The X Factor UK review: Dalton Harris, Bella Penfold, & Big Band Week
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Scarlett Lee, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” – Really strong vocal from Scarlett, who seems infinitely more comfortable and confident on stage than she used to be. While ideally we would love to see a little bit more aggression and oomph from her with her stage presence, there is no denying her voice and progression as an artist on this stage. Grade: A-.
Brendan Murray, “Say Something” – This is a good song, but since when is this Big Band? It really doesn’t suit the theme all that much. There is just a natural softness and lift in his voice that you don’t hear from almost every other artist on the show. That helps to overshadow, at least to some degree, the weird choice in music. Grade: B+.
Shan Ako, “Summertime” – This is as classic a big-band rendition as they come, and it just so happens to be Shan’s total wheelhouse. This was lovely from start to finish, with both the way that she moved about the stage and also the way that she hit a number of the big notes at the end. Simon Cowell was right to compare this to the Fantasia version of the song. Grade: A-.
Anthony Russell, “Beyond the Sea” – We love the swagger that Anthony brought to the performance, but almost like his performance of “Eye of the Tiger” last week it does feel like he’s working a little bit too hard to play a musical character. We’re not sure that we are getting a good sense as to who Anthony is as a performer because he’s being different people every time. Grade: B-.
Acacia & Aaliyah, original song – After watching these two suffer through a performance last year that didn’t feel right for them, at least these two chose an original number that felt very much true to who they are as artists. While we’re not going to say that lyrically this was perfectly, at least this felt age-appropriate and fun. The problem is that the chorus was a little too monotone and there needed to be something else melodically in here to balance it out. Also, not Big Bad at all. Grade: B-.
Bella Penfold, “Strong” – This felt like a decent song choice for Bella, at least in that she was able to showcase a little bit of her edgier side. It’s still hard to really imagine her being this sort of artist, though — where has the rapping gone? If she does stick to singing, she probably needs to emphasize some of her lower register a little bit more. That’s what makes her stand out. Grade: B-.
Dalton Harris, “Listen” – It was hard to know exactly how to feel about this song choice from the get-go, mostly because it’s such a near-impossible song to really pull off! Yet, he managed to do that with some excellent runs from start to finish. He’s not only the most consistent contestant this season, but he’s also the best. Right now the winner favorite by far. Grade: A.
Danny Tetley, “My Way” – Danny closed out the show with a cover of Frank Sinatra that packed a lot of emotion into it. This is a classic song and there is a lot that can go wrong. Yet, the arrangement was solid and while it did feel at times like a little too much of a Sinatra interpretation than his own, we’ll at least give him credit for really fighting to make this something special. Grade: B+.
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