The X Factor Judges Houses - The Round Up

After a very tough boot camp, the X Factor went global as the 32 finalists flew across many exotic locations from LA to Miami, Greece to Barcelona, all over the world in a last attempt to make it to the live finals. But this was no vacation, it was strictly straight down to business as their fate was hanging by a thread! Some would make the cut, for others it was the next plane home and the competition ended there and then for the contestants. So get ready, for tears, talent, guest judges, singing, hearts being smashed into pieces and then more tears as we round up all the exotic drama as the X Factor goes global. There were many big shocks along the way, but the biggest shock of all I must say was Sinitta being dressed a lot more conservatively?! Not sure what happened there. Maybe she wasn't quite in the mood? Or couldn't be bothered?

Barcelona...

I was right after all! Louis had put Goldie through but she later dropped out and we learnt that she had been replaced by Sami. Also sad that Terry didn't make it through to the next round as I felt he delivered a good enough performance, but I suppose that's how the cookie crumbles. Goldie put in a rather eccentric performance of J.Lo's On the Floor, which was very baffling indeed. She would have been a complete nightmare to mentor so maybe it was a blessing. Or a curse? This was the last we ever saw of her. On the plus side, Jonjo made it through to Louis's final four. Despite being a bag of nerves, he showed tonnes of potential and could be the dark horse of the competition if he finds a way to control his nerves. It was to my utter surprise that Louis had chosen Kitty as he previously mentioned she would be a nightmare to mentor!! Well let's just see how the cookie crumbles on this one!!

LA...

Over in La La Land, Robbie Williams joined Gary in a LA in which he took a leaf out of Sinitta's book (or wardrobe in this case) and made an, ahem, 'grand entrance'. Anyways, it was down to serious business though as the boys were required to sing in order to win a place in the final. Unfortunately, Luke Lucas fell at the last hurdle as he proved to be struggling with his song choice. Despite showing oodles of potential in the first round of auditions, the pressure got too much it wasn't enough to get him through and he was sent home. Gutted about John though - second time unlucky.He was clearly a better singer than Frankie.  James was also a surprise, but I'm glad Craig got through. He'll go far in the competition. Glad Marcus got through, I was really routing for him as he absolutely smashed it. Not too sure about Frankie though. He seems to care more about getting laid then being a popstar. Maybe he should be on the Playboy channel instead of The X Factor...

Miami...

Over at Kelly's house in Miami where she was joined by Oscar-winner and American Idol alumni Jennifer Hudson with the girls. The X Factor became the Shock Factor when Jade failed to make it through and I would like to take this time to show my disdain. She should have went through! She has a beautiful voice! Someone who I never expected to get through was Sophie?! Still not too sure what to make of this but we will have to see whether she will prove to be a dark horse in the competition. Glad Amelia got through where she killed it with her rendition of E.T. Imagine if she and Katy Perry did a duet in the final?! Sick!!!!!!!!!!! No wait. Katy who?! Misha also impressed with her sassy appeal waiting to steal Jennifer's crown. Janet also made it through but needs to come out of her shell a bit! I reckon there are some serious contenders in the Girls category!!!! The heat is on!!!

Greece...

And the award for the most underwhelming category this year goes to .... *drum roll* the Groups. After a lot of mumbling and jumbling at boot camp, the final four were selected. But the jumbling didn't stop there after two lacklustre performances from The Keys and The Risk as Tulisa decided to take a risk of her own as she took the lead singer of The Keys and three fifths of The Risk and created a new group, retaining the name The Risk.  Slightly worrying as it may deter groups from trying out next year. But with the roaring success of One Direction it could work out beautifully. Two Shoes made it as did Nu Vibe and Rhythmix.

And as for the BIG TWIST...

Wonder what it could be...

• Another wild card where a few of the previous contestants are brought back and given a second chance to perform in the live finals?
• The return of Simon Cowell or a fifth judge?
• One of the finalists being eliminated before the finals even begin?

We shall have to wait and see. Exciting though...

The X-Factor Auditions Week 2 - The Round up

(A little late, but so what?!) The madness continues! In the words of Monsieur Cowell, "Embrace the madness!" The second instalment never failed to disappoint and provided us with many surprises as more wannabes auditioned across the country for that life-changing million-pound record deal. It has become somewhat clear that the X-Factor is not what it used to be in terms of the auditionees. It seems to me that they have a clear idea of what direction they want to go in, It seems that this year will finally see the demise of the typical X-Factor winner who is just stripped down and made into a puppet and someone with flair, individuality and creativity. We have singers (obviously), rappers and and songwriters - people who know what kind of artist they want to be and have their own creative visions. people who want to be genuine artists and not just manufactured. Time for a recap methinks!

The 'WTF?!'...

The biggest surprise of the evening had to be Johnny who initially looked like he had been taken styling tips from Tim Westwood. Seriously, this audition was the epitome of the Susan Boyle syndrome. Everyone was cynical about him, until he started singing Etta James' At Last in his own  unique way. Rather surreal when you watch it, but it is definitely a must see! He seemed like a genuinely pleasant and sweet guy though and had a lot of likeability, which will no doubt work in his favour throughout the competition. He also reminded me of a male Lady Gaga because of his eccentricity, so there is a possibility that he could make it in the real world. Whilst this song is a very popular choice amongst so many auditionees, no  one had ever had heard a rendition of it sung by a man. Not too sure whether he'd go all the way, but we shall wait and see...

The Smooth-as-chocolate-soulful-sweetheart-but-also-very-scary...

Derry aka Kelly Rowland lover melted hearts on stage with an Usher song, but also came across as slightly weird as he kept obsessing over Kelly. He undoubtedly had a smooth and soulful voice and has that charm and I also think there is a possibility he could sell records. There's no denying that he is exceptionally cute as well. Girls all over the world will adore him. Move over Usher, Ne-yo and Jason Derulo? We shall see...

The Ker-azy Bad...

Watching these people almost made my poor eyes and ears bleed. Seriously, that's how horrendous they sounded. I literally could not stop cringing and wanted it to end. This awful act came in the form of married couple (altogether now, Awwww....) known as The Duo, who absolutely murdered Beyonce's smash hit, If I Were a Boy, sounding nothing less than a pair of chipmunks, singing completely out of tune. It was even worse that they were singing it in front of Kelly, Beyonce's former bandmate, who was cringing at the panel. that poor woman - I feel your pain, honey. Let's hope Beyonce never gets round to witnessing that car crash of an audition. Sorry to disappoint you, lovelies, but singing just isn't your forte. (Was funny though! But NO!)

The 'completely tore up the stage'...

After many horrific groups had auditioned and our hopes were beginning to be dashed, things quickly began to turn around. JLS, The Wanted, Take That, One Direction - move over! There's a new boyband man band in town out to steal your pretty little platinum crown in the form of The Keys, who demonstrated flair and originality by giving a very powerful and exciting performance which blew both the audience and the judges away. The competition then began to become very exciting. Loved it!!!! Another stand-out act from Saturday's show was Misha who absolutely brought the house down and impressed the judges and audience with her mind-blowing rendition of R.E.S.P.E.C.T along with some soulful vibes and rapping. After telling her story about how she never knew her parents and that she was raised by her aunt added to the suspense and had me hoping that she would be brilliant, as we know that the judges are becoming more and more immune to sob stories. But OMFG! She 100% had the talent to accompany her powerful, heart-rendering and inspiring story and was also very likeable as well. This girl completely smashed it!!!! These two acts are definitely the ones to watch! Cannot. Wait. Another huge surprise of the evening came in the form of Craig, who literally risked it for a chocolate biscuit (terrible joke) as his parents, who were sat in the audience, had no idea that he had taken a day off work in the biscuit factory to audition for the X Factor, and boy did it go down a storm! He had a soulful voice and sounded (and arguably even looked like) a male version of Adele. He completely owned the performance and had great stage presence. His parents must have been sooo proud. He'll definitely do well in the real world. Watch out, Adele! Our Craig here is about to steal your multi-platinum crown!

Things are really starting to heat up! Only two weeks in and I'm already loving it! Thoughts???