This week The X Factor finalists gave us a bit of summer loving with feel-good summer hits.
Altiyan Childs kicked things off with a little Bryan Adams and “Summer of ’69.” What a way to start a show. He is a real rock star, and he’s just looking better and better each week. This was a bit more restrained than we’ve seen him, and it only showed that he doesn’t need the gimmicks to impress.
From the high of Altiyan to the low of Hayley Teal’s take on “California Gurls.” I feel like Natalie keeps pushing her into this generic pop mode, with choreography and middle of the road songs that just doesn’t work for her. She seemed so much more comfortable when she was taking on Led Zeppelin a couple of weeks back. There was no connection at all, which really isn’t her fault. I really hope that Natalie starts to give her some meatier material to sink her chops into; this just isn’t the Hayley I fell in love with.
Andrew Lawson gave us a cruisy take on Maroon 5’s “Sunday Morning.” I really liked the arrangement, and couldn’t fault the vocals. However I still feel there’s a veneer about him. It’s all a bit saccharine, as if he’s delivering what he thinks us girls want rather than what he actually is. It just doesn’t quite ring true for me.
Mahogany might have brought the house down with their rendition of Destiny’s Child’s “Survivor,” but it did nothing for us here at home. They sang it well, but I don’t think they brought anything new to this song which really doesn’t feel like a summer anthem anyway. It would have been much more interesting to see them tackle something by The Beach Boys, really bring out those harmonies and deliver something different. After saying they weren’t going to play it safe this week, I’m not sure how much safer they could have played it. Sadly, predictable.
Luke and Joel answered all my prayers, giving us both Beach Boys and originality. The arrangement was so smart; this could be on a record and be a hit tomorrow. I think many people are going to love this, and many are going to hate it too, but no one is going to forget it. Personally I think that’s much more exciting than singing a song the same way as another artist has done.
I always look forward to Sally Chatfield’s performances, but I felt a bit let down this week. Again it was about song choice. In whose mind is “Since You’ve Been Gone” a summer song? Not only is it not summery, it’s also just a bit boring. Again I didn’t feel the connection, which for a Sally performance is really rare.
And so again we face losing one of our acts. I think Luke and Joel and Altiyan are safe, but it’s anyone’s guess who’ll take those bottom two spots. What do you think?