How to watch X Factor UK from outside the UK?
You can watch X Factor live, online. ITV streams the show through the ITV Player. However, ITV blocks viewers from outside of the UK. To get around that, you need to use VPN connection. If Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is your preferred browser, install Hola extension and set them to UK server. Then open the ITV Player, make a free account and pick the right channel. The player will ask you for a ZIP code. Find an active UK ZIP code HERE. Make sure you have the cookies enabled. You can also try to find a working ITV stream on MyiPlayer.com, TVPC.com or FilmON.com.
The X Factor airs tonight at 8:00pm BST (9:00pm CEST, 3:00pm EDT, 12:00am PDT) on ITV 1 (110min).
It’s Diva week and the contestants will be singing some Michael Jackson, Sam Smith and Vanilla Ice.
Dermot enters the studio with 4 dancers. He is promising us big songs from Divas. Such as Freddie Mercury. He introduces the judges and Nicole gets to sing “I’m Every Woman” and “Respect” while the other three judges get to sit down. When she’s done, Dermot opens the voting!
Ryan Lawrie – Rolling in the Deep (Adele)
Welp, Ryan is doing Adele with his small voice. Emily suggests he goes back to basic with his guitar. He first tries to sing “True Colors”, but then settles on “Rolling in the Deep”. John Legend is on hand to mentor the contestants and give some advice.
Ryan is standing on a platform and playing an electric guitar. Vocally he can’t compete with the original or at least come close. This is kinda sad, even though I think with a more capable singer this arrangement could be interesting.
Louis liked the song choice but didn’t like what he did with it. He says Ryan went through the motions. Sharon questions the use of the guitar, she says we wanted to see more emotions. Simon says Nicole’s attention didn’t got to Ryan this week. He compares Ryan to a singing pancake: flat. Nicole defends herself to prove she did mentor Ryan this week. I think we have our first candidate for Bottom 3.
Next, we get a montage of judges being divas. Which judge is the biggest diva? Vote via the X Factor App.
Gifty Louise – Lay Me Down (Sam Smith)
Gifty wants to sing this song for her dead mom. She lost her mother very young. Brian Friedman helps her open up.
Gifty sits on a platform on the side of the judges’ panel. She is giving the song her all, even though I don’t think this is her preferred style. Good job.
Louis says she is a born star, he says he loved everything about it. He says he prefers Gifty’s short haircut (she is wearing extensions/ a wig tonight). Sharon loved the performance, too. Nicole calls the performance stellar and calls Gifty fearless. Simon thinks she opened up.
The X Factor App poll is now closed.
After the break, the results are in:
4. Louis
3. Sharon
2. Simon
1. Nicole
5 After Midnight – Valerie (Amy Winehouse)
One of them works as a dance teacher in real life. Brian Friedman is trying to work with them and it’s a struggle.
The performance turns out to be a bit more casual for them. They really are talented: they can all sing and move effortlessly.
Nicole loved the energy, she says the song got borderline cheesy. Simon says everything about the performance was terrible. He tells them to concentrate more on the singing than dancing. Sharon loved the song choice and the energy. She loved everything about the performance. Louis tries to defend the performance. Dermot wants to hear more from Simon because the audience received the performance so well.
Sam Lavery – Earth Song (Michael Jackson)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YIlKq2envQ
Her X Factor heroes are Leona Lewis, One Direction and Louisa Johnson. We see her sing for John Legend.
Simon is keeping her in the rock line and the arrangement is more rock-y than the original. I don’t think Sam’s voice is a good fit for this song. She gets a choir for the big finale. It seems like Simon will try to make every Sam’s performance from now on a rock ballad.
Louis says this was Sam’s best performance yet. Sharon loved the song choice and thinks the performance was well done. Nicole says she doesn’t think this was the right song choice for her. Simon calls the performance the best performance of the night.
Matt Terry – I’ll Be There (Mariah Carey)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUymAI9U6ys
He is getting marriage proposals. Good news, he has two brothers. He gets a visit from his friends and he brings them to Nicole’s dressing room.
He sits on a platform with light bulbs. He sounds really unpleasant at the start. I think he was off key. He gets some help from the choir. He ends the performance screaming. This really wasn’t good. Perhaps he would do better with more practice.
Louis says Matt is consistent every week and never lets us down. Sharon calls him unbelievable. Simon says the song choice looked bad on paper, but turned out fantastic. He says Matt has balls. Nicole calls the performance effortless and natural.
IT’S CLEAR TO SEE MATT IS THIS YEAR’S CHOSEN ONE. He gets glowing comments no matter what or how he sings.
Honey G – Ice, Ice Baby/Under Pressure (Vanilla Ice, Queen, David Bowie)
David Bowie’s estate didn’t give her the permission to change the verses. Poor John Legend seems less than impressed with the rap wannabe.
She raps the Vanilla Ice’s part and keeps the lyrics intact. She is not as good as Jedward and they weren’t rappers. How long until the public tires of her?
Louis says people everywhere are talking about her. Nicole says her flow is getting better each week. She liked the dance break. Simon says he gets chills whenever she performs and likens her to the movie The Exorcist. Sharon tells her to keep her British accent at all times.
Relley C – Natural Woman (Aretha Franklin)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRQAVbUgalg
We see her work with one of the vocal coaches. She goes on a vocal rest. She struggles to sing for John Legend. She finally succumbs to the flu and we see Sharon, Brian Friedman and the vocal coach talk about it.
From the staging it’s clear it is supposed to be a big week for Relley. It’s clear that she is not singing with her best voice, but she still seems great compared to everything that we had to suffer through so far tonight.
Louis calls her a fighter and a survivor. Nicole calls her classy and beautiful. She says she slayed it despite the illness. Simon says it was too clean and too old fashioned. He wants her to make songs her own, have fun on stage, etc. I think he was too hard on her considering her illness. Sharon says she is proud of her and tells her not to look so worried on stage.
Emily Middlemas – How Will I Know (Whitney Houston)
Ryan’s bottom 3 appearance last week soured the week for her. We get to see them talk in her VT and it’s a bit cringe worthy. Emily is doing a stripped down and slowed down version of the song. Emily’s small voice sounds cute at times and … well … small. She has a nice tone, but her voice is so small that it really limits her. This performance was not too different from last week’s.
Louis calls the performance haunting. He says this would be a good song for the John Lewis Christmas add. Sharon says she made the song her own. She also liked the staging. Nicole compliments her sweet tone. She says she is still waiting for the song to go somewhere. GOOD POINT. Simon calls the performance “a moment”. He assures her that her small voice isn’t a problem. Oh Simon, it is.
4 of Diamonds – Lady Marmelade/Bang Bang (Christina Aguilera, Mya, Lil Kim, Pink/ Jessie J, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj)
They met Little Mix last week. They want to have a great performance this week and they work hard.
They do a great job with “Lady Marmelade”, but “Bang Bang” probes to be a bigger challenge. Overall, this wasn’t bad. Especially on a night like this.
Nicole says they killed it, but wants more sass and spice. Sharon says they have a “huge” potential, but says they need to go down and dirty vocally. Simon says the naughty girl thing was ridiculous. He says everything was too Americanized. He says it was way better than it was last week. Louis says they will get even better next week.
Saara Aalto – Oh So Quiet (Bjork)
After the second sing off, Saara appears to be desperate. In her VT she tries to introduce herself to the public, but everything comes across as fake. It’s really sad, Saara just doesn’t know how to make the British public like her and I think this performance won’t make people like her more. It’s a shame, because Saara does a great job vocally and Brian Friedman staged the performance well. It’s interesting that Kitty Brucknell did the same song with “Alice in Wonderland” theme a few years ago. Like Saara, Kitty wasn’t liked by the audience.
Louis calls the performance amazing. He gives Brian Friedman 10/10. Nicole says this was the perfect song for Saara. Simon calls the performance incredible. He congratulates Saara, Sharon, Brian and the music producer. Sharon says she didn’t have anything to do with this performance.
Shawn Mendes and John Legend will be performing tomorrow night.
