Girls and boys perform tonight.
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The X Factor airs tonight at 7:20pm GMT (8:20pm CET, 2:20pm EST, 11:20am PST) on ITV 1 (90min).
Tonight, it’s the girls vs. the boys. Paloma Faith is tonight’s musical guest.
Dermot enters through the main stage door. The judges are already seated behind their table.
Alisah Bonaobra – Praying for Time (George Michael)
Alisah wants to put her own stamp on her song. She is having a hard time connecting with the lyrics and Lloyd Macey gives her some advice.
I find this song a really tough song choice, because it’s melody is kinda weak. Alisah’s version actually improves the melody in the second part of the performance. She is one of the best if not the best vocalist in the competition.
Louis praises her vocals. Nicole says Alisah’s voice is limitless and calls her a Filipino powerhouse. She praises the performance. Simon says this performance won’t move the dial. He calls her performance style old-fashioned. Sharon says Alisah connected with the lyrics, but hasn’t had ‘the moment’ yet. Simon then calls Alisah ‘a wedding singer’. Yikes. I think he is too harsh on her. Yes, she is an old fashioned belter, but it would be pointless to turn her into something she is not.
Sam Black – I’m Your Man (Wham!)
Sam is a big fan of George Michael. We see him in rehearsal with his vocal coach. He gets a visit from his son and fiancee.
Sam prepared one wonderfully cheesy performance. He has a band and background vocalists on stage. He is mildly entertaining, but isn’t leaving much of an impression. I think he is on borrowed time.
Sharon calls the performance a bit pitchy, but calls him a relief from all the ballads tonight. Nicole agrees with Sharon. She calls the performance a bit pitchy and rushed. Simon calls him a very nice guy, but says the performance was not original at all. He proceeds to critique the performance and calls him ‘karaoke’. Louis in on full defense, but the other three judges are right.
Grace Davies – I Can’t Make You Love Me (George Michael)
Grace says last week wasn’t a great week for her. Tonight’s song choice should be more in her wheelhouse. It reminds her of her own love troubles.
She starts the performance acapella. This could be a great moment, if only Grace’s voice was better. The arrangement and Grace’s vocals took out all the warmth out of this song. The delivery should be more heartfelt. This could a great moment with better arrangement and vocals. As it is, it was just alright.
Louis calls her a true artist and says he believed every single word of the song. Nicole praises the stripped down arrangement. Simon praises her artistry. Sharon says she had a rough week this week, but stepped up to the challenge and showed her talent.
Dermot interviews Paloma Faith. She likes Kevin and Grace.
Rai-Elle Williams – They Won’t Go When I Go (George Michael)
She is missing her friends a lot. She keeps in contact with them over the phone. She picked this song after watching a George Michael documentary.
Rai-Elle is singing a ballad tonight and isn’t saddled with a choreography. She has a piano player and a choir on stage. She can sing, but somehow I still can’t take her seriously as a performer. Perhaps she needs more time to grow as a performer.
Louis says she took a risk by picking a less well known song. He calls her the performer of the future. Nicole loves the song and praises her talent. Simon says she is taking the competition seriously. He calls her original and says this was the performance of the night. Sharon says the choir singers are actually Rai-Elle’s friends from school.
Lloyd Macey – A Different Corner (George Michael)
Lloyd graduated this past week and we get to see him at his graduation ceremony.
Lloyd stays pretty faithful to the original version of the song. He has a great voice, but he somehow fails to make this song really believable. I think his vocal tone is a bit too soft for this song. He gets a standing ovation from all 4 judges.
Sharon starts crying. Nicole also gets teary-eyed and calls this the performance of the night. Simon says he sang the song very well, but says he is a bit stilted when he performs. Louis calls this performance the performance of the night.
Holly Tandy – One More Try (George Michael)
Holly loves her song choice this week and says this song is a favorite of her father’s. She gets to spend some time with her family.
Holly gets a white piano and a pianist on stage. Also, some chandeliers on the floor. She definitely got the staging for the performance of the night. Also, the arrangement and vocal delivery – there is a reason why she is closing out the show tonight.
Louis says this was the perfect song choice for her. Nicole agrees. Simon liked the song, but points out that Holly is only 16 years old and this performance was too old-fashioned for her. Sharon praises her vocals.
The vote is now open. It will last a little more than 4 minutes.
Dermot chats to the judges. Simon thinks Rai-Elle ‘popped’ tonight, despite a less well known song choice. He also mentions Lloyd. Nicole mentions Alisah and Lloyd.
The voting is now closed.
We are back from the break and it’s time for the results.
Tonight’s top vote-getter is Lloyd Macey.
It’s time for a prizefight.
Kevin Davy White – Fastlove, PT. 1
He brings back the black piano on stage. I think his vocal delivery was much better last night.
Lloyd Macey – A Different Corner
I think Lloyd’s reprise was stronger than his first performance of the night. Perhaps the fact that he won the night gave him the confidence to really nail the performance.
The prizefight vote is now open and it’s going to last about 9 minutes.
We are back from the break and it’s time for the performance from the musical guest of the night – Paloma Faith. She is releasing her new album soon. She is singing her new single ‘Guilty’.
The prizefight vote is now closed. Results after the break.
We are back.
The winner of this weekend’s prizefight is Lloyd Macey. Congrats, Lloyd! He will be opening for Little Mix in Manchester.
Sharon brings all 4 girls and Louis brings Sam Black on stage.
Safe:
Lloyd Macey
Rai-Elle Williams
Holly Tandy
Grace Davies
Sam Black
Going home: Alisah Bonaobra
It’s too bad, the last wildcard is now gone.
Next week’s theme is ‘Crazy in Love’ and it’s going to be a double elimination both nights. The musical guests will be Matt Terry in Fergie.
