X Factor Australia 5 - Live Show 3

The top 10 contestants tackle top 10 hits! I wonder why the top 8 never tackle top 8 hits, or the top 5 do top 5 hits. Alas 10 is just such a perfect number for these producers I guess. Overall, I was impressed by Squared Divisions staging designs. The performances were a mixed bag of professional to equal parts sharp and flat. Let’s dive into the rankings!

Well, it finally happened, I have to rank Dami Im as my number 1 for the first time in this competition. I may be falling for the hype of the judges standing up mid-performance or it might honestly be the best performance of the week. I suspect it is a combination of both, as it usually is in life. Dami looked like a powerful diva on stage, killed the notes, worked the stage and showed me that she had shades of modernness in a disco classic. I realize that sounds silly, but this shows me that she can do up-tempos and what is going to stop her from conquering the David Guetta catalog or Lady Gaga discography.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_8ersD-Am4

As stated before, I am not much of U2, but even I cannot deny the strength of Jiordan Tolli‘s performance here. Unlike with her “Thriller” I felt she really dug deep into that, but this one she kind of remained on the (albeit pretty) surface of this track. She hit the falsetto gloriously, the verses solidly, and delivered in every way that one can be expected of as a professional. I even saw flashes of Amelia Lily (XFUK8) behind her eyes getting into the song. Jiordan is really putting herself in the position to be in the grand finale, which is way better than I would’ve suspected only two weeks ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmQEcM3UL1I

At first I thought this was a odd choice for Taylor Henderson, but honestly this stuff fits him like a glove. With the exception of the opening line Taylor did a fantastic job. I really could see him in a band with a upright bass and a banjo after this. I’ve been trying to push Dami and Ellie into folk-pop, but maybe Taylor is the one that should be headed for there. The reason I ding this performance down to third is the arrangement of the song was very true to the original and wasn’t redone in a way to benefit Taylor at all. Taylor’s voice didn’t have the right reverb or something on it to make it 100% work in this style.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWRGyL1uh7A

The question on my mind lately is can THIRD D3GREE earn a spot in grand final? With Taylor and Dami being virtual locks in my mind, Jai falling out of grace and Jiordan replacing him, THIRD D3GREE finds themselves as the Bella Ferraro/Three Wishez looking in. So close, yet so far. The harmonies are strong when they all come together and they really feel like a group. I think they are missing a serious song moment that could propel them to the top 3. Perhaps Natalie is being strategic (LOL!) and saving those serious numbers for when it gets down to the final 6, when they really need them. And Natalie is just establishing as fun right now, they are succeeding at being fun, but next week I would love to see a mid-to-low tempo song for them to make them a serious contender for the title.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CuZJMhEYg8

This was way better for Jai Waetford than “I Want To Hold Your Hand” it was age appropriate, the arrangement was just the right parts 0f youthful innocence and fun. It may have been a little bit Star Search-level-cheesiness, but after last week this is a marked improvement. Next week, Jai needs to do something that makes him unique. There is something generic about him right now. He needs to shake that if he wants to compete against the likes of Cody Simpson, Austin Mahone, Justin Bieber and others if he actually wants to be successful outside of this competition as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy-CQ9pP4V0

Omar Dean is truly getting better and better every single performance. At this rate he could end up being the rebirth of the Johnny Ruffo level comeback. He really does love white jackets, but then again so do I, so good for him. This performance had swag and strong falsetto. Justin Timberlake would be proud. The reason I ranked this as only six, is because although it was good, I don’t think it was strong enough to overcome the momentum of Taylor or Jai. For Omar what he really needs to show us is a strong dance number. Ronan was close with “Numb,” but Omar fell flat with that song choice. Omar needs to absolutely obliterate a dance track and suddenly he will be in the top 3 over the other boys. Perhaps Avicii’s new hit “Wake Me Up”?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlrTQv43q6U

What happened JTR? Every week since “Everything Has Changed” you have fallen in my mind. Possibly their first bottom 2 appearance tomorrow. On “Everybody Talks” they missed harmonies and notes all over the place. Their cuteness can only get them so far with Jai, Omar, Taylor, and (to some extent) Barry in the competition. They need to do another ballad, keep it slow, WORK ON THOSE HARMONIES. How many times do both me and Ronan need to stress this for them to take it seriously. I mean seriously, FYD (XFUK7) and the Keys (XFUK8 Charlie’s original group, lol) might’ve had better harmonies at this point and Moorhouse (XFNZ1) definitely did. Slow it down, prove that you deserve to be here again and then begin to tread new water. Song suggestion: Justin Timberlake’s “Mirrors” although that song may be way too cool for them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w2jkF55N08

Ellie Lovegrove started so strong on “I’m Like A Bird.” That opening verse was veering on perfection (at least by her standards). Although Ellie has no chance of winning this thing, she is making the most of her time there. Slow r&b-tinged pop tunes maybe exactly what she needs to do. Perhaps if she was being adventurous looking for a song choice she could try Alunageorge’s “Your Drums, Your Love.” There were moments where she fell flat, but this is the least she’s done so thus far. Focus on fine-tuning the parts where she falls a little short of the note and if she could do that she could make a solid run for 5th place, which is a heck of a lot better than my preseason 12th place prediction.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SrWi4XFy5M

How the mighty have fallen. I love Joelle, I still love Joelle, I believe she is the second coming of our musical savior Fergie. Her confidence is non-existent on stage, her pitch is faltering, and her voice feels so small in an arrangement like this. She needed there to be less music for this to work with her voice. She may have looked like a pop star in this, but everything else was a no. Her choice of the Ed Sheeran “Give Me Love” for her save me song may be providing insight as to the type of artist she really is. She should be doing more emotional non-pageant ballads a la Paramore’s “Playing God” or Jessie J’s “Who You Are.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=od8DMVA2_ss

Last and quite possibly least, Barry Southgate. “Californice Girls” was a fantastic song choice for him, the copy-Kat arrangement of it, not so much. His voice sounded so weak compared to the strength required to pull off this Katy Perry song. (I cannot believe I wrote that last sentence in sincerity.) Less is more. This is a lesson for both him and Dannii. Just him and an acoustic guitar, nothing more, nothing less. That is the easiest way for him to turn out a solid performance. His time is running short if even survives this week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrAjlhvCy3Q

To recap: