The X Factor Celebrates Oz

With ARIAs fever in the air, our X Factor finalists took on Aussie hits.

Luke and Joel kicked things off with The Living End’s “White Noise.” It was a smart choice as The Living End have always been more about the energy than the technical skills. This is where these boys excel. They didn’t blow me away as they did last week, but that landed them in the bottom two; maybe it’s better to be solid at this point.

When I heard Sally Chatfield was taking on The Veronicas, I’d hoped she’d do “Everything I’m Not.” But I don’t know; there were some really nice moments but it just didn’t quite jump off the page for me. I loved the way she asserted herself, and that lovely spontaneous moment with the guitarist, but I’m just not sure she gave us all of herself. They seemed to lap it up in the studio, but I just wasn’t feeling it at home.

Andrew Lawson dished up a bit of Sam Sparro’s “Black and Gold.” This was so theatrical and over the top. The song choice was lovely and his vocals were brilliant, but for me it was just too glossy to take seriously. I think if it was stripped back this would have been much more convincing. I’ve often felt that The X Factor goes overboard on the production, and this is a prime example.

I never would have thought of picking a bit of Daryl Braithwaite for Mahogany, but I thought their version of “The Horses” was brilliant. Well done to Guy for remembering that Australian music didn’t start with the naughties. This was the most believable performance of the night. I can’t imagine Mahogany being in the bottom two after this.

Altiyan Childs closed the night with a really lovely version of “Never Tear Us Apart.” It was all those things I’ve been banging on about, being believable and authentic and stripping it all back to the root of the song. He’s definitely coming into his own, and it’s a beautiful thing to see.

After a fairly uneven night it’s hard to say who will go. I know who my favourites were, but we’ve all got to factor in that sympathy element. We’ll find out tomorrow night where the axe will fall.

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