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X Factor and Halloween should never be combined in the same slot of programming. Saturday night saw the seasonal theme have some of the most tenuously linked numbers (where was ‘Ghostbusters’? ‘Monster Mash’? Or anything from Rocky Horror?!) the series has ever seen – because of course, ‘Halloween’ includes any song with the words ‘bleeding’, ‘heart’, ‘fire’, ‘black’ or…Venus?
Maybe it was because Belle Amie’s song choice had the least to do with Halloween that they got the boot – despite some fabulous zombie bride costumes and coffin props. In reality, this was the first week I gave up rooting for them. Their voices in unison were never going to create a pleasant sound (that ‘Breakaway’ was so laboured) and though ‘Venus’ was fun, their departure makes sense.
The other bottom two-er Katie didn’t deserve it – I’m rather embarrassingly enjoying her more playful performance style and onstage quirks – but you know there’s a problem when you’re remembering her shimmery drag queen make-up more than the song. ‘Trust in Me’ was probably one of her worst, almost entirely yelled, but you have to give the sing-offs critical lee-way as they are performed under pressure.
Gimmicks aside, there were some delightful moments. Matt proved yet again that I prefer every cover of ‘Bleeding Love’ to the original. While I admit that he did struggle, I was won over by the sheer honesty and a heart that Leona only produces artificially. A song I didn’t prefer to the original but still ranked highly was Rebecca’s ‘Wicked Game’ – I just wish she’d capitalised on that gorgeous falsetto the song is notorious for (we know she’s capable of it!) rather than sounding somewhat croaky on those extended notes.
The night, rather appropriately, took a turn for the bizarre at several points – starting with Mary’s ‘Could It Be Magic?’ paired with devil horns and bats (neither of which spring to mind when one thinks ‘Take That’) to Wagner’s inexplicable merging of opera and rock ’n’ roll via ‘O Fortuna’ and ‘Bat Out of Hell’. I actually wish he’d stuck with ‘O Fortuna’ – not only would it have been a suitable mood-setter, but it would’ve (for one night at least) turned him into something more than just a repetitive joke.
The oddest choice of the night was Aiden’s misinformed decision to slow down the epitomical Halloween song ‘Thriller’ into unrecognisable oblivion. Coupled with some stiff stage mannequins, the dance track’s trademark high-energy was murdered as Aiden wrestled with the melody. Simply never do this to ‘Thriller’; it just misses the point and sucks the joy out of the whole thing!
Paije meanwhile had a second strong week with ‘Back to Black’, a song suited to his funk voice, while TreyC made the same error by picking an up-tempo song (‘Relight My Fire’) dominated by shouty singing. Simon and Dannii were right to point out her lack of musical identity; it doesn’t say much for a future career. As for my favourite cringe-inducing boyband, they demonstrated once more that any song can be transformed into a crap-fest. Though they did sound like a legitimate vocal group for a change, this legitimacy was thrown out the window by the fact that they were all sporting pink-eye.
The end of this article has to be reserved for the star of Saturday night – Cher, you blew me away. The definitive *moment* of the series so far, it was so understated yet majestic; combining the unexpected power on those lungs with that raw emotion simmering on the surface, girl may have just found herself a more likeable niche than being a middle-class rapper. Let’s just hope this wasn’t a one-off fluke.
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