Clinically Depressed

Nov 14, 2018 by Rob

Week 4 of the X Factor live shows was made most memorable by an underwhelming pimp slot for Shan. Reprising ‘Never Enough’, which she sang at her audition, looked teed up to remind the audience how good she is.

While her vocal wavered, as it has done before, you might have expected this to be overlooked if it was meant as a legitimate pimp but it was noticeable both Louis and Nile Rodgers were critical and it ended up a deflating moment for her.

With Scarlett being pitched as the likeable underdog along with Anthony, and Dalton still flying high, Shan’s vote is possibly in danger of being dragged down into the bottom 3 dog fight with only 8 acts remaining as we head into Saturday’s show.

Robbie and Ayda only have 1 act left each and how it plays out on Saturday, with Robbie still absent, comes down to how bothered the show is for these 2 mentors to have acts in the last 6. The last time we lost a category prior to the last 6 stage was when Kitty Brucknell bit the dust in week 6 of series 8 (2011), wiping out the Overs.

What looks pretty clear is the show having no interest in Danny or Acacia & Aaliyah. Danny surviving another week hinges on whether or not they think they can finally manoeuvre him into the bottom 3. Big Band Week was teed up by Cowell as something that will suit him well, so maybe that was a hint the show will have other targets in mind on Saturday.

But suggesting something should be in Danny’s wheelhouse does not equate to it being a triumph and could be part one of building him up before knocking him down. Only song choice and running order will tell us more.

With A&A being in the bottom 3 for the last 2 weeks, and very possibly bottom of the vote on Sunday (hence no deadlock), it will take a massive pimp to try and ensure their safety this week. Given it would only amount to a 1-week stay of execution the show may not bother helping them.

Outside of these 2, Brendan could easily find himself floating back into the bottom 3 of the vote. The song change to ‘Everybody Hurts’ looked a big positive for him and so it proved.

Bella, meanwhile, was given a pretty insipid song choice in ‘A Million Dreams’, and she put in an underwhelming performance of it, but again she received positive treatment from the judges and again managed to avoid the bottom 3.

Big Band Week does not look the most compatible theme for her to navigate. By the same token, they might be able to conjure up a choice with a clever spin on it that will allow her to stand out from the crowd.

As things stand Dalton is looking very hard to beat. How it plays out from here with Scarlett and Anthony is the most intriguing element. Is there room for both in the final? And with the Syco label losing acts hand over fist does it see room for either of these 2 acts on its future roster?

The view here from the moment both returned to the show and were lauded as the comeback kids was that the breaks would firmly be applied at some point down the line and it would almost certainly end in tears for both. The fact both have been lauded up to now and the show has done little to deflate either of them has come as a surprise, but crunch time is still to arrive.