The latest X-Factor came and went and to the larger extent I was very impressed by what I saw and heard. The judges were at each other’s throats only because possibly they are paid to do this. LA Reid was ever the professional – Simon Cowell added good entertainment value, the two ladies added the H-Factor (Human Factor) but I think what made the show was what it was all about in the first place: Fun, tears and wonderful talent. I think it may have been the best season ever, not because the talent was so good but because the top three were all so different but all so brilliant. Chris Rene will obviously live on in many of the younger voter’s hearts, especially the ladies. Would I have voted him in, I doubt it only because it’s not the music style I go for. But a very human spirit, a very talented artist and definitely one to watch out for. Actually my money is on him to make a huge success of his career – remember that this guy has LA Reid’s backing and LA Reid only selects winners. L.A. Reid’s LaFace Records has signed up and made hugely famous; Dido, Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Pink, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Kanye West, Avril Lavigne, TLC, Usher, Ciara, OutKast – Reid himself is an accomplished musician and certainly can walk the talk. Chris Rene is going to be there with this line-up and not too much in the distant future.
Moving on to Josh Krajcik and Melanie Amaro one was hard put to decide a winner – I leave Chris out of this because I felt his music would not appeal to all, possibly only to the younger generation. Melanie would appeal to all and Josh to people like myself – sounds very much like Joe Cocker (anyone heard of Michael Bolton), so this puts him in my age gap although he is 20 years younger. Watching the last show I had a distinct feeling that Melanie was going to take the title, not because she was a better all rounder than the other two but because a) Simon Cowell never backs a losing horse and b) she was better on the night. When I heard her sing with R.Kelly, the beginning was a bit rusty but this quickly became a phenomenal duet, complementing each other all the way through. This was no mean feat, she just topped the other two, Josh and Chris. Chris and Josh let’s be honest were fantastic – to have Alanis Morisette and Avril Lavigne on stage with them must have been totally, totally intimidating. But yet, honesty prevails and I felt Melanie was the better of the three and no doubt would have been just as fantastic with any other accomplished male R&B singer. I’m not an R&B lover by the way but some just make it great – Rihana is one. Not an R&B lover but yet my favourite female artist (next to Gaga and Beyonce) is Rihana, by spades.
Josh was phenomenal right throughout the show, so much so that I thought he may just walk it. He didn’t though but I’m sure millions are going to buy his records. Just as Adele made the market worldwide over the course of such a short span of time, so Josh will. His music and personality has attracted a huge audience. Will Melanie follow the same route as Alicia Keyes and Leona Lewis – I hope so.
Of course the highlight of the show was Nicole Scherzinger whom showed us that beautiful girls can sing. I always liked the Pussycat Dolls but never knew the impact of her talents – now I do know, maybe I’ll even buy her albums. Gorgeous people are often not taken seriously, possibly they have to work harder so as not to be sneered at, or slobbered over – Nicole is just one incredible lady.
Now that the show is over I wonder why they brought the show so close to Xmas, I haven’t even heard a release from any of them. Maybe our market is slow…. who knows. One thing I do know is that this was a close match and all of them deserved to win.
Me, I’m out to buy Nicole’s album…
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