X-Factor Episode 5 (15/09/07) - Review
This week’s X Factor auditions took place at Sheffield, Birmingham and Manchester, where another bunch of hopefuls arrived to try and become the next big music sensation.
Simon’s remark “I now own Sheffield” was received negatively from the attendees, all there for the first audition in said city; yet in spite of that they are all convinced that the next big winner was right in front of him.
16-year-old Nathaniel’s “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” was ‘bizarre’ according to Louis, with Simon stating “You need to change your record collection”. Along with Bongoman’s equally-bizarre “Hot, Hot, Hot” rendition and S Club 7 fan Andrew’s choice of “Zip a Dee Doo Dah” among others, it received a “no” vote.
Katie from Skegness luckily pleased the panel by singing “There You’ll Be”; initially she got through to bootcamp, but once she left the audition room the vote was changed against her amidst fears of her having a baby in the middle of the live shows…!
Steve McNally, formerly from BB Mak, came to audition as a solo artist. Singing “Isn’t She Lovely”, the judges were disappointed with his performance but generally loved his voice. He received three “yes” votes, with Dannii being the sole objector.
33-year-old widow Andrea also received a yes vote with a rendition of “Nessun Dorma” that surprised the judges. Dannii stated “the quality of a good performer is to be able to overcome whatever’s happened to you and get on stage”, and claimed she made a head start with that. Along with her and Steve, Raquelle, Abi and Darren also received a pass.
At Birmingham, country music lover Kimberley’s audition resulted in three yeses, in spite of Simon claiming she was potentially “the most annoying contestant (they’ve) ever had”. Also passing were senior contestants Dorothy – the oldest auditionee this year – and Eric, the pair going as far as to bond in the holding area before facing the panel!
Manchester didn’t go down too well however, with a string of disappointments. Among them, 42-year-old Thomas - who created his own album at his home studio – attempted “All By Myself” but was rejected by the panel, with Louis replying to his objections by stating that he couldn’t see anything with his voice.
67-year-old Johnny Rocco came to sing “Always on My Mind” to the judges, but it resulted with Louis stating “you’re a great entertainer, but you’re a pub entertainer” and a unanimous “no” vote. Johnny was unconvinced; a series of death threats spoken in Italian left Louis shaken, with Sharon remarking that he was “messing with the Mafia”.
The show wasn’t as impressive as last week, but if I have to pick some artists to watch out for however, I’ll state Steve, Andrea and Kimberley. Steve has had prior music experience before and I appreciate his voice, yet I hope that he’ll have a few surprises since his time with BB Mak. Andrea may be another contestant with a “sob story” attached, but her rendition of “Nessun Dorma” surprised me; I never thought she would perform it the way she did. And Kimberley would also be fun to see – although Simon thinks she’s annoying, I think she has likeability in her personality, and I’m sure that will make her time at bootcamp a lot easier.
By Bev Wooff X-Factor correspondent for Talented Young People
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
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