Episode 4 of X Factor Australia has aired and is now up on the official site! X Factor AU episode 4 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 if you want to just watch performances, you don’t even need to use Hola. You can just watch the videos embedded below. Read on for my thoughts on episode 4 of X Factor AU featuring judges Adam Lambert, Iggy Azalea and Guy Sebastian.
After a recap of last week and a teaser for the underdog judge (likely to be Mel B) that features Simon Cowell making the announcement, we get a teaser for tonight’s auditions. And off we go!
We see how Iggy has been tough on the groups (mostly just the dancing guys). BLVD is the first group of the night. 5 guys total-3 from Sydney, 2 from the coast. One of the guys had a solo career a while ago, Jordan is his name, and he had 4.5 million views on Youtube. 2 million followers collectively. To me, this means they are plants. Let’s see if that is correct. They want to be different. 3 or 4 months in rehearsal. One of them makes a joke about the name saying that they travel together after the other one gives a lame answer. They sing Cake By The Ocean. Somehow, they are awful. I don’t get how they have so many followers. They clearly bought them. One of them got a few cheers somehow. Adam didn’t like it, said it was like a school pep rally, not very serious, didn’t feel star power. Guy is saying that there’s some talent there but it hasn’t gelled. Guy says yes, Adam says no, Iggy says no as well after sort of faking them out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or20u2q2mGQ
Montage of bad auditions. And unlike on X Factor UK, they all get sent home. They don’t get through to live shows. I’m still pissed about Bratavio and Honey G. But that’s a discussion for my power list for X Factor UK – coming soon to mjsbigblog. Subtle plug there…
Beatz is the name of the second group of the night. They are a 3 person girl group that was on X Factor AU in 2014. They had 20 million views on Youtube before they split up for a while after getting cut at bootcamp. They got back together after one of them turned 19. They are singing Problem which features a rap by Iggy-let’s see if they pull it off. Adam likes their color coordinated shoes. They sound better than the original, and they are working the stage, and the rapper pulls off the rap effortlessly. Iggy’s smiling the whole way through. Three judge standing ovation, well deserved. Guy says the groups category got interesting. Adam says he’s awake, feels like they are ready to add more views to their Youtube channel. Iggy said the dancing worked because it wasn’t cheesy, could tell they practiced it a lot. Three yeses including Guy saying it’s a no *pause* brainer. Wings by Little Mix plays in the background as they walk off stage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5bhHLQKSxw
Montage of people talking about Guy’s beard…for some reason. It leads into our next audition. Trojahn Tuna is 23 from Italy. Guy says he sounds exactly as he thought he would sound. He’s covered in tattoos. I don’t like tattoos. He’s also a tattoo artist. He does reggae and R&B, and sings Let Me Love You by Mario. He has a soulful voice but I don’t find him too spectacular, especially after the last audition. To me, he seems like fodder for the next round. Guy says Australia loves good R&B sung by a good singer. Adam says it was very cool. Guy says he’d never need to hire security. Iggy loves R&B sung by people who look like him. She’s really attracted to him, Guy says let’s vote before Iggy has a breakdown. Three yeses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic9fyDHNuWI
Acts are having trouble singing Sia songs. Guy says “if you’re going to audition, don’t sing Sia” The next singer is named Ivy Adara, and she’s a 21 year old geek from West Sydney who is singing Alive by Sia. And the judges are skeptical as hell. She starts off strong and when she gets to the chorus she nails it. She has a Ellie Goulding-esque tone, but with a lot more power. I love it. The judges are feeling it by the end of the first chorus. Three judge standing ovation. Guy says they do the show for people like her. Iggy thinks she’s a star, it’s so obvious, and likes the uniqueness of her voice. Adam likes the tone, feels her feeling in the way she sings, that she isn’t thinking about the notes. Three yeses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLX9CM2-TPQ
Before the commercial break, there is a montage of how Iggy is nice and caring to people and she doesn’t want to say no even to awful auditions.
A guy sings Queen with Adam after getting a no. And Adam is stellar, obviously.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv6aYTaBMOw
Aroza from Adelaide are up next. They are 21 and 22 years old, and they are brother and sister. They are a singer/rapper duo. They want to perform for as many people as possible. They sing Good For You by Selena Gomez. She has an interesting tone, but I wish it had more power-sounded a little breathy to me. She’s playing guitar and he’s beatboxing. His rap is ok, but not great. Guy says this is what groups should be like, says its really current, sees them performing at festivals all over. He tells the rapper to own what he does. Adam likes the raw feel, likes her tone. Iggy thought it was great as well. Three yeses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdAByaCx4GU
Last up for this episode is Madeleine Ponferrada. She’s 14 from Southwest Sydney. She learned to surf with her Dad when she was 3. His uncle was attacked by a shark and thankfully survived. Her dad passed away before Christmas last year. She’s relating the song to her relationship with her dad. Guy notices that her hand is shaking. She sings Wings by Birdy. She has a nice falsetto, a nice tone, she’s pleasant to listen to. Not stellar though. Guy called it stunning, asks why she’s so nervous, says her voice reassured him that it’s ok for her to be so young. Adam liked it a lot, liked the tone. Iggy says she made her dad proud today. Three yeses. She squees as she runs off stage-aww. I like her, and hopefully she can improve as she rids herself of the nerves.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM9vR23E_WA
My thoughts: The best act of the night was Beatz. By a mile. They are incredibly polished, and I can see them easily making top 5 this year.
