X Factor (UK) 2016

I had to re-read last year's thread as I couldn't even remember any of the contestants, much less who'd won it. Anyway, back to basics this year: old judges, no audience during the auditions, 8pm ITV1 tonight. Popjustice haven't even mentioned it, posters on their forum mainly of the opinion that they're only watching this out of habit.

How was it? I'm really struggling to find the enthusiasm for it this year (I probably said the same thing the last few years too!)

Better - no baying audience at the audience - but still the same problems as recent years: in particular, the auditionees either get four yesses or are obviously terrible. Also they're still going to have the six chair challenge later on, which is something I'd hoped that they'd get rid of.

no baying audience at the auditions, I mean

Caught up on the auditions last night. I swear every single one of the boys that auditioned was exactly the same. I don't think I'm going to remember any of them. Bring back Seann Miley Moore and Papasidero. They didn't seem to show many groups this year? A couple of boy bands that are obviously going to get a push as Simon has now lost One Direction. Already setting myself up to hate Yes Lad as much as I hated Stereo Kicks two years ago. I'm guessing they'll probably put a few bands together at boot camp. I can barely remember any of the girl groups.

The overs and the girls were the more interesting categories. Honey G doing Missy Elliott's Work It livened things up. She really nailed it. My favourite audition by a mile was Sada Vidoo (the living doll). I'm a massive Klaus Nomi fan and the thought of her being on the live shows might make this thing worthwhile. There's no way she'll be on the live shows is there? As for the girls, the girl who sang Ex Factor by Lauryn Hill was brilliant. She didn't get a lot of airtime and I'm struggling to find her name online so that doesn't bode well for her chances. Gifty was good too but she came across as kind unlikable last year. Even if she doesn't she's still better than all those Ed Sheeran types that are going to get pushed this year.

As for the judges, it seems like the Nicole show with Simon as her sidekick. Louis and Sharon are barely there. LOL, that when Nicole was away they brought in Mel B (build up for 10 minutes for 5 minutes of auditions) but when Sharon wasn't there they didn't bother bringing in a replacement at all.

Is Honey G being taken/presented seriously? I've only seen her in passing and it seemed a bit piss-takey (of her).

Agree. The machinery is in better shape - Dermot's return plus the reset of the judges makes it all work a bit better - but it's in a pretty desperate state in terms of contestants. The talent pool inevitably gets shallower with each year - there seem to be more lol-terrible types (often feeling like lol-mental-illness) and very few (if any?) that are good-interesting, rather than functional x-factor fodder. And yeah, Overs might be the strongest - a lot of the boys just look ready to be shovelled into groups.

Habit and perversity makes me stick with it.

Is Honey G being taken/presented seriously? I've only seen her in passing and it seemed a bit piss-takey (of her).

― djh

I think they do seem to be making her more of a joke type act but I thought she was great when she started rapping. I don't think she'll be on the live shows. I'm 99% sure that the guys who fell out about the under cooked chicken are being pushed as this year's token novelty act.

Woof, I think you're right about the boys this year. There's going to be at least a couple of groups made up out of all these identical Ed Sheeran types. It's sad to see Simon still won't accept that One Direction were a huge fluke/one off.

They should go all-in with 8 sheeran-boys in a band, all with guitars, all strumming and emoting at once

glenn branca-style guitar orchestra, except with ed sheerans

I just read that Relley C is back from the 2013 series (aka the worst ever series). She was my favourite audition that year and got through to judges houses but was sent home by Nicole. https://youtu.be/gGemIv4J2Ig

They didn't show her audition and all we've apparently seen is a glimpse of her at bootcamp (she was with the raw chicken guys) so her chances don't look good. I'm hoping she pulls a Fleur and suddenly becomes a contender. She's an over now. Put her and Sada through and then they could be the strongest they've ever been.

6 Chair Challenge this weekend, which I had really hoped that they'd dropped before the series started, but it's back and with more padding then ever.

The boys category really is the worst this year. I blame Ed Sheeran for this.

what happened to chanal and sada vidoo

i think i hate everyone this year except for that camp lil scottish teen, at least he might make things fun

what happened to chanal and sada vidoo

― art baengels (monotony)

They were my two favourite auditions this year. Of course they didn't get through. Some really terrible decisions being made all over the place this weekend.

Relley C doing OK. Her and Gifty the only ones I might be interested in once the show ends. Emily and SLavery are both awful, Tomlinson 2.0 is a good singer but otherwise ditto for the boys category, and it doesn't look like the only remaining group can sing in tune much either. Says a lot about the season when one of the most entertaining contestants is a minstrel rapper named Anna Georgette.

1) 5 After Midnight – kind of lacking in any personality. But Louis's now stuck with them after Brooks Way were kicked off the show and Bratavio got voted off.
2) Sam Lavery – if her only real feature is alternating between mumbling out of tune and then going AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaAAAAAAAaaaaaaAAAAAAA like a harpooned seagull, then she might be voted off soon.
3) Saara Aalto – Oh those wacky foreigners. They're pitching her as this year's Andreas. The performance was a bit musical theatre but she'll probably be in it for a few more weeks. Yes she was in the bottom two but I think that was a fluke.
4) Ryan Lawrie – so far all the performers have been clean and wholesome. Seems unlikely that Ryan would be able to reach the heights of milquetoast badassery of Wand.
5) Gifty Louise – best singer left in the contest, but as we saw with Misha B, a black woman more often then not gets shoved off the series early thanks to lack of votes by the Great Racist British Public.
6) Relley C – second best singer. Motown week is going to really suit her voice.
7) Matt Terry – there's something very Color Me Badd about his performance and presentation. Which is not good.
8) Freddy Parker – this was a mess. Not surprised that he was in the bottom three.
9) Bratavio – lacking any kind of twisted shard of talent like Jedward, instead they're a slightly better Diva Fever from 2010. But then again their survival song on Sunday revealed them to be quite a bit more. If only they'd sung that on Saturday instead.
10) Emily Middlemas – big voice, but anonymous. Can't really see how she's going to grab the audience's interest long term.
11) Honey G – I don't see this person being in the competition for very long, the novelty's going to wear thin rather quickly. Saturday's performance was a car crash but not in the same way Wagner was, because with him there was a sense that there was a real talent in there that was being overlooked by Louis.

Relley C doing OK. Her and Gifty the only ones I might be interested in once the show ends.

^^^ everyone else is either incompetent, a novelty act, or boring.

1) 5 After Midnight – Think they're more likely to be the new Rough Copy as apposed to the new JLS which is what the producers are obviously hoping for. They did the old One Direction trick of relying on the backing vocals a bit too much.

2) Sam Lavery – She made the James Arthur version sound bearable. The judges obviously sticking to the script after the performance. They must have big plans for her.

3) Saara Aalto – Not sure what they're going for here. I agree that they're already painting her as the wacky foreigner. If she gets too popular they'll probably paint her gold and accuse her of eating a pug. The six chair challenge made her seem very full of herself. Just watching The Xtra Factor and she said, "I nailed it and the audience loved it". That's not exactly the kind of attitude that will go far.

4) Ryan Lawrie – He made Sam Callahan seem competent. It was like he was told he was going to mime but at the last minute they changed their mind and didn't tell him. It was like a whisper. He is obviously only there as he's dating Emily and they're hoping to recreate the Eggnog Diana Vickers romance of 08. Poor Diana Vickers.

5) Gifty Louise – I did like her but her performance was so disappointing. You could barely hear her over the backing vocals. This was not her Uptown Funk moment. I still have hope that she'll do well.

6) Relley C – Performance of the night by a mile for me. She sounded so great and looked so natural up there. Based on the production and the comments, I think they might have big plans for her. Maybe they're hoping for another underdog situation like Alexandra Burke, Little Mix or Fleur? I really like her personality too. I think the people could get behind her. Still don't know why they didn't show any of her earlier auditions.

7) Matt Terry – Haha, Color Me Badd! Nothing really to say about him. He'll probably win.

8) Freddy Parker – Maybe he should have just done Love is a Losing Game again? Useless.

9) Bratavio – A slightly better Diva Fever is about right. It's funny that they were in Simon's category. Bradly really let the side down.

10) Emily Middlemas – Shockingly bad vocal. Imagine calling Toxic dated! She's a poor version of Janet Devlin who was a poor version of Diana Vickers. Really out of her depth.

11) Honey G – Yeah, I'm not sure how long she will last. Maybe she'll do well in a Reggie & Bollie style?

It's not going to be a classic year is it? Relley C FTW.

I can't wait for Sam Lavery to be voted off, not just because she's a crap singer, but also because of the possibility that a fan will try and start a #bringbackslavery hashtag without realising what it looks like.
Bratavio - Bradley was practically ballast last Saturday. The survival song on Sunday showed that Ottavio could have been heading in a Johnny / Rylan direction, in fact at the very start of the song his voice briefly had a Stars In Their Eyes Marc Almond moment. But now they're going to compete to be the UK's entry in Eurovision next year. Just in time for May to trigger Article 50.
Reggie N' Bollie were a bit limited, but they had talent and could really engage with an audience. Watching them perform was something that I genuinely looked forward to seeing each week. Honey G's idea of audience engagement is that backfiring call-and-response bit. I can't really imagine how she's going to tackle the Motown theme this week. Osbourne isn't really an aficionado of the genre either, so I guess that at some point in the song Honey will stand at the front of the stage and bellow "When I say 'Mo' you say 'town'... 'Mo'..." *tumbleweeds*
Oh and since Brookside got kicked off the show, Four of Diamonds are back to replace them. NO I don't remember what they sound like either.

Whoops I capitalised the 'NO' because the shift key stuck. I don't actually feel that strongly about them.

Honey G's song choice this evening, well let's just say that I want to hear how they can justify it being Motown. Unless it's something like "the original version sampled a Motown track".

Actually I think it does.

Is it because I is crap?

Yeah, it samples I'm Coming Out by Diana Ross. The joke is already wearing thin.

Such boring choices tonight. Relley was the highlight again but I'm really sick of that song. Gifty's song choice was one of the worst I've seen since Matt Cardle was made to do Firework. It was a truly bizarre choice that did not play to her strengths in the slightest. Too much shouting and then an awkward sense of forced fun. I'm so disappointed with her these last two weeks.

Ryan to go tomorrow. Terrible performance by someone with a non existing voice. If he had been put in a boy band he would have been the member that never had his microphone turned on.

5 After Midnight are clearly being pushed but they just don't have the range.

1) Freddy Parker – timing was a mess on the verses, and his voice got lost among the backing vocals during the choruses.
2) Emily Middlemas – canned audience applause. When Louis says "you really made that song your own", what he really means is "you have no personality".
3) Matt Terry – I can believe that he's been singing that song into a hairbrush in front of the bathroom mirror since he was a young kid. His familiarity with it both helped (it got him through some tuning wobbles because he knew the marks to hit) and hindered (kind of rote performance apart from the high note at the end which was good). He's moved on from Color Me Badd to somewhere near Olly Murs.
4) Relley C - best performance of the night for me. When Louis says "You remind me of a young...", he means "You're good but I can't explain why, here let me compare you to some other act.". He did this with Paige so much in 2010 that it became a running joke on that year's ILX XF thread.
5) Sam Lavery – this was actually painful to listen to mumble mumble AAAAAARRRRGGHHH.
As an aside, why is this programme still giving James Arthur the time of day? I'm all for the public rehabilitation of homophobes in a "I said something homophobic and I'm sorry homophobia is wrong kids OK?" way, but he hasn't done that, despite being given many chances to. Also his music is shit.
6) 5 After Midnight – backing vocals still turned up way too high. They're reasonably competent but are sub Rough Copy at this point.
7) Ryan Lawrie – he didn't take charge of the track, but at least the arrangement was closer to the originally rather than the mess that it was on Olly Murs' version.
8) Honey G - can't believe that an actually competent singer missed out on a place in the live shows in favour of this. White-person-does-comedy-rapper-act is a YouTube channel, not something for Saturday evening on ITV1.
9) Gifty Louise – second best performance of the night behind Relley C.
10) Saara Aalto – third place tonight for me. Would have been second, but someone keeps punching in a lot of reverb on the vocals in strategic places.
11) Four Of Diamonds – as Sharon said, they've had less than a week to get this together, but they sang the vocals in unison, the backing vocals were turned up, and they nearly came to a juddering halt on that acapella bit at the end.

Bottom 3 prediction: Emily Middlemas (saved by app vote), Sam Lavery, Honey G (voted off by judges). Although realistically it's more likely to be Saara (GBP hates foreigners), Four Of Diamonds (GBP hates XF girl groups), and either Freddy or Ryan.

re: Gifty - despite bad song choices I think her talent still comes through. With the right songs she'd be approaching Cher Lloyd levels.

Has Gifty dropping Louise already happened? Cos if not it will soon. Her or Matt will win, he has the advantage of being white and male tho

I agree with a lot of what you said. I was pretty excited for Gifty before the live shows but she hasn't come near to her potential in the last couple of weeks. They need to get the song choice right next week or she's going to be in trouble. 5 After Midnight definitely are a sub Rough Copy. Plenty of "arsey anthems" from them to come.

They're sticking to the script so much this year, it's embarrassing. I remember this being really noticeable in 2014 when Stereo Kicks and Lola the fish monger were obviously the favourites going into the live shows. They got high praise despite some really off key performances. They're doing that with Sam and 5 After Midnight at the moment. Terrible vocals last night but really good comments that just don't match up.

I think the bottom three will be Ryan, Saara and Four Of Diamonds. At this stage I'm thinking the top three will be 5 After Midnight, Matt and Honey G. I could see Relley doing well because she has the talent and she comes across really well but I just don't trust the public and I think the producers will see her as disposable.

"You remind me of a little Lenny Henry" will always be one of my favourite X Factor moments.

I can't even begin to say how angry I am about James Arthur's comeback kid story. Out of all the people they've dropped over the years he is the last person that deserves a second chance. Why can't it be Alexandra Burke up there at number one? Apparently being a racist, homophobic, ungrateful hot head is much more forgivable than being a confident black woman with loads of talent who said "ok.com" on a live show.

What was that thing about 'That performance would have pleased Berry Gordy' ?

I mean, no offense, but there were perfect performances by Marvin, Gladys and so forth that didn't please Berry Gordy...

I can't remember which performance that was from now. A few years back Louis said something along the lines of, "if Berry Gordy was still alive, he would have loved that". At least he's done his research and found out he's still alive this time round.

Research be damned, someone must have done a lol that he felt.

Christ, Sharon just forgot her own act's name so couldn't introduce her for the sing-off.

And then held her head in her hands when said act was announced as through to next week o_O

It was obvious at Six Chair Challenge just how much Sharon hated Saara. It's hilarious that she was forced into putting her through. I hope she's stuck with her until the final. It would be similar in a way to when Gary had to defend Christopher Maloney for that entire series.

Spoilers for tonight on the Wikipedia page (usually scarily accurate, like, I don't know, some insider is editing it? surely not): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_X_Factor_(UK_series_13)#Week_3_.2822.2F23_October.29
5 After Midnight - weird song choice, can't see how they'll manage to sound like anything other than three guys doing karaoke.
Saara Aalto - p obvious song choice, but it really fits her voice.
Relley C - same as for Saara. But can't they at least pick something a little out of her comfort zone?
Four of Diamonds - the first song is going to be really tricky to pull off and I don't think they have it in them. If they do, kudos to them, but uh they're toast if they can't
Honey G - train wreck.
Sam Lavery - is that the sound of cats mating?
Ryan Lawrie - big big song, Ryan has no chance of managing it.
Gifty Louise - not familiar with this track but of course the original singer is one many XF affiliated acts who seem to be contractually required to get a mention at least once a series.
Emily Middlemas - I imagine that there might have been a bit of a conflict at least in Simon's mind as to whether Emily or Gifty sang this song. He's made the wrong decision if that's the case.
Matt Terry - yeah he'll manage this song easily and all the people who want a younger version of Louis Wand will vote for him but quel ZZZZZZZ.

Weird show last night.

5 After Midnight - They were pimped so much last week I thought they were going to get constant praise until they make the final. Last night's VT made them really unlikable and then those comments from Simon were pretty damning. Did they piss someone off backstage or something? Terrible performance though. Their vocals are seriously underwhelming but they have been every week to me.

Saara - She was fantastic. They seem to be pushing the crazy foreigner thing too much again, but it was just a great performance. My second favourite person on the show.

Relley C - She's still the best singer in the competition for me despite a slightly disappointing week. I've no idea why they're styling her like she's 40 and giving her these boring song choices. I know Shackles is an older song now but it was such a current performance. She looked great and the rap gave her an edge. They need to bring that back. When Fleur was on two years ago, they did everything they could to make her seem hip and trendy. Can they please do that with Relley. I'm worried about her chances tonight.

Four of Diamonds - They look like they're just not into it. It's like they know they don't stand a chance. Bottom three tonight easily.

Honey G - That joke isn't funny anymore.

Sam Lavery - Nicole was right. This just did not work. She's so flat it's weird that she's in the competition.

Ryan - They really threw him under the bus last night. He's one of those useless singes that should have never made the live shows like Lloyd Daniels or Sam Callahan. He should be gone tonight. Is he dating anyone? Weird that they haven't mentioned that.

Gifty - Last week the memo to Gifty was you need to smile. This week it must have been, we love you but the public think you're coming across as cold and harsh. The whole thing made me very uncomfortable. It reminded me of when Misha B was called a bully and then the following week she got an emotional VT being reunited with her mum. The wig was ridiculous. This was her best performance so far but something's not clicking for me. Going on from what I've seen on the show and Xtra Factor (this year and last when she auditioned) she does seems kind of stroppy. She is one of the better people on the show this year.

Emily - Simon's desperate attempts to make people "have moments" are laughable. Cher's audition was a moment. Alexandra and Beyonce was a moment. Sean Miley Moore doing This Woman's Work was a moment. Rebecca doing Sweet Dreams was a moment. Last night was not a moment in any way. I think Emily will do well in the show unfortunately. Simon's girls are just not as good as they should be. Is Emily dating anyone.. ah you get the idea.

Matt Terry - There's just no way he won't win is there?

Oh and Dermot talking to Emily's dad was one of the most awkward scenes I've ever seen on TV.

IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:
Matt: yeah, looks like the obvious winner. Feel like he was underestimated a bit earlier in the thread - I think he's the strongest traditional boy that they've had in a while.
5am: thought they had something from auditions, but they seem to be quite bad at singing. Their 'we are best friends (who met 6 months ago)' schtick coming apart.
Emily: another year of x-factor's doomed endless experiment to find a girl who'll willingingly do AOR-quirk. She seems pleasant, but so forgettable. I'd normally say kicked off mid-series, but it's a desperate crop, so maybe final four or so.
Slavery: god help me I'm warming to her desperate bellowing style. Artless youthful charm to her.
Gifty: kind of the best, I think, but yeah, there's a bit of a likeability problem (plus the public's legitimate concerns, obviously). Feel like I'm waiting for something to really kick in from her. And I'd like her to do it without the x-factor machine making her revisit trauma for emotional effect, but hey I watch this thing, I'm complicit.
Relly: all likeability! But her performances don't quite work for me. I didn't enjoy that Shackles - something's not quite there and I don't know why. Same with Motown and last night.
Ryan: pointless. Makes no impression. Romance plot is about it for him.
Four of Diamonds: I like them! They aren't quite a unit, and are a bit awkward or self-conscious on stage, and okay they're thin on personailty right now, but I think there's some kind of talent there. Probably kicked off before that comes together into a good performance.
Saara: no strong opinion. impressive, but too professional in some ways.
I don't think Honey G should be doing this, any of this.

Christ it's a poor shower this year.

1) Ryan Lawrie - what is it with XF and singers who insist on playing guitar? They're nearly always shit and he was miming. Louis was right, it was like listening to a busker. Who mimes guitar to a backing tape. And mumbles half the words.
2) Gifty - Louis: "You are a star" – drink a shot.
3) 5 After Midnight – they should have concentrated on their singing not their dancing. They must have pissed off Brian a lot for their VT to get edited like that. In a weird reversal to usual XF boybands, they sound terrible when they're all singing at once but individually they're passable (in a Brian from East 17 way). But the backing singers were doing the complex harmonies.
4) Sam Lavery – Sam admitted to having a Zayn doll, so they sold at least one then. 'Earth Song' really highlighted the mumble/screech dichotomy of her voice.
5) Matt Terry – slightly shaky start but it wasn't bad. On the other hand it wasn't that good either. Out of the solo singers he's the one who's going to get the Cowell dollar behind him.
6) Honey G – a mess although they tried to make it less of a mess by keeping it simple. To the point of getting Honey to not even sing during the 'Under Pressure' part of the song, and just sway from side to side with her arms folded. Jedward's take on this was incredible because of their audacity, you couldn't believe what was happening. This was like a PE teacher at a school talent contest.
7) Relley C – again, a good performance, but there's more to moving out of the comfort zone than songs with higher notes.
8) Emily Middlemas – the arrangement of this song might have been an interesting had it not mainly been chosen because Emily wouldn't have been able to get anywhere near the original. Louis tries to pay a compliment but it sounded more like an insult – the music for a John Lewis Christmas commercial?
9) Four Of Diamonds – one of my pet hates about XF is when an act says that they're going to do a mash-up when they mean a medley. 'Lady Marmalade' was rather good and much better than I expected after last week's performance. It proves they can actually sing a bit as individuals. They could have dropped 'Bang Bang' though as it didn't really go anywhere or showcase anything.
10) Saara Aalto – out of the acts who can actually sing, Saara is the only one who seems to be getting better week on week. Relley and especially Gifty seem to be treading water.
Best performances of the night for me were Saara, Relley, Four of Diamonds, and Gifty to a lesser extent. Bottom 3 prediction: I would really like Honey G to just go now before one of the better singers gets kicked off instead, but for some reason people are voting for her. Realistically it's probably going to be Saara (no one seems to be voting for her), 5 After Midnight (boyband coming across as dicks is NAGL), and Four of Diamonds (because GBP hates XF girls groups with any style - I think the stylists intentionally dressed Little Mix in eye-wateringly bad 80s clobber just to avoid that).

Watched my first episode of this season last night and was amazed by how awful so much of it was. Honey G is a Sacha Baron Cohen project right?

'He said "I've been to the Year 3000... and X Factor is still shit."'

xxp ha, "teacher at a school talent contest" is otm re: the way in which Honey G is terrible

Ryan saved by app vote - even he can't believe how stupid that is.

didn't realise that Honey G has been doing this for years: http://jamsphere.com/reviews/honey-g-proves-to-have-surpassed-the-concept-of-gender-as-a-styling-to-influence-an-album

FFS what a shitshow - victormeldrew.gif doesn't even begin to cover it.

Absolutely gutted.

Four of Diamonds are so dull. They look like a group of shop assistants who've been forced to sing at the end of a long day's work.

Who on earth is voting for SLavery? What a dreadful voice she has.

I just watched Luke's performance of 'Play That Funky Music' and it was 'better' in the sense that you could hear his voice compared to Ryan's attempt last night. Although I think this was also the week that they tried to make look 'sexy' and only succeeded in making him look like a sleazy leering creep. But at least there's the possibility that the costume department kept those gold boots, so maybe Honey G could wear them.

1) Saara Aalto – Sharon's whole “towns vote for people” idea was totally bogus and desparate. A bit of an anonymous performance that just avoided being shouty.
2) Sam Lavery – passable as a mid 2010s cover. She didn't sound convinced though.
3) Ryan Lawrie – he sounds like a slightly off par Olly Murs. The backing singers were doing a lot of the heavy lifting during the choruses. Although it's a sign of how bad Ryan has been that that was probably his best performance of the series so far.
4) 5 After Midnight – they seemed to get swamped by the arrangement in the first song, but the second song was better. Just like the Rough Copy version they needed a lot of help from the backing vocals.
5) Matt Terry – he does a competent job but his performance really has that slight 'Saturday night TV' performance disconnect. It did get more focused towards the end but we've never got a clear idea about what he's trying to put across. He's another of these XF singers who can technically sing but has no drive to really say something and will just sing whatever's put in front of him.
6) Emily Middlemas - her voice was too floaty on this, like it didn't have enough contact with the song. She's right that she can't keep doing 'standing still ballads'. But if people are voting for her then Simon might not want to change things around. I wonder how much the judges are told about the previous week's voting? I'm of the opinion that they shouldn't be told anything at all - apart from the relative position of the bottom three/two which they find out anyway - so as to avoid them playing it safe particularly in song choice.
7) Honey G – VT: when you're saying that Robbie Williams, not the greatest rapper, has inspired you, what does that really say? Robbie's new album is titled 'The Heavy Entertainment Show', but this whole series is squarely in the light entertainment category. Honey G performing the N-Trance version of the song was probably the best option. This was actually her best performance and her performances are improving, but still it's a comedy act and needs to be off XF ASAP.

Bottom two prediction: Saara (hardly anyone's voting for her as evidenced by Sharon's desperate attempt to drum up support) vs Ryan (he's getting better but he's now the weakest singer - not counting Honey G).

(and given that Ryan's improved this week while Saara really hasn't, I think the judges will vote off Saara)

5 After Midnight looked so awkward dancing to September. It was like when you go to a party but you're not drunk enough to throw yourself into it.

I think Sam will be in the bottom two tonight. Probably her and Ryan. I wonder if last night's negative comments for Emily were the producers trying to get that Ryan and Emily bottom two that they've been dreaming of since the beginning. I think Saara might sneak through to next week. She got the best reaction of the night with 5 After Midnight.

I've always assumed that Emily and Matt will be in the final two but now I'm really not sure if both of them will be able to beat Honey G and 5 After Midnight. I could see a shock with Matt. Remember when Eoghan Quigg was the favourite to win in 2008 and he won the vote every week until near the end when he came third? Having said that, they had Alexandra and JLS that year. Matt is more of an Eoghan or Marcus Collins. He can sing and has a pop star look, but it's all too cheesy and dated. He has no story at all. I honestly think the producers might be happy with a Honey G win.

Sharon really is terrible at sticking to her script. Her reason to eliminate Sam, “it’s only because he’s been in the bottom so many times”.

Just result though it somehow also seems like a failure in that they missed the opportunity to finally get rid of Ryan.

Movie Week.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_X_Factor_(UK_series_13)#Week_7_.2819.2F20_November.29
5 After Midnight are basically shafted with their song choice - it requires good harmony singing to pull off and they haven't got a chance of managing that. Ryan bizarrely might not be in the bottom two this week as I feel that he can make a fair fist of his song and it might actually be mildly entertaining even if they make it a carbon copy of the original in staging, choreography and arrangement. Matt is on shaky ground with his selection as even the original is shite so there's not even anything solid to push off from. Despite the comments about 'standing still ballads' Emily's performing... another standing still ballad. Saara is doing her usual big remote song and she'll be in the bottom two because she's not really communicating anything and she's not got the old XF fall-back position of being relatable. Honey G is doing the usual comedy rap and the prospect of her being in the final and maybe even winning looms ever larger - I get that same shifting/falling feeling I got in the run up to the EU Referendum / US Presidential Election.

Praying Saara makes it into a dancefloor number tonight

1) Ryan Lawrie – a Saturday evening light entertainment TV version of the song. Also the backing vocals were carrying him a bit more than last week. Simon's right, it was corny.
2) 5 After Midnight – an interesting arrangement but the different sections were sloppily joined together and the vocals were crowded out by the backing track to the point that I couldn't make out what they were singing.
3) Saara Aalto – VT goes on about her not wanting to sound like Celine Dion, but that's exactly what it sounded like, especially in the second half.
I liked the popcorn going over Nicole's head - it almost looked unscripted.
4) Matt Terry – again, as with Saara, despite his claims in the VT that he wanted to not sound like the Sam Smith version, he sounded like the Sam Smith version. Don't understand why the crowd were going nuts over this. It was his best technical performance of the series but the song is so blah.
5) Honey G – she's going to win this series, isn't she.
6) Emily Middlemas – VT with Simon looks like a job interview or something from The Apprentice. At least they're open about doing the opposite of what they said they would. Way too much reverb on the vocals and Emily's voice was so slight at times she was almost exhaling the words rather than singing them.
Bottom two prediction: Ryan and Saara, probably Ryan to go as he was in the bottom two last week as well and there's plenty about his performance this week for the judges to pick holes in.
Whether deliberately or not, with the performance order the producers set out how the rest of the series up until the final week is going to go. Ryan, 5AM, and Saara are not in the final three, Matt, Honey G, and Emily are.

one of the things I've noticed about Honey G is she simply isn't comfortable when a song requires her to go at a slower tempo. You could hear all the blank space in It's Like That but she sounded looser and playful on Getting Jiggy With It because it gives her less time to be awkward within what she's doing.

I've only half-watched the live shows so I don't know much about backstory etc but to me Saara has so much personality and energy and that song choice worked completely against all of that.

1. Ryan Laurie - He reminds me of that guy Philip who was on season 2. He did Wind Beneath My Wings the first week and clearly hated it. He said he was more of a rock n roll kind of guy, so the next week he picked his own song. He did an embarrassing version of Johnny B Goode complete with Louis calling him a young Shakin' Stevens. He was voted off instantly. Ryan has done three of those performances in a row now. They could well get their desired Emily vs Ryan bottom two tonight. It must be hard for Ryan knowing that the only reason he's there is for that five minutes of drama. It's truly amazing how far he's got in this competition.

2. 5 After Midnight - They would sail through to the final if those vocals were better. One Direction managed to hide their dodgy vocals more convincingly as they did have Liam and Zayne who could sing pretty well in their solos. Also they never turned on Louis' microphone which helped. All three of the guys in 5 After Midnight are so bad. Last night's performance was such a mess.

3. Saara - She did the best with what she had. I kept thinking I'd rather her be doing This Woman's Work instead. People on PopJustice pointed out she was actually dressed like Kate in the Wuthering Heights video. Is there any way they can make Kate Bush a theme next week for her? Kate Bush or Susanne Sundfor would be ideal. Despite a terrible song choice, she is the only one in the competition worth rooting for.

4. Matt Terry - Yeah, that was an exact copy of the Sam Smith version. Sam Smith is Matt's idol and Jesse J is his favourite diva. There's something wrong with this picture. I'm still not sure Matt is going to win this but last night felt like he was getting a big push again. I'm still seeing him as a Marcus Collins runner up as apposed to a Ben Haenow/Matt Cardle type who they couldn't stop from winning despite their best efforts.

5. Honey G - A few weeks ago I said the same thing about Honey G winning this. Last night really felt like there's nothing else they can do with her. Every performance is the same and so are the judges comments. There's nowhere for her to go.

6. Emily - I cannot believe she did a ballad whilst sitting down. All week, I thought they were setting her up to do a big upbeat number but they just wouldn't let her. Is it just me or does she seem to get the last spot every week? Her and Honey G always seem to the be the last two performing which says a lot about who the favourites are with the producers.

I think it'll be Ryan in the bottom two (obviously). I'm really not sure who will join him. I could see it being Emily or maybe even 5 After Midnight. It would be disappointing and predictable if it was Saara.

I don't think there'll be a Ryan vs Emily bottom two. Ryan's going to be voted off either tonight or possibly next week, while Emily's probably got a boost from SLavery voters who haven't switched over to Saara.
Big problem with 5 After Midnight is that they're a boyband made up entirely of singers who'd be near the back in any other boyband. Like if JLS were entirely singers like Marlon, or if Wand was entirely singers like the two whose names I can't even remember. They keep pulling performances out of the bag that hint at excitement without quite being exciting, like last night. In a piss-poor year like this it might be enough to net them 4th place.
I noticed the white dress/dry ice WH combo but Saara's more like Bjork by way of musical theatre with a big chunk of Toyah. A Kate Bush themed week would be good though - imagine what a mess Honey G performing 'There Goes A Tenner' would be.
The producers have twigged that the tank's running on vapour with Honey G - the pre-performance bits (like last night's CGI tube train) are getting extended more and more to reduce the time she's actually on stage. If she gets to the final maybe they could actually get Peter Kay to duet with her? He was on Strictly last night doing his patented 'annoying twonk who interrupts everything' act.

It's interesting you mention JLS. I have a hard time remembering how they were on the live shows. They always seemed really down to earth and they had the brand down right from the beginning but how were their performances? I have a feeling it was Aston that was carrying the rest of them. It always seemed like they got to the final by mistake. The producers seemed more invested in Diana Vickers that year. You are spot on about 5 After Midnight coming across like a band made up of the background members. There is no lead vocalist in that group. I'm not convinced their dancing is that good either. I do see them in the final this year. The producers see Saara and Ryan as disposable. I'm not sure who they're invested in for the final three now. I assume they want Honey G for the drama but aren't they scared of her winning at this point? They did let Reggie & Bollie get to the final last year who were in a similar position (although they were way more talented and entertaining). Would they kill of Honey in the same brutal way they took down Reggie & Bollie last year. I still feel embarrassed for those guys when I think of them coming out and performing that winner's single. Such an awkward three minutes. Honey G is starting to get a lot of negative press too. That suggests that she's slightly fallen out of favour with the producers too.

The producers have really gone all over the place with Saara. She got the whole recreation of Kitty's performance of It's Oh So Quiet a few weeks ago. The last two weeks she was given songs that Sam Bailey did in her years. They can't quite decide how they want her to come across. At least they've slightly eased off the kooky foreigner angle which is how they managed to take down Andrea a couple of years ago who was running away with the vote until they painted him gold, asked him he'd eaten a pug live on TV, gave him VTs where he was constantly stuffing his face with food and filled every VT with messages that read like, "look at this weird foreign guy who doesn't belong in our country". That was one of the most brutal take-downs I've ever seen. Up there with Janet "Mmm Bop" Devlin, Anton "I headbutted Simon so badly that a bruise appeared on his face that an experienced makeup team couldn't cover up" Stephans and the all time classic Christopher "demon eyes" Maloney.

How is Peter Kay still a thing in 2016?

Honey G managed to sing backwards lyrics, censor anything remotely sexual and dry-hump Simon Cowell during the sing-off. This show makes no sense at all.

This interview made me really love Saara. http://www.ditchthelabel.org/saara-aalto-interview/ She seems to really have a following now. I just hope the producers let it build and she can get to the final. They probably see her as the most disposable contestant left and want rid of her before then which would be a massive shame. I'm still bitter about what they did to Relley C, I'll forgive them if they let Saara win which I really think she could do with the right songs.

After reading that interview I want Saara to win now. Or better still, come second, as she seems to have a longer term plan for after XF ends and it might be better for her if she's not locked into the XF Winnar Contract.

I think her song choices for this week are really good as well.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_X_Factor_(UK_series_13)#Week_8_.2826.2F27_November.29
5 After Midnight and Matt look like they're going to come majorly unstuck this week with their song choices. In line with the 'Louis Loves' theme, Honey G is performing 'rap songs that Louis has heard of'. IF Emily can pull off her first song, then it'll be her first exciting performance in weeks. Although I fear that it'll be rearranged into a stand still/sit down snorefest.

I imagine the producers want Matt, Emily and 5 After Midnight in the final as they seem to be obsessed with younger winners. That would be such a boring top three. It might be the first final I don't bother watching and I sat through a few hours of Luke Friend, Nicholas McDonald and Sam Bailey battle it out. Saara is the only one that's shown versatility, she's done the best with some rotten song choices, she's never had a bad week and going on that interview she has a vision and something to say. She even has the narrative of someone who turned it around on the live shows and won people over. Sadly, these are probably not things that Simon and the producers value when trying to push someone for the win. I wonder if they'll have a sing off tomorrow? I'm clinging to the hope that whoever Saara is up against tomorrow in the bottom two, she'll do another Ruth Lorenzo and blow her competition away.

Saara doing The Winner Takes It All was the best performance I've seen on this show in a long time. If she's not safe tomorrow, I'm going to lose it.

Yesterday was the first time I've watched this all series. Thought Saara was brilliant. Reading the thread, I'm guessing she's not been like that every week? Louis Walsh still clearly certifiable, I see "I want all of Finland to vote for you" oh do fuck off.

Saara's performance was the best of the night, and one of her best performances of the series, but the slight changes she made to the vocal melody made my teeth itch a bit.

xp Saara's made some mis-steps throughout this series, but she's been consistently great.

I don't think that bloke was actually a Honey G fan..

There's rumours that he was a member of the production team and it was a set-up (albeit a set-up that Honey G wasn't told about).

They pulled the same trick two years ago when someone ran up on stage and joined Stereo Kicks on stage when they were desperately trying to make them happen and get people talking about them. It didn't work. Back in 2009 Calvin Harris ran up on stage with Jedward with a pineapple on his head. I guess the security there is pretty weak.

Weird night last night. It really showed how average everyone is apart from Saara.

Matt Terry - Really struggling to remember what songs he did. I loved that his second VT featured him saying, "I'm going to ease off on my falsetto" like it was a big deal and then two minutes later there it was. It really is his only trick. I'm still seeing people say he's got it in the bag, I just can't see it myself. He hasn't had any standout performances and has been so forgettable most weeks.

Saara Aalto - Her first performance was seriously beautiful. If she's in next week, I hope she gets another ballad like that. The second performance was a bit of a mess but still really enjoyable. Her vocal was flawless despite being thrown around the stage. She gets bonus points for throwing that second parcel and it almost hitting Simon in the face. It would be embarrassing if she didn't make the final. It's funny that Sharon keeps saying, "Saara picked this song" which basically exposes that Sharon is doing nothing to mentor her acts in any way.

5 After Midnight - My comments about them are getting as repetitive as Louis Walsh, but I have to say it again. The amount of help their getting with their vocals is so ridiculous. I think they only sang about three lines in Uptown Funk. They expose themselves as soon as they sing individually. They are definitely the chosen ones by the producers judging by the endless praise for such average performances. They're dancing isn't even that good really. Their Uptown Funk just made me miss Fleur. Their version of Sorry/One Dance was a mess and they barely sang any of it. I really kind of hate these guys now.

Honey G - I could have sworn she'd already performed Push It and Can't Touch This on the show before? So, it's a bit weird that nobody mentioned that she forgot at least 90% of the words to Black Beatles. I was cringing so much as she wandered round the stage doing that awkward dance as she remembered only the odd word. The judges are sticking to the script so much this year. The joke is old and her comments were very end of the journey. They want her out.

Emily - She was supposed to do Toxic in week one, but she changed the song as she thought it was dated. Glad to see she got told to get over that. Her ukulele miming skills weren't up to scratch and it was a terrible arrangement The second song was possibly the worst performance of the night. It completely exposed how weak her vocals are. The song was too low for her and she was totally drowned out in the chorus. I wish we still had Cheryl and Danni there. They used to actually comment on weak vocals. The judges this year are just there for the paycheck and aren't trying to cover up how little they care. They used to show Cheryl at the rehearsals giving advice. Now they just show the contestants getting a phone call.

Not sure who will join Honey G in the bottom two tonight. I think it could be a shock. Maybe Emily or Matt? I hope it's 5 After Midnight so we can hear what they sound like without tons of backing vocals.

This time it's some cocks called Trollstation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trollstation

Matt - another couple of technically good but not exciting performances from him last night. It'll be interesting to see the voting stats after this all wraps up. He's probably been at or near the top for the entire series but maybe he's slipping now. Question: if he's always been a good singer, why did he even bother auditioning for XF? Surely there are a lot of producers who would have got him to sing on a track?
Saara - as I said above, her vocal melody on the ABBA song was different enough to be noticeable. Her second performance showed that she could be versatile. I don't know what the producers have planned for the winner's single, but Saara will pull it off whether it's a ballad or something more up-tempo.
Honey G - just piss awful. She'll be voted off if she's in the bottom two.
5 After Midnight - performing 'Uptown Funk' was a mistake, as it reminded people that they haven't had their equivalent of Fleur's 'Uptown Funk' moment. And it's a bit too late for them to have it now. 'Sorry' was pretty much the same as the Bieber original, and the visuals...
http://www.ultrasorry.com/gfx/sorry2013.jpg
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/brtcb-DmuuA/hqdefault.jpg
Lazy lazy stage design.
Emily - channelling Katie Waisel on 'Toxic', safe but dull arrangement on 'Human'.
Bottom two prediction: Honey G and 5 After Midnight. The joke has run itself flat with Honey G, and the boys don't deliver the goods despite nearly managing to on a couple of occasions in past weeks. Seems like it's the week where the audience clamp down and demand actual singers. 5AM will probably scrape through until next week, but they'll be gone before the final leaving Matt, Saara, and Emily.

I hope you're right about that final. I think the producers will do anything they can to get 5 After Midnight to the final. It doesn't always work. They've lost some producers favourites in 4th place before (Rough Copy, Cher Lloyd, Danyl Johnson and Diana Vickers)

Oh look Busted want to be Maroon 5.

Honey G out, finally. 5AM's vocals sounded piss-weak without the usual backing during the first half of their survival song. I think they'll be voted off next week.

idk, the judges are pushing the "you're going to be the next big pop sensation" angle pretty hard for 5AM, seems like someone hopes they'll actually have a career?

I think 5 After Midnight have been plan A for the producers for most of this season, just like Stereo Kicks were for the first half of the 2014 season. I thought they might actually succeed this time, but I'm glad to see the voting public haven't totally fallen for their appalling vocals/backing vocal use.

It really does feel like Saara has turned things around for herself. They gave her such a bad edit on the six chair challenge and she was so unpopular when they got to the live shows, but here we are now with her looking like real contender. I think she might be the only contestant left that people are heavily invested in.

On paper 5AM slot into the clearest post-XF plan: Wand are on hiatus, here's 5AM to take over. The other three acts don't have that. Saara is a unique artist, but because of that it would be hard to kickstart a chart career with her straight away - it would be more of a slow and sustained build. Emily works in the Diane Vickers kind of space, but that isn't as prominent at the moment as it used to be. Matt is the most current, but he's in an area where he's crowded out by Olly Murs, Bruno Mars, and even Robbie Williams. But the problem for 5AM is that they're just not up to it vocally, in pretty much the same way that Stereo Dicks weren't.

Stereo Kicks really were a disaster on the show. There was only one strong singer and he pulled really weird/ugly faces every time he hit a high note. Simon tried so hard to make them a thing and it just did not work in any way.

Well, with Honey G and Ed Balls both going today, well that's the front pages sorted out for tomorrow.

"When I say 'Honey', you say 'Balls'."

Brian Friedman making some great points here.

http://www.gaytimes.co.uk/culture/tv/55335/x-factor-brian-friedmans-top-five-moments-from-week-eight/

I Love how much he adores Saara.

I just realised that it's been a good few years since I was this invested in someone getting to the final. Possibly since Little Mix?

they (5 After Midnight) sound terrible when they're all singing at once but individually they're passable (in a Brian from East 17 way)

Oh dear...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_X_Factor_(UK_series_13)#Week_9:_Semi-final_.283.2F4_December.29

Amazingly Saara is now the favourite to win. This must be the biggest turnaround the show has ever had. Good on her. Chandelier wasn't quite as good as The Winner Takes It All last week or the first time she sang it in her audition but it still managed to make the other contestants look like complete amateurs. Her Mariah cover was solid and captured the essence of the song well. She had a good night and I'd be shocked to see her in the bottom two tomorrow. I had to laugh when Simon praised Sharon for "fighting for Saara" and being a great mentor. She got forgot her name for several weeks, forgot where she comes from and couldn't hide how much she hated her at six chair challenge/judges houses/those first five weeks. Sharon obviously stopped caring about any of her acts once Relley C got sent home.

Matt seemed to be a target this week. He got the Christmas song that has previously been given to winners (Little Mix and Alexandra Burke both did it), somehow it didn't feel like he was being set up for the win. I was so bored by Silent Night and the Jessie Ware cover was way too try hard. Simon clearly trying to kill off his support with his remarks. I wonder if it will backfire and give him a sympathy bounce? Shame that he got given that particular Jessie Ware song. She's one of my favourite artists around, but that is her worst song by a mile. I could see him in the bottom two tomorrow.

Emily had a terrible night. I could barely hear her on the John Lennon song. Those kids were carrying the whole thing. It was pretty embarrassing when she tried to use those kids to get votes at the end. Did she think it was some kind of charity or something? She had a look of someone who knew that the song didn't work and that her time was almost over. It was very Lauren Platt just before she got kicked out. Nice to see people telling her the Mad World cover was so original. It's only been done like that on these shows a hundred times (Adam Lambert, Jay James, Aiden Grimshaw etc). She just doesn't have any range and yet again seemed out of her depth. They want her in the bottom two tomorrow. I wouldn't rule out that powerful Scottish vote. Never forget Leon Jackson.

5 After Midnight's reaction from the judges were so far from what I saw/heard I was kind of embarrassed for them. I love that after that appalling sing off last week they demoted the two that really can't sing to backing vocalists. Shame the main singer isn't quite strong enough to carry the band. As always the use of backing vocals were a complete joke. I can see them joining Matt in the bottom two tomorrow. I think they will be saved as I do think that producers want them to win and think they will be the most commercial prospect after the show. I still think they're more Rough Copy than JLS.

Basically at this point it will be a joke if Saara doesn't win. She's not going to win, is she?

No, she won't win. Simon doesn't want Saara to win as she's a difficult fit for the Syco winnar contract. I don't want her to win, because she's the best remaining contestant and she'd be better off getting 2nd place and working with other people. As long as will.i.am doesn't pop up and offer to work with her.

1) Matt - terrible vocal theatrics all over the second half of 'Silent Night'. Alexandria was able to pull it off, which just shows how much worse Matt is as a singer. The whole 'big note at the end' thing is so Danyl Johnson. Maybe Simon wants Matt to win so that he'll have a do-over with a Danyl type singer who doesn't also have a massive ego. Although I'm thinking that if Matt wins he could go full Cardle. I don't know what the original Jessie Ware version of the second song sounds like, but it comes to something when that average performance was the most exciting thing Matt's done in weeks.

2) 5 After Midnight - they couldn't even hold it together on an East 17 track where Brian 'I ate three jacket potatoes and then ran myself over with my own car' Harvey was the lead vocalist. They've realised that Kieran is the 'best' singer of the three, but it's all relative, he's still terrible. When JLS finally got around to putting Aston front and centre, he really could sing. 'Signed Sealed Delivered I'm Yours', in every aspect of it's presentation, was basically Simon saying that he wants them to be the new Wand. But it won't happen. Rough Copy have all but disappeared and they had at least some small spark (that Gary Barlow pissed all over).

3) Emily - backing vocals really helping her out during 'Happy Xmas (War Is Over)' to the point where it sounded like she was singing along to a pre-recorded tape of herself during the verses. Children's choir is XF shorthand for 'you've got no vocal presence but we need you in the final'. Aiden's version of 'Mad World' was much much better - something I never thought I'd say. But at least he moved around on stage a bit, even if it did just look like he was busting for a piss.

4) Saara - 'All I Want For Christmas' was really really like the Mariah version. I would have liked to have heard Saara do something different with it, as the lyrics always seem way out of step with the presentation in the original. 'Chandalier' - again, not familiar with this song. Saara's big problem has been overcoming the public's assumption that she's a novelty act like Wanger ended up being under Louis. She's done that by communicating with the audience, but her second song felt like a step back into theatrical remoteness.

You are right about the Matt and Danyl big note comparison. It never occurred to me before now. It's their only trick and it's not as impressive as either of them thought. I had a feeling he would end up in the bottom two tonight. Simon's criticisms were just enough to plant that seed in the voting public's minds. His sing-off performance was possibly his worst vocal yet. He had no control and the song was way too big for him. I was shocked to see that Emily outperformed him.

I'm seeing this final in a similar way to the 2008 final (probably my favourite year of X Factor). They have Matt who is cheesy, dated and hopelessly being pushed as the heartthrob who I really don't think they want to win = Eggnog Quigg. 5 After Midnight are the hip (in their eyes) R&B group who they'll want to push outside of the show = a much worse version of JLS. Then they have the ultimate performer who is miles ahead of everyone vocally, can dance and looks like a professional on stage who probably will make the other two finalists look like amateurs next week = Alexandra Burke. I hope the result goes the same way.

I wonder who the duets will be next week? I'm sure they're doing everything they can to get Sia to perform with Saara. Nicole will predictably sing with Matt (hopefully she'll grab his microphone away like she did to poor Jahmene). I'm guessing Little Mix for 5 After Midnight? If they get paired up, I'm seeing 5 After Midnight win. I actually have this terrible feeling they will win despite miming every single week.

Nice to see Charli XCX on Xtra Factor. Shame she didn't get put on the main show instead of Lady Gaga doing that dreary ballad.

Matt and Saara

5 After Midnight sounded more like backing singers on both of their songs tonight.

Also Matt had a real rabbit-in-headlights look last night.

Ikr. So how's he gone favourite again?

It was hilarious during the 'Purple Rain' duet when Nicole came out and took the "honey I know I know I know" line right off him, and totally relegated him to a backing singer for the rest of the song.

Extremely niche news, but hints on social media appear to indicate that Chanal (auditionee in 2016XF) has replaced Frankee as a third member of small-time British pop/R&B trio M.O.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrYKjs286zQ