Review - The X Factor 2011 - Week Four

With the American X Factor launching its live shows this past week, and with the hideously disappointing set of performance on "rock" week last time out, Week 4 really needed to kick this series into another gear, and get cracking.

I have been very much underwhelmed with what I have seen thus far, and with the contestants over in the States coming across as a different class of act altogether, the remaining 10 contestants really had to earn their keep this week.
 
Having said that, the competition does seem wide open, for all the wrong reasons. It is really difficult to pick who could be a likely winner this year. Contrast that with week one of the US show, where the majority of finalists (top 17) could have gone on to scoop the prize, and it is clear just how much the talent has struggled in Series 8.
 
Saturday 29th October 2011
 
With the shock departure of Ashley mid-week, The Risk were up against it to even be ready for tonight's live show. The fact that they were due to open proceedings must have only added to the pressure. Roping in Ashford from Nu Vibe (departed in week one) they came out swinging with Michael Jackson's Thriller following this weekends Halloween theme to a tee. They struggled, but it will take time to gel. It also doesn't help to be singing one of the most iconic tunes of all time, with a fresh arrangement. It didn't really work for me, but they can only get better with more time together. For one day's worth of rehearsal/being a band, it was enough to justify another week in this competition.

Johnny "friggin" Robinson was up next, singing a jazz staple entitled That Ole Devil Called Love. It was sleepy, yet Gary jumped up to give the man a kiss at the end of his performance, clearly glad to see him move away from the camp-tastic disco/rock numbers he had done of late. His enthusiasm was rather misguided. The performance was still pretty rubbish. Sure, it may suit him better as an artist, but how he continues to legitimately stay in this competition week on week is beyond me. He makes a mockery of the entire show.
 
Sophie Habibis looked incredible this week (sans the crazy hair) but once again did another down-tempo track in Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down); I would LOVE to see her do something uptempo. She is a beautiful girl too, and must surely win the award for "legs" of this years competition. Marcus rocking through Stevie Wonder's Superstitition was, as expected, one of the highlights of the night. Another solid performance from Mr Consistent. The man can sing, has got something about him, and for the second week running had a strong stage production around him. This is one artist that is "working" at this moment. Not many of the acts can say that. Misha B performed Tainted Love; it was a solid outing, but I can't stand the song, so any appeal was inherently lost with me. However, the stylists do seem intent on making her the modern day Grace Jones. She is clearly very talented, but there are better looking girls out there doing this thing just as good. I struggle to see where she would make an impact on the market should she win.
 
Off the back of last week's ill-judged Guns and Roses cover, Janet returned this time out with The Police's Every Breath You Take; yet another song that I can't stand (excepting the genius Puff Daddy version of course), but it was a fairly consistent performance from her. I have heard her better, and this was relatively forgettable in the grand scheme of things, but it was a step up from last week. She still has a wonderful, wonderful tone to her vocals.

Frankie put in his best performance yet to The Clash's Should I Stay Or Should I Go; his vocals were much tighter than in previous weeks, but it is still apparent that he is not as gifted as the others in the vocal stakes - however, as Gary rightly admitted, they are not marketing him as the best singer in the competition. This was fairly solid by his standards, and clearly his best outing yet. Kitty pretty much stole the night with her take on Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This). This is another song that I particularly detest, but she did a good performance of it. She was the strongest on the night, clearly upping her game after (wrongly) being in the bottom two last week. She is a real entertainer, and always puts on a captivating show. I do wish that the make-up artists/styling team would do a better job with her get up, but for the second week running, she was one of the strongest acts; not bad for someone the tabloids have dressed up as the "bat-shit crazy novelty act".
 
Rhythmix, having been forced to change their name for legal reasons to Little Mix (shit name) put in a great performance of the awesome Katy Perry/Kanye trach E.T. It was not as solid as Ms Perry's take on the song, but this was one of the best of the night. It had a great production as well with the girls acting like dolls in Halloween themed regalia. A great performance. Super-interesting, and a great choice of song. 
 
Closing the nights proceedings was Craig. Sure, I don't get him, but Adele's Set Fire To The Rain was a good song choice, matched with some pounding drums behind him on stage. When the light reflected off the water, the drums gave the impression that they were "on fire" when hit.

Ingenious concept? Yes, it was the best part of his performance, but I am just starting to come to the conclusion that this guy is really not for me. He has a solid voice, and there was nothing inherently wrong with his performance; I just can't take him seriously as a recording artist though at this stage, nor see whereabouts he would fit in the industry.
 
A quick word of Alexandra Burke, stepping in for the ill Kelly Rowland; did a good job I thought on the panel, with some useful, constructive criticism for the acts. Good choice of replacement
 
Sunday 30th October 2011
 
Another shocker on the results show this week, with Sophie and Misha B finding themselves in the bottom two. I didn't agree with this at all; neither act deserved to be there after their performances on Saturday night. The sing off was incredible also. Sophie performed an astonishing take on Birdy's cover of Shelter by The XX.

Misha did a solid version of Kings Of Leon's Use Somebody. It deviated away too much from the original for my liking, but it was still good. I was hugely impressed with Sophie's song though, and thought that she didn't deserve to go after singing like that. Lo and behold though, all four judges voted her off, giving Misha a lifeline for next weeks show.
 
It is a real shame to see Sophie go. She was looking better and better each week, and my gut instinct was that she was grossly let down by her song picks week in and week out. I would have loved to have seen more of her. I think she had so much more to give, had she been given the chance. Understandably, she didn't look too happy at losing her slot on the show. Rightly so, she is much better than a lot of the acts that remain. It's a harsh blow to lose her so early in the competition.
 
Guest performances this week came from Cher Lloyd and Nicole Scherzinger, who both put in excellent performance of their new singles. Cher Lloyd rocked a massive production for latest single With UR Love, whilst Nicole kept things simple and let her stunning vocals do the talking on new release Try With Me