‘The X Factor’ UK review: Overload, Blonde Electric, and Louis Walsh controversy

Tonight marked the final edition of boot camp on “The X Factor,” and the only word that we would use to describe all of this was “bonkers.” Seriously. This was insane. The judges were losing their minds at times, and we have no clue how they came up choosing who was going to stick around.

We’re beginning here by rounding out the Overs. You can read our review of the first part of this selection from this link, which we discussed more at length yesterday.

Jay James – He performed to great acclaim last night, and he officially replaced Kisela at the start of the show this week.

Fleur East – It’s weird that a 26-year old is considered one of the Overs? We feel like it. She was pretty good, but the biggest shock to us was seeing Simon actually eliminate Raign. We thought that she was destined to be one of the those controversial live-show act.

Helen Fulthorpe – Simon does love the drama, no? At first, it did not appear like Helen wag going to be going through at all, but he eventually opted to swap her with Janet.

In total, this means that Simon has put through these three, along with Lizzy Pattinson, Ben Haenow, and (for some reason) Stevi Ritchie.

The Groups 

Now, let’s turn to the final category of the competition, which was mentored by Louis Walsh. Louis loves nonsense, so we don’t quite know how this is going to go. Basically, this became a Roman coliseum by the end. The following are the acts who made it through.

The Brooks – Very good, but also very young. They may be a little too young for this.

Unnamed Boy Band – This eight-person band has been hyped relentlessly over the past few weeks, so we’re feeling pretty confident that they will make it into the live shows. They are talented, but isn’t eight people a little much?

Blonde Electric –  What a trainwreck, and the fact that Louis kept them over the Pow Pow Girls and other acts is hysterical. Louis is officially insane, and Cheryl Cole pandering to him about how he likes “fun acts” only makes it worse.

New Girl Group – This was nutty. Overload and the Pow Pow Girls ended up competing against them in a sing-off, and this was after Louis sent Blonde Electric home and then brought them back. They deservedly won their spot, but the entire lineup still is questionable.

Concept – We haven’t seen a ton of them, but obviously they were good enough to not get too mixed up in this.

Only the Young – One of the only mixed groups, and they have a vibe that reminds of Luminites, who we really liked before Steph Nala went solo.

What did you think about this crazy episode of the show? Share right now with a comment, and head over here to get some further news worth singing about via our CarterMatt Newsletter.

Photo: ITV