‘The X Factor’ UK review: Did Max Stone, Anton Stephans, Jennifer Phillips advance for Simon Cowell?
After seeing Cheryl Fernandez-Virsini make her choices on “The X Factor” UK among the groups, we arrived at the next order of business on Saturday’ learning all about who Simon Cowell wanted on his team of Overs. We’re not going to say that we were super-impressed with this category going into this episode; specifically, we thought that there were maybe three people worthy of advancing. That’s not much competition, no?
After watching them perform, however, we’re glad that at least one person upped their game and made this competitive.
Jennifer Phillips – There’s no doubt that Jennifer can sing. She’s also got a delightful personality. We’re not going to say that this was her most memorable performance of the season, but it may still be enough to get her to the next round.
Ebru – Ebru remains the enigma of this category. We know that she’s talented, but there is something about her style that makes her a little harder to remember, almost like we don’t quite know where she fits genre-wise.
Bupsi – Does Bupsi have pop-star potential? Not really. This is another enigma. Yes, she was very fun in her first audition, but since that point we haven’t been extraordinarily impressed by anything that she’s done. The same goes for tonight.
Max Stone – The surprise of the night. We had written him off, but we’d say that his cover of “Gangster’s Paradise” was the best of this entire round. Really original, powerful, and completely different from what we’ve seen in the past. He had an edge and confidence about him!
Kerrie Anne Phillips – Kerrie Anne was a little more memorable this time than in past rounds, and she’s proven yet again she can sing. We just don’t know if there was anything particularly original about this that we’ll be able to remember down the road.
Anton Stephans – He may be a little over the top, but he’s still wonderful. One of the best performances that we’ve seen from him so far, and to us he has to be a lock to advance. We don’t know how you do this otherwise.
Results – The Max Stone underdog tour continues! It’s a complete shock to see Bupsi in here over Jennifer (who we thought was better), but Anton’s spot is very much deserved. Apparently Simon changed his mind to Max at the last second because the crowd loved him so.
You can head over here to read our full take on the groups! Also, you can sign up here to get some other news on all we cover, courtesy of our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ITV.)