Binge Watching

I was on the radio the other day. I hope you like how casually I dropped that in. I'll also casually drop this link here so you can listen again if you so wish.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03lzcyb 
Anyway, in-between making sparkling comments about subjects I knew next to nothing about, but not letting that stop me, we discussed (off air and eventually on air) binge watching. The presenter is addicted to 'House of Cards', someone else was addicted to 'Orange is the New Black', some threw in how they had watched all of 'Mad Men' in a week or couldn't get enough of 'Breaking Bad'. I suspect them of humble bragging. These are the programmes that we should be watching. The critically acclaimed, Emmy nominated dramas that are discussed at dinner parties. Trying to pass them off as a guilty pleasure doesn't wash with me. Incidentally unless your 'guilty pleasure' is strangling kittens then your pleasure isn't guilty at all. It's just something you enjoy. Own it. 
I am binge watching at the lower end of the scale. Until you've sat and watched (and on occasion recorded) 'Tia and Tamera' then you know nothing Jon Snow. I believe that's from 'Game of Thrones', I wouldn't know, I've not watched it. I prefer to my porn without back story and dragons. Plus I've been too busy watching 'Guiliana and Bill'. 
'Say Yes to the Dress' is my particular jam at the moment. In it brides go to a enormous bridal store, run by people who are too invested in their clients lives, to choose a dress for their ' One Special Day'. Even those who are on their 4th or 5th marriage still describe it as their 'One Special Day' so you are not expected to be able to count to enjoy this programme so I am right in their demographic. For reasons unknown the Brides also take along their entire families, in laws, friends and a few randoms they've met along the way. At least one of these people must not want to be there and be very vocal about it. Two family members must tell you that you look fat in everything you try on and there should be a grandmother there who only likes dresses with a high neck and Queen Anne sleeves. Each bride wants something unique that represents her as a person. They all leave with variations on the same dress. Except when someone does choose something unique and they go away with a monstrosity that the shop has been trying to get rid off since 1982. 

It is possible to lose whole days of your life to watching this. Especially when you discover that there is a bridesmaid addition, where the rule is that one bridesmaid is hated by all the others, including the bride. There also has to be a sassy, single sister who's main aim is to get her tits out in her dress and refuses to wear anything that thwarts her in this purpose. 
Let's just say I got to the point where I could recognise episodes from the EPG synopsis. 'Today's bride considers herself a 'little bit country' but does her Pastor Mother have other plans?' 
In an attempt to wean myself from this I started watching 'Something Borrowed, Something New'. This is where brides have to decide whether they are going to wear a revamped version of their Mother's wedding dress or buy a new dress. The best case scenario is that they end up with two wearable dresses. The normal scenario is that the Mother's dress is hacked to pieces leaving her in tears whilst the bride decides to wear a dress that hasn't been cobbled together out of yellowing lace and enormous shoulder pads. I actually had to stop watching this when there was a bride who spent the whole episode saying how tiny she was. 'Oh I'm so petite, I'm so petite'. As if she went home and slept in a matchbox covered by a hanky. Her Mother's dress was too small on her. I cheered. 

Most recently I have become obsessed by 'The People vs OJ Simpson'. Sadly I can't binge watch and have to watch one episode a week. It's like being back in the stone age. 
I don't really remember the OJ Simpson case. I was fourteen when it all happened and British (still am!) so I had no idea who he was. Watching this programme, good grief, it's insane. As is John Travolta's face. It's like he melted and then tried to recreate his face out of play doh and dog hair. The other revelation is David Schwimmer playing Ross   Robert Kardashian. If this is an accurate portrayal then he was in love with OJ Simpson and spent his days disco dancing with 'Juice' as he insists on calling him. Occasionally he'll stop by and see his family and give them pieces of advice like 'Fame isn't everything'. I think we know how that worked out. 

Now I know my viewing habits aren't great, but they are enjoyable. Being able to name every winner of America's Next Top Model isn't a transferable skill but I wouldn't imagine being able to make crystal meth from watching Breaking Bad is that useful either. 
Actually that's crap, one of those things is definitely more profitable than the other.


 

X Factor Jukebox Week - Results Show

Carrie Underwood is performing (I have her album) so is Sigma ft. Rita Ora ( I don’t have their albums). Caroline and Olly do a strange dance. I think it is an in joke. I’m fine being out of it.

Here come the judges. Rita looks normal. To compensate she is doing a ridiculous walk. Oh and while we’re not talking about it why is Bollie pronounced ‘Bow-lie’. Surely it should only have one L? Now the endless and pointless recap. Seriously just make the programme ten minutes long.

Group song! It’s Earth Song. Is this linked to the climate change talks? Or is it just appalling taste in music? I still can’t believe this song didn’t sort climate change.  Reggie and Bollie actually sing (just a line each) but it’s not awful. The contestants go in to the audience and start high fiving people. Oooh imagine high fiving an X Factor contestant. High five anyone, literally anyone, it’ll be the same.

Another recap.

Carrie Underwood performs. I love her but this  may not be her audience. Or from the sound of it, her song. She may have found it on the way in.

Random chat with the judges. Seriously just cut the show down. Simon has hiccups. That is the full link. Now Rita performs with Sigma. Is she wearing a tool belt? She can sing though. Could do without the fake ravers. Imagine the stage instructions – have fun! Now! More fun!

Adverts – Simon is giving away his own car? 

Results. Safe:

Ché – see all you needed to do was forget your words.

Louisa – Very happy

Reggie and Bollie – enough is enough.

I reckon Lauren will go. But first the sing off.

4^th Impact.

What’s the betting one of them will be wheeled on in an iron lung? But they don’t want to talk about it? Oh grief they’re singing ‘I’m telling you I’m not going’. You might not get a choice dears.

I’m distracted by a pair of cropped flares one of them is wearing. She looks like a hulk sailor mid transformation. One judge will say ‘THAT’S how you sing for survival’. I still long for the days of Janet Devlin retching her way through Mmmmbop.

Lauren next. She needs to hoik the crotch of her jump suit down. Still may help her with the high notes as she’s singing ‘Vision of Love’. Bloody hell, she really can sing. Let her stay. No repeat of this though 

Rita sends 4^th Impact home

Cheryl sends Lauren home

Nick sends 4^th Impact home.

Olly bodges up the rules again

Simon sends Lauren home.

Bloody deadlock again. Caroline does it to avoid Olly sacking Rita or something. 4^th Impact go home. See ya! 

X Factor Jukebox week - Saturday Night Show

Here come Caroline and Olly. Caroline is auditioning for a role in Chicago. Judges all come out with their acts. Except Simon who comes out to ‘All by myself’. This is actually pretty funny. Not as funny as Rita who has come as a male ice dancer. Everyone is singing two songs tonight. One chosen by the public (twitter, there weren’t elections) and one by the judges. This is in keeping with the policy of ‘any song ever written’.

Louisa is up first. The public allegedly want her to sing ‘Love Yourself’ by Justin Beiber. A song I inexplicably love. With any luck this performance could be the cure. In her pre-song VT her friend comes over and they have a staged conversation. Then she sings. It’s not as good as usual, weirdly awkward and stilted. Belt it out love. Oh here we go. It’s not really improved it. The jarring key change didn’t help, never mind, we can’t all be Westlife. Her face shows that she knows it wasn’t good.

Cheryl liked it. Simon thinks she looks tense. Apparently she’s not well. Didn’t do a VT about it though did she 4^th Impact?

Nick liked it.

4^th Impact are up next. This week they did an interview with Nick AND met Fleur East. Is Fleur stalking the new contestants? Popping out occasionally to say ‘A year ago I was you. Now look at me. In a years time you could follow X Factor contestants around and tell them that this could be them.”

They sing ‘I’ll be there’ dressed as bridesmaids. One of them hits a high note really badly. That is the best bit. Cheryl is loving it. Simon was pleasantly surprised. He must have been expecting Armageddon.

Nick liked it.

Bloody hell. Reggie and Bollie. If Twitter has any sense it will make them sing opera. Instead it’s ‘Whip Nae Nae’, which I am assuming is popular with the youth. Wow. This is a completely new break out style. Oh no. My mistake, it’s the same as every other week. They go to Winter Wonderland this week for reasons unknown and get this, they meet Fleur East. For the performance their kids come out and dance with them. They also, cunningly, stay on stage for the judges verdict. This is the equivalent of using your kids as a human shield.

Nick liked it.

Lauren goes to Essex this week and meets some orange people. She is not allowed to meet Fleur East. She’s singing ‘Light Up the World’ Which apparently is called ‘Firestone’. If they had any sense they’d use some of those orange people as stage decorations for a literal translation. Instead she’s standing on some tube tracks with a train coming towards her. Which is fine because she spends half the song pretending to be a siren. Simon thought it was the wrong song.

Nick liked it.

Human guinea pig Ché is next. He is clearly traumatised about last week but has to pretend he isn’t. He’s going to sing ‘The biggest song in the world.” Yes, he singing ‘One million Green Bottles’  ‘Hello’  by Adele. But this is Ché so he could well sing it to the tune of ‘One million Green Bottles’.

Has he screwed it up? Or is this a new style? I think he’s mucked it up. He claws it back, sort of. If that was an arrangement then that was pretty strange. He sung it in a way which implied he’d never heard the song before. Which as we all know is impossible. The judges solve the mystery, it wasn’t planned but Rita congratulates him on making up his own melody. This is the same school of thinking that claims that ‘all spellings are valid’. This is how we end up with kids called Bephany.

Nick liked it.

They all sing another song. 4^th Impact first. They’re actually singing a ‘mash up’ oooh sounds the alarm (Lauren will do). They’re hoping to use these songs to explain who they are. I’m hoping for SClub 7 style intros, including Rachel doing her thing. Note: This is Rachel’s thing:

They pretend to be dolls. It’s not that bad. Simon gets a clap for knowing their names. They’re written in huge letters behind them.

Nick liked it.

Ché meets his dad. Not Fleur East. He sings ‘Try a Little Tenderness’. It’s sticking to what he knows. And it’s fine. His jacket however is beyond foul. If they were hoping for slimming stripes they failed. He looked like Sandi Toksvig. It’s dull and boring but on the positive side he knows the words and 70% of the tune.

Nick liked it.

There is an ominous threat in Lauren’s VT. They are going to make her look uber glam. Her hair and make up are actually OK. Her dress is not. No idea what the song is. Sounds like an Andrew Lloyd Webber filler song from a lesser known musical. One you sing in front of the curtains whilst they change the scenery. She turns in to a car alarm again. She can’t walk in her dress and heels. Glam! Cheryl thinks the song makes her relatable. Who hasn’t dressed up like Joan Collins and bellowed power ballads from a fire escape?

Nick liked it.

Reggie and Bollie go on Nick’s breakfast show. They’re singing ‘Dynamite’ out of time and badly. But they jump nicely and they were able to use the same drum track from every other song they’ve sung. They’ve written their own rap, it includes the words ‘We’re on X Factor so we can’t complain’. I’m not and I can.

Nick liked it.

Louisa is singing a power ballad. I have no idea what the words or tune should be but it sounds about right. She clearly means it as she’s doing the ‘mean it squat’. Everyone knows you only mean a song if you squat like you’re pooing in the woods. Simon and Rita give her a standing ovation. Cheryl thought it was better than her first song AND she’s ill. No chair demands though.

Nick liked it.

Based on that Ché can get out and take Reggie and Bollie with him. But it’s actually going to be Lauren and Ché. 

X Factor - Love and Heartbreak Resutls Show

My word Rita loves a wide leg trouser.

After a mini recap we immediately go to the group song. They’re singing ‘Fell in Love in a Hopeless place’. Worth watching for Anton bellowing like a hip Grandad. Then another recap for those with amnesia. Or for anyone who’s been watching for three months without having a clue what’s going on.

Nathan Sykes performs. He’s from the Wanted apparently. He plays a jazzy piano and plays a song that is legally different from ‘All of You’ by John Legend. There’s then some awkward chat with the judges before Olly performs.

Hey Olly. If you’re trying to do a new job it’s probably best not to come out and do something you’re infinitely better at. The only downside was that he accidentally stumbled in to an aerobics class to sing but is carrying on bravely.

Why do the dancers have to wear up the bum swimming costumes? Olly is allowed to wear clothes. They could do their job and be clothed from the waist down. Shit like this is why I keep showing my nieces Bananarama videos. ‘Look they’re pop singers and they’re allowed to wear dungarees’. I’ve decided I am going to become a pop  star. JUST  so that I can wear jeans and a t-shirt and lead Olly Murs around the stage by his penis. For no reason at all. The song will be about catching a bus or something but for staging reasons he has to have his lad hanging out his trousers for all live performances. In an awful post song chat with Caroline Olly pretends he chose those outfits himself. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH UGH. Olly couldn’t choose bloody pick and mix.

Results.

Safe

Lauren – Goes bananas.

4^th Impact – Happy and wavy

Louisa – Jumpy

Reggie and Bollie – Oh dear. Anton angry.

So the bottom two are Anton and Ché. Do we need to bother with the sing off?

Ché sings Alicia Keys. He makes it his own. Unrecognisable and warbly. Then he goes nuts. Impressive but do you have to do it all the time? Just sing.

Anton sings. He is intense to a powerful degree. Don’t make him go back to being a West End performer and backing singer. The horror! He sings that George Michael song about turning stuff down. Exclusively heard on talent shows. Wisely there are few close ups. He’s chosen to sing it like someone squaring up for a fight in a car park.

Nick saves Ché

Simon saves Anton.

Rita saves Ché

Cheryl saves Ché. She says it’s not personal. Anton clearly thinks that’s bollocks. Congratulations Anton. Although you’re officially not a winner you have stayed true to the spirit of X Factor which is the belief that even if you sing songs that are twenty years out of date in the style normally seen in crap cabaret, you STILL believe that you are a credible and viable recording artist.

Keep on believing. That kind of thinking leads to this:

X Factor - Love and Heartbreak. Saturday Show.

Sticking to the normal over-arching theme of ‘Any song, ever’ the official theme this week is ‘Love and Heartbreak’. So unless someone is going to sing that one about a moped by Macklemore they can sing literally anything. It’s a double eviction again tonight (they may have spent too long faffing around wit

h judges houses and six chairs) but in a twist – one act goes tonight. Ooooh. Olly can’t say elimination. This is the funniest thing Caroline has ever heard.

Here come the judges. Rita is doing this on purpose now. Today she is Liberace inspired by Pat Butcher. It is beyond foul. We enjoy some awkward banter and then comes the first contestant. Human guinea pig Ché.

This week his girlfriend has come to visit and inspire him. Well it is love and heartbreak week. He’s so inspired by seeing her that he decides to sing a song about a dead relative. He’s singing ‘Yesterday’. Now there is generally a rule. If you are at a national event, live television show or bingo on a Wednesday it is decreed that Paul McCartney will turn up with a piano and sing ‘Hey Jude’. Singing a Beatles song is like saying ‘Candy Man’ five times in a mirror. Paul will appear.

Hang on, he might not, as this is completely unrecognisable. Ché has decided to change the tune to some howling and warbling. Fair enough, the Beatles weren’t known for their tunes. You often listen to the White Album and think ‘what this needs is a fifth round X Factor contestant to add some polish’.

Just sing the tune you be-suited Guinea Pig.

Nick and Cheryl stand up. Perhaps they have piles. Rita forgot who he was singing. This is a compliment. Backstage Paul is packing up his piano. No ‘Hey Jude’ for you.

Anton is next. In his VT we immediately learn that Anton is sad. We know this before we see him because of the sad music. To cheer him up his dog comes to visit. Anton is singing ‘One Sweet Day’. He’s singing it in the style of a constipated serial killer auditioning for the role of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. It’s terrifying. And not enjoyable.

Nick doesn’t love it. Anton loudly and bizarrely claims that he’s not putting on an act. If Nick goes missing check Anton’s floor boards. Rita says it’s awful and Anton is fine with that as she didn’t say he was fake (neither did Nick). Anton then repeatedly apologises to Nick. This is uncomfortable. And it’s still going on. GO TO ADVERTS. Adverts. Thank heavens.

Now it’s 4^th Impact. We re-live the medical drama from last week and then they skype the family. Who are very far away. These two things are just randomly mentioned by the way. They are not in any way a cynical ploy for votes. They are singing ‘Ain’t No Other Man’. For love and heartbreak week. Not your traditional first dance. It’s fine if you like growly singing and slightly awkward flirting with the camera.

Now Lauren. She met Fleur East and Alan Carr this week. So she’s peaked. Lauren is singing a song that has helped Rita through heartbreak. I have literally never heard it before. Oh yes I have it’s ‘We Belong Together’ by Mariah Carey.  It’s very ‘Roxies Nightclub in 1997’. Mixed bag from the judges. Simon criticises the backing dancers. Like Lauren has spent the week choreographing them. Her face reflects this opinion.

Now Mason Noise. For some reason he is filmed pretending to work at his old job and then (to show how much his life has changed) he goes to Westfield.

He’s singing ‘Jealous’ by Nick Jonas. I am jealous of people who haven’t heard this. Now he’s dancing sexily with a lady dancer. They’ve paid her Mason, she doesn’t really like you. Don’t get any ideas.  Judges are not thrilled. Bye Mason.

This week Louisa goes to see her Dad at a building site. It’s no Alan Carr. But gosh doesn’t this show me how down to earth and relatable she is? No. She’s  singing ‘Let it go’ by James Bay. She’d be better off with the Frozen version. The judges love it. But they were going to weren’t they really.

Oh grief. It’s Reggie and Bollie. They go and see their family . They seem like nice people. Perhaps they should spend more time there and stop singing dreadful songs on the X Factor. They’re singing ‘Shut Up and Dance with Me’. Romantic. It’s shouty and all it’s missing is a vuvuzela. Simon predicts they are going to be in the final. Remember – Simon thought Bupsi was a credible finalist.

Who’s going to go tonight? Anton.

Who’s going to go tomorrow? Mason.

Lauren will be in the bottom two as well. Now a performance by Rudimental and Ed Sheeran. There’s lots of ticker tape and this rather derails the post performance interview. The judges ignore the multi million selling Ed and instead throw confetti at each other. Those krazeee guys. Ever the professional Olly Murs continues the interview and manages to get an exclusive: Ed Sheeran is looking forward to Christmas.

Now it’s the flash vote.

Lauren is safe - bang goes my predictions

Ché is safe – Screams yes to a completely unrecognisable tune

Louisa – goes nuts. I doubt she is that surprised.

Reggie and Bollie – play vuvuzelas.

So it’s down to Anton, Mason and 4^th Impact. Mason goes. “How would you sum up your time on the show Mason?”

“Sorry”

X Factor Week 3 Results Show. - One Direction and Jess Glynne

It's a double eviction again this week. I'm guessing they have to keep culling contestants to give more airtime to the endless recaps. One Direction and Jess Glynne are singing this week. No Cee-Lo Green but I guess we'll struggle on. 
Here's the judges! Rita has forgotten her trousers. Everyone remembers their manners and no one mentions it. 
Group song! It's 'What a Feeling' from Fame. What a weekend for premier gangsta rapper Mason Noise. Hold that head high Mason, sing your line from your heart. I'm fairly certain that Reggie and Bollie's mics are off. As they finish the song all the contestants congratulate one another. Monica looks sad. Some may think she doesn't want to go. I think it's more likely that she's having a terrible moment of clarity. 
Recap. Read the previous post at half the speed you normally would. 
Now Jess Glynne. Is wearing a suit and a bra back??? SOUND THE SPICE GIRL KLAXON. 
 Jess is carrying on bravely despite having come off worse in an argument with a chip pan. Nice enough song. Good voice. Not the most dynamic interviewee. Likes the word 'yeah'. 
Then One Direction. Oh they are proper pop stars. I do like them. They also very clearly need some time off. 
Now the results. It is explained in excruiating detail how this works. It's the 12th series. 
Safe 
Mason - Looks surprised and immediately says sorry 
Laura - Screams 
Ché - Eats lettuce and squeaks 
Reggie and Bollie - I combust with rage and miss their reaction 
Louisa - Goes bananas 
4th Impact - Cry. One of them makes a lemsip 

Max is immediately eliminated. He's as bland in going as he was in the competition. So it's Anton and Monica for the sing off. Anton is going to be insane. 
Monica sings as her best bits play in the background. I have never heard the song she is singing. I may not be the target audience for this programme. She's very good. She also means every word - this is shown through squatting. 
Anton is singing 'If you don't know me by now'. He is nowhere near as good as Monica. It is also insane. He is showing emotion through mumble shouting. This is when no word is identifiable but very loud. 
So it goes to the judges. 
Nick sends home Monica. For reasons unknown. 
Rita sends home Anton  
Cheryl sends home Anton 

Olly interjects to explain the rules. Except he gets them wrong and it's all a bit awkward. 

Simon sends home Monica so it goes to deadlock. 
Except in Olly's mind Monica is going home and he has the microphone so he tells her goodbye. Caroline corrects him and Olly apologises non stop for five minutes.
Turns out he was right any how and Monica is going home. You're well out of it love. 
Olly's turn in Headmasters office Monday morning. 
Who is voting for Anton? Who? 

X Factor - Live Show Week 3 - We're Gonna Sing Some Songs From The MOVIES (sort of)

It's never easy for an entertainment show to come on air shortly after terrible world events. But, all credit to the X Factor, they handled it pretty well. Change any songs which could be considered controversial, short and heartfelt statement from Simon and then business as usual. 
It was movie week on the X Factor. Also known as the usual category of 'any song, ever heard'. This was hammered home in series 6 of X Factor when Jamie Afro sung 'Crying' from the world famous film 'Gummo'. Name a song that is not in a film. There's your theme. The standard for the evening is set at knee high level when Olly and Caroline attempt to recreate a reasonable double act the lift from 'Dirty Dancing'. 

Oh here come the judges. They all look disappointingly fine. Except Rita. Who is wearing something that probably seemed like a good idea at the time. She also can't walk in it and has to be guided on and off the stage by Nick. It is reminiscent on the final years of the Queen Mother. 

Finally it's time for some actual singing. Mason Noise is up first He survived the sing off last week so has to prove that he can be a credible and relevant artist. In his VT he goes home to Birmingham and his Dad tells him that he has to be himself. "You're on that show 'cos you're Mason Noise''. Well technically you're on that show because you auditioned, you got through, you had a tantrum and you were deemed preferable to other people who are better than you.  Anyway to prove himself and be himself he decides to sing 'Men in Black'. Nick declares that it is 'Criminal not to use his gift'. Presumably this is a gift for novelty rap. Now correct me if I'm wrong but if the trip to Birmingham and his declaration that he wanted to  be himself means anything then he should be singing 'Funky Moped'. Instead he's being himself by rapping in a fake American accent and exactly replicating someone else's work. This may not be the culmination of Mason's dreams. 
This is dreadful. But Rita loves it. Look at Rita's dress. She can't be trusted. Cheryl loves it. Simon thinks that Mason is 'different'. Well no one else is singing this. Nick loved it. He found it 'exciting'. Nick screams on the teacup ride. 

Next up is Max Stone. What's he going to sing in a reggae style tonight? I'm guessing 'We Don't Need Another Hero' on a ukulele. I'm wrong. It's a song by Bruce Springsteen from Jerry Maguire. Max and his permanently worried face are in a fake forest for unknown reasons. Oh the songs called 'Secret Garden'. Very good. 
This is also appalling. 
No ukulele. 
These two statements may be linked. It sounds a bit like he's singing along to the radio but isn't too sure of the words or tune. 
Nick liked it (shocking) but wanted more emotion. He wanted it to directly recreate the film. 
Rita liked the pace. I don't know if she expected him to sing it faster than the music but as long as she's happy. 
Cheryl has never heard the song before. What a shame this was her introduction. 
Simon reveals that Max sang this for his girlfriend. If I was her I'd be packing my bags. 

Oh it's the Mog Sainsburys advert. Oh this is nice. Doesn't really encourage you to get a cat though. 

Louisa Johnson is next. She wants to sing 'Lady Marmalade'. She is seventeen. Rita wisely tells her that she can't. This is the best decision Rita has made. Instead she sings 'Everybody's Free' from Romeo and Juliet (and aqua aerobic classes up and down the land). 
Rita says this makes her feel like she's just had a roast dinner. Louisa wants to be an inspiration...like Leona Lewis. 
I'm just going to leave both those statements there. Do with them what you will. 
She's very good. It makes me sad that she is judged alongside Reggie and Bollie. The judges love it. As they should. Oh grief, after the break it's Reggie and Bollie. Let's have an advert break to prepare. 

MUPPETS. And they're advertising giant crumpets. I need both these things. 


Monica Michael. 
Hopefully this week she is wearing something that makes her look less like a Madam. She had to change her song at the last minute. She's now singing 'What is Love'. I have no idea what film this is from. It's also not the Howard Jones song. I thought it was and she'd just really made it her own. It's good. No idea what it's from though, and neither does google. Judges like it to. There's an overwhelming sense of relief that she's not been styled like last week. 

Reggie and Bollie are next. Cheryl wants to show their voices off. Oh Cheryl. They sing 'My Heart will go on ' before segueing in to 'Who Let the Dogs Out'. This is forced fun. See also glamorous granny competitions and anything involving whipped cream and balloons. You feel you should be enjoying it and don't want to be a bad sport but you hate everything about it and want to go home. 
Best summed up as 'Who let the dogshit out'. 
Simon refuses to believe there is a film called 'Rugrats the Movie'. From a man who released a Power Rangers song. 

Now Anton. Just when you think it can't be any worse than last week it is announced he's singing 'I have Nothing' from the Bodyguard. Anton watches back last weeks performance which includes an excellent plug for Talk Talk. Unless his TV has been hacked. Anton wants a standout performance. For some reason this involves everything being in black and white except for his blue jacket. He sings in the manner of a toddler having a tantrum, lots of breath holding and bearing down. Nick loves it but doesn't like people closing their eyes. Fun fact, every time Nick closes his eyes he wonders where the world has gone. 
All comments are positive - bye Anton. 

4th Impact next. One of them collapsed back stage but is still performing. SHE DOESN'T WANT TO MAKE A FUSS. They sing 'Work it Out' from Austin Powers. I have the same issue as always. Great harmonies but individually they're bloody awful. I have no idea what the backing dancers are doing. They get a standing ovation and as if on cue the ill one has to sit down and sip water. Never mind that she was twirling around minutes earlier. Just get off the stage love. She's like the ill person who insists on coming to work then spends the day telling you how ill they are. Draping themselves over printers and sighing and coughing. GO HOME. 

Laura Murray's VT is a strange thing. They make her walk the streets of her home town to see people's reaction. She goes to where she has her nails done every week. She comments that everyone knows who she is. Yes love, you go there every week. She is singing 'One Last Time' by Ariana Grande. It's good (in a bellowy way) 

Then Ché. I'd forgotten him. I have dedicated whole hours this week to trying to find a picture of a guinea pig in a suit. I couldn't. So I drew one. You're welcome. 

He's wearing a leather jacket. Oooh he's a bad boy. Or a market trader. 
He is singing 'When a Man Loves a Woman'. The only note I have written for this is 'Sing the fucking tune'. I completed a level of candy crush whilst watching this. 
He gets a standing ovation - ugh. 

If there was any justice it would be Reggie and Bollie and Mason to go. 

There isn't so it will be Anton and Mason with Max saved.