‘The X Factor’ UK review: ‘Bupsi,’ Alien, Stephanie McCourt, Simon Lynch stand out
We’re not necessarily in crisis time for “The X Factor,” but after seeing the ratings for the past two shows we’re starting to think that they really have to find someone extraordinary to get people talking about this show again. There was a big moment with Simon Cowell crying last week, but we need something more. We need a contestant who makes people go insane one way or another.
We do think that there were a few very good performers tonight. We’re not sure if they are great enough yet to draw millions to the show, but they at least livened things up. We’re going to ignore the majority of the bad acts (like that two-person girl group in the early going), and focus on the people who were at least notable.
Jamie Benkert – This was odd. It started like we were getting some sort of joke / creepy Olly Murs tribute act, but when he got to covering Drake and then “Uptown Funk,” he turned into someone really good in his own right. We don’t know why he didn’t cut the nonsense and star with that, since he’s really quite good. Not the best singer we’ve ever heard, but plenty of charisma.
Alien – A seriously fun girl group. They’re going to be challenged primarily by finding the right songs for them this season, but they’ve got the potential to be the sort of group that actually does something after the show. They’re a little large for a group these days (six members), but they have energy and personality.
Zen Blythe – The ladies are going to LOVE this guy. He’s got this look like he is an untamed dude from the jungle, and he’s got a really unique voice. Simon Cowell’s a little bit nutty for not liking this one, since he is the guy who could make him a ton of cash!
Simon Lynch – Cool story coming from the Isle of Man. As an American, we’ve never really seen anyone from there before. Also, he looks a little like he could be Robert Pattinson’s little brother. We don’t love “If I Were a Boy” as a song choice (a little boring and theatrical from him), but he can really sing. He needs to just find something a little more energetic.
Shianne Phillips – She’s knocked a few points for us for singing Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing,” the most overdone singing-show track of all time. Vocally, she’s pretty solid, but she needs to just work on getting more of her personality out there. Through most of this, all we really got from her is that she wants to be a singer so badly that she’ll do anything. She needs a little more of an edge. Some of these things probably contributed to her not moving on.
Stephanie McCourt – In terms of song choice, this was the opposite of Shianne at first with “Shake It Off,” but it was with her sassy version of “Summertime” that she shined. She does have some confidence issues that came through here and there, but there is that edge that she needs to be memorable.
Bupsi – Our final act of tonight’s show was all sorts of strange. Here we had a 37-year old woman who Simon Cowell basically told to get “nasty,” and then she did by performing while climbing all across the judges’ desk. She can certainly sing, but we hope that the show isn’t going to try to just make her into someone who does these sort of intense performances week in and week out.
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