‘The X Factor’ UK live review: Jay James, Only the Young, Stevi Ritchie, and ’80s week
Your Saturday night starts right here! “The X Factor” UK is going back in time to the 1980s tonight, where the remaining fourteen contestants are going to taking on classics from the decade. It’s another double-elimination, which means that in theory, Louis Walsh could be wiped off the map by the end of this. (That does seem somewhat unlikely for now.)
As with last week, we’re going to be going through all of this live with our take on all of the contestants hitting the stage. If you’re coming on here during the show, refresh the page throughout! We’ll have our take as the show happens.
Jack Walton, “Straight Up” – An exercise in making us feel old. Jack doesn’t know much about the eighties, and he had never heard a Paula Abdul song. The start of this was fantastic, but that arrangement in the middle of the song was atrocious. We’re seeing the potential in Jack, but he doesn’t need all of this bizarre production.
Stephanie Nala, “Call Me” – We appreciated the effort that she put into this Blondie song, and even the way that she moved about the stage. There’s still a look in her eyes like she’s scared to death, but at least this was creative. The reggae theme was interesting, but we agree with Mel that around the midway point of the song, things did start to come to a bit of a halt.
Andrea Faustini, “A Moment in Time” – We appreciate that Simon Cowell did tell him that this wasn’t his best performance, mostly because it just didn’t have the same spark. The thing that Andrea really has to be careful of when it comes to some of his performances are that he has to prove that he is more than just a great ballad singer. He needs to do something new, and soon.
Lauren Platt, “What a Feeling” – Vocally, we don’t see how you can question or doubt Lauren. She really is exemplary at performing and owning her stage. The only critique that we had of this performance is that it didn’t sound like she was “dancing for her life.” She’s young! Why not speed this up halfway through and let her have a little bit of fun?
Ben Haenow, “Jealous Guy” – We prefer a more acoustic version of “Jealous Guy” (one of the best songs out there from the era), but credit to Ben for coming in here and nailing it again. At this point in the show, he and Lauren completely are far and away the best of the night. As a matter of fact, it’s really not even that close.
Fleur East, “It’s a Shame” – Vocally, we didn’t love every part of this performance, but the rapping was superb, and she’s almost the complete opposite of Stephanie Nala. She is someone who comes on the stage looking an acting like she is ready to be a pop star immediately, and she delivers with the style and the personality.
Stereo Kicks, “Boys of Summer” – This was a solid, but also forgettable performance. We’re not going to sit here and remember this tomorrow, but it showed that there’s enough potential with this boy-choir (half boy-band, half choir) that they shouldn’t be leaving this week. Plus, we loved the song.
Lola Saunders, “Imagine” – Remember here that Cheryl sent her home over Stephanie, and then start to roll your eyes. She’s a great singer! There were also a few notes in here that made this feel like something a little different than the original John Lennon version, and that is critical to do with this song. It’s one of those tracks that virtually everyone knows, and you don’t want to just sound like a cheapened over.
Jake Quickenden, “Total Eclipse of the Heart” – This is such a campy song, it’s hard to take it particularly seriously. We do feel like Jake is doing just about everything he can, but the reality is that Mel never should have brought him to the live shows in the first place. It’s mean, but he is just not good enough compared to the other singers.
Chloe Jasmine, “Fame” – To an extent, we understand the criticism about this song not really going anywhere, and being out of her comfort zone. We did enjoy it, but it almost sounded like a jazz singer doing a Broadway song in the style of a James Bond opening-credits track. A little too much going on.
Paul Akister, “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” – Wonderful vocal. We do understand to a certain agree what Simon was saying here about him lacking some confidence, but when you consider that he is good as a singer, some of the other stuff may come to him with some of the right feedback.
Stevi Ritchie, “Never Gonna Give You Up” – Stevi will be the favorite of the internet forever for doing a song from Rick Astley, but a new strategy for him should be to do something so fast that no one can tell how terrible of a singer he is. This really was a hot mess, but he’s still a fun hot mess.
Only the Young, “Come on Eileen” – We actually sure if we had heard this song or not when we first heard that the group was doing it, but we’ve now got the confirmation that we did. We just didn’t know it! Anyway, this was a mess. Yet, we loved it. It was somehow even more campy and nostalgic than Stevi.
Jay James, “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” – A lovely way to end the episode. Jay really spun this song around, and while we were worried about him going into the live shows, we’re really not that worried about him anymore. There’s just something so emotional about the way that he sings. It doesn’t matter if he is the best singer; he brings something else. The best performance of the entire series so far.
As always, this is an interactive site! Share what you think about any of the contestants below, and head over here to see where we ranked the singers beforehand! You can also sign up to get some further TV updates worth singing about via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo via ITV.)