Episode 2 of X Factor Australia has aired and is now up on the official site! X Factor AU Season 7 Episode 2 is the URL. It is region locked to Australia, but thanks to the Chrome Extension Hola, you can watch it anywhere. Many of you may have used this extension to watch X Factor UK a day early via ITV’s website, but it’s even easier for X Factor Australia. No zip code or account is required.
But I have great news! Someone is uploading clips to Youtube! So if you want to just watch performances, you don’t even need to use Hola anymore. You can just watch the videos embedded below. Read on for my thoughts on episode 2 of X Factor AU.
First up today is Vlado Saric, he’s 17 and brought his mom with him. His mom had a tumor in her stomach, and had to quit work. Vlado quit school to support himself and his family. But he wants to do music now, taking a risk to achieve something better. Adam says his name is a cool name, Iggy says Adam is stuck with Adam as a name. Winning the X Factor would mean a lot to him and his mom (obviously). He is singing Stiches by Shawn Mendes. Ugh. I hate this song. He is ok. I’m biased because I hate this song so much. I guess his voice bugs me a lot less than Shawn’s voice does, so there’s that. Iggy loves his voice, thinks she could hear it on radio, likes how he worked the stage. Guy says he has “star” written all over him. Adam says his voice is dope, likes his “natural swag”. Three yeses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avBRqznYqgc
Broadway inspired contestants are next-aka, contestants dressed in strange outfits. Strange by Adam standards. None of them make it through. Guy says someone is theatrical. Adam replies to Guy that there’s nothing wrong with theatrical, but it has to be good.
Bailey Spalding is up next. She’s 18, and has done a lot of musical theater. Guy is skeptical because of the proceeding montage. Adam is still not loving Guy calling people theatrical. Iggy basically tells Guy to shut up and let her sing. She has an interesting style to her voice. I honestly find her ok, but not spectacular at first. Then it gets better as she goes on and shows off the higher parts of her range. The judges loved it. Guy loves the haunting quality of her voice. Iggy says that Guy shouldn’t have complained about theater, calls Bailey graceful and classy. Adam says that she can hold the audience in the palm of her hand, tell a story, calls her really hot. Three yeses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arFDsp4VklI
Montage of bad auditions from groups with awful names that the judges don’t get. Somehow one of the groups gets through, despite reminding me of Reggie n Bollie – in other words, they couldn’t sing.
Next up is Chai, a three-girl group with ages from 16 – 18. They’ve been together for 30 days. Representing half asian asthmatics out there-ok then. The judges don’t like the name. Adam says it makes him think coffee shop. They perform Crazy. They start off ok, but then the chorus kicks in and they start to harmonize. The harmonies are spot on. They are really great actually. Three judge standing ovation for the girls. Adam got the chills, loved the harmonies and arrangement, sees a ton of potential (as do I). Guy loved it too, wants groups to have great solos as well as harmonies. Iggy is tough because she cares, she thought it was great. But she wants them to change their name, says they deserve a better name. Three yeses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Csgkb8-Vnaw
Guy Sebastian fan montage now. Everyone here loves the first Australian Idol. Omar Terzic is 23, and is set up to be a “bad boy” – he seems a little bit cocky to me, but that’s possibly the editing. Guy says “thanks for dressing up” as he’s wearing sweatpants. Guy tries to get an answer out of him about who he listens to, and he says a lot of himself. He sings relatively well, but the attitude does bug me. Guy liked a lot about his voice, but felt something off, doesn’t think he gives a crap. Iggy likes the singer side of him, but hates his talking. Adam likes the performance, finds it sexy as hell, but Adam doesn’t like his vibe. Three yeses despite reservations about his personality.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMH9LK5TgR8
Montage of more successful auditions. Then Iggy Azalea tells her story of moving far from family and friends to make it big.
Kimberly Heberly moved to Melbourne to pursue her dreams. She has a twin sister but they are mirror images of each other. She met Samantha Jade, a former winner of the show. Iggy and her had the same story so Kimberly finds her insipiring. She sings Rather Be and is mediocre at best. Guy says that all over the world, people want to sing and make sacrifices, but says that she isn’t close to being good enough to be an artist. Iggy says it wasn’t as bad as Guy said but she wasn’t good enough to make it to the next round. Adam says the issue isn’t musicality, its the tone – very nasal – off putting. Three nos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz3UKlfCyFw
The last audition of the episode is from Dave Stergo, a 44 year old computer engineer from Melbourne who loves singing and songwriting. His daughter also loves to sing. He met his wife when they were teenagers, and they fell in love instantly. She now has lime disease and has chronic pain. They sacrificed so much to keep going, X Factor wasn’t on his radar but now he wants to get his family what they need. He sings All I Want Is You by U2 while playing an acoustic guitar. He has an interesting voice. But I don’t find him particularly great until the end of the song, and even then he’s not good enough to win the show in my view. Guy says he’s why they have the overs category, calls him timeless. Three yeses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM3aMaDaftE
Overall impressions: I liked today’s episode, albeit not as much as yesterday’s extraordinary premiere. My favorite act of the night was the girl group formerly known as Chai. Let me know what you think in the comments below!
