X Factor Australia 6 – Live Show 1 (VIDEOS)

X Factor Australia 2014 week 1

I want to post videos on here like I used to, but the X Factor Australia channel has been stingy with the uploads this year. So I am thinking that maybe if you look around to places like this: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UClEcUlQTcNdLmiLtgy9R-Lw you might have some luck. Here we begin my list in order from best to worst based on my own algorithms of preference and belief I have that they can win.

Reigan Derry “Unconditionally” Reigan gets the pimp spot and Redfoo wants this so bad to be a real X Factor moment. And with a girl as talented as Reigan that is definitely a real possibility. “Unconditionally” is a bit of weak song choice, only because lyrically it is weak in the chorus and it never really took off in the charts the way that “Dark Horse” or “Roar” did, but I have faith in Samantha Jade Reigan. This did not feel like a contestant, this felt like an artist. She delivered better than Katy, better than Tessanne Chin, she killed it. The staging was fantastic, the conviction, the emotion, the professionalism. This girl is a serious threat to win it and if she is not in the final 4, then something happened to her, because at this moment, I just want to hand her the crown, even if it means Redfoo wins.

Tee “Love Me Again” Tee tearing his ACL is not the way anyone wants to be spending any of their time, but especially at the first week of the live shows, this is no to the bueno. Perhaps like Tyson from Survivor Blood V Water and Jon from Big Brother Canada 2, Tee will go onto win because he will be underestimated from his hurt ligament. Yeah, different show, but vaguely relevant all the same.Tee loves to kill songs, and this was no exception. This song is tailor made for Tee’s over-the-top, large style. And I felt the passion in his growl. Great job Tee, I am glad you are on this season, because I can feel how bad you want it. Play like you are lose, so you can win.

Dean Ray “Sympathy for the Devil” Dean loves his mysterious rocker lifestyle and he wants us all to know about it and Natalie loves that about him. I am on the fence, I knew he would be the top 12 knowing Natalie, but I don’t know if he deserved his spot, well here is his chance to prove it to me. Dean sounded fantastic on this song, very solid choice for Dean. He felt like a rock star, he looked like a rock star, and he sounded better than some popular rock stars. Tonight, this guy proved he deserved to be here without a doubt. Some call him polarizing, but at this moment I just call him a contender for the finale.

Marlisa Punzalan “All by Myself” Marlisa is worried about the high note going pitchy, which is a very valid concern. Let’s see if the girl with the big voice can handle the song that requires a big voice. The question for me with Marlisa is she more Jessica Sanchez or more Ellona Santiago. She did a very good job with this song, nothing particularly special, but at this stage just hitting those notes is enough for me to give you high marks. In the future, Ronan and Marlisa need to work on what kind of artist she is and not just girl with big voice. And I assure you, she has a future, if she doesn’t at least make final 6, I will be shocked.

Jason Heerah “Sing” this guys is all sorts of fun, but I am kind of annoyed that his intro package was full of Redfoo talking about how there will be beautiful women dancing around Jason, and for his wife not to be worried. Dude, Redfoo, we know, I’ve seen this show before, ain’t none of those beautiful women dancing around Wagner unless they were getting paid to do it. That aside, on to Jason’s performance, he did a good job, not a great job. Vocal wise, like a professional, but it felt a bit like a talented guy with little stage presence. The song was a good choice for his falsetto, but it didn’t feel like an artist or very special.

Caitlyn Shadbolt “Days Go By” Caitlyn is just a simple farm girl moving cattle, riding tractors and willing to get dirty. Will this be enough to give her country credibility? Definitely more sincere than when Restless Road was tossing around a football in their intro package. Holy Kacey Musgraves, this girl, is in it to win it. Sure nothing over the top amazing, but marketability all over this Taylor Swift inspired outfit and stage. Caitlyn felt like professional from start to finish and in this moment I felt a vision of her success. Great start Caitlyn to the beginning of your career.

XOX “Braveheart” I have been excited for XOX the second they Boom Boom Powed on to the stage, and their “What A Man” stamped their position as the group to beat. This performance was solid, fun, flirty, and more than a little bit neon. I wanted it to be better, only because I had such high expectations from them. Still the best group, still gonna be here next week. I want XOX to be modern motown, not necessarily EDM-tinged. They have huge voices and Dannii needs to embrace that with their future song choices.

Rochelle Pitt “History Repeating” part-mom of four, part-diva, just a lady on holiday enjoying the glitz and glam of Sydney. This is an interesting song choice, I don’t hate it, but Redfoo needs to be careful and probably skew a bit more modern with her song picks in the future. I really enjoyed this performance, it was a little campy sure, but Rochelle is a little campy. For me, for her (channeling my inner Randy Jackson) this was a good performance, I want more from her in the future, but for now, I ain’t mad, “Addicted to You” was a highlight for a reason Redfoo.

Sydnee Carter “Don’t Panic” I love that this girl talks about busking on the streets and the way she described it as a good way to practice, and not a good way to make money. She has a passion for music and that is the type of artist I want to support. Sydnee’s tone is amazing, and Ronan knows it. Makes me wish that Bella was being mentored by Ronan and not Natalie. My only issue with this performance is it felt like it wasn’t going anywhere. Just sitting in its own prettiness, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but this isn’t gonna fly forever if she wants to win.

Brothers 3 “Just the Way You Are” as much as I liked YTY, I cannot help but think that B3 deserved their final 12 spot over them, perhaps this was a bit of strategy on Dannii’s part and if so it was a gambled that paid off because she has four acts and everyone else just has three.They are good, they really are, but the vocals are a little off, their facial reactions are little not pleasant. I think a good thought for them is to practice singing in front of a mirror and working on it. I believe they have potential to be successful, but outside of the realm of this competition they are going to need to step up their game and they might as well start now.

Adrien Nookadu “Stupid Love” Adrien seems like a nice kid, but he is one of the few people that I didn’t put in my top 16 that ultimately made the final 13, which is less a slight against him and more of the shock that I felt when Natalie said pass to Australian Idol third place James Johnston, but alas I will try not to hold this against Adrien at all. Adrien was good, not great, the styling was solid, the dancing was sufficient and the vocals passable. I would love for a Johnny Ruffo-esque comeback for Adrien, but at the moment doesn’t feel in the cards. Next week Natalie have Adrien flip a rap/r&b song into a acoustic/pop ballad. Just a thought, Adrien’s next week needs to be proving he has solid vocals.

Trill “I Will Never Let You Down” I love how fun these girls are. That is what I want to see out of a group, them having fun, working-hard, and being successful. Actually that is what I want to see from everyone, at all times. I thought they were doing a really good job, until that is of course they hit the chorus and then the pitch and harmony went all sorts of wonky. They had some really good moments as the song went on, there was an excellent melody v counter-melody portion and they looked like they were having fun. All that being said, they need to be tight from beginning to end because the margin of error on girl group is almost nothing. This is a double standard world, and unfortunately Trill has to play by double standard rules.

Younger Than Yesterday “Somebody to You” I really enjoy this band name especially over failures in the past like The Collective and Black Ivory, not that I hate the bands, I just think the name could be better. But for three boys right now, YTY is a legit name and you’ve got to have an acronym name to keep with the likes of 5SoS and 1D. So good on you. Visually they looked perfect for the role of winner of X Factor Australia 6, but vocally. Wow, they need some work, this is kind of how I felt about them at top 24, I want to love them, I really do, but they haven’t provided me a reason to do so.

Final Rankings:

1. Reigan Derry
2. Tee
3. Dean Ray
4. Marlisa
5. Jason Heerah
6. Caitlyn Shadbolt
7. XOX
8. Rochelle Pitt
9. Sydnee Carter
10. Brothers 3
11. Adrien Nookadu
12. Trill
13. Younger Than Yesterday

Anyone below Sydnee should be worried especially every group that isn’t XOX and even more especially Trill. I love Trill I believe they can bring a lot to the competition, but unfortunately they didn’t the way they needed to, and the public is rarely forgiving of girl groups who make even minor mistakes. YTY didn’t do great either and that could all sorts of concern for them. Adrien was easily the weakest non-group. A lot of people could go. Best of luck to them all tomorrow.

Thanks for reading,
Edward Giordano