‘The X Factor’ UK rankings: 5 After Midnight, Matt Terry, Emily Middlemas create distance in top 5
Can you believe that we’re only a matter of weeks away now from the end of “The X Factor” this season? The live shows go WAY too fast, and we do think there’s a little drama left for this season — if at the very least for the final three. It’s interesting that there are three acts still remaining who’ve never been in jeopardy, and we still consider there to be a slight chance that someone in Saara Aalto bursts in and upsets the apple cart in a pretty substantial way.
Let’s get to where we think the final five stand as we inch closer to this weekend’s episode. We’re looking at past performances and voting history as the primary factors at this point, given that everyone’s had fairly equal screen time and we don’t think anyone’s going to be too influenced by show edit.
5. Honey G (last week: 5) – Early this season, we said that Honey’s peak on the show would be top 6. Maybe we were off by a week. The fact that she’s made it this far mostly shouting her name during songs is fairly appalling, but hey, it’s 2016. Honey G could announce that she is one of the robots from “Westworld” on this weekend’s show and we wouldn’t be that shocked. We don’t see her winning, and it’d be a shock to see any of the judges keep her over anyone else at this point.
4. Saara Aalto (4) – This is all about voting history. She’s been in danger often, even if only once she really began her renaissance on the show a month or so ago with the Bjork cover. She’ll probably be in the sing-off again this week, but it’s hard to envision anything happening other than her moving forward.
3. Emily Middlemas (3) – We loved the idea of her singing “It Must Have Been Love” more than the actual performance, which was a little too soft and breathy for its own good. Emily’s still incredibly talented and someone who could win this season, though; from here, it all comes down to timing, and figuring out a way for her to showcase a voice that’s really best at folksy, singer-songwriter stuff that is a little atypical for this show’s stage.
2. 5 After Midnight (2) – This group was by far the best of the night last weekend, and we’d have them #1 if it wasn’t for the fact that no male group has ever won this show. Meanwhile, several male solo artists have. There is still time for this to change, but it’s going to take a couple of weeks of momentum for us to start to feel confident in this.
1. Matt Terry (1) – It also wasn’t like Matt was significantly worse than 5 After Midnight during Movie Week, either. Both were very good! We do still think Matt needs one last killer performance to cement his status as winner of the season, but we’ve had him #1 for well over a month now. (We’ve also got identical ratings this week — somewhat boring, but we’re not going to change them just for the sake of doing so.)
Who do you think’s in the best spot? Vote below! Also, be sure to check out some other “X Factor” news right away! (Photo: ITV.)