Loved that Brian Friedman (SYTYCD) was the artistic director for the performances. You only see him in the singer intro segments.

First night jitters got to quite a few of them. It will be interesting to see how some develop over the series as they get more confident.

In her interviews, Stacey comes off as the X-Factor’s answer to AI’s Kellie Pickler.

ITA. She may be sweet, but she drives me nuts with how ditzy she seems.

plus I want to sort his dodgy eyebrow out

ITA! I just want to take a comb across the screen and fix it for him. Very annoying. I also agree that there’s something eerie about him

I still can’t stand the twins. I wish they had gone home before the ex-pole dancers (Kandy Rain).

Dannii’s comment to Danyl was more than a bit awkward. But if other acts are getting their pasts publicized then I guess it doesn’t surprise me. Though it appears she’s been getting some backlash for her comment.

I have to add, after watching Simon react to Danyl’s performance and critique, that he is so full of shit in this competition. He acts so different on AI because he has nothing at stake. So, what’s real here?! Huh? X-Factor, where Simon has a financial interest or AI where he has none? Be the same critic on both shows, Simon! There is an undeniable, noticeable difference in him on these shows. How can he bring this British show – “X-Factor” — such as it is — to the U.S. and expect Americans not to notice how different he is?! What a tool.

I do like Simon, and enjoy him, but I really don’t agree with him.

He blogged today on his official site about it .. I thought the bit at the beginning where he seemed to be pushing the doors back was all part of the act but apparently they didn’t open so he had to physically prise them apart so that kind of put him off his stride to begin with. Bodies is’t the best song to perform live as it’s a bit “talky” in the verse .. but I just love the way Robbie works the crowd … he’s mad, he’s bad and I love him ….lol

http://www.robbiewilliams.com/news-blogs/x-factor

As to the contestants … Jamie’s still my favourite .. I agree that it wasn’t the best T Rex song to pick for him as the start is too low but I enjoyed it when he could kick it up a bit towards the end.

I thought that Joe sang his song very well and will be one to watch (I never rated him during the auditions as thought he sang like a sheep)

I can’t stand Stacy’s dumb ditzy act .. it puts me off her singing (which is actually quite good)

I also don’t like Rikki .. there’s something a bit eeriy about him . it’s his third shot at getting on the live finals and I don’t think he should have made it this year .. Ethan and Duane are far better singers .. plus I want to sort his dodgy eyebrow out .. plus if he’s going to wear stupid hats all the time I wish he wouldn’t shop in the children’s department and get one that actually fits his head …lol

John & Edward can’t sing for toffee but I find them very entertaining .. they brought a bit of fun to a very dire group number and they’re actually growing on me .. in the behing the scenes stuff the come across as nice lads and the rest of the contestants seem to think a lot of them .. Jamie’s reaction to them getting through was hilarious .. he obviously loves them.

Kandy Rain – not very good…im ok with them going home.

Olly Murs – I actually thought he was one of the best of the night.

Rikki Loney – I dont know why i dont like this guy. But his performance tonigt was alright. I liked the song for him.

Stacey Solomon – hate her new hair. Her version of scientist was ok.
Miss Frank – these girls will go far.
Danyl Johnson – it was alright. He hit the money note.
Lloyd Daniels – this kid should not even be there.
Lucie Jones – good..not a fan of the song…hopefully better song next week
Jamie Archer – also not a good song choice. The end was alright.
John & Edward – I hve no idea why these kids are even on the show.
Joe McElderry- This was a good performance …this kid has all the tools ..he just needs to be less boring

BUT – I think with Cowell in charge it totally plays into the notion that music/singers have to be big and loud and have to dance as well as sing.

He’s a businessman, so I can’t blame him necessarily. Huge tours like Britney Spears and Madonna make a lot of money off the back of exactly that kind of show. But if all music became reduced down to this big flash and bang formula, there wouldn’t be very much left actually worth listening to.

Case in point: last years winner Alexandra Burke appeared on the results show. She looked great; the dance routine was entertaining; the song was utter rubbish.

Most of the singers on the night were average at best. One of the better ones was a young boy, who didn’t dance around.

It’s one of the reasons why, whilst I enjoy the X Factor, it doesn’t hold a candle to AI in terms of singing talent and singing performance.

PS – I thought Robbie Williams was awful and the song was tripe – I like quite a few of his earlier songs, but what was that meant to be?

I think we would have been seeing a lot more Megan Joy with that set up.

It still amazes me that we saw a lot more of Megan Joy WITHOUT that set up.

I’ve only watched Rachel’s video thus far, but I agree with you that the over-the-top production is out of place. Of course, I’m not as familiar with this show and have no idea what they’re looking for. On AI, they’re looking for singers. Not dancers. Obviously. Can you even imagine Kris, Archie, Castro, Cook, Daughtry, Bice having to pose and swivel around dancers? And poor Scott, he’d be running into them, letting alone into the shooting flames! Oh, and remember how Danny tried to boogey with his back-up singers and got all kinds of ridicule in response?

Some of the AI female contestants might have been more comfortable with this, but not someone like Brooke — for instance. You can’t prance all over the place from behind a piano or while singing Carole King.

Still, Rachel is a very good singer. What the heck are they doing taking the attention off of her and putting it on those creepy, mime-like dancers following her all over the place, let alone the flames. Pretentious. Leave that to the finale. Give people something to “look forward to.”

Hey, and remember the finale of season 7. The twelve Idols were doing their first group number which involved flames or fireworks shooting up at the end. Jason Castro jumped a mile, practically into Michael Johns arms. One of the funniest moments of the night.

Did it seem like they were lip-syncing on the group number? It did a little to me.

If so, then what was going on with Danyl? The one line they gave him to sing on his own was horrific.

Robbie Kicked ass.

And I think this kid sang better than danyl Johnson. Link

Funny…now that is OTT but OK for a 12 year old. Glad that he has learned to control his voice and his style. Now if only some of the X-factor contestants would learn control (or maybe the judges should).

I think Simon really believes that HE can decide and then control who will be the person or group to become the next world Superstar…and sad to say he ALWAYS falls flat after the initial BIG start. Leona will fade quickly, Alexandra hasn’t really made a dent in the world conscience, and the rest haven’t even been a blip on the international stage. His SuBo is a joke, Il Divo is the height of preseumptive Boy Bandism. And I am sure there are many more.

Strange that he really thinks he can bring this show to America. I don’t think that a judge mentoring contestants and picking their material and staging them with lights and smoke and mirrors that don’t really reflect them as an artist will go over big in the States…I see it becoming as much of a national joke as America’s Got Talent.

At least on Idol, these kids have to live and die by their own talent and their own “choices”. Makes their journeys a hell of a lot more interesting.

In my opinion, and maybe because I do put so much emphasis on singing quality (even when I’m not one to put an emphasis on “vocal perfection” per se), but I thought these performances were largely downright weak, and some were then praised in ways that would never have happened on Idol.

Not exactly making me desire the U.S. X-Factor at all.