bubbly and has a great personality. She also has an amazing voice with excellent control. She did an amazing rendition of "The Scientist" by Coldplay. It was one of my favorite performances of the night. She will go far in the contest and in the music industry.

Miss Frank is a group but they started out as solo singers, and it shows. They are individually talented, but don't mesh well as yet. I think there is potential. There is one clear star, Graziella, who carries the group. Their version of "Who's Loving You" by The Jackson 5 was alright. They have potential and I want to see how they progress.

Jamie Archer did a great take on the T-Rex hit "Get It On". I like the rock style he has, it has been missing from the show, but as Louis Walsch pointed out, I want to see him do something different. We know he can sing and perform his heart out on rock tracks, I want to see him do a ballad or pop song. Let's see what he's got.

Lloyd Daniels did "Cry Me A River" by Justin Timberlake and I was very pleasantly surprised. He took the song and made it his own. He stripped it down a bit and did some dancing too! He had great vocals and a great performance. He too is going to go far in the competition. And he is only 16. Such a bright future for Lloyd.

Lucie Jones is my favorite. She is super cute and adorable, and has an amazing voice. She did "Footprints In The Sand" by Leona Lewis, but failed to hit some of the high notes. It was a brave song choice and she held her own. In the audition she nailed a Whitney Houston song, so she is capable of singer power ballads, but this didn't work out as well as she is capable of. She does have amazing control and she is my favorite to win.

John and Edward are horrible. The murdered "Rock DJ" by Robbie Williams. They are worse than Sanjaya from American Idol. These two are arrogant, obnoxious, can't sing nor dance. I don't know why Louis picked them. I hope they exit the show soon.

Joe McElderry did a beautiful Robbie Williams song, "No Regrets" and nailed it. The song is great in that it is a slow, but picks up and changes tempo. Joe was able to handle the tempo change and had great control over the tone of his voice. It was a great performance. Joe was also able to express the emotions of the song. He delivered.

Danyl Johnson took a risk by doing "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" from Dreamgirls as that is a female diva song. But Danyl delivered an emotional performance with perfect vocals. He had great control and really owned the song. The judges thought he was a bit too confident and cocky, and I agree. I don't know why Dannii added the extra comment, that was uncalled for.

And those are my observation and opinions on the top 12 performances.

Click on "Read More" to see the video and to find out which act was eliminated....

Rachel Adedeji - "Let Me Entertain You" originally by Robbie Williams