X FACTOR: Top Tens Week

This week our Top 10 take on songs that have hit the TOP TENS all across the globe - and no, surprisingly no one sand a Justin Bieber or One Direction song this week...odd. Overall I was shocked by the high standard that everyone brought to the plate and enjoyed the night. Even Mel B gave 'credit where it was due'.

The official twitter for X Factor AU released the set list on their website and I was shocked at how well each judge had matched their contestants with hits that would 100% showcase why they deserved to be in the Top 10 and deserve a spot in next week's Top 9. I have to admit, I had to YouTube song choices for Carmelo and (not surprisingly) The Collective due to unfamiliarity with either the song titles or the artists.

Standouts:

Justin was the biggest surprise of the entire night. Beginning the show with Fun.'s, "Some Nights" with a country twist, his vocals were at its best and I love every minute of it! Having seen the set list prior to the show, I was delighted with Guy's song choice for Justin. He was the only one that really shocked me tonight.

The groups, Fourtunate and The Collective were yet again at the hight of their game as they 'wowed' the audiences and the judges with their excessive amounts of pelvic thrusts. 

Fourtunate not only sang their little hearts out, they're every movement were in tune to the beat of the song. The only thing I really want from Fourtunate in future is to do softer, more ballad-like song to showcase their amazing voices that we fell in love with.

The Collective were nothing short of surprises - no not just a song choice from a foreign boyband from the past, but rather with a medley thrown into the mix! The seemingly 'outdated' "classic", You Got It (The Right Stuff) by The New Kids on the Block, had the black-and-white video clip come to life with Michael Jackson's, Billie Jean (see what I did there? ;P). The boys were yet again in their element and also showcased Julian and Jayden's voices this week - which works as a treat to remind us that they were individual artists prior to the home visits.

The Verdict

After an incredible lineup of guest stars including, The Veronicas, Lady Antebellum and P!nk, it came down to, very shockingly, Angel and Justin.  It came as a shock to see Justin in the bottom two seeing as last night's performance was his best this far in the competition. If the verdict was based solely on last night's judges comments, Angel would have easily been eliminated tonight.

But let's rewind before I talk about the final decision. Judging from last night's performance, the bottom two I was expecting were:

Carmelo for his lack of confidence. Last's weeks performance was forgivable being his first week back into the competition, but this week, it was like he took a step backwards. In stead of getting the hang of the live shows, he seems to have lost himself in the pressures of the competition. Last week he was able to do what any great performer does when they're nervous - smile and keep the show going, but this week, there was very little of that confidence and fear was clearly written in his face. I hope Carmelo doesn't ruin this second chance, otherwise last week's story on the Josh Brookes scandal on Today Tonight may have us seeing Josh back in the competition:

Another contestant who did not do as well as I thought she would have was Samantha Jade:

Singing Britney Spear's, Everytime, it should have been the perfect song choice for the 25-year-old. She started well, but began to get pitchy and slightly screechy towards the end of the performance. The beauty of this song is it's simplicity. The set was perfect - Sammie wasn't in a giant dress or a dome to stop her from moving, but even in her stillness, it would have been an easy ride to a, "brilliant performance" from all the judges. But when she started doing the ad-libs and trills, she lost the heart of the song. I think that even though this show is about showcasing you voice, there's also a need to do justice to the song. There's a big difference between owning a song and trying to tackle it.

Nevertheless the results are what they are. The only reason we saw Angel in the bottom two tonight is because the stakes were so high last night. It's so hard to determine who will and won't be in the bottom two. But for Angel I agree with Mel, I feel like the song choices for Angel haven't been able to showcase who she is as person through her voice. We saw Angel literally struggle with the concept of her song this week in the recap video that plays before they perform, and I think it just became very evident after her performance. Vocally, she was AMAZING!!! But her self-confidence and doubt creeped up towards the end of the song all the way through to the judges comments.

But when she sang for her life tonight, there was no doubt that she would take the final spot in the fourth week of the live shows. Although Justin did perform at his best last night, it as not enough to get him out of the bottom two, and tonight, he was out shined. 

It just goes to show, that "no one is safe."

sL xxx