If you’re confused, here is what The X Factor SHOULD BE
Whenever I scroll through the comments on my weekly X Factor columns here at MJ’s Big Blog, I’m never surprised to see countless varying opinions. After all, no two people have identical taste, and thus, every contestant, song choice, and judge is bound to have their share of critics and supporters. What did surprise me however, is the UNIFORM dislike of the X Factor format.
It seems like almost everyone dislikes the emphasis placed on production, the silly back up stage props, the over-done lighting cues, and most of all, the backup dancers. While I agree that this season of X Factor USA has been a total flop in many regards, I’d like to clarify to all the casual viewers out there what the idea of ‘X Factor’ is supposed to be, and how our premiere season here in America got it all wrong.
1. Production: Now I think we can all agree that Josh Krajcik standing on a platform singing Rihanna while backup dancers gyrate inexplicably around him is nothing short of ridiculous. This is NOT what X Factor is supposed to be. The idea behind X Factor is that each performance should be polished and professional. I imagine X Factor as college to American Idol’s high school. On shows like Idol, there’s always the sense that we’re watching amateurs perform, from the bright blue background to the empty stage around them. X Factor is supposed to be heightened in all the right ways. Ideally, each performance should have the same level of glitz, polish, and excitement as one performed by an established artist at the Grammy’s or Teen Choice Awards. This includes dancers, lights, styling, etc. Even people like Kelly Clarkson who found fame on the bare Idol stage include all these things in their live performances. This is ultimately what I think the ideal X Factor performance should be like (taken from last season of British X Factor, where the theme was #1 hits). The vocal isn’t perfect, but it feels like a real performance of a real artist who could sell millions of records. Matter of fact, after the show ended, the girl in this clip, Cher Lloyd, did just that.
Cher Lloyd sings Just Be Good To Me
See the difference? The reason why US X Factor has gotten it so wrong is honestly the choice of contestants. On the British X Factor, for example, many of the contestants can dance. As a result, giving them a 20 leotard-clad backup dancers makes sense, just as it would for Rihanna or Jennifer Lopez. It’s only odd here in the US when we see the incongruous blend of someone earthy like Josh Krajcik and the massive production value.
On American shows, we (as a viewing public) generally rally behind saving the best singer, but this isn’t always the wisest choice for X Factor. In Week 1, I remember being totally fine with Simone Battle and Tiah Tolliver leaving the competition, since their vocals were the weakest of the 5 girls.
I am now totally regretting that stance. The show’s plethora of vocal coaches could have worked with Simone and Tiah to make their vocals better and help with their breath control and pitch problems as the weeks have gone on. At the very least, they could have been at the same standard as pop stars like Rihanna or Katy Perry. But, they would have had the charisma, stage presence, and dance ability to make up for it. By this point, we would be getting professional-level performances from them.
It would be easy to take an average singer like Tiah or Simone, hide their flaws with careful song selection (it’s not like Katy Perry could belt ‘Unchained Melody’ a capella, and she’s doing just fine- it’s about picking songs that work for your voice), and allow them to be STARS on stage.
On the other hand, at this point, what good does it do us that Melanie Amaro is an amazing singer who is always on pitch and could literally sing any song well? You can’t force a non-dancer to acclimate to a large production and look comfortable and authentic.
For next season, it is imperative that our judges pick contestants for their charisma and stage presence over their voices. They need to remember that this show isn’t about finding the best vocalist, but the biggest pop star. And though we have several great vocalists left in the competition of X Factor USA Season 1, if we’re looking for a pop star, we’re almost out of options.
