As the Wembley auditions continue, it's a huge weekend for Team Midas. All our acts are due to audition and with a tremendous amount of talent already through, the pressure is really on... for everyone. 2014 is already looking like the golden one and the series to date has been fun, entertaining and full of mega singing stars.
With two arena shows left before bootcamp, the X Factor's most well spoken contestant, model Chloe Jasmin, kicked us off tonight. Bravo, jolly good show! That reminds me Downtown Abbey starts tomorrow night. For her singing talent Chloe is great. A husky, sultry tone She is confident and very memorable. Simon said "We've never had anyone like you on the show before. I always judge an audition on whether I will remember you an hour later. And I will definitely remember you." Louis added that "She would sell records everywhere in the world." For me, She is the competitions dark horse. A serious contender.
You may have remembered Fleur East from series two? She was in the group Addictive Ladies and they got to live shows but were sadly voted off in the first week. On her own performance, she has an OK vocal, not perfect by any means, but with her modern looks and groovy hair, sorry to repeat myself, she is memorable. After Simon buttoned up his shirt, Fleur got the four yeses.
We all remember Rachel Rabin aka Raign from the room audition. To refresh your memories, she was the singer who wouldn't take a NO. I said she wouldn't take NO for an answer, I said she...you get the point. You can tell Cheryl "I'm allergic" loves her and will be her number one fan. Her "anything else, vodka, gin and tonic?" quip mumbled to Mel was TV gold. So has Raign taken the judges comments on board from her room audition? Well, not really. Simon summed it up "How do I turn you into the Goldilocks rather than the wicked witch?" For the record, she can sing but I'm with Cheryl on this one, it's a no from me.
The girls' category is very strong this year and Emily Middlemass backed this up with a fantastic performance. She has a quirky but amazing voice. I really like her. She is right up my street.
Ex Luminites singer (BGT 2013) Stephanie Nala Came back solo and there is no doubting she can sing but this is the toughest category on this years' show. Time will tell if she is good enough. Let's hope she gets more airtime at bootcamp.
Shoe sales assistant Kerrianne Covell from Teeside was hoping she wasn't going to get the 'boot'. Her room audition was brilliant, her arena audition was world class. Kerrianne you did yourself and the north east proud. Well done. 10/10
Elsa and Irene, aka girl band Major, 34 years old from London and Cameroon turned a few heads when they entered the stage. They sang 'I Love It' How ironic. I didn't. Next.
The next few acts felt the wrath of Simon's tongue and bad mood. Some of his put downs included, "You're like a car without a steering wheel" and, "You're like a jockey that will get on any horse walking past." My favourite was "It's like eating water. It tastes of nothing."
The only gem was a brief appearance from Team Midas' Geoff Mull, who for the record (off camera) got four yeses.
Hoping to put a smile on everyone's face was Michelle Lawson. Look, the judges pretty much summed it all up with their comments that it was all very "Cruise ship" I don't want rub anymore salt in the wounds. Michelle can sing but it didn't wow me and there are much better singers in the competition.
After agreeing to go solo from her husband 'Hip' at the room audition, Scarlett 'Kitten' Quinn was back. I really like Scarlett, she has a buzz and energy about her that stands her out from the crowd. Well done Kitten, see you at bootcamp.
The final singer up tonight is Team Midas' very own Ben Haenow. The "Living the dream" van driver from Croydon gave us one of the best room auditions. Can he do it again at the arena? After complimenting Cheryl, (who wouldn't?) he pretty much proposed to his long term girlfriend Jessica. For the record Ben it's on video! He then took on The Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses". Blooming amazing, effortless and world class. The audience loved it, one woman even said he had the, "X Factor." Huge praise indeed. This is the reason these shows (and us talent scouts) exist, to find people like Ben. A serious contender, confirmed by Simon "Every little gig you've done in the past has led to this. It wasn't perfect by the way, you can do better than that, but I think you will be one to watch. Not only do you have a great rock voice, but you've got a great blues voice." Ben it is an honour to have you on Team Midas, good luck at bootcamp.
Right, I'm off to speak like Chloe...see you tomorrow