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Hi,
I watch it and it drives me kind of crazy. Not seriously crazy, just wonder what they are doing crazy. Don't get me wrong I'm a fan, but I want to go there and fix stuff. From the opening to the hosting to the foolishness to the hot mess job they are doing to some of the contestants. A lot of the show is overblown .........the talent of many of these competitors gets lost and swept away due to ego/ pride of the mentors and yes, sometimes the competitors themselves.
The X Factor is a big machine........the idea is to provide entertainment, but to me the bottom line is the talent, to protect it, develop it and gradually fine tune the artists with a focus always on the best talents of each competitor.......not to be cloned to be like someone else........but to see them as a fresh canvas and to bring out their best qualities.
Take Jennel for example. A sparkly bright determined girl.........fresh faced, beautiful natural hair...........she had this great personality.........sweet and fun.......reminiscent of a young J Lo ....... Then she started singing and she had this fiery focus/girl next door sex appeal in a way that worked, still in keeping with her age.......very likable/ an added bonus that she was such a spitfire on stage. And it all worked in a way that would meet with approval for audiences of all ages.........she reminded me of J Lo in the movie role of Selena. Now she looks like a cardboard cutout of a much harder older down on her luck self........she looks like she in on the way out, not on the way up. Demi is taking her in the wrong direction. I'm pulling for Jennel.......but I'm worried that Demi's ego will hurt her chances. It's not just the look, it's the songs and the production too. Jennel is trying.......but she doesn't know the business........c'mon Demi, help her let us see her at her best.
I'm not anti ramping up the make-up and costumes..........but where is Jennel.......who the country fell in love with ........ it will cost her if something isn't fixed...........her look, song choices........we want to be a part of each artist's development......seeing them slammed onto the stage in someone else's skin messes up the originality factor and that will cost them a career......whether they win or not.
Tonight's results: (most votes to least votes)
1. Tate
2. Carly Rose
3. Vino
4. Diamond
5. 5th Harmony
6. Emblem 3
7. Jennel
8. Paige
9. Lyric145
10. Beatrice
11. Arin
12. Cece
I'm chuckling.........I like discussing the show and I have my favorites.........some of the stuff that really gets me bugging out?
Jason (gone now) stroking the male dancer's chest and then commenting that he wanted to pinch Mario's tail. Blechhhhhhhhhh. This show has kids on it and it is watched by kids.......this is not a gay male review for adults.
Cece needs to politely ask her own mentor to have her back. Demi is blowing her chances........sorry, but that's what I think. I want every contestant to have a fair shot at the title and/or a future in music. Demi should not comment on unlikability, she should find something likable about Cece and let us know what that is. Does Cece have family? Does Cece help others? Did she overcome an obstacle........ And Cece should roll with stuff more......like when Mario tried to clear up the pronunciation of her last name......Frey is pronounced like fry not fray..........Mario said so it's fry like french fry and Cece says (with zero inflection of warmth or humor in her voice)........"like I haven't heard that before." She comes off like she has a huge chip on her shoulder to the folks at home...........she should take it as a positive that he is trying to help people learn her name correctly.
Khloe is too touchy feely........I was relieved that she has been more covered up lately, but I still want to say this........wearing a blouse open to your waist is not the way to go as you are hugging and/or touching 13-whatever age kids onstage. It looks wrong...................and I hate it when she and Simon are doing the narcissistic flirty game of twister on stage.
I prefer the relaxed yet much more professional persona that Mario projects over Khloe so far...............it may ramp up the tweets numbers, but seriously I don't know that I believe that the audience numbers increased because of the addition of Khloe. I think it was more about the fact that the main show was getting underway. The same numbers increase happens in American Idol wants the actual competition starts and the Hollywood Week of it all dies off.........ok, done now. super tired. hope i haven't made ya'll upset..........i promise i'm a peaceful person and anything i say is meant with a good natured spirit .......it is fun to watch, fun to talk about............and yes, it is a love/hate thing..........for this viewer anyway..........lol, hugs! Sparrow
P.S. I just wanted to share that I have frequent flares, so I don't usually have the energy to write so much at one time.................usually I'm talkative but run out of energy too soon to hang in and say this much. So don't worry......I won't always be so blabby...........xo.
I watch it and it drives me kind of crazy. Not seriously crazy, just wonder what they are doing crazy. Don't get me wrong I'm a fan, but I want to go there and fix stuff. From the opening to the hosting to the foolishness to the hot mess job they are doing to some of the contestants. A lot of the show is overblown .........the talent of many of these competitors gets lost and swept away due to ego/ pride of the mentors and yes, sometimes the competitors themselves.
The X Factor is a big machine........the idea is to provide entertainment, but to me the bottom line is the talent, to protect it, develop it and gradually fine tune the artists with a focus always on the best talents of each competitor.......not to be cloned to be like someone else........but to see them as a fresh canvas and to bring out their best qualities.
Take Jennel for example. A sparkly bright determined girl.........fresh faced, beautiful natural hair...........she had this great personality.........sweet and fun.......reminiscent of a young J Lo ....... Then she started singing and she had this fiery focus/girl next door sex appeal in a way that worked, still in keeping with her age.......very likable/ an added bonus that she was such a spitfire on stage. And it all worked in a way that would meet with approval for audiences of all ages.........she reminded me of J Lo in the movie role of Selena. Now she looks like a cardboard cutout of a much harder older down on her luck self........she looks like she in on the way out, not on the way up. Demi is taking her in the wrong direction. I'm pulling for Jennel.......but I'm worried that Demi's ego will hurt her chances. It's not just the look, it's the songs and the production too. Jennel is trying.......but she doesn't know the business........c'mon Demi, help her let us see her at her best.
I'm not anti ramping up the make-up and costumes..........but where is Jennel.......who the country fell in love with ........ it will cost her if something isn't fixed...........her look, song choices........we want to be a part of each artist's development......seeing them slammed onto the stage in someone else's skin messes up the originality factor and that will cost them a career......whether they win or not.
Tonight's results: (most votes to least votes)
1. Tate
2. Carly Rose
3. Vino
4. Diamond
5. 5th Harmony
6. Emblem 3
7. Jennel
8. Paige
9. Lyric145
10. Beatrice
11. Arin
12. Cece
I'm chuckling.........I like discussing the show and I have my favorites.........some of the stuff that really gets me bugging out?
Jason (gone now) stroking the male dancer's chest and then commenting that he wanted to pinch Mario's tail. Blechhhhhhhhhh. This show has kids on it and it is watched by kids.......this is not a gay male review for adults.
Cece needs to politely ask her own mentor to have her back. Demi is blowing her chances........sorry, but that's what I think. I want every contestant to have a fair shot at the title and/or a future in music. Demi should not comment on unlikability, she should find something likable about Cece and let us know what that is. Does Cece have family? Does Cece help others? Did she overcome an obstacle........ And Cece should roll with stuff more......like when Mario tried to clear up the pronunciation of her last name......Frey is pronounced like fry not fray..........Mario said so it's fry like french fry and Cece says (with zero inflection of warmth or humor in her voice)........"like I haven't heard that before." She comes off like she has a huge chip on her shoulder to the folks at home...........she should take it as a positive that he is trying to help people learn her name correctly.
Khloe is too touchy feely........I was relieved that she has been more covered up lately, but I still want to say this........wearing a blouse open to your waist is not the way to go as you are hugging and/or touching 13-whatever age kids onstage. It looks wrong...................and I hate it when she and Simon are doing the narcissistic flirty game of twister on stage.
I prefer the relaxed yet much more professional persona that Mario projects over Khloe so far...............it may ramp up the tweets numbers, but seriously I don't know that I believe that the audience numbers increased because of the addition of Khloe. I think it was more about the fact that the main show was getting underway. The same numbers increase happens in American Idol wants the actual competition starts and the Hollywood Week of it all dies off.........ok, done now. super tired. hope i haven't made ya'll upset..........i promise i'm a peaceful person and anything i say is meant with a good natured spirit .......it is fun to watch, fun to talk about............and yes, it is a love/hate thing..........for this viewer anyway..........lol, hugs! Sparrow
P.S. I just wanted to share that I have frequent flares, so I don't usually have the energy to write so much at one time.................usually I'm talkative but run out of energy too soon to hang in and say this much. So don't worry......I won't always be so blabby...........xo.
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I won't comment on all of your thoughts, but I was definitely shocked by the rankings tonight. My faves were Arin, Jennel, and Tate, in that order. But tonight, their scores were in the inverse order. I was shocked to see Arin come in at #11. Beyond that, I am not sure the mentors are really helping things. So much of what they are not doing is common sense to even the uninitiated.
I agree with your thoughts about Khloe. People have joined the program now because it's down to the top 16 and gone live. Well, that is why I joined. I just don't have the patience to watch them sort through dozens of acts. I am just not interested. I personally don't care for Khloe. She is loud and brash, and her inexperience in hosting a show like this is shining through.
Anyway, glad you are part of the discussion. Also participating are Tess and Redex. I look forward to hearing their thoughts.
I agree with you that there are some issues with this show still, two seasons in. Sadly though, even though they made changes after last season it seems the same problems exist (and some worse problems were created by the changes too, imo).
I watch the UK version online and while they're having some growing pains with it (in its 9th season there now) I still think the show overall feels more professional and less casual than the US version. The audience is respectful enough to not scream through performances or judges' critques or the host speaking; the lighting isn't as garrish; and even though the choreography is largely done by the same guy, for some reason it's much more tasteful there. The judges' tend to give better critiques (to varying degrees). And their host, Dermot O'Leary, is such a pro - I wish Simon had brought Dermot over instead of Steve Jones last season because Dermot I think would've made a big difference in solidifying the show.
Here's an interesting difference regarding the two shows too - Nicole Scherzinger is now a judge over there and while she was horribly bad at the job over here, she's aces over there right now (she's the only judge with all her acts still in the competition). She's surprisingly decent there while here she totally didn't connect. Much like the show.
Britney I think we can all agree is the Steven Tyler of this group. Looked good in the auditions because they cobbled together the best bits but now when she comments all we get is "that was amazing" much like with him on Idol all we got was "that was beautiful". As for how she is as a mentor; clearly hit or miss. Carly and Diamond did well while Beatrice and Arin didn't. I'd like to think Arin's issue was more about going first and not being memorable enough by the end - that end the market he'd appeal to more were probably watching The Voice instead this week. Beatrice I think they keep dressing like she's homeless and they keep giving the wrong songs to. Perhaps these kids should get to help themselves a bit more and rely on Britney a little less.
Simon seemed genuinely shocked that Emblem 3 wasn't higher on the list - but he and those boys need to realize they are not all that and their attitudes stink.
LA's got to be shocked that (aside from Jason) he's doing so well. But let's take into account who is most likely voting (at least this week, given they were directly against The Voice) - the same 40 something Midwestern women who vote in droves for Idol these days perhaps...?
As for the hosts...Khloe (and Mario too but to a lesser extent) makes me long for the days of Too Tall Steve Jones asking contestants "how does it feel now that your dreams of stardom have just died?". He was awkward but at least he was pretty and it sounded nice coming out of his mouth. Mario and Khloe are like soulless robots reading fromt the teleprompter and not knowing how to navigate the long pauses between results being fed to them via earpiece. They make Steve Jones look like he should've won an Emmy by comparison.
Why is Britney so blase with her remarks? She is very polite to the point of exterminating her own persona. Does she hate the judges panel part of the job? Maybe so.........it seems that she is more in her element with the behind the scenes mentoring.......we don't get to see much of Britney as an in depth person.
Do you ever notice how Simon rubs the side of his nose with his finger a lot? Do you think that he is flipping everyone the bird knowingly or ????????? I asked my sister and she said oh my.........he does do that.......wow.
I hope that Demi will do more in care of her people. I really do. I think that she feels she's got it all pulled together..........I don't want to take away Demi's good points I just want to see her take some of the info in and apply it to better outcomes for her group. When she says stuff like "you're just jealous" I can't take it. It makes her seem silly instead of a seasoned performer w/experience behind her. She is 20 and all that comes with time..........but she also has a lot of hands on experience because of her own talent and career.
Trippin on LA's success with his group. I get why people are voting for the ones they are voting for........I do. I didn't think Tate would be first..........but overall I wasn't that surprised with the outcome. I do think that the votes are also impacted by the order of performance prior to actual vote time. But I have to say when I close my eyes, turn up the volume and listen I get it..............voice is not affected by the visual circus going on, talent is talent and some of these folks have a lot of vocal ability............they may not look the part, but that is superfluous to me.
I also get that sometimes better than average talent singing can be enough if the performer has crazy good looks, moves well............has charisma. Personally I'm not super crazy about the age difference, mixing groups with solo performers.......but for now it is what it is. I think that Emblem 3 could become the next teen sensations. Think they have the right elements with the right management.
I'll have to look up Steve Jones.........I don't remember him. It takes me a while to warm up to show hosts in general..........I got to meet the host on A I about five years ago and he has come a long way........much more savvy, professional and more personable. He is surprisingly little.........they put him on a box for a lot of the interviews. Don't mean to sound critical I was just surprised...........I didn't know he was a shorter man.
Anyway, I really do enjoy reading ya'lls commentary...........I would never expect a lot of comments on my thoughts...........it's just my take and we all have the right to our opinions. It makes life interesting.........hugs for your day!
Did anyone catch the Dog Hero Awards last night? I sure did enjoy them.............!
Simon often does utilize his middle finger to scratch his face; he's been doing that since season 1 of Idol. But consider the fact that in the UK the middle finger doesn't mean what it means here...granted it doesn't explaim why he goes with that finger rather than his pointer finger like a normal person would, but it's less offensive at least.
I did read that Demi said post results show that she's going to take a little of what Simon said to heart for next week's show. She realized after seeing the results that she needs to work a little more at being a mentor for her girls so hopefully that reveal will create some changes and light a fire under some of them to make better choices.
Simon and LA Reid both have a track record doing this. Identifying talent and coaching it is their business, and it has been for some time. That is likely why Reid is doing so well. Not sure what Simon's problem is, but I really do not like any of the groups.
I have a feeling that we'll know sooner than later by what plays out on stage. I tend to want less production/less added dancers/tricks and gradually see the performances grow........with a primary emphasis on the singing talent. the songs need to be GREAT every time. mary j. blige is really good at providing concrete feedback i've noticed. random, but i think she is good at putting the specifics into words that help a singer pinpoint the right direction to aim for.
hope ya'll have a great week-end!
Funny thing is Simon and co. made changes in response to last year not doing as well as he had hoped and yet every change he has made thus far has failed worse than what it replaced. The ratings have dropped significantly - he should be graeful they already were renewed for next year before the drop off occurred. They are repeatedly getting kicked around by The Voice (which to me is actually just a game show that revolves around singing rather than an actual singing competition show that aims to find a star that they can market and sell records) and nothing seems to be stopping the bleeding. Not even the unclusion of Simon's pets One DIrection this past week.
I can't imagine what they will do with the show after this season is over to retool it again in hopes they can sell a revamped show to the masses and get people to tune in - since the cache of Britney Spears or a Kardashian in their midst didn't do it (hopefully SImon has learned his lesson that more people hate the Kardashians than love them...and those that love them don't consider Khloe the one to watch clearly). I hope they can get their act in gear next season but I am not holding my breath that this season will get any better. Like you said in the title of this thread Serce, it's a love/hate relationship with this show. It could really be great if they made the right changes but they don't seem to get what is wrong with it and until they do we will all be suffering through if we chose to still tune in.
Personally I don't like the competitiveness between the mentors, I would prefer a singing coach to work with all of them, an extensive wardrobe to choose from, counsellors/support people there if needed, and then back off and let them do their own thing,
There's always been a question on the various incarnations of X Factor around the world as to how involved the mentors really are; some snarky ex contestants from other countries have suggested their mentors were not all that involved and that song selections were given to the mentors by the producers and chroeography choices and wardrobe and all that are worked out by other people on staff.
Even if others are doing a lot of the leg work behind the scenes, the mentors are still going to have some competitiveness in it since there's certainly always a want to be able to have bragging rights to say an act from their category won the show. Whether the mentor has that much of a hand in that act winning is debatable though.
The one thing that can be really bad though is when two (or more) judges/mentors have issues with each other and it affects how they vote in the sing offs. Like with the UK version this year, it is quite obvious that there are two judges who don't seem to care much for each other. There have been some negative exchanges on air between them and one of them seems to always vote the exact opposite of the other in the sing offs (there's one act in particular that one judge does not like and thinks needed to go week 1 and this one other judge has sent the vote to deadlock seemingly to spite them and this joke act is still in the competition). Sometimes it seems they forget it's not about their petty squabbles with each other, that these contestants are trying to change their lives and the silly reasoning to vote to keep a bad act in just to annoy another judge while sending better acts home is not a fair way of going about things.