‘The X Factor’ UK review: Tom & Laura, James Wilson, Matt Terry rock bootcamp
Fans of “The X Factor,” tonight marks the beginning of the Bootcamp phase of the contest, otherwise known as a part of the season we tend to groan at. It’s difficult to watch at times and extremely difficult to cover, given that you’re seeing dozens of contestants in a condensed period of time, and some of them are people with little to no screen time prior to this show.
Therefore, think of this review as a “best of” package. There’s no way we will get to presenting everyone who took the stage on the night, so our specific hope instead is that we’re able to at least give you a few people who stood out in all of the right ways over the course of the hour and a half.
Caitlyn Vanbeck, Christopher Peyton, and No Getaway – All three of them were great singing “Wake Me Up.” We have no recollection of No Getaway, but the other two easily have Six Chair Challenge upside. Caitlyn seems in advance a runaway favorite entering the Judges’ Houses, if she makes it there.
Ottavio & Bradley and friends – They were the only act featured in their group, and they were terrible. Hey, at least Louis Walsh admitted why he liked them: Ratings. This led to a package of all of the “weird” performances, but we argue that “living doll” Sada Vidoo does have some legitimate talent. Honey G, meanwhile, is a complete disaster who seems like a “Saturday Night Live” character. Beck Martin was funny once and that was about it. There is probably another “SNL” character in him who just comes out and performs “Friday Night” every single time.
Aeron Smith, Matt Terry, and Tom & Laura – Really good take on “See You Again.” Aeron was a little shaky, but Laura stepped it up in her duo. Terry was in particular sensational. He toned down some of the hand-movements during his performance and did some incredible things with his voice.
Gifty Louise and Anelisa – Consider Gifty’s performance here further proof that you can rock ANY song. The returning contestant took on Fifth Harmony’s “Work From Home,” a track that is not too challenge vocally. But, her vibe and her presence really made this WORK and then some.
Montage – These were mostly good vocalists in here, including Janet Grogan, group 5AM, Niall Sexton, and Samantha Lavery, who may win the award for “biggest hair of the season.”
Sasha Taylor, James Craise, and Christian Burrows – We don’t remember the first two from the auditions, but Christian’s the real star here. He’s not the best singer, but he may be the most vulnerable person in the competition. Every time he sings you get emotional with him.
Scarl3t – This was a hot mess of a performance, mostly because these three ladies complained relentlessly about their placement and didn’t work with the other ladies. At least everyone in this crew move on.
Ryan Lawrie, Freddy Parker, and Melissa Pedro – After hearing the “See You Again” performance earlier in the episode, this “Little Things” cover couldn’t compare. Yet, Melissa was pretty outstanding and the boys were at least good enough to advance.
New montage – In here, we saw a much-improved Faye Horne, Ive Grace Paredes doing a great job with a somewhat-dated song. Saara Aalto also continues to impress.
Rebekah Ryan, James Wilson, and Samantha Atkinson – This performance was made especially dramatic by the fact that James panicked and almost quit before coming back to the ladies. Thankfully he did, given that he was the most captivating of the three. Samantha’s the best overall singer of the three, but still needs control.
Results – Head over here to see who made the Six Chair Challenge!
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