September 26, 2012 
As I mentioned last week, I am simply amazed at the unique array of talent discovered by both The Voice and The X Factor this season.
I have reached the point now where I am absolutely and totally confused. There are so many phenomenal singers on both shows that it is beyond difficult to keep track of them all.
Was that singer on X-Factor or The Voice? What was his name? What was her name? What day is this? I’m in a quandary – I can’t settle on a favorite because pretty much all of them have something special to contribute to these shows.
Fox’s The X Factor, I feel, is picking up some steam and I am really enjoying the collaborative efforts of these four judges. It honestly works and, more important, it seems sincere and less contrived than last season.
Simon Cowell was wise to escalate the selection process by opening the auditions to singers who are tied to professional management agencies.
It makes sense – we want to hear the very best, from singers who have been honing their craft over the years but have yet been discovered at a higher level.
So, on with the show we go. The X Factor airs Wednesday, September 26th from 8:00-10:00 P.M. and Thursday from 8:00-9:00 P.M. on Fox.
Do you have a favourite or, like me, are you now thoroughly confused? :). Share in the comments section.
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Ha I do have favorites but I need to look on line to see which team or show they are on. Totally confused. Like you, I am impressed with both The Voice and Xfactor.
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I didn’t know they had opened the competition to previously signed artist. There are already a lot of stealth pros in these competitions so maybe that’s a step in the right direction. We may have seen the winner in tonight’s show in Daryl black. He was able to successfully combine a classic style with modern material. He has two Christian / Gospel albums and a Pop EP on iTunes. I think he has the chops, background and personality to go all the way. He has a cool cover of Britney’s “Would You Hold it Against Me” on his website and on You Tube.
I agree that the evaluations are more on target but I’m not convinced that there is a genuine bone in Simon’s body. There have been several auditions so far that seemed set up. Frankly, Daryl Black seemed like a set up, as did the obnoxious girl from Atlanta and the girl on the first night who couldn’t sing a note on key when she attempted “Unchained Melody” but was da bomb when ask to sing another song. It’s still Simon after all.
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i definitely have a favorite, it is vino alan. he is the ‘scarey looking guy’ with the tatoos on his head (why would anyone do that?). i totally loved his performance and play it over and over, the trouble is, they cut him off so soon he hardly got to sing. i know he won’t win because he ‘doesn’t have the x factor’, however, i just love that voice. the song ‘trouble’ was absolutely perfect for him, i wish they’d put a full version on i tunes like The Voice does. mcl, i am wondering what you thought about his voice, i always love your technical expertise input in these matters. here’s the clip if you’ve forgotten, i’d love to hear your critique of him..knowing of course, that it is very short: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1QlCwXpM5M
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I remember his audition. He has bad judgment written all over his face, but I enjoyed his unexpectedly good rendition of “Trouble.” I wasn’t sure if Britney’s positive remarks were because she liked him or because she was afraid of him. She looked very uncomfortable when he first came on the stage. My guess is that he won’t make it to the judge’s house round.
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gene, i’ve wondered which categories the coaches will get this year. i can’t really imagine him with anyone. i hope he’s given a fair chance, but i think he’ll have a hard time being ‘light and breezy’ with people.
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Hey All and Double Hey to You Rosanne!
Rosanne, I knew you were a musician but wasn’t sure if you were a wonder worker but you proved you were by doing that little favor for me. Much love to you Rosanne and thanks again.
You are absolutely right !! The talent is indeed awesome this season and without even seeing all of the talent yet I’m almost certain I already know who the top 3 will be (you guys know how I am), but I’m going to reserve for right now. All I’m going to say is ..look out for T.S.
I will tell you one of my very favorites though and that is 34 year old Jason Brock. He sang “New York State of Mind” . I never expected that from him. Same thing for Carly Rose Sonenclar. Awesome. Vino Alon, wow!! His voice is very very interesting. He reminds me of the rapper last year who was a recovering addict (can’t think of his name). He went really far in the competition. Vino is one of those singers who you can “feel”. I think he will do very well in this competition.
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brother karl, wow i’m thrilled you like vino alon and i’m thrilled you think he will do well. i thought about the rapper you mention as i wrote about vino. the rapper..i could just feel his heart. vino, i’m not sure he’s as ready to be vulnerable although he was vulnerable when he talked about ‘wanting it’. i hope he will be open.
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Hey Hunter,
I went online to find out the guy that I was referring to from last season, his name is Chris Rene, he came in 3rd place. Vino doesn’t sound like him to me at all. He just reminds me a lot of him. They both seem to bring their whole life experience into their performances.I’m really looking forwards to seeing Vino. I just hope his nerves don’t get the best of him.
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brother karl yes, i agree with *everything* you just said.
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Hey everyone: Sorry – just busy here. And next weekend is the our Canadian Thanksgiving so lots to do here.
I think X-Factor is shaping up nicely. Great show this year. Did you love Trevor Moran? He sang “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy”. Lol. I blogged about him over at my other site – http://www.granniethegeek.com – as well as on the MCL site.
BrotherKarl – my pleasure to assist you. Makes me feel useful. Haha
Welcome everyone!!
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I can’t remember Vino. So many singers. I get them all confused. The Voice isn’t helping matters. Their show is terrific this season.
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Hey Rosanne:
Trevor …. Lets see … an out of site dancer…a great entertainer …could give a great show. I’m not so sure that he’s such a great singer though Rosanne. But then .. may be he is not singer. He did “I’m Too Sexy” . Its more of a dance tune. There’s really no singing in it and I’m not sure that you would consider it rap. I don’t know. Could it be developed into a show? Absolutely !! Would I go? Yes ! Is it singing … I don’t know. I did enjoy him though.
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BrotherKarl – I think Trevor is quickly dancing his way to fame. I saw a commercial the other day – kids were dancing and singing – and one looked like Trevor. Not sure if it was him or not. But he is creating his own little brand. Genius. An Apple Genius.
And the kid has fans galore. My GrannieTheGeek.Com blog has never had so many hits – his blog topic rated very high in the search engines. And his Twitter feed was out of control.
I wonder if Apple was responsible for this – best publicity stunt ever.
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Hey Rosanne
If he’s got those kinds of fans it certainly would work for him once the viewers began to vote but I’m not sure how its going to go for him in boot camp ..what he’ll be asked to do. I’m really curious. If it were AGT where dance acts are selected …no doubt he’d go really far. However its a singing competition …so you have to wonder. He will be classified with the kids and one kid he definitely can’t beat is Carly. I’m confident of that, unless he’s got something up his sleeve he hasn’t pulled out yet. I’m really curious as to how they are going to classify his act . Looking forwards !!
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BrotherKarl. – I don’t think he advances far because he is tweeting away over on Twitter. If he was a finalist, he wouldn’t be allowed to do so I would think.
He does sing, however. Not the best, but getting there. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-k_vniS2_I
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hi mcl, i was wondering if you went to the link that i gave so that you could see vino? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1QlCwXpM5M
i *really* would love your professional insight.
also, i wondered…are you saying that trevor was in an apple commercial??
thanks.
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Hi MCL,
I think I may have fast forwarded through Trevor Moran’s audition, I don’t recall seeing him. I watch most of the X-Factor in fast forward, which has its downside, but Britney’s facial expressions are priceless in rapid fire succession.
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving next weekend.
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Gene:
I thought i was the only one that noticed those expressions !!
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i think ‘everyone’ is talking about britney’s expressions. as a matter of fact it was part of why i thought i would at least check out the first show…i wanted to see what ‘everyone’ was talking about.
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To me …they seem so insincere….over the top. Almost like a “put on” . I’m not really sure what to think about them. Animated maybe … I don’t know.
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brother karl, i do think they are part of who she is…
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Hunter and Karl,
I was in a local BBQ restaurant about a month ago, listening to the music and waiting for my order. This place uses a custom background music track that is programmed just for their small chain of restaurants and is almost exclusively classic Blues like Muddy Waters, Big Mama Thornton, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson II etc; all my favorite stuff. I was very surprised to hear Chris Rene’s “Young Homey” on the program that evening. Better than that, it was his original “mellow man” style, similar to his audition. You may recall they pretty much ruined his song with over production when he did it again in the live rounds. I liked Chris’s audition a lot but I thought he went downhill under the direction of team X.
The more I think about “Tattoo boy” I believe he may make the judges house round for the sensational value. They will play up his scary side, then put him on Britney’s team who seemed the most freaked out by him or Demi’s team because she thought his tats were cool (speaking of bad judgment) and then there will be a tender moment where he cries on his coach’s shoulder (when she cuts him from the team) and the whole nation will learn that we can’t judge a book by its cover and that he is a sweet man after all. None of this will have anything to do with his singing ability, just drama for the sake of filler. When Simon is involved, nothing is real.
I mentioned the nature of Britney’s expressions once before. It seems that there are two types of expressions that she makes. There are the ones that she is aware of that are grand gestures; disingenuous would be a good description for those. Then there are the very subtle petite gestures with just a slight change in the cast of her eyes or a small pull in her face. Sometimes she moves slightly back in her chair, digs her fingers into her neck or pulls on her hair. Those small gestures that are her natural reactions are the ones that I find interesting. Her every thought or feeling is written on her face. She seems very uncomfortable at times.
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gene, i’m thrilled that the restaurant was playing chris rene’s song, and the slower, gentler version at that!! i really liked that song. it always thrills me when i hear one of ‘our people’ (i.e., idol etc) playing on the radio or in a store. it actually blows me away. simon over produces everything, but then i think that happens a lot, period. i remember going to a concert, as part of a conference. i’d not heard of the person before. she was outstanding (her name was Ferron). it was just this singer and a guitar. she entertained us with what she said, between songs. i bought her several albums. i was really disappointed to find them overproduced. i wanted the simplicity of what i’d experienced that night. and i remember enjoying rachael last year in all her 13 y.o. exuberance and joy during the early rounds. when she went up in front of all of us as a finalist, she was made up and overproduced. that was sooo disappointing for me. that was why i was going to skip watching x factor this time around. i’m glad that i stayed with it. i saw a quickie interview with ‘tatoo boy’, vino alon, right after he’d gotten the four yeses. he mentions that he’d told his mom that he ‘always wanted’ L.A. as a coach. last time L.A. got the young boys, which would mean vino wouldn’t get who he hopes for, i’m wondering if they’ll do the same coaching this time around. would simon want the young girls again?
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Gene
Love the analogy of Brittney. You are right on so many points. There are so many things going on. There’s something else going on too. She looks 15 years older than she is. Still very beautiful, but like a 41 or 42 beautiful. Not like a young women in her 20’s. Her persona is like that of a 60 year old diva with 1000 grammys. You would think thats shes been around as long as Janet Jackson. Her expressions and actions when she likes someone are the same over exaggerated expressions we give someone newborns , who is really not cute at all, but we act like it’s more then it really is .. or sometimes they’re like the smile a person has on their face, when they don’t like being where they are. I can’t put my finger on it … but its way over. Every time they flash her face with one of those crazy expressions, I just start cracking up. I;m usually the last one to catch things like that , most times I don’t even see them, but with Brittney … they’re just so over the top for me
Hunter
I’m like you … sometimes they don’t even have to say who it is and I recognize those Idol voices on the radio or at the supermarket and I get real excited knowing that they are away from Idol now ..off and doing well
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Hi…glad to see you guys are still here keeping class in session!!! 🙂
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Hunter,
I feel the same way that you do when I hear one of these contestants that we have come to know beaming down from the sound system somewhere. I thought the “hearing” of Chris Rene was special because his song was so different than what they normally play in this restaurant. It really got my attention. I also heard Haley Reinhart in a store a few days ago. Her new album is a good example of the over produced, fit in a box artist that is the legacy of Simon’s time at Idol. It seems that they do a better job with their Country artist and all of the others have to fit the radio ready Pop model.
Karl,
You got it. The “boy that’s an ugly baby” face is one of her intentional group of faces and the “wish I was somewhere other than here” maybe one generated by her autonomic nervous system. I’ve never followed Britney but you can’t help knowing who she is or seeing the occasional story about her. I know she went through a difficult time a few years back and that may account for some of her expressions. I don’t know if she always expressed herself that way or not. I hope she is better now.
Isn’t interesting how much mouse power we are seeing on these shows? Britney, Demi and Christina all have Disney backgrounds. There have been successful contestants on Dancing with the Stars for at least three year that were Disney kids, as well as at least two auditioners on The Voice who have worn the ears.
Vonnie,
Hey girl! Good to see your post. How is your house project coming along?
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Mouse power 🙂 !!! .
Regarding Brittney, I think shes’s one of those stars who loves the camera on her when she’s performing but not when she’s not. She wants to be a public person but wants a very private life. Unfortunately thats not the way it is. I think its one of those things thats hard for her to accept and I wouldn’t doubt if this would be her first and last season on X-Factor. Too many eyes on Brittney the person, which is over shadowing Brittney the star.
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gene,
i can totally appreciate how you must have felt to hear chris rene.
i totally agree of the overproduction of hailey’s new album.
she sings ‘hit the road jack’ with casey on casey’s album, have you heard casey’s album? best cut on the cd.
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Hunter,
No, I haven’t heard Casey’s album but thanks for the heads up. He and Haley work well together and I will check out that cut as soon as I can. They did a few promotional appearances together after last season that I have seen several videos from. One of the videos is a casual visit to a New Orleans Jazz club where she jams with a trumpet player for about 10mins. Good stuff. I think she and Casey should do an album of classics together but she is probably afraid of being pigeonholed. IMHO, whoever chose the direction for her album was off the mark. Some of it’s ok but it’s mostly forgettable, throwaway pop. Their Thursday night duet is for me among the very best performances from any artist, any season, on American Idol. Oh yeah, her is a bit of trivia for you. Have you noticed that since she did the face plant on the steps that anytime you see a woman in heels on a stage with steps there is someone there to offer a hand? I call it the Haley Reinhart effect, so she will always have a place in stage performance history I suppose.
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Hi Gene…we finally moved in about 2 weeks ago…still trying to figure out how a person can aquire so much junk, but we managed to do it, now we unpack the mountain of boxes!!!
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Congratulations on your new home Vonnie. I hope you and your family will have much happiness there.
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Thank you Gene…
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gene, i don’t even know what you’re talking about when you mention haley’s face plant. 🙂
i didn’t like her album cover, to me it was very ‘cheesecake’. i thought, ‘what is she doing?’.
casey’s album was disappointing other than the one cut with haley. the album seemed ‘bubble-gummy’, young, unsophisticated. he was one of my favorites (other than the over used growl), but none of that charm and talent appears on his album.
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Girl’s a trooper. Takes a nose dive and never misses a note.
I agree with you about Casey’s album. I think he has the ability but lacks the maturity to take jazz seriously. He seems like a kid acting like a jazz man. Haley could hold about half the syrup and suite me much better. They will learn as they grow in their craft. “Hit the Road Jack” was good enough for a download though. Haley did a photo shoot in promotion of her album that has a forties theme to it. I bought an autographed copy of her CD during the pre release period and it included a picture book from the photo shoot. It’s sort of forties glamour girl style. It’s very tasteful and there are no revealing shots. The whole thing would have been modest even in the forties. I wish that the album had the same flavor as the photos, but it was not to be.
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gene, ohhhh, duhhh, got it!! face plant. 🙂
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