Episode 12/Live Show 2 of X Factor Australia has aired and is now up on the official site! Here is the link. It is region locked to Australia, but thanks to the Chrome Extension Hola, you can watch it anywhere. Many of you may have used this extension to watch X Factor UK a day early via ITV’s website, but it’s even easier for X Factor Australia. No zip code or account is required.
But if you want to just watch performances and (with some videos) judges comments, and don’t care about the introductions, you don’t even need to use Hola. You can just watch the videos embedded below. Read on for my thoughts on Live Show 2 of X Factor AU featuring judges Adam Lambert, Iggy Azalea, Guy Sebastian, and Mel B.
We open with (as usual) a recap of last week’s show, and a preview of what’s to come tonight.
It’s makeover week! The competition will kick into overdrive now. We get actual introductions for each of the acts now, with personalized text for each act’s name! Hooray! I love this part of X Factor Australia’s production. Slipped into Jason Dundas’ intro is the revelation that there are 4 weeks until the winner releases their debut album. Damn. That means that we clearly have only three more live shows (including this one I’m recapping right now). I was hoping for an extra one. Our judges are introduced in the typical epic fashion. Jason reveals to Mel B that Vlado got the most spotify streams last week. Praying that doesn’t mean he makes the final.
Aya (formerly Montage and also formerly Chai) are up first. They are singing “End of Time” by Beyonce. This is designed to prove they can do uptempo. Mel B says they should leave the dancing to her group. I think Beatz are better than they are, even taking the dancing out of it. The production on this performance is great. Sadly, the vocals are underwhelming to me. Maybe its because I know the harmonies are mostly pre-recorded, but the lack of any real solo moments didn’t make me love it. Adam and Iggy stand up. Guy loved the production, but didn’t find the song particularly memorable from a vocal standpoint. Mel B thought they were great, but hates to admit it. Adam thought they all had a good moment, and that they looked like superstars. Iggy is super proud of them, wants to see them voted through (obviously). Before this performance, I thought they were the chosen ones. Thankfully, they probably are not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe2aOzhC1rc
Vlado is up next, and Mel didn’t give him very much of a makeover. He will sing “Into You” by Ariana Grande. Mel chose it because the song could have swag. Iggy doesn’t think the song choice will pay off. I’m not a fan of Vlado’s voice, as we’ve established. The falsetto notes are particularly weak at the beginning. But the performance gets better as it goes on. Still not strong enough to win, or even make the final, in my view. Mel stands up. Adam says upfront that he doesn’t have the best voice in the competition, but loves his stage presence. Iggy says he smashed it despite trying to psych him out, thinks Mel might win with him. I hope not. Guy says it’s not the best live voice, but nobody really cares. Um, I do. Mel talks about how hard he rehearsed, says he owned it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaOuqrGx0n0
Chynna Taylor is up next, and she’s performing “Pride [In The Name Of Love]” by U2. Guy starts by saying it could be terrible, but it won’t be. It’s going to be a new, dance version of the song. Guy doesn’t want to change Chynna, so he changes the song instead. Adam says it could work but “you’re playing with fire”. The performance starts, and I wasn’t totally feeling it at first. But it gets better as it goes on. By the end, I’m loving it. Chynna truly can sing anything. 4 judge standing ovation. Mel B says she wiped the floor with all of them, loves how it is so easy for her which makes it more comfortable for the audience to watch. Adam simply says “you nailed it”, loved the song. Iggy says she’s very nervous about Chynna, says Guy’s usually so boring and now worries about her too. Guy says she’s more than just a ballad singer, wants her to be the vocalist on DJ and EDM tracks. That might be a good path for her. She’s my second favorite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf7IJY7TxPY
Amalia is up next. Adam has given her a Madonna song titled “Frozen”. She was disappointed with Mel’s comment. At first she thinks the song is from the movie. She doesn’t know who Madonna is. Adam thinks she’s going to nail it. She starts, and it’s clear that it doesn’t matter if she didn’t know the song. It’s perfect for her. I just wish the sound mix was better, her vocal is sort of drowned out. What I do hear sounds excellent. Adam and Guy stand up for her. Iggy loved it, loved her whole transformation, is very excited for her. Guy says he’s mesmerized by her, compares her to Adele. Mel B says it wasn’t boring, doesn’t know what she’d do as a recording artist, but still thinks she’s great. Adam says he added drums to “keep Mel awake” and is pushing the haunting quality of her voice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZW9Zvoogig
Brentwood are up next. They are singing “Latch” by Sam Smith and Disclosure. They thought they were going home after they got negative feedback last week. Iggy is sticking to the direction they started on last week, is certain that this is the lane they should be in. The performance starts, and the production is great on this, but I still don’t think this is the right lane for them. They are better at the folk stuff than they are at this. The vocals are great at parts, but it is very strange. Nobody stands, as expected, because it wasn’t the right move. Guy loves them, asks them if they honestly think that song was the right choice. He says they were great in the auditions, but that the song choice wasn’t right. Mel thought they killed it last week, found a disconnect in the performance tonight. Adam thinks they are really talented but that they don’t fit in EDM, asks them if they go to the bar, “pop bottles and get bitches” LOL. Mel and Guy laugh at that comment. Iggy liked it, says she’s happy with the way it turned out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxzKVH8Th2I
Davey Woder is up next. His son was rushed to the hospital this week. He is going to be singing “Small Bump” by Ed Sheeran. Everyone is obsessed with what’s under his headscarf. He has long hair, and showing it is basically his whole makeover. Guy says that they haven’t seen a gentle approach to a song from Davey yet. The performance starts and honestly, this isn’t as good as last week. Not even close. It sounds nice, but I’m bored. Mel likes the hair, says the vocal wasn’t perfect, pitchy at times, but she didn’t care because he is so likable. Adam agrees that it was shaky at the start but it got a lot better by the end, found that the subtle arrangement pulled him in. Iggy says he’s the real underdog, is really impressed by him. Guy says he’s a great guy who loves his family and is an incredible musician.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8lHP97oj_Q
Beatz are up next. They are performing “If You Love Me” by Brown Stone. Mel wants to give them more edge. They are trying to prove they can harmonize. Which I already knew they could. They are so much better than Aya it’s not even funny. There is a surprise in the performance, which is that they mash up with “Whip My Hair”. I wish they stayed with the first song, because it was proving that they are the better group. Adam and Mel stand up. Adam loves them, says the other group is better on vocals (I disagree strongly), but that they have better energy. Iggy says that she loves them, hates that they have to compare. Guy says they had the best makeover, says one of them was a little bit screamey. Guy says they are his favorite girl group ever on the show. Mel says that they work really hard and asks people to vote.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk0fns3DAtg
Isaiah Firebrace is closing the show. He is performing “Let It Be” by The Beatles. He thought he was going to go home last week, and felt that he took Natalie’s spot. He’s nervous about the song choice because a lot of people have a connection with the song. Simply put, he nails it. Part of me wishes he added his gorgeous falsetto somewhere a la Jahmene Douglas on X Factor UK. But the more sensible part of me loves how subtle he kept it. Everyone but Iggy stands up for him. Iggy thinks he looks awesome. Guy says it was the performance of the show so far. Guy says that if he keeps doing that, he’s going to win. Mel says he took it to church and back-one of her favorite phrases. Adam nearly fell off his chair, says Isaiah sings from his guts, says he’s a real musician.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGkfv2vdozM
Adam performs on the show tomorrow, as well as Shawn Mendes. I’ll update this post tomorrow with Adam’s performance, as well as the all important results. My prediction is that Brentwood goes tomorrow. Hopefully I’m right, as they gave the weakest performance of the night.
Results Show Update: I’m absolutely shocked to say this, but the bottom 2 were Beatz and Aya. Yes. The two girl groups were in the bottom together. That’s insane. Luckily for me, after the judges took it to deadlock (Adam and Iggy voting to save Aya, Mel and Guy voting to save Beatz), Aya went home. I can’t say I’m upset by this result, I’ve always preferred Beatz to Aya.
Also on the result show, Adam Lambert performed Evil In The Night for Halloween. Perfect song choice, he nailed it as usual, and I loved the tweaked arrangement. Watch it below!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHRWtn7H0Fs
