Hello again folks and welcome to another dose of fun and frolics. Now this week was another quiet on on the old Karaoke front, and yet again it was left to the regulars to fill in the gaps left by the missing singers. So on this fine Thursday night I managed to get in another five songs this week, nearly all new and all pretty much classics. But that's for later in the blog, far too much exciting stuff to bring you this week!
So for those of you daft enough not to of been on the planet for the last few years lets give a quick run down on the show. It the singing based reality T.V. show designed by Simon Cowell to bring the newest singing sensation for us all to enjoy, who of course could forget the winners of the previous years such as Shane Ward, Leona Lewis (I know this is the sarcastic part of the blog but she is actually very good) Journey South, Ben Mills, Andy Abrahams, G4, Steve Brookstein and of course my personal favourite and hero Chico!
So the format is east to get but is slightly added too this year with a new judge on the panel the ever lovely Danni Minogue joins Louis Walsh, Simon Cowell and the fabulous Sharon Osbourne. Each judge has a category that they mentor throughout the series, each with three acts in, and each week a theme is picked for the live shows. Each artist gets one chance to sing for their votes by the public, but after each performance Louis tells them they deserve to be there and they are great and that they will go a long way in the competition, Sharon tells them they are fabulous, Danni, well she is new so no recurring habit yet, and Simon, yes the brutally honest Mr Cowell publicly rips them to shred's if they hit a bum note, slags off the other judges song choices and ability to be on the show and generally acts an arse. The bottom two in the public vote have the chance to sing for their lives in a sing off and then the judges boot off the worst one. Ah what great television....
So as I said each judge has a category to mentor and three acts each in the show so here is a quick run down of who's who....
Simon Cowell - The Groups
Hope - Girl band in the style of Pussycat Dolls. Early favourites to win as Girls Aloud rumoured to be splitting up
Futureproof - Boy band in the style of Blue. Put together as a last minute act from bootcamp. Not too bad but no staying power
Same Difference - Brother and Sister combo. In a world of their own, completely potty, this years Chico! Will annoy everyone as they are very very cheesy.
Sharon Osbourne - Girls 14 - 24
Alisha - Good singer with big hair. Could be a dark horse for the competition.
Emily - Youngest finalist at only 15 years old. Great voice but could annoy with tears every week at the drop of a hat. Simon will eat her alive if she puts a foot wrong.
Kimberley - Very loud young lady. Big personality and a fair set of lungs on her. Could annoy to many people on the show.
Danni Minogue - Boys 14 - 24
Andy - Young Welsh lad with very strange eyes. Good voice and could be a pin up for the girls with the puppy dog look.
Rhydian - The one who will be the most talked about this year. Bit like Marmite this guy, you will either love him or hate him. Loves himself a bit too much and that could be his downfall. With his operatic style would be more at home on one of the Lloyd Webber thingys on the Beeb.
Leon - Young Scottish lad with a very Micheal Buble style voice. May go a log way as he too will be popular with the girls
Louis Walsh - 25 and overs
Niki - Great singer with a style similar to Chrissy Hinde. Should go long way as she will be great at the ballads.
Beverely - School teacher with as big a personality as her voice. Will blow the cobwebs out of any boring show. Very soulful voice and very much in the Gloria Gaynor style. Again will prove popular and should last a few weeks.
Daniel - Only guy in the over 25's. Should be a winner with the girls again. Rumoured to have already had a failed pop career in the past. Could do well as he is very James Blunt in style and he is popular at the moment.
So that's the artist out of the way. Apart from the lovely Danni joining the show, we also have a new host for the Saturday night show in the shape of Dermot O'Leary. Not always been a favourite of mine but I'm sure I will warm to him on the show in the future weeks.
So as for my bit well each week I will do a mini section in the blog on the Saturday night show, the theme, any shocks, on who I thought was best, the agonising sing off, and as they will disappear into oblivion after the show, a little bit about the losing act to be booted off as a lasting Captain Jacks Tracks tribute to the loser. So this week was the first show of the series, and the theme tonight for the acts was Number One Songs. The running order for tonight's show went as follows:
1. Kimberley - It's Raining Men - Started the show very nervously but to be expected. Sounded OK but got slated a bit by the judges. May be in trouble with going first.
2. Andy - I Don't Wanna Talk About It - Again a very nervous first performance. Sounded as if it was just too much. Simon said he will need more than the dopey eyed look to stay i the competition.
3. Futureproof - She's The One - The band sang the Robbie track well although it was strange to hear it done by a group. Did quite well and got quite good comments from the judges.
4. Beverley - I Will Survive - First great performance of the night. Sounded great and looked fantastic. Totally transformed from bootcamp. Should fly through tonight.
5. Emily - I Knew You Were Waiting - A solo artist doing a duet? Bad choice of song and showed the girl up a little. Again very nervous. Will have to improve loads if she is to last any longer in the competition. Simon had a field day!
6. Leon - Can't Buy Me Love - Sounded terrible. Bad arrangement in the style of swing version by Micheal Buble, but sang by an extremely nervous young man who was told by Simon he had taken the place of better singers. Will be out very soon unless he improves.
7. Same Difference - Tragedy - The cheese starts here. Who would of thought they would of done a Steps song! Problem is they will get the vote's as they do sing this crap with that annoying smiley face routine that the voting numptys like. Will be here doing this annoying drivel for a few weeks yet I fear!
8. Niki - Nothing Compares 2 U - For me the performance of the night. Very confident in her approach and has the vocal ability to be more than a one trick pony. Get great comments and will be here for a few weeks yet.
9. Alisha - Dreams - Was given a karaoke classic to sing and it showed with a very forgettable performance. Was told by Simon to worry as she had probably not done enough to go through. Will have to improve if she stays on the show.
10. Rhydian - I Would Do Anything For Love - The prize plonker of the night pulled off what the judges saw as the performance of the night. Sharon went on her 'Strange Boy, Weird Boy' routine as she clearly doesn't like him. Bit strange to hear it on a show like this but with a Meatloaf track the theatrical performance worked, although he may struggle on an ABBA week to find a song. Will get through this week no problem.
11. Daniel - Heaven - Bit of a flat performance from my own early favourite. The rock style is clearly not for him as he just does not have the voice to pull it off. Louis worst performer on the night, but should do better given the right songs. My biggest problem with Daniel is he appears to have no personality, and he may not make himself popular to the voters unless he finds one, may of just been first week nerves. Should be safe this week.
12. Hope - Umbrella - The girl band ended the show on a high with a great performance putting their twist on the song that was number one all summer by Rhianna. They look good and sound good. The judges were all impressed and they should fly through this weeks show.
So after the public vote the bottom two on the night caused its own bit of controversy. As Dermot reeled off name after name of acts through it seemed inevitable that two from one category were going to be in the bottom two, and they were in Sharon's Girls category. The bottom two in the viewers vote were Kimberley and Alisha. But this gave the show an added twist.
Clearly devastated at two of her acts being in the bottom two Sharon apparently quit the show live on air when asked by Dermot what she thought of the public vote. The two girls were looking rather sheepish as they prepared to sing for their future on the show, and Sharon was refusing to take part in the final sing off and judges vote, which left the two girls looking bewildered. So they each performed again. First went Kimberley. She fluffed her opening line on the track but got a lot stronger through the song and ended up getting through OK. Alisha went second and again seemed nervous at first but got through the song.
So it was left for the judges to vote off the first act in the series. Sharon walked away and refused to vote so her vote was void. Simon said based on vocal performance on the night he was voting off Kimberley. Danni said based on the performance and for the show she was voting off Alisha. So the deciding vote was for Louis. As always he went on his 'Its an extremely difficult decision' routine, he said it was between fun factor and talent factor and he went for the talent and voted off Kimberley. So with two votes against her she was off, but I think the real reason she went was her nerves on the night. She struggled with the song, and looked far to outlandish and old in her outfit, probably putting potential voters off.
So the first casualty of the series is one of Sharon's girls. Will Sharon be back next week, probably, but I'm sure she will come out fighting. So as promised here is a little resume on the first act to be booted off Kimberley.
Kimberley is 19 and hails from Tamworth. She lives and works at her parents pub 'The Fox' with her brother. She loves country music and loves to perform on the pubs karaoke regularly. She previously has performed on Barrymore's 'My Kind Of People' poor girl, and quit her job in a call center as she found it boring. She describes herself as an absolute nutter, who is very kind but clumsy. And she says her best moment was singing a solo at the London Palladium in boot camp. Goodbye and good luck Kimberley....
There you go folks. Never let it be said I don't bring in new features on a regular basis. As you can probably gather the blog will have a theme over the next few weeks so stay tuned. So on to our own little X-Factor at the karaoke on Thursday. This weeks theme was Rock for me and all of my tracks were selected by my mentor in the Pirates Who Can Sing Section by me! (This is going to far now) So tonight's five tracks were as follows. 1. Living Is A Problem Because Everyone Dies by Biffy Clyro 2. Under My Thumb by The Rolling Stones 3. Telephone Line by E.L.O. 4. Now I'm Here by Queen and finally 5. Rock And Roll by Status Quo.
Living Is A Problem by Biffy Clyro link to video
Not a lot to say about this one I haven't said before. Taken from the huge album Puzzle, this was the first single from earlier this year. Sang tonight as it was requested by Hayley and on November 13th myself the wife and Shaun will be venturing to the Carling Academy in Birmingham to see the boys live. Should be a great night and no doubt photo and a blog will follow! On the night rating 6/10
Under My Thumb by The Rolling Stones link to video
Next up is this classic by the Stones, and another new one to add to my list now at 18 different tracks. Blimey I'm almost on a full set for a Stones gig! Its first appearance was as an album track on 1966's Aftermath, and though it was never released as a single, it is one of the band's more popular songs from the period, appearing frequently on best-of compilations. Under My Thumb was featured prominently by the band on their 1981 USA Tour and 1982 European tour as the opening number at each concert. The Stones have played the song sporadically on subsequent tours in 1997-98 and 2006.
The song's lyrics, an examination of a sexual power struggle, were very much in tune with the rebellious, vaguely misogynistic attitude that the mid-'60s Stones had cultivated, though the concept of Under My Thumb is arguably more sophisticated, even psychological, than any of the other controversial songs the Stones had released up to that point.
Jagger's lyrics celebrate the satisfaction of finally having controlled and gained leverage over a previously pushy, dominating woman. The lyrics, which savor the successful "taming of the shrew" and compare the woman in question to a "pet", a "cat" and a "squirming dog" provoked negative reactions among some people at the time, especially feminists, who objected to the suppressive sexual politics of the lyrics. It can be argued, however, that the song is simply an examination of sexual malevolence and tension, and that the maliciousness of both the lyrics and Jagger's performance is theatrical and doesn't seriously advocate male domination. Many also note that the woman who is the subject of the song was previously the dominant figure in the relationship, and that that the singer was previously submissive to her, making the implications of the song more complicated than simple chauvinism. Jagger later reflected on the track in a 1995 interview saying " It's a bit of a jokey number, really. It's not really an anti-feminist song any more than any of the others.... Yes, it's a caricature, and it's in reply to a girl who was a very pushy woman."
The song is more moody that other Stones songs, with a riff more in line with R & B than the more guitar based riffs they are famed for. A great new one to add to my collection and I will hopefully do it again in the future. On the night rating 8/10
Telephone Line by E.L.O. link to video
Back to the classic old stuff with this little ditty from the Electric Light Orchestra. One of the bands more well known tracks. The song is track two on their 1976 album A New World Record and was the final single to be released from the band's LP until September 2006 when Surrender was released from the expanded reissue giving the band a chart position with a song released thirty years after it was recorded. The song charted in the Top Ten in both the UK and the US. and was always one of the bands most popular live tracks. One of my all time favourite tracks by the band. On a different note for all you E.L.O. fans who read the blog and can make The Oxford Arms in Newcastle on November 3rd, the fantastic ELO Experience tribute act will be playing that night and they are well worth a view as they are one of the best tribute acts I have ever seen. I did suffer during the high bits a little tonight, but all in all it's not too hard a song to sing. On the night rating 7/10
Now I'm Here by Queen link to video
Amazingly this is only my third Queen song of the year, after singing Somebody To Love back in February, and Spread Your Wings earlier in the month. So as I've not sang the real rock Queen tracks and the more ballad type songs so far, this one is a real rock belter of a track, and in my mind one of the best ever Queen tracks, and certainly one which showed the bands real hard rock roots. The sixth song on their third album Sheer Heart Attack, one of the bands albums with a real hard rock feel to it, it was written by lead guitarist Brian May while he was in the hospital. In the UK, the song hit number 11 on the charts when released as a single in 1975. The song has many features on it including Mercury, who hit some of the highest notes in his career, and in the way it was recorded, using many technique never used before. The lyric "Down in the city just Hoople and me" is a reference to when Queen was touring with the band Mott the Hoople earlier in their career, and towards the end of the song , the lyrics "Go, go, go, little queenie" can be heard, a reference to the Chuck Berry song "Little Queenie." There is very rare and subtle use of organ on the 'climb' coming out of the guitar solo, beneath the lyrics "Whatever comes of you and me..." When the song was performed live a double was used with lighting cues to create the illusion that Freddie was disappearing from one side of the stage and reappearing on another. In March 2005, Q magazine placed "Now I'm Here" at number 29 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. Surprisingly I got through this one with no problems at all, and it sparked a mini frenzy into picking the next class song to be sang tonight by myself, Andy and Shaun. On the night rating 9/10
Rock And Roll by Status Quo link to video
Well tonight we end with the classic Quo, and one of their least know tracks Rock And Roll, released in 1981 from the Just Supposin album. Overshadowed by the other singles released off the album What Your Proposing and Don't Drive My Car, the mini ballad did chart at number 8 in the U.K. charts in November 1981. Now I could sit here all night and write page after page on the Mighty Quo, but this has been an extremely long edition this week so I will save you the suffering until another week when we may even have a full on Status Quo theme night. On the night rating 10/10
So there we go folks another week done and plenty for you to read and digest. I hope you all enjoy my X-Factor reports which I will try and make as entertaining as possible for you none X-Factor fans. If you are reading this early after publishing it I must apologise for my lack of colour and video links, but the blog central was playing up tonight and I was desperate to give you baying crowds your weekly fix of fun. If you read it later, and the colour has come back then ignore my previous drivel and just enjoy. Until next time folks ta ra.......
" Homer: Bad bees. Get away from my sugar. Ow. OW. Oh, they're defending themselves somehow. "
Homer J Simpson
1 comment:
Good stuff as usual. Had no kids for the last 3 days so have been out every night and no time to do anything. Will have to a big catchup on Friday
Post a Comment