Battle of the Boybands

Last weekend's X Factor saw the contesants sing songs from the legend that is Elton John, Cheryl let it rip on Saturday, Louis was on top form with his critiques, leaving the other three judges annoyed with him, Katie Waisel was saved by the judges (again!), but for me, last weeks X Factor was all about the boybands. Anyone who knows me know that I am a bit of a boyband nut (particularly when it comes to Westlife), so for me, it was like all my birthdays and Christmas's have come at once, and I certainly wasn't left disappointed! What I loved (from what I could hear anyway), was that JLS, Westlife and Take That all sang live (ahem, take note Cheryl!), and they all did a pretty damn good job of it as well, and as an added bonus, they all looked pretty hot too! But the question is, who was the best?

First up was the newsest boyband on the block, JLS, who performed their song, 'Love You More'. I absoloutely love this song, it feels like a classic boyband ballad from the 90's, so I was hooked the first time I heard it. I really enjoyed their performance as well. They stood on top of a high circular platform, with an orchestra around the bottom. Of course they are no strangers to The X Factor stage, after they were runers-up in the competition in 2008. They have definitely come a long way since then, and it was lovely to see them coming back after their success.

Up next was Westlife. Of course it was the performance of the night for me. I think that 'Safe' is the best song they have had in a while. Flawless performance and flawless vocals. After twelve years together, they are polished and gel extremely well together. With a new album and tour, Westlife are well and truly back!!

Last, but certainly not last, was the highly anticipated reunion of Take That with Robbie Williams. I have mixed feelings about this performance. On the one hand I loved it, I love the song, and thought and thought they all looked happy, and the chemistry between them is as strong as ever. Not to mention, they just get better with age. But the performance also left me feeling a little cold as it was definitely the Robbie Williams show. Vocally and performance wise, he was a bit all over the place, and over the top. I understand that is who he is, but I just didn't him, and I believe Take That are much better without Robbie William's ego.

For me, the King of the boybands was, and always will be, Westlife.

X Marks The Spot...

Being a Meedja Student for the last four years, and with time on my hands at the moment, I decided to start up my own blog. I've been told to write what I know, so you won't be getting any profound insight into politics or the current state of the country. (I'm so sick of hearing about all this doom and gloom and how the government screwed us anyway!) My first blog about the controversies surrounding The X Factor should give you a clue that is not what I am about.

Last Sunday saw Katie Waissel and Treyc Cohen in the sing off. Treyc sang a beautiful rendition of Toni Braxton's 'Unbreak My Heart', while Katie sang a song I've never even heard of before, and one I don't want to hear again. In true Katie-esque style, she forgot the words halfway through, said 'sod it' and actually sat on the floor and sang the words 'Please don't give up on me' over and over again. Simon and Louis seemed to have taken this to heart as they voted to keep her in, while Dannii voted to keep Treyc. So the singer left the competition, while the drama queen stayed in. At the moment, Cheryl is getting an awful time of it in the media for refusing to vote. Cheryl, who is the girls' mentor, was the second judge to be asked who she wanted out, wouldn't pick between her girls, but she eventually she said she would take it to deadlock. Ultimately, it was the producers decision to not take it to deadlock, and as a result the better singer went home. And they left Cheryl to take the brunt of the critiscism. I feel that while Cheryl should have voted (isn't that what she's getting the millions to do??), the producers should have also taken it to deadlock.

So was this a fix to keep Katie in? It wouldn't surprise me. This is why I would never vote. Treyc was by far the better singer, but I felt she had no star quality, there was nothing special about her, she was boring next to Katie. Katie, who has stood out from her first audition for her eccentric look and drama queen antics (who could forget the disaster that was her judges house performance.) It is Katie who is being written about everyday in the papers. Katie is the one who the viewers love to hate. If The X Factor loses Katie, they lose the drama. People argue that it should be a singing competition, and that the judges should put forward the best singers, and again Cheryl was under fire for her descision to not put through Gamu to the live shows, and instead put through Katie and mini-wannabe. And Louis's decision to put through Wagner (pronounced Vaww-gner) also had viewers wondering what the hell was he thinking. But we are now over halfway through the live shows and Vawwgner hasn't even been in the bottom two yet!

Because The X Factor is so much more than a singing competition: it is a fashion show, an entertainment show, a soap opera. People tune in to be entertained, to see a show, to have a laugh at the ridiculousness that is Vawwgner. Vawwgner is by far the worst singer in the competition, but he adds the fun factor to the show. If you just had good singers singing well every week, I don't think that the show would be doing as popular as it is. Ultimately, there is only one 'winner', and that doesn't mean that this person is destined for fame and fortune (anybody remember the person who won the first series??) Jeward was the Vawwgner of yesteryear. Of course they didn't win the show, but they are now millionaires, and fair play to them for using the opportunity that they were given. There isn't going to be a Leona Lewis every year, so why not just sit back and enjoy the rollercoaster of the not so talented and the drama queens while they last, because they won't be in it for much longer.

Katie on the floor during the sing-off.