X Factor - Live Show, Week 2

Week 2 already, it’ll be Christmas before you know it. The theme this week was love and heartache, cue the big power ballads and some lovey dovey VT’s.

Sam Bailey

‘Make You Feel My Love’

First up was powerhouse Sam Bailey who was a vision in red. She gave a perfectly understated performance or “Make You Feel My Love’ proving to the audience she 'wasnt just a one trick pony'. Fitting in perfectly with love week Sam dedicated the song to husband Craig, however it left Nicole feeling ‘luke warm’ prompting the audience into a chorus of boo’s. The rest of the judges loved it and Louis christened her “screwbo”… although shouldn’t it technically be ‘screwba’?

Kingsland Rd.

‘Marry You’

Complete with dance moves, which by the way we loved, the boys decided sing together this week with no lead vocals, quite a refreshing change, plus there’s no denying they sound fantastic together. We did get a little tease of lovely lady eyes Matt showing off his powerful voice towards the end though.Their personalities really shined through and other than Nicole the rest of the judges loved it commentating that “they really had something”.

Nicholas McDonald

‘She’s The One’

Initially when we heard this song choice we weren’t expecting great things, but boy were we wrong! That little love session (get your mind out the gutter) with Nicole certainly helped Nicky breathe genuine emotion into the song. Vocals aside things did get a little weird with the staging and a random dancer creeping on at the end prompting Sharon to brand her a pedophile! You just can’t predict what’s going to come out of Sharons mouth. Did you know he’s only 16?

Abi Alton

‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’

Abi Alton wanted to show a different side to her this week but failed to impress most of the judges. She swapped her flats for a pair of heels and her instrument for some pink umbrellas but looked awkward navigating the stage. One thing didn’t change however and that’s Abi’s spin on the original song, you couldn’t even tell it was a Kylie classic, we particularly loved the altered backing track. Gary commented it stuck in his head for all the wrong reasons… see what he did there? Good one Gaz (yawn).

Shelley Smith

‘Single Ladies’

A part of us really enjoyed this fun camp side to Shelley, another part was a little disappointed they seemed to be taking her down the novelty route, with a voice hers that’d just be criminal! About half way through her permorfance we declared Shelley would be perfect for the west end, in our head she’s already the Meryl Streep role in Mama Mia… then Louis went and stole our idea. There’s no denying she can sing, but for some reason, in the words of Nicole, it was a little SchWeird.

Miss Dynamix

We would have been hearing a bit of love and heartache from the trio however Sese was taken ill prior to the show, being pregnant no risks were taken and she was wheeled off the hospital. Seeing as Sese has the most powerful voice in the newly formed group she was naturally doing the lead vocals making it impossible for the others to perform. We were genuinely concerned for her and voiced our sympathy however is it really fair for an act to get a free pass? Surely opening their phone line and allowing the audience to vote on past performances would have been a little fairer.

Sam Callahan

‘I Won’t Give Up’

Fantastic song choice from Louis here (we’re assuming its Louis and giving him the credit, it doesn’t happen very often) Sam had been criticized for his weak vocals in past performances and decided to show what he was really made of. Simple, effortless and understated, he gave a great rendition of the song and silenced a few critics in the process. Turns out he’s not just a pretty face.

Tamera Foster

‘Beneath Your Beautiful’

After a not so complimentary week in the papers Tamera brushed all that to one side and delivered an outstanding performance. With an incredible arrangement, incredible vocals and an incredible outfit she screamed ‘star’. Even though last week she was great, we felt it was a huge improvement on that, the simple staging allowed her to really show off that powerful voice.

Luke Friend

‘Let Her Go’

The highlight of this had to be Louis making an actual funny when asked what the deal with the random boat was, apparently it was because Luke was ‘sailing through to next week’. We were pretty pleased when we heard Luke was doing this song however his shouty version of emotion just didn’t suit the soft sincerity of the song. Being rather pretty and genuinely down right lovely we’ll excuse him this once.

Rough Copy

‘I Want It That Way’

We find ourselves looking forward to Rough Copy, always intrigued as to what they’ll do. According to Sharon they took a Backstreet Boys song and Rough Copied it, although for us, there was just something lacking this week, yes they sounded good, yes the looked good (purple leather skirts and all) and yes they had fun, but there was just no umph. We’ll class this as a blip as they’ll no doubt be back on form next week. It’s their own fault for setting our expectations so damn high.

Hannah Barrett

‘Beautiful’

Insert ‘they saved the best till last’ cliché here. Performance of the night from Hannah, that confidence boosting shopping trip with Nicole certainly did the trick. Beautiful, powerful, emotional, she couldn’t have done any better. Fantastic. #FaceGoosebumps indeed Nicole!

Flash Vote

What a shocker! We certainly weren’t expecting to see Kingsland Rd bottom of the votes and facing Sunday nights sing-off. Just goes to show nobody is safe this year and with the flash vote it really could be anyone facing the chop.

Sunday

Kingsland Rd. Vs Shelley Smith

After a strong sing-off from both acts it was down to potential that saw Kingsland Rd. safe and through to next week. Which meant we wave a sad goodbye to Shelley, although perhaps this competition wasn’t for her she had a fantastic voice and personality to match, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before we see her cast in the west end.

Who was your winners and losers of the weekend? Let us know!