Yep the newest singing show has begun. I am posting my thoughts here because frankly I was not sure where to put this post but figured since both Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul were once part of American Idol, this was an appropiate place.
The X-Factor has some differences from American Idol. The most important two I feel is the fact that anyone age 12 and up can audition plus each contestant is in front of not only the judges but an audience of 4000 plus. It seems fitting to get audience reaction when looking for someone who will get not only a 5 million dollar recording contract but will also star in their own Pepsi commercial which will air during the Super Bowl in January.
Our judges consist of Simon Cowell who owns this show plus seems to be putting alot on the outcome of how well this show will do. Keep in mind Simon is responsible for alot of the success of Susan Boyle and Leona Lewis. Paula Abdul who looks great and knows the trials and tribulations of being an artist is back again and frankly I am glad she is on the program. Cheryl Cole was briefly on as a judge for the Los Angeles auditions but obviously was not making much of an impact as she has been let go to make room for another artist who has had success with The Pussycat Dolls. Of course I am speaking of Nicole Scherzinger. Personally I did not feel she added all that much to the show but she does know about what gets an audience going. L.A. Reid is a big record exec who has helped launch the careers of well-known artists such as Usher, Pink and Mariah Carey to name a few. I think he is basically alot more critical then Simon. As we saw it looks like Simon and L.A. are going to not be agreeing about some of the talent that hits the stage during this audition process. Will this continue once the contestants get to the "boot camp" that will follow the audition process, well time will tell.
Last but not least is our new host is a British guy named Steve Jones. He is attractive and I like his accent but do not see him having that much of an impact with the viewing public like Ryan Seacrest does. One last note before I list who I think has the "x-factor" is I would have liked to see more of the acts rather than all the back-stage moments we saw. Okay here goes with the auditions from Los Angeles and Seattle:
The Good:
13 year old Rachel Crow is adorable and does have a voice as she performed the song "Mercy" by Duffy. Sure she does have some issues with her total singing package but this is a young girl who could become a star with the right management.
Briefly shown was Terrill Carter who is 36. I like his smooth tone with the little we saw of him. Sorry I did not recognize the song he sang.
The same can be said of 14 year old Ellonia (did not catch her last name, sorry). She did get 4 yeses and seems to be another young girl who can be molded into star material.
14 year old John Lindahl sings "Forget You" by Cee Lo Green and he does sound fairly good which earned him a spot at boot camp.
Frankly I was surprised that this next young man made it through. His name is Siameze Floyd. To me he did more dancing than singing and what singing I did hear was not all that good but Simon thinks he has something which got him through.
My top favorite of the night is 42 year old Stacy Francis who is a single mom with two young children. We hear her sob story of being in an abusive relationship before she takes the stage to give what I think is the best rendition I have ever heard of "Natural Woman" originally by Aretha Franklin. Her emotional singing of this song earned her a standing ovation from not only the audience but the four judges as well. I really hope this woman gets somewhere as I would buy her music today!
21 year old Simone Battle almost does not make the cut with her rendition of "When I Grow Up". Simon, Paula and Nicole like her but L.A. is a definite no. Simon tries to persuade L. A. to give a yes vote but L. A. is not having any of that and stands by his no. This is where we see some of the conflict between the two male judges.
20 year old Marcus Canty is overwhelmed by the judges giving him such high praise for his rendition of "I Wish" by Stevie Wonder. This young man only had two years (orders from mom) to try to make it into the entertainment field and he succeeded on this night to make it to the boot camp rounds. I liked him and could see him being a success.
I was not that overwhelmed with three guys who call themselves "The Anser". The lead singer was not bad but overall they were just okay in my book. They do get the yes vote for their rendition of "Rolling In The Deep".
Our last goodie to make it is Chris Rene who has only been out of re-hab for 70 days. Seems Chris was badly into drugs and alcohol. He performs an original song called "Young Homey". Actually I thought the song pick was interesting from this 28 year old guy which is basically a rap song. His voice is unusual enough to maybe have a chance in the rap world of entertainment. The judges give him a standing ovation and a yes vote providing he stays clean and sober. I would say this should be enough to keep this guy on the straight and narrow but time will tell if the pressure will get to him.
The Bad:
Dan and Venita who are 70 and 83 perform a very off-key rendition of the song "Unchained Melody". They get an A for effort but an F for their singing ability and it is a no vote across the board.
Two girls who are 15 and 19 called You Only Live Once was enough to send them packing. One sang, the other screamed.
Cherlie Cruzer dressed like a monkey and not sure of the song but again a no.
The next guy was so offensive that it made Paula sick enough to leave and throw-up in the men's room. His name is Geo Godley who is 43 years old and performed an original song called "I'm A Stud". I honestly can not believe someone would have the guts to perform this act on national television. Not only was the song bad but so was the singing which prompted Geo to drop his pants and expose himself from the waist down. The audience as well as the remaining judges were appalled with this act. Some in the audience were shown leaving with their children in tow. L. A. really gave this guy the riot act about this outrageous behavior. Geo for some reason thought he did nothing wrong and could not understand why the audience turned on him. Boy is this guy deluded.
64 year old Jetta whose real name is Linda does an awful rendition to the song "I Touch Myself".
With a really bad attitude Miranda Singleton wants to be the next Madonna and can not sing as shown by her performance.
Others we saw were Tom Slade, Late 2 Fame, Nickalaya and young Andrew. Not sure if they made it or not as their moments were so brief.
23 year old Nici Collins is truly awful with her warbling of whatever she was trying to sing. She is also argumentive with her no vote not only on stage but later as the judges take a break.
A mom/daughter duo called "T For Two" are equally bad.
Darren Michaels has some foolish woman supporting his so-called talent. Not only does he sing awful but he has an annoying laugh.
A group called "The Sonnets" also fail to make the grade.
So far I am intrigued by the show and looking forward to the "boot camp" period as well as when we the viewing public get to vote. Does this show stack up to The American Idol fever? Well, it is basically the same show but with some differences as I mentioned before. As far as I can tell, the ratings were good for this first nighter and hopefully the ratings will stay that way. I like the idea that different age groups have a chance at success.
Tomorrow we get the second night of auditions which I will re-cap later. Have a great day everyone.
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Subject: The X-Factor Begins - 9/21/11 
Thu Sep 22, 2011 9:51 am
