‘The X Factor’ UK review: Abi Alton, Luke Friend, Shelley Smith rock second arena auditions
“The X Factor” UK kicked off last weekend with a great audition show, but we have to say that there was not any one act that blew us away. Did that change this week? Somewhat, at least when it came to realizing how some of the people from the past two shows could actually play in front of an audience. We have at least two people in here who seem to be close to locks for the live shows, along with a number of other people who could, quite frankly, be very lucky to make it further than the start of bootcamp.
Advanced
Shelley Smith – Here’s why we think that Shelley is one of those real inspirational singers in the competition. She drives a white van for a living covered in grease, is a single mom, but doesn’t trying to make herself look like a sob story. She’s positive, pretty fun, and seems to be embracing this opportunity at 34 years old. Plus, holy stage presence, Batman!
Jade Richards – There’s no surprise with Jade, mostly because we have heard her sing before and she’s pretty good (even if we can barely understand her thanks to her heavy accent). The only thing that gives us some apprehension about her is that she needs to tap into that personality that we talked about yesterday. If she can’t fix it, we see another judges’ house elimination in the future.
Melanie McCabe – There is a part of us that would sadistically want to cut her just for asking to restart the track. This is her fourth time on the show; this isn’t something new for her. The reason we think she has struggled is not her voice, but rather her connection to the music. She almost still feels like a contestant in a school talent show. But, she advanced here.
Barclay Beales – If Nicole is mentoring the guys again this year, she’ll probably not only put him through, but ask him to be her personal alarm clock in the morning. He is a great yodeler, but we still think that he has “boot camp” written all over him.
Luke Friend – Basically, Luke is what Frankie Cocozza wanted to be on the show two years ago: An interesting, young rock singer. The guy’s got a very unique voice, and he is probably the guy on this show with a best chance of getting deep in the competition.
Tom Mann – We still can’t believe the high-pitched voice that comes out of Tom’s mouth. Plus, he’s a football coach! Who knew? What a bizarre guy this is.
Relley C – We dig the bar-code shirt, but this housekeeper really fell back to earth here after a great audition thanks to an atrocious song choice. She mostly just got through based on potential, and not for what she did today.
Abi Alton – Not a fan of the flower headband, but a major fan of the talent here. She’s the best artist of the group so far; not necessarily an amazing singer, but she’s got a great ability to get people to connect with her emotionally. She is a good contender for the live rounds, but at that point, her challenge is going to be coming up with songs that fit her perfectly.
Rejected
Euphoria Girls – Remember them? They were on the show last weekend, and really were more annoying than they were good. The biggest issue with them, regardless if they try to by “edgy” or not, is that they feel staged by their parents, and that they’re just not very good singers.
Dolly Rockets – They went away for years, but were still not good enough to advance. What we’re the most unsure about here is if there are any good groups this year. We certainly haven’t seen them.
Do you have your favorites? Of course, we want you to share below! Also, be sure to click here if you want to read our review from last night’s show that featured many of these contestants’ first audition.
Photo: ITV