X Factor UK Season 14 Power List

The first weekend of live shows for 2017 have come and passed and I will say, I nailed the top 2. But that wasn’t a big accomplishment, I was fairly confident I’d be right about that. The rest of my first power list was pretty far off. My number 4 prediction overall has already been kicked off, which sucks because I really liked Spencer. But with the treatment he got from the judges (especially Simon), deep down I knew he wouldn’t last long. Talia was potentially the strongest over but song choice really did her in. Her performance of “What Makes You Beautiful” was a mess.

I thought the first week of live shows was pretty good, but there were some problems. I love the new set and production. I think the girls and boys ranged from mediocre to excellent. None of the overs and groups impressed me. The format was ok in my view. I think the idea behind the prizefight makes sense-we should have the best acts sing again instead of the worst-but the execution was off. With the acts not having to sing a different song and just reprising their performance from the weekend, they could have just shown clips and let people vote again on those. I also thought a lot more acts would have been eliminated this week, but it seems like they are saving the double eliminations for later on.

Since we don’t know which acts will be against which other acts this weekend, I will continue last week’s format of doing three lists. So without further ado, here are my rankings!

Predicted Finishing Order

Grace Davies – Grace won the first public vote, despite getting slightly negative feedback from Nicole on the production, none of the judges calling her as the winner of the night. I do think she was the best act last weekend, because her song was great and she sounded the best she has ever sounded on the show. She’s still not the strongest vocalist, but as an artist, I’m on board. The fact that she won the PrizeFight against Rak-Su who are clearly going to be pimped like crazy gives me hope that she will go all the way.
Rak-Su – As I expected, Rak-Su got major pimping last weekend and won the vote on their night. Their song was catchy, their performance was good. But subjectively, I’m really not a fan. I never liked rap music, and the vocalist in the group is extremely mediocre. I can see why people like them, which is more than I can say for groups like 5AM and Reggie and Bollie, but I still hope they don’t win.
Alisah Bonaobra – Vocally, Alisah was the best of the entire first weekend by a mile. Problem was, she got the worst song choice in X factor history. Seriously. This is my now? WTH? I never thought I’d hear that on a singing competition again, and for good reason. It’s horrid. But to be fair, Alisah sang the snot out of the song and got extremely positive feedback from the judges. I worry that if Simon was there, he wouldn’t have been so nice. As of now, she’s in my third place spot, but I know I’ve been wrong before.
The CutKelvins – Well, Sheeren didn’t make my ears bleed this week, but she has basically every other performance. The two boys didn’t do much to contribute beyond dj-ing and firing off smoke cannon thingies. They performed a Pink song, which was a huge mistake because I love Pink and they couldn’t live up to her awesomeness. I’m still not a fan of The CutKelvins and I don’t expect to be, but the judges all stood up for them so they’ll go far.
Lloyd Macey – Lloyd’s vocals this week were great. But he’s definitely not marketable for anything other than west end/broadway. He’ll do great there, but he won’t get a record deal. And because of that, fifth place is the best he can hope for.
Kevin Davy White – Kevin hit a crazy high note this week, and I still think his tone is good. Overall, he’s just ok. Yet because he was on the night he was on, being “just ok” means he was the best act of the night. Kevin is the most consistent over and I can’t see him going home until week 4.
Rai-Elle Williams – Rai-Elle opened the first live show. She didn’t sound amazing, but she moved around the stage and owned the choreography. She also rapped, which I didn’t know she could do. She continues to surprise me, and I think she’ll go pretty far.
Sean and Conor Price – These two have really let me down. I liked their first audition a lot, but since then they have been consistently mediocre. The fact that the judges praised their performance this week was surprising to me. I think they will still go far, but only because the judges will pimp them, not because they deserve to.
Holly Tandy – Of all the acts this weekend, Holly surprised me the most. She didn’t just stand there and sing. She had (albeit limited) choreography, she sounded great, and she got good feedback. I still think that she will be the first girl to go, but it won’t be because she’s not good. It’ll be because the other three are better.
Tracy Leanne Jefford – Tracy gave either the best or second best performance of her night, depending on whether or not you like Kevin. She’s also likable as hell. But she hasn’t been that consistent, and she’s extremely old fashioned, which means Simon is going to bus her pretty soon.
Matt Linnen – He sounds like Kevin but not as good. He got shockingly positive feedback this week but I can’t see that lasting too much longer. Matt will probably go this week or next week.
Jack and Joel – Their audition was my favorite performance by any group on the show this year. But last weekend’s performance was a hot mess. Jack is really a talented vocalist, but Joel dragged him down big time. I agree with Mateja that they are being turned into a pseudo-joke act. I hope they prove me wrong because they could be great if given the chance to shine.
Leon Mallet – I have no idea why Leon got the wildcard over Aiden Martin. Leon was extremely mediocre and forgettable this week. I remember that he rapped, so that’s why he’s #13 and not #14. I think he’ll be gone by the end of next weekend.
Sam Black – I have totally forgotten everything about Sam’s performance this week. That says it all. Honestly, I don’t know which one of Sam or Leon will go this week, but one of them is going. Neither of them are good enough to compete with the other acts. The only way both of them stay this weekend is if the boys and overs are on the same night.