The X-Factor Final 2011 - Little Mix create history

By Jason Wright (Entertainment Expert)

THOUSANDS had applied and now just two acts remained.  Following Amelia Lily’s departure at the end of Saturday’s show, just two now were left to fight it out.  Marcus Collins and Little Mix would compete over two hours on Sunday night to decide who would win The X-Factor 2011.  They were ready, the audience was ready, the judges were ready and Britain was ready to meet its next big popstar.

Before the serious business began, there was once again time to enjoy a performance from the eliminated contestants (minus Frankie for obvious reasons.)  In his place, there was a cameo appearance by Goldie Cheung; the act that Louis Walsh had initially sent through to the live finals, but declined to participate.

Turning back the clock to the past

Each act had three songs to win The X-Factor 2011.  In their first performance of the night, both of them performed a song from a past live show and they both opted to reprise their numbers from Movie Night (Week 7 of the competition, to you and me.)

GALLANT: Marcus was a creditable runner-up

First Marcus performed ‘Higher and higher,’ bringing back the gospel choir he used to great effect back then.  Just like the previous night, he had opened this leg of the final in sensational style.  Then Little Mix jumped onto stage to perform ‘Don’t Let Go.’  The song once again showed their unique abilities of being a group with either no lead singer or someone who gets the majority of the lyrics.  They all get their fair share and that’s why the public love them.

Giving Seasons Greetings

The X-Factor wouldn’t be the same without some Christmas cheer, something it has ignored in the last two series finals.  So it was nice to see it reinstated for 2011.  Marcus first gave a performance of Wham’s ‘Last Christmas.’  It was a song that was sort of lukewarm but the judges didn’t care, it was the final after all and it was all about standing out from the crowd for them.

Little Mix then next performed ‘Silent Night.’  This was them at their best, a song which just focused on their amazing voices that have grown throughout the competition.  With every performance that goes by, the belief that this could be the year of the Groups was growing.  All that Tulisa could do, as she had been doing throughout, was to make a loud plea for people to vote for them and that was an X-Factor political broadcast by “Tulisa’s Little Muffins” Party!

As the acts went backstage to prepare for their final and most crucial performance of the evening, it was time to look back at a series full of highs and lows.  Westlife, who have just announced they are splitting up, performed an acclaimed rendition of ‘What About Now,’ with a montage of series highlights being shown on the big screen behind them.

Just one more chance left

So it had all come down to this.  One song now stood between Marcus and Little Mix from victory – the winner’s single.  Reverting back to old rules, both finalists ad recorded versions of the Damien Rice ballad ‘Cannonball’ but with one difference, both acts had recorded it in their own style and how they saw it fit.  Unfortunately, both performances would be overshadowed by what is the worst ever X-Factor winner’s single!

Marcus went for a mixture of high notes and up-tempo base for his performance.  Although many might have predicted it would suit him more, it didn’t quite turn out the way many expected but what couldn’t be taken away was the power and soul put into it and it even had Gary Barlow shedding a tear or two.

Little Mix opted for the more traditional route of keeping the song as a ballad throughout its entirety.  They put plenty of dedication, emotion and other all sorts of dimensions into it.  It sounded like they been in the music industry for years.

ELECTRIC: Coldplay put on a stunning performance

A long wait would now have to be endured as it was time for another X- actor first.  This group had declined from appearing on the show, until now.  The biggest band in the world, Coldplay performed two songs from their recent new album, ‘Charlie Brown’ and ‘Paradise.’  The Wembley Arena crowd was transformed into a sea of glow lights for the performance and the group worked so hard that lead singer Chris Martin was left sweating like a pig after their performance.

An emotional and fairytale climax to an incredible weekend

Now came the moment Britain had been waiting.   Could Marcus make it four wins for the Boys in five years?  Or would Little Mix claim a long overdue triumph for the Groups?  In what was the closest X-Factor final ever, with just five per cent of the votes separating the two acts, and the standard long pause, the nation decided that the winner of The X Factor 2011 would be

…LITTLE MIX!

After eight long years, the group’s category had finally hit the jackpot!  In the past, the likes of G4, Same Difference, JLS and One Direction had tried and failed to win the final.  Now Little Mix had well and truly showed them all up.

The girls were undoubtedly overcome with emotion over the announcement; tears’ streaming down their faces and even their mentor Tulisa cracked and was a sobbing wreck too.  Throughout all they had been through, the public saw faith in them and they had well and truly beaten the odds.  Marcus was left to just offer his congratulations but again, he will surely be on his way to a bright future.

That just left Little Mix enough time to wipe away their tears and perform their debut single before being enveloped into a massive group hug by all of the finalists.  The race will now be on to get the single to Christmas Number One, but with that contest being taken place over two weeks this year and with a strong challenge from the ‘Military Wives’ charity single, it isn’t going to be easy.  However, they will surely be virtually guaranteed number one in next Sunday’s chart beforehand.

Series eight in a nutshell

It’s fair to say this year’s series of The X-Factor has had its ups and downs.  It started off so well in the early stages with rave reviews from critics over the new judging panel.  Once the live shows started, it descended into chaos, which put a bit of a damp squib on the competition because, at least in my opinion, the talent was much better than in previous years.

When Strictly Come Dancing started in October, the expected ratings switchover happened and The X-Factor struggled to maintain its grip with Strictly’s approach to hit the show where it really hurt.  Even the first night of the final on Saturday was outfoxed by Strictly’s semi-final and on Sunday, the peak audience was just over 15 million.  As anticipated, this was the most watched show on the box on Sunday but still a massive four million down on last year’s finale and the overall series ratings were below both 2010 and 2009.

As for “The Next Generation” judging panel, Gary Barlow was a creditable addition and delivered his promise to be fair and brutally honest in his role.  When Tulisa was appointed, I didn’t have any high hopes, but she has actually turned out so great in her role and my opinions on her have changed.  The least said about Louis Walsh, the better, and Kelly Rowland was strongly opinionated and honest in her feedback but looked out of her depth in the UK.  I wouldn’t be too surprised if at least one of these judges gets their P45 orders before next year however, with Nicole Scherzinger potentially switching from the US version to the UK edition next year.

Congratulations to Little Mix: X-Factor Winners 2011

Lastly, congratulations to Little Mix for a well deserved victory.  Now will they turn out to be successful – the answer won’t be revealed until next autumn but with acts like Shayne Ward, Leon Jackson and Joe McElderry having failed to build on their success, and with last year’s champion Matt Cardle seemingly going the same way, there will be huge pressure on them to deliver.  However, we should leave this until when that moment comes and celebrate on the foursome becoming the first group ever to win the competition.  The countdown now begins again to summer 2012 for when the search resumes for the class of series nine.

It may have not been a vintage series but The X-Factor 2011 certainly got a happy and fairytale ending.

The X-Factor Final 2011 - Amelia departs in stage one

By Jason Wright (Entertainment Expert)

THOUSANDS had fallen by the wayside and now just three acts remained.  This weekend, Little Mix, Marcus Collins and Amelia Lily competed in the 2011 X-Factor final, infront of 10,000 fans live at Wembley Arena.

After the casual, but always cringe worthy scene entrance of Dermot O’Leary, the three finalists kicked off with a group performance of Take That’s ‘Greatest Day.’  Then it was onto the real matter of impressing the public.  Each act had two songs to perform on the first night of the final and the act that finished bottom of the public vote would be eliminated.

Making a lasting impression

For their first performance of the night, each act was given a song they had never previously performed before in the competition.  With Wembley Arena’s bigger stage capacity, each act had the opportunity to add an extra dimension into their first song.  First was Marcus, who performed Outkast’s ‘Hey Ya!’ to the backdrop of a prop plane.  To say it was amazing was a bit of an understatement as he tore the roof of the building (not literally) with his cool, calm and collected approach to the song.

So, how could Little Mix match or even beat the stage display from Marcus?  Simple, arrive on stage, riding four Harley Davidson bikes before blasting into a rendition of Florence + the Machine’s ‘You Got the Love.’  They have been without question the revelation of this competition, not only having ripped up the form book of girl groups on the show but shredding and burning it.  The question was now, could the public believe that they really could go all the way?

Finally it was the turn of Amelia.  Kelly Rowland decided to take gamble in not using extra displays, deciding just to concentrate on her performance ability.  Though that might have sounded a big disadvantage, her version of ‘Ain’t No Other Man’ by Christina Aguilera was at the same level as all of her performances since her whirlwind return. 

The bond between acts and mentors exposed

As with finals in the past, each act would next perform a song with a special guest.  This is X-Factor though and with the new venue destination in mind, the stakes were raised massively.  So for the first time in the show’s history, each act was tasked to perform with their mentors.  It was a chance to see whether they really had either bonded together throughout the competition or were at each other’s throats.

First, Marcus and Gary Barlow performed Billy Joel’s classic ‘She’s Always a Woman.’  Collins announced previously he would be dedicating his performance to his mother and both he and Barlow made the song into their own unique way.

UNISON: Tulisa was like a fifth member of Little Mix in the duet round

Next, it was time for Tulisa and Little Mix (or ‘Little Muffins’ as Tulisa has been referring them to as throughout much of the competition) to give a medley of the Alicia Keys songs ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ and ‘Empire State of Mind.’  This performance perhaps gave no question that this is the best partnership between act and mentor in the competition.  At times, it felt like Tulisa had become the fifth member of the group.

Then Amelia and Kelly joined forces to perform Tina Turner’s ‘River Deep, Mountain High.’  As much as Amelia gave it her best as she has with any other song in this competition, the overall level performance lacked the passion and dedication that was required at this point in the final.

Only the public now could decide whether the acts had done enough to win a place in Sunday night’s decider.

 

The full time whistle goes for Amelia Lily…again!

The finalists weren’t of course, the only ones to take to the Wembley stage as The X-Factor promised that the final would be littered with guest stars.  On Saturday, the fans were treated a special “super group” performance by JLS and One Direction, as well as cameo appearances from Leona Lewis and Michael Buble.

Finally, the voting lines were frozen and the results of the first stage of the final were in.  Little Mix continued their incredible run by reaching the final two and despite going in as the underdog; Marcus’ performances were enough to sway the public vote in his favour of going through.

DIGNITY: Amelia was eliminated on Saturday, but achieved her target

It meant Amelia had to deal with the prospect of elimination for the second time.  However, unlike nine weeks ago, when she refused to accept what had happened, this time she was extremely gracious in defeat.  She said that her ambition was only to reach the final and she achieved it with flying colours.  Afterwards, she vowed that this would not be the last of her and for 17 years of age, she has an incredible voice.

ECSTATIC: Marcus and Little Mix celebrate their progress on Saturday

So as Amelia departed, the dream was now just beginning for both Marcus and Little Mix.  They would be back in the second stage of final on Sunday where one would win and have their lives change forever.  The Great British public now had 24 hours to deliver their verdict…

TO BE CONTINUED…

The X-Factor 2011 - The battle hots up

By Jason Wright (Entertainment expert)

FOR the first time in quite a while, the remaining acts in the competition were all genuine contenders, with none really being classed as ‘joke acts.’  Here is how the latest drama has unfolded over the last two weeks…

WEEK 7

The Ultimate Saturday Night Blockbuster

THE X-Factor met Hollywood for a night of movie themes.  The name’s Colton, Craig Colton. (I mention that way because he was assigned a classic Bond number ‘License to Kill.’)  Showing off his great vocals once again as he has always done, he came under the firing line however for the first time with questions over whether the song was wrong for him.  After two weeks of mediocre performances, Janet Devlin somewhat returned to form with a simple yet effective rendition of ‘Kiss Me’ from How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

     The other two Girls also had strong nights, even if it wasn’t their best to date.  Returning act Amelia Lily’s performance of the Bridget Jones song ‘Think’ focused more on a stage production than just the voice but was still very competitive.  After a second stint in the bottom two the previous week, Misha B went out and proved she can still compete with the best in the competition and her take on ‘I Have Nothing’ from The Bodyguard had Gary Barlow calling for people to start supporting her again.

     The one remaining group in the competition Little Mix tried something different this week.  ‘Don’t Let Go’ from Set It Off was a song that might have been upbeat but more stripped back with more emphasis placed on their vocal abilities.  In a nutshell, it paid off handsomely again.  Finally, Marcus Collins also went down the stage-show route (again) for his performance of ‘Higher and Higher’ from Ghostbusters, this time with the help of a gospel choir.  It just proves that he is the real deal and it would be a travesty if he at least didn’t make the final.

Curtain Closes On Craig

After a surprise appearance from legendary icon Bryan Adams in the finalist’s group performance, and somebody nicking his guitar without anyone noticing, it was time for the latest round of results.  With Misha B, Little Mix, Marcus and Janet all having done enough to go into the quarter-final, it left Craig, expected on his performance level, and Amelia, just a week after coming back, battling for survival.  Both acts gave it 110 per cent and this wasn’t going to be an easy decision.  Both Gary Barlow and Kelly Rowland stood by their acts but Barlow was bang out of order in saying that Amelia “shouted her way” through her sing-off performance.  It wasn’t shouting at all, it’s the way Amelia performs.  Tulisa based her decision on the sing-off performances and decided Craig had put more passion into his before Louis Walsh decided that Amelia was a better all-round performer than Craig.

DEADLOCK: However, it was the end of the journey for Craig

     That meant after seven weeks, a Final Showdown finally had the judges torn over their votes.  The Deadlock situation was called into play for the first time this series and not to anyone’s surprise, Craig finished bottom of the public vote and his time on the show was up.  A bitter shame as he had performed beyond everyone’s expectations but in a competition so close, it was a case of one bad night and you’re out.

WEEK 8

Everyone has a guilty pleasure

WITH five acts now left standing, it was now double the pressure as each one had to perform twice for the support of both the judges and the public.  In the first round of performances, each act performed a song of Guilty Pleasure.

Little Mix went first with Justin Bieber’s ‘Baby’ and although it was made to perfection, Louis wasn’t impressed by the choreography involved in it.  At least they coped better than Janet who tried the tested and failed formula of an up-tempo song, ‘MMMBop,’ and yet again, she fluffed the lines and this time blamed it on being about to vomit.

Misha B played it rather safe but effective with Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ before we got the rather usual spectacular from Marcus, this time putting it together with the Wham! Hit ‘I’m Your Man.’ Finally, Amelia Lily brought the first round to a close with a mind-blowing rendition of T’Pau’s ‘China In Your Hand’ with Gary claiming it to be better than the original version.  It of course didn’t go down well with the original artists of the track.

And everyone does need a hero

With the Guilty Pleasure numbers done, it was now time for the acts to showcase one of their big musical idols.  Little Mix got an opportunity to showcase a completely different side.  This time, there was no dancing, no gimmicks, just the four girl’s voices of ‘Beautiful’ by Christina Aguilera.  It was an emotionally-captivating performance which helped them on their way to becoming the new bookmakers favourites to win.

     Janet fared slightly better on her second song, Red Hot Chilli Peppers ‘Under The Bridge’ but it was evident that the damage from the first song had already been done as the judges didn’t really warm to this either.  Misha B meanwhile was having a rather predictable night but still remained on the top of her game with Roberta Flack’s ‘Killing Me Softly with His Song.’

For his hero’s song, Marcus also decided to strip things back with Stevie Wonder’s ‘Lately.’  A very difficult song to conquer and although it didn’t prove to be spectacular, it was still proof of why he deserves a chance in music.  Having mastered a power ballad in her first performance, Amelia Lily went for a rock style in her second outing with Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Since You’ve Been Gone.’  Her first song of the night was better but nevertheless, it summed up her intent to take on the opposition since her return.

Janet bids farewell – but not in a dignified way

With three of the original four girls left at this stage, surely the odds were strong that one of them had to go this week.  Despite five acts being left, a Final Showdown was still held, signifying the rule changes in elimination made last year were no one year fluke.  In the public vote result, Amelia was spared a second consecutive sing-off, Marcus continued to flourish under his growing fanbase and Little Mix made X-Factor history in becoming the first girl group ever to reach the semi-final.

     That left Janet and Misha B; the latter in the bottom two for the third time in six weeks, having to sing again for the one remaining place in the semi-final.  They once again, showed why they were great competitors but Misha’s ability to deliver under the pressure was what swayed it with the judges.  Even Louis, the biggest fan of Janet, decided to send her home and when Tulisa sided and sent her home too, it was game over and her mentor Kelly sealed it – by deciding to opt out of voting!  Despite being warned by Dermot O’Leary about the consequences of her considering actions, she stuck by her decision to refuse in casting a vote.  Cue the jeering from the audience and the typical explosion of angry and furious comments on Twitter and Facebook.

SLUMP: Janet struggled to recover in recent weeks and it has cost her

      Regardless of the outcome, the truth is simply that Janet’s decline began in the fifth week of competition and her failure to recover from this slump has finally led to her paying the ultimate price – a shot at winning the competition.  However, there’s no denying that this is the last we will hear of Janet; she surely will be selling records and albums in the future.

     So, it’s now down to the final four – Amelia Lily, Little Mix, Marcus Collins and Misha B will battle it out in next week’s semi-final.  The prize, for three of them is a place in the showpiece finale live in front of 10,000 people at Wembley Arena.  It doesn’t matter whether this series is trailing in the ratings, this has surely got to be the closest semi-final field yet, anyone can well and truly miss out on the final.

The X-Factor 2011 - The week five curse strikes again!

By Jason Wright (Entertainment Expert)

THIS WEEKEND was the week that is always designed to strike fear into the minds of both contestants and viewers – the dreaded Week Five!  A frontrunner always seems to depart on this particular week.     The competitive Maria Lawson in 2005, the consistent Laura White in 2008, the sexy Lucie Jones in 2009 and the formidable Treyc Cohen last year have all been victims of week five in the past and have had their dreams of being popstars destroyed as a result.  Once again, the jinx would strike again in a shock double elimination.  After its successful trial in last year’s semi-final, the ‘Club Classics’ theme was given a proper chance to shine and as Dermot O’Leary put it, this was the only week guaranteed to be a ‘ballad-free zone.’

OVER 25’s

JOHNNY Robinson was the first on stage and after his successful outing the previous week, he returned back to his entertaining roots with Madonna’s ‘Hung Up.’  Safe to say, the judges weren’t entirely impressed.  Gary Barlow, who finally was won over by him last week, returned to his criticism of him, comparing it “the opening of a bad pantomime in Scarborough”.  Ouch!  Both acts in this category had a troublesome night as Kitty Brucknell failed to impress too.  Her version of ‘Like a Prayer,’ another Madonna classic was out of her usual character on a theme that may have suited her liking.  However, the feedback she got was a little harsh with Barlow saying that she couldn’t dance.  In fairness, Kitty tried but it was lacking the extra vigour that has made her a talking point in the show.

GIRLS

BACKFIRED: Janet's style change led to mixed results

AFTER Kelly Rowland’s absence last week, she was back and ready to get her two remaining acts back on track.  There was no escape for Janet Devlin, who after four weeks of impressive but not stand-out performances, struggled with choosing her own song.  She fluffed the words during her rendition of Jackson 5’s ‘I want you back.’  She did recover, but the judges gave mixed comments, with Tulisa suggesting to go back to her previous style of music.  Following last week’s bottom two shocker, Misha B bounced back with Beyoncé’s ‘Proud Mary.’   It is well noted that when an act ends up in the bottom two on one week, they can’t win but don’t rule her out yet, especially in a competition that is becoming more open by the week.

BOYS

FRONTRUNNER: Marcus looks like the one to beat

STILL with the full line-up in tow from the first week eliminator, Craig Colton kicked off the category’s running with Bryan Adams ‘Heaven.’  A club classic song was probably going to expose Craig’s weakness, but despite looking out of his comfort zone, he performed very well.  Ultimately, he proved again that he can cut the mustard at this level.  Marcus Collins has so far been a challenger if not a serious contender.  However, everyone was up on their feet with his take of the true fifties classic ‘Reet Petite.’  Gary was in lots praise for his act, labelling it as “the performance of the season.”  Perhaps, it was a little bit boastful but can that be blamed?  With every high comes a low and yet again, Frankie Cocozza was on the end of that yardstick with ‘I Gotta Feeling’ by Black Eyed Peas.  It looked as if he had downed full bottles of Smirnoff and Jack Daniels and was fashioned by an unemployed Next salesman!  The result, quite possibly the worst performance ever in a live show; Jedward or Wagner could have done that song justice.

GROUPS

FLYING high after their praise last week, The Risk looked to impress again with Shalimar’s ‘A Night to Remember.’  Not as strong as in previous weeks for the group but it again showed their true potential.  Every year, the experts have attempted to write off the category’s chances each year but on this occasion, they shouldn’t just yet.  Girl group Little Mix have become serious challengers as their version of Rihanna’s ‘Please Don’t Stop The Music’ went down with a storm with the judges. It’s taken eight long years but The X-Factor finally seems to have found its first girl group that can make a successful career from the show.

The Result

FAREWELL: Tulisa had to say a shock goodbye to The Risk

IT’S been clear for weeks now that a certain Mr S Cowell has been extremely unhappy about the quality of contestants this year.  He decided to shake things up and the double elimination did cause a surprise, especially in the public vote.  Little Mix, Marcus, Misha B and Craig all deservedly won their place back next week whilst Janet could count herself lucky to be saved by her many supporters.  Also, despite his tripe the previous night, Frankie was somehow voted to stay in.

     That left Johnny, Kitty and The Risk in the bottom three.  It was anticipated by everyone that one of Louis acts would go first…but no! The Risk was eliminated after finishing bottom of the public vote.  Viewers and the audience were left stunned whilst the boys themselves and their mentor Tulisa looked gobsmacked.  The curse of Week Five has well and truly struck again!

     So it was a showdown between the two remaining acts Louis had.  For the second time in three weeks, he had to make a difficult decision.  Johnny gave a dignified and polished performance but when Kitty can deliver under the huge pressure, it made the final decision far easier.  Kitty was unanimously saved by the judges and expectantly, cued more booing and jeering from the audience.  Sad as it was to see Johnny go, the fact is that Kitty would provide a better chance for Louis in the competition – though that chance is already at slim to nil!

     The double elimination drama did manage to put X-Factor back in lead in the ratings war with Strictly, mainly helped that there was no head-to-head clash this weekend, though there’s certainly still a long road to recovery ahead.  One thing is for certain, the competition has never been this open before as anyone from at least five acts could win!  The second half of this year’s live finals is set to be a thriller … providing any new controversy doesn’t get in the way of course.