‘The X Factor’ UK week 4 rankings: Sam Bailey tops Rough Copy, Tamera Foster; plus, advice!
We’re on a little bit of a hot streak here with the “X Factor” UK rankings, as the person we have put in last place has gone home every week of the competition so far. Can we keep that tradition up? It’ll be tricky now, given that it does feel like there is a much more competitive crop of people left.
We continue to see the show’s lineup in two tiers, though, in the serious contenders and the ones that are destined to only be around a few more weeks. While Hannah Barrett being in the bottom two has blurred the lines somewhat (but not in the Robin Thicke kinda way), we are still standing by our perceptions of most of these people. We’re also going to try to offer up one suggestion to each person as to how to improve here on out.
9. Sam Callahan (last week: 9) – We’re going a bit out on a limb here in thinking that one of the boys could go home soon, but Sam hasn’t really done much yet to prove he is a force. What he really should do at this point is just realize that there isn’t really a way that he can win doing serious ballads, and just emphasize the fun. That will at least get him attention.
8. Abi Alton (7) – Two straight weeks of negatively-viewed performances, and Abi is in dire need of a comeback. We have a hard time seeing disco week as something benefiting her style. She’s picked a good song, but for her the goal should just be performing something in the style she wants to. Cater to your fans, and ignore everyone else.
7. Kingsland Road (8) – We can’t decide if “Oh, Pretty Woman” was a step forward or a step back. It was a good vocal, but a cheesy one that doesn’t make us picture these guys selling out arenas. They need to start performing songs that make us think they are a modern band … which is going to be tough with this theme.
6. Luke Friend (6) – No real change here for Luke, mostly because we would not be surprised to see him gone soon, or see him in the top 5. He’s just not going to win. He actually is one of the few who also doesn’t need to change anything. Just continue to do what he’s doing, and the people who like him will vote. Then, take this image and join a rock band.
5. Hannah Barrett (3) – Why not a bigger fall for Hannah given her bottom 2 status? She’ll get a ton of make-up votes this week since she’s far too talented to go so early. But this placement was indicative that she has a problem in being too serious and too teary. People need to like you and be entertained by you; nobody doubts her singing, but she actually needs to start focusing on making people smile.
4. Nicholas McDonald (4) – The problem with Nicholas is actually somewhat similar in that he needs to figure out, like Hannah, how to have more fun in his performances. The difference between the two, though, is that he has a personality that is easier to vote for since he and his Nichole Scherzinger crush make us smile. We’re having a troubling problem remembering what he sings every week though, and that’s an issue.
3. Tamera Foster (5) – Every week, it seems like she keeps rising based on the strength of her performances. But we still don’t think that she is that likable, and to be frank, she doesn’t need to win, since she’ll be given the record deal or whatnot anyway. We would much prefer someone to win who can benefit more from that platform, and may not get a chance otherwise.
2. Rough Copy (1) – Rough Copy, to an extent, could benefit from winning, though they will probably be fine regardless. These guys are the best showmen in the competition, but one little flaw that we’ve seen as of late is that their vocals have fallen off in places. They have to stay strong in that regard, since otherwise some of the other contestants could improve past them. We don’t think their voices have the same level to grow.
1. Sam Bailey (2) – Sam is in the same boat in that her voice hasn’t changed much, but it doesn’t need to. Her voice is sensational, and she hasn’t given a bad performance. Sharon Osbourne may only have one act left, but this mom / prison worker is someone who we generally think could sell albums on a massive scale in the same was as a Paul Potts or a Josh Groban.
As always, we want to hear your pick for #1 in the comment box below!
Photo: ITV