Saturday 17 November 2012

Week 3: Results

Straight into the Results Show with no sing-a-long acts prancing around which I always thought must be difficult when one or two of them must have their minds more occupied with whether they'll survive or have to sing again later than whether they're making the right moves.

There's a shot of Tate comforting a very worried-looking Cece. She started off with so much confidence but seems to have had all that knocked out of her recently which is such a shame. She's convinced that she's going, especially as there's two to leave tonight and, judging by previous voting trends and the actual performances, she'll need something remarkable to happen to survive.

We also get a clip of Jennel talking with Demi and looking really pleased with her performance, saying that she felt that she'd finally got the hang of things.

Mario tells us that the first act will be announced right away. Well, after an ad break.

It's Lyric145. I guess they were going to struggle to reach any audience that puts Tate at No.1 so their time would have been up in the earlier weeks anyway. They take it pretty well and my feeling is that they were all delighted just to get this far and should have made enough of an impression somewhere to warrant a modest contract too so it won't have been in vein.

Taylor Swift appears next and performs her State of Grace track. With a red mic to plug the new album. She really has got her image and style right with some well-written tracks that will appeal across a wide range of the market and she doesn't just stand there with a huge guitar either but moves around and is very impressive.




I always find performances like that a salutary reminder as to what we should be looking for in the contestants. You can almost immediately say that you could imagine A and B just coming on as they are and doing that. C and D might too, but need some polish or guidance. The others - no chance  however hard they're promoted. You can put your own favourites in A to D, no doubt.

The dreadful Khloe is getting worse and worse, stumbling with the autocue and even Mario gave her a frustrated sideways glance at more than one point, wondering whether he needed to rescue her. I am amazed that someone as fussy as Simon Cowell has let this useless woman stay as host. I am sure she could be quietly dropped with some hugely important something needing her attention so that no-one need know why she's gone. Her announcements are squawked and robotic, just read out with no meaning. Absolutely awful - get rid of this annoying person, please, someone.

Time to find out who's safe. Complete relief, shock and delight all together on Cece's face as she escapes the bottom two! We're left with Fifth Harmony, Jennel and Paige. None of those should be standing there. I remind myself that this is in no particular order so, for all I know, one of the acts came top of the poll. I would ahve guessed that Paige had to be safe out of the three but it's Fifth Harmony. My God, that means it's Jennel v Paige in a sing-off. Extraordinary. Before they even start it will be Jennel that goes. That is so wrong - and I've been a really big fan of hers - but I have to say that for Paige to go home at this point would be even more wrong.

More awful hosting blunders. Khloe is squawking again at the two acts - both who are probably stunned and upset - telling them to go and get ready to perform in a style more like an ancient schoolmistress than a 21st century host of a show with 60 million viewers (or whatever it is these days). Then she asks Demi to introduce her act. Demi doesn't know who's going first. Step in the increasingly competent Mario who rescues both women from camera expression disaster by announcing that Jennel will be performing.

Poor Jennel struggles to get through The Reason Is You. This was one heartfelt performance and really emotional - she really does only just seem to make it, unless that was one good acting performance. For all that, though, this was no stand-out song.

Paige is immediately so much better, making a genuinely expressive and different version of Paradise her own, interesting and modern. This was more an execution that a sing-off.

Paige was the clear winner there and both LA and Britney quickly support her. Simon won't say. He wants to know who Demi will choose. I guess he doesn't want to be the judge who makes the final decision as he can see the unpopularity building - almost whichever act goes but particularly if Paige had the lowest public vote and he made it necessary to go to that stage. Demi is at a loss too and wants Simon to announce first. Demi finally decides and it's Jennel she saves. I'm pretty sure that Simon is aware that Paige may have had the lowest public vote (or was delaying beforehand to find out) and he wants to keep her in the competition. He could have possibly saved Jennel but doesn't. That took a while and all credit to Mario for handling the debate well, making the very valid point that two acts' emotions and, to a certain extent, future careers are on the line here.

That was a sad outcome. Jennel was good. It should have been Arin or Beatrice, based on performances this week. But. of course, it isn't, is it?!

Now, the interesting part of the show when we get to see who polled highest. And here they are:

(1)   1 Tate
(2)   2 Carly Rose
(3)   3 Vino
(7)   4 Emblem3
(12) 5 Cece
(5)   6 Fifth Harmony
(4)   7 Diamond
(10) 8 Beatrice
(11) 9 Arin
10 or 11 Jennel (8) and Paige (6)

We're told that a mere fraction of a percent separates Tate and Carly Rose and just 3% separating them from Vino.

It's all about who picks up the votes and how they divide as the acts fall, though. Tate has 100% of the Country vote well and truly bagged but Carly Rose would pick up the Beatrice vote, for instance, and Cece may well benefit from the Jennel vote if she can hold herself together next week and finally show us what she can do. Fifth Harmony would pick up some of the Diamond, Beatrice and Cece vote if they went first too which could bode well for them. So Tate's reign isn't that secure, perhaps, after all.

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