10 Singers Left - My Rankings

This week on X-Factor was proof that even when you think you know who the best singers are, you never know how America will vote. One of the people I had ranked at the top ended up in the bottom two and had to sing for survival. I will rank them first, then reveal the bottom two and who went home. My rankings are based on overall performance throughout the whole competition, not just this past week.

10. Lakoda Rayne - The only group left in the competition shouldn't be here too much longer. They do not really have an identity as a group and are really struggling to find one. If they do not find one soon, they will be ejected from this competition, and Paula will have nobody else to mentor.

9. Stacy Francis - Has been one of my least favorites from the beginning. Not much of a performer, and her voice isn't good enough to get past her inability to work the stage. You have to be really good at one if you are sub par at the other, and she is not outstanding at either. Also, like i said in my last post, anyone judged by Nicole Scherzinger will instantly be thought less of because I cannot stand her.

8. Leroy Bell - What I literally just said about Nicole is why Leroy is number 8. He has been doing better in the past weeks, but not well enough to really move up my rankings. He could have been number 7 on my rankings but I had to factor in the fact that he is being coached by Nicole.

7. Chris Rene - Chris has been falling rather quickly in my opinion because of his ability to connect with his songs. He and Astro are the two singers that write their own lyrics for their songs, and when you compare the two, it's so lopsided that it makes Chris look bad. His lyrics aren't always moving and as mentioned in my previous post, he has said he needs to connect with the music in order to do well. In my opinion, he;s not doing that very well.

6. Rachel Crowe - Rachel is the sweetheart of the show, she has spunk and is very likable. I blame her drop on my rankings to her coach, Simon Cowell. I think some of her song choices have limited her and have disallowed her to showcase all of her talents. She probably has the best vocal range in the competition, but has been unable to show it this far.

5. Josh Krajcik - Josh has the biggest jump based on his performance this week. It was Rock week, and it was right up his alley. He definitely had the first or second best performance of the night. I always liked his voice, but felt like he wasn't using it right in his songs. This week showcased what he is capable of when he is singing in his element. I only worry that future themes might end up hurting him.

4. Drew - Another significant drop from the last rankings, Drew has gone from my favorite to almost losing my attention. She has what i think is the most unique voice and good voice in the competition, but she sings the same way every week. LA Reid put it best, it has gotten somewhat boring. Her voice is beautiful, but I start to question if all she can do is slow down songs. I hope she finds a way to expand because I really like her, but I can only watch the same type of performance so many times.

3. Marcus Canty - Remember what I said about if you are just average at singing or performing, you have to be very good at the other? The next two people are examples of that. Marcus does not have the best voice in this competition, it's not the worst, but it's not the best. He is however, probably the best performer in the competition. He works the stage unlike anyone else. He also has the personality and side story that will make him very easy for fans to like and vote for. This is my sleeper pick to win as of right now.

2. Melanie Amaro - The exact opposite of Marcus Canty. Literally just stand on the stage at times, but it doesn't matter because she does have the best overall voice in the competition. I do knock her for similar reasons I knock Drew, she tends to sing one type of song, but her voice range is so big that I think eventually she is more likely to expand her song genres out more than Drew can. And if she can add some mixture to her performances, she could take my number one spot.

1. Astro - In my opinion, this isn't even a debate. On Rock Night, he killed it with one of his personal raps. The kid could rap to a Shania Twain or Celine Dion song if he wanted to. Me and a friend of mine both agree that the second he either gets voted off, or wins this competition...record companies will be at his throat trying to sign him.I personally think he is a top 10 rapper right now, and he is only 15. It's his competition to lose in my opinion. But what do I know...

Apparently nothing considering the person I think is the best by a landslide ended up in the bottom two last night. Astro and Stacy Francis were in the bottom two and had to sing for survival. I never really liked Stacy and I didn't really like her last night. Astro almost lost it for himself last night. It was obvious that he was upset to be in the bottom two, and he didn't put on his best performance. He then said "I don't really want to perform for people that didn't vote for me". This led to boos from the crowd, as well as "Stacy, Stacy" chants. The vote came down to Simon, who was upset with Astro, but still sent Stacy home. My boy survived this week, but will his attitude cost him in the future?

Be sure to tune in this TUESDAY at 8 on FOX...the days are moved ahead because of the Thanksgiving Holiday. The results show will be WEDNESDAY at 8 on FOX

Live Shows Kick Off

Live shows started this past Wednesday, and 12 was cut to 11 on Thursday. I will discuss the performances and rank them accordingly.

The group that was eliminated in the first round was "Intensity". This was a group that was made up by the judges. Ten of the boys and girls that tried out individually were given a second chance and put into one large group. I wouldn't have ranked this last on Wednesday night, but I am not surprised that they went home. 10 is too many people I think. Only 2 people had solos, the rest of the members were just background singers. They didn't really have a chance to shine because performances are limited to about 90 seconds.

I will now rank the following 11 starting from what I thought was the worst.
11. Lakoda Reign: Another group made up by the judges of the girls who weren't good enough to get through individually. They don't mesh well together, it was as simple as that

10. Leroy Bell: As you will shortly find out, I am not high on any of the groups of the over 30's. Bell just happens to be the worst of the over 30's in my opinion. It wasn't that he was bad, he just didn't shine as bright as the ones before him.

9. Stereo Hoggz: They were in the bottom two on Tuesday night, and only survived based on a vote from the judges. I was surprised they were in the bottom two, but like Leroy Bell, they didn't exactly shine. They put on a decent show, but nothing to make the fans think "they could win this thing".

8. Chris Rene: The worst boy of the night in my opinion, and the only boy or girl not in my top 5. Chris has a problem with finding emotion during his songs. He admits to performing better when he can connect with a song, which keeps me from ranking him too high. His performance Wednesday was better than the eighth best, but if a week comes where he can't "emotionally connect with his song choice" then I do not know how he will perform.

7 & 6. Josh Krajcik & Stacy Francis: I put them together because although they both did well, I can't see either of them winning the competition based on the fact I think the over 30's will run out of support eventually against the younger contestants. I also think having Nicole Scherzinger as their mentor will hurt them eventually. I do not think she is on the same level as the other three judges from a teaching point of view. The other three have mentored talent before, this is new for Nicole. And another reason is I just can't stand listening to her after every performance. I'm either going to have to start Fast Forwarding through her part, or muting my TV.

My top 5 is something I do not see changing as to who is in it, the order may change weekly however. I can see any of these 5, and only these 5,  winning this competition.

5. Melanie Amaro: I think has by far the best voice in the competition, but I am worried she can only sing ballads, which isn't bad for her future career, but might be problematic for her winning this competition. If she can broaden her horizon even a little bit, she could be the front runner.

4. Rachel Crow: The 13 year old sensation isn't in the top 5 because of her performance on Wednesday, because it was not her best. But her charisma and personality will make it very hard for people to vote against her. She does have an amazing voice, and I blame Simon for her performance this week because the song choice was poor. I think she will bounce back next week.

3. Marcus Canty: A young man whose mom told him he needed to find a money making career, or he was kicked out of his house. His decision was try out for X-Factor...I think it's working so far. The Bobby Brown comparisons should be all you need to hear. However, Nicole described his act on Wednesday as "not feeling like a performance, it felt like a concert." It was the only intelligent thing shes said since the show started, because he was all over that stage, and he knew how to own the moment.

2. Astro: My personal favorite, the 14 year old hip-hop sensation put together his own verse and as he as all competition, he killed it. Sometimes he gets too far into rapping about the name of the show, but I also get that he is trying to impress the judges. My ONLY concern for him is that people will eventually fall off of his Hip-Hop kick, and his votes will suffer. I hope I am wrong because he does have a lot of talent, and he will be a star whether or not he wins this competition. I just hope the voters realize that too.

1. The only other person who I think is destined for stardom already is Drew Ryniewicz. She is the favorite to win already in my opinion, and she already is quite a bit ahead of the field. What impressed me was her song on Wednesday. She sang "Just a Dream" by Nelly. Its a light R&B song, that happens to be one of my favorite songs by him. After hearing her sing it, I think I might like her version better. She killed it, her voice is so pure its unbelievable. I don't want to go out and hand her the crown yet...but it is definitely hers to lose right now.

So there you have my rankings for the week, I will try to keep this up even on weeks in which a blog is not due. It will depend on my workload for the week. If you watched, feel free to agree or disagree!!

X-Factor in Final Stage before Live Shows

First auditions and Boot Camp are over with, and the field is down to 32 on X-Factor. 8 boys, 8 girls, 8 over 30's and 8 groups. One unique thing i really like that they did was that they created groups from some of the boys and girls that didn't make the final 8 in their category. The judges agreed that only 6 of the groups that came as a group were worthy of going through. They then looked at what other contestants could mesh well together. I am curious to see how these two judge-made groups perform.

The next stage of the competition is Judges Homes. Each of the four judges was assigned an age group in which they will coach. Their first job however, is to narrow their group from 8 to 4. We would know who the judges selected by now, however, a playoff baseball game caused the Wednesday night episode to be pushed to Thursday. The Thursday episode is set to air Sunday night.

The judges all seemed happy with the group they were assigned, and I think they all match well. LA Reid was given the boys group, which I think is the perfect fit. Although he works with all types of artists, I see him as the best fit for the boys as opposed to the other judges. Simon was given the girls, which I like for the main reason that it will create a nice rivalry between him and LA. I really think that the winner of this show will come from one of those two groups, so their coaching could make the difference. Nicole got the over 30's, which makes sense because she brings that "I came from nothing too" attitude, which is what a lot of those people have been saying throughout the show. Lastly, Paula got the groups, which is a good fit for her because she has worked with groups before. However, this is going to be the hardest set of singers to work with, but she has the best chance with them I think.

I wont make any predictions or start using artists names until I know who the final 16 are. However, one thing I will say now is that I would be SHOCKED if the winner did not come from the boys coached by LA or the girls coached by Simon. I just don't think the talent is there in the other sets of singers. This does however make their decision of which 4 to pass through to the live shows a lot harder. I am very curious to see who they pick and who they send home.

Tune in Sunday night to see for yourself who will be performing live this week!!

Review of Ratings after First Week

The ratings are in, and the numbers for X-Factor are pretty good...or are they? The ratings havn't quite held up to Simon Cowell's expectations. Perhaps 20 million viewers was setting the bar a tad high, but I am not sure I would be completely down on having 12.5 on both nights in the first week. Sure they were not the highest rating on either night, but they lost to proven shows. People still didn't know exactly what to expect from the X-Factor. As the weeks go on, perhaps the word of mouth factor will begin to play a role and more viewers will tune in. I think it is too early on for Cowell to be referring to this season as a failure.

 As for the format of the show being similar to that of American Idol, it turns out that only auditions seem to be where the similarities end. It was revealed last week that the show will pass people through to what is being called "Boot Camp". I am not sure exactly what this will entail, but I am sure it will be the final narrowing of the field before the fan voting begins. This also might be where the newest twist comes in. Each of the 4 judges are going to become coaches for different categories. There will be a male, female, group and over 30 category. Each judge will coach the people that fit into their category. So it starts to be like "The Voice" in that regard. Whether or not the format will be exactly the same as The Voice is yet to be seen. My guess is that it will not be, but only time will tell.

So to wrap this weeks blog up, we have learned that the format is not exactly like that of American Idol and that the ratings are good, but not up to par with what was expected. I don't want to rule anything a failure though until the fan voting gets involved because I think that could be when the show hits its stride. One more thing to pay attention to when tuning in, the bit of a rivalry Simon and L.A. are developing when it comes to who to let through. It seems both look at the contestants in different ways. This is comical at this point of the show because they are just passing people through to boot camp. But when they assume the coaching role, I'm curious to see if their coaching tactics are as far apart as their opinions of the auditions. Just something to consider and look forward to.

X-Factor Preview - 9-16-2011

The X-Factor is set to premiere Wednesday, September 21st at 8p.m.  Its being produced by Syco Television and Freemantlemedia North America. More information about the Origin of the show can be found here. As seen in that link, the show was initially started in the U.K., where it was the top rated show. Based on previous shows to come over from the U.K., I think this serves well for this show because other shows have been successful. The "X-Factor" of the X-Factor has to be Simon Cowell in my opinion. There are numerous singing shows that get air time, but Simon Cowell is the most popular and controversial in my opinion. He was a big reason American Idol became so popular, and although some may think the X-Factor is just another knock off of American Idol, they would be wrong. As opposed to American Idol, groups can compete together on The X-Factor. The stakes have also been raised. The winner of the X-Factor will receive a 5 million dollar recording contract.

Here is a link to bios of all of the judges.  As seen, there a two familiar faces to this type of singing competition. But there are two newer faces as well. We are pretty aware of what Simon and Paula will bring to the table. But newcomers Nicole Scherzinger and L.A. Reid should bring different personalities to the show, it is just unknown what those personalities will be. I do not know much about L.A. Reid so he is the one I'm most interested to see.  Nicole Scherzinger is a member of the Pussycat Dolls singing group. From what I have seen from her on TV from interviews and such, I get a feeling she might be Paula 2.0. I'm hoping I am wrong because one Paula is enough, but that is just the vibe I get. I'm hoping L.A. plays a role similar to Randy Jackson did on American Idol, but then again, I also don't want it to feel like American Idol with a different African American judge. The way these two new judges act when analyzing the contestants could be important to the kind of start this show gets. Towards the end people watch to see the talented singers, but in the beginning, the analysis and rudeness of the judges is very important in my opinion.

The X-Factor vs. American Idol comparisons have already began. I think that the comparisons to American Idol help reel in audiences for at least the first couple of episodes. After that, it will be the viewers decision on whether or not the like the changes from Idol to the X-Factor. I think FOX is the perfect network for the X-Factor since they are the network to air American Idol. It helps to have that time slot locked into two shows that are similar but different. Fans of voice competition shows will tune in to any sort of show in my opinion. With other shows like the Sing-Off and The Voice doing well, it shows that as long as the talent is there, people will tune in.

I'm looking forward to the first episode this coming Wednesday, and looking forward to following the ratings and blogging about this show. I personally am a huge Simon Cowell fan, which is why I really wanted to discuss this particular show. So remember to tune in Wednesday and Thursday at 8p.m. and see what you think about it.