Receiving the best critique on Saturday night’s show was former cruise ship singer turned prison warden Sam Bailey, the only contestant left in the Over 25s category. Her performance of Titanic epic My Heart Will Go On brought the house down with judge Gary Barlow telling her that it was even better than when he saw Celine Dion perform the nineties chartbuster in Las Vegas.
It was also a great night for teenager Nicholas McDonald who scored a big hit with his rendition of Angel. The song, written by Sarah McLachlan, was featured in the movie City of Angels and has been covered by many including Westlife.
Meanwhile, Luke Friend successfully re-interpreted Seal’s Batman Forever smash Kiss from a Rose while Rough Copy gave Bryan Adams’ infamously indestructible chart-topper Everything I Do (I Do It for You) a contemporary makeover.
However, praise for hot favourite Tamera Foster’s show-stopping take on Beyonce’s Listen was soured when Gary Barlow compared it to an accurate Stars In Their Eyes impersonation while Sharon Osbourne wanted more of an audience connection from the singer.
It was also a great night for teenager Nicholas McDonald who scored a big hit with his rendition of Angel. The song, written by Sarah McLachlan, was featured in the movie City of Angels and has been covered by many including Westlife.
Meanwhile, Luke Friend successfully re-interpreted Seal’s Batman Forever smash Kiss from a Rose while Rough Copy gave Bryan Adams’ infamously indestructible chart-topper Everything I Do (I Do It for You) a contemporary makeover.
However, praise for hot favourite Tamera Foster’s show-stopping take on Beyonce’s Listen was soured when Gary Barlow compared it to an accurate Stars In Their Eyes impersonation while Sharon Osbourne wanted more of an audience connection from the singer.
Saturday’s show was sadly lacking in uptempo songs which is a shame considering we could have had Moroder & Oakey’s Together in Electric Dreams, The Who’s Pinball Wizard or even Olivia Newton-John and ELO’S Xanadu! Thankfully, boy band Kingsland Road came to the rescue quickening the pace with a perky performance of Roy Orbison classic Oh, Pretty Woman.
However, it was another bad week for Abi Alton whose Moon River failed to conjure up iconic images of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast At Tiffany’s. With Gary concerned that the 19-year-old had lost her way in the contest and Sharon slamming the performance as lacking in emotion and charisma, the visibly upset contestant burst into tears.
Essex boy Sam Callahan didn’t charm the panel either with U2’s All I Want Is You, which seemed to cause more of a debate in the studio about which film it was actually from. It was decided that the song was included on the soundtrack of the Winona Ryder/Ethan Hawke romcom Reality Bites. Nevertheless, the judges said the tune was a bad choice that highlighted Sam’s vocal weaknesses.
Elsewhere Miss Dynamix’s performance of British soul queen Gabrielle’s Dreams, which featured in the film Magnolia, turned into a nightmare for the girl group. Criticised for dodgy vocals and a lack of chemistry, they promptly landed in the Sunday sing-off after placing last in the viewers’ flash vote.
Their opponent bafflingly turned out to be Hannah Barrett - despite the 17-year-old wowing the judges with a mature and dramatic performance of the Adele and Paul Epworth 007 composition Skyfall.
However, Hannah lived to fight another week on the show after trouncing the opposition in the sing-off with a stunning version of Emeli Sande’s Read All About It.
However, it was another bad week for Abi Alton whose Moon River failed to conjure up iconic images of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast At Tiffany’s. With Gary concerned that the 19-year-old had lost her way in the contest and Sharon slamming the performance as lacking in emotion and charisma, the visibly upset contestant burst into tears.
Essex boy Sam Callahan didn’t charm the panel either with U2’s All I Want Is You, which seemed to cause more of a debate in the studio about which film it was actually from. It was decided that the song was included on the soundtrack of the Winona Ryder/Ethan Hawke romcom Reality Bites. Nevertheless, the judges said the tune was a bad choice that highlighted Sam’s vocal weaknesses.
Elsewhere Miss Dynamix’s performance of British soul queen Gabrielle’s Dreams, which featured in the film Magnolia, turned into a nightmare for the girl group. Criticised for dodgy vocals and a lack of chemistry, they promptly landed in the Sunday sing-off after placing last in the viewers’ flash vote.
Their opponent bafflingly turned out to be Hannah Barrett - despite the 17-year-old wowing the judges with a mature and dramatic performance of the Adele and Paul Epworth 007 composition Skyfall.
However, Hannah lived to fight another week on the show after trouncing the opposition in the sing-off with a stunning version of Emeli Sande’s Read All About It.
