I planned to write different entries within the last few weeks, but this is the only one I actually finished. Then again, those entries don’t really have deadlines, and as a teacher once said, “You don’t need inspiration to write; all you need is a deadline” (or something like that).
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The Supposed Ball That Will Be Dropped on Times Square - 2012
A new year was depicted in old cartoons (at least the seemingly-old ones I watched as a kid) as a portal where an old git goes through and turns into a baby. In that view, the old git seems to leave a certain place through a door, while a baby enters the other side (Out With the Old, In With the New… much like going out of a room in the house and entering another; this is a memory that may or may not be true… seriously, I don’t know). We pair this new year up with fireworks, ball-dropping, and perhaps more food in order to make more shit for the sewage system. Of course, this transition is not complete without the to-do list we impose on ourselves to start the year: the New Year’s resolution. Every year, every person with nothing monumentally awful to deal with (like cancer, or stupidity… maybe not the latter) conjures up a list of blahblahs that he must live by during the upcoming year.
Pretty much everyone fails before the first week ends, usually due to death or laziness. Why is that? Why is it that we conjure up these great goals… and fail miserably? Perhaps the failure lies in the fact that those goals are written like this entry, with a deadline in mind. We think of things we aim to do for a year, the details of which have to be released on a certain day (that happens to be so special because the sun supposedly finishes a cycle). There is nothing wrong with deadlines: chances are (p = 1), our favourite essays, short stories, novels, and TV/movie scripts are bound by some deadline. The problem lies in the fact that the goals, attached with a deadline, become a chore. In the beginning, we get ourselves to do our best in the tasks necessary to fulfil the resolutions; but at some point, we don’t see the incentive any more, and fall off. The following year, we do the same damn thing, and fail in the same damn way. New Year becomes rehab– where we vow to start anew, get rid of what drags us down– except we don’t have a firm grasp of what we want to change, and we end up turning the Earth’s revolution around the sun into our very own revolving door to change. Drug addicts have it difficult to become “clean,” and that’s with coercion by forces in society; what makes you think that the same process will be as effective for you, when no one can coerce you to fulfil your New Year’s resolution, even if you’re the dumbo that blogs about your list (or reblogs if you’re on Tumblr, which is worse, but that’s another story).
Perhaps we are doing it incorrectly. While it’s nice to make a list that shows not only that we recognise that we have to improve on some things, but also what we think we need to improve on, it is probably not nice to “start a new leaf” on a specific day. Looking at all the years we lived, it seems that, when it comes to New Year’s resolutions, we have a track record rivalling the 1899 Cleveland Spiders. Despite that, the “you” of 2001 (if your were born then; if not, then my language is inappropriate for you, dumbass) is different from the “you” of 2011… and it’s not just physical. Perhaps change shouldn’t be associated to a new year: that resolutions don’t start when the fireworks explode; that much like heaven is HERE (as The Great Belinda Carlisle– and later on, Madame Lana del Rey– would say, “Heaven is a place on Earth…”), change starts NOW; that our life is a series of Out With the Old, In With the New ‘s.
What is New Year’s Day for, then? Other than providing a potential title for a song, it is an occasion to be happy (and not to write stupid entries like this).
If it’s 0000, 1 January 2012 in your area, Happy New Year! Unless you’re going to greet the Earth “Happy Birthday!” when the clock strikes 0000 in your area (which makes you twice as dumb as that idiot who greeted good old Jeezy “Happy Birthday!” on 25 December; then again, you’re probably dumb enough to do that, too, so make that three times as dumb), feel free to comment.
Since the last look back, Reece Mastin won in a very droll final. Now, we have winners (HINT: it’s one of the three that stand out below)
Before into the grit of looking at the final, let as look at the eliminations that were…
… NAH, I’ll just recap Week 1, the Groups drama in Week 4, and the return vote in Week 6, then go to the final.
Recall that as of Week 3, I favour Kitty and Misha B, while Janet, Rhythmix (now Little Mix), and The Risk were on my radar.
WEEK 1: Britain vs America
Goldie Cheung, the maestro behind the wonderful audition below (COPPER BELL–長籐掛銅鈴– which is a Chinese “folk song” or something, most remembered as covered by Anita Mui, video also below), made to the live shows, but backed out.
This week has a twist, which is supposedly triggered by this: each mentor will eliminate one act from their category. Misha B and Rhythmix (now Little Mix) shined, Amelia fell flat, while Jonjo and Nu Vibe just crashed and burned. In the end, Amelia and Jonjo get axed along with Boys fodder James Michael, while Nu Vibe slips through as Two Shoes is eliminated.
Amelia’s elimination was the most shocking as she was thought of as a contender; that being said, her performance was the worst in her category, so the decision was right in the short run, but absolutely wrong in the long run. James’ was more intriguing, as one of the acts from the Boys category becomes a hate figure for the rest of his stay (although I doubt that James would actually last long had he been saved… even if he has the most star quality in the category, as far as I’m concerned). Had it not been for the pregnancy and the camp nature of Two Shoes, their elimination would have been the most outrageous, as Nu Vibe was awful and en route to an elimination. Jonjo’s elimination was spot-on. In addition, here we see the “bigging up” of the manufactured groups– Rhythmix and The Risk.
On the bright side, this will eventually clinch Amelia the titles “First Girl Out” and “Last Girl Standing,” a first.
WEEK 4
One of the members of The Risk left for Jesus, which led to member-pirating. In addition, a charity made Rhythmix change their name to Little Mix, which is perhaps to most fodder-ific name for a girl group since Girlband. With a more recent excellent performance, it seems like Little Mix is about to mix with the eliminated contestants. Instead, they shined, and the tide has been turned, as The Risk will be the “shock exit” next week, having the least number of votes in a double elimination.
This was also the week I got off the “Janet Express,” as she started to bore (and sometimes annoy) me.
WEEK 6
No one really gives a crap about the performances in Week 6, unless you want to debate on whether or not Misha’s taking of “Born This Way” was tactical, to throw Kitty off (which kinda worked). Due to unfortunate circumstances, Frankie was ejected from the show, leading to a vote to bring back one of the four contestants eliminated in Week 1 (since the public didn’t kick them out anyway). James may be the “logical” choice (since he was shafted in favour of the ejected contestant), Two Shoes may be the fun choice, and Jonjo may be the… never mind, but of the four, only Amelia is likely to go past Week 7 (although she almost didn’t, escaping via Deadlock). Thankfully, Amelia was saved…
Towards the end of this entry, I will put the percentages of the voting for your pleasure.
WEEK 10
It was a typical final, full of glitz and glamour, but not much in substance. No one sucked, but there was something missing. The winner’s single was a cover of Damien Rice’s “Cannonball”…
… and the winner is…
… Little Mix. They not only broke the “girl band curse” by not looking like pretty whores (or pretty, for that matter), they also broke the “Group curse,” becoming the first Group to win in the UK.
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Noteworthy Performances
There were SIX noteworthy performances, shown in order of preference.
6th: Rhythmix (now Little Mix), Week 1, performing “Super Bass” by Nicki Minaj
They seemed like fodder in the beginning, from the sloppy look and the weird name (that got uglier). This performance saved them and the “won’t steal your girlfriend” tag (which started here) stuck, taking them to the final.
5th: The Risk, Week 2, performing “Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars
This performance showed that The Risk were ahead of One Direction in terms of development as of the early stage. In addition, they made soon-to-be-axed Nu Vibe look weak in comparison. Too bad they fizzled quickly.
4th: Marcus Collins, Week 5, performing “Reet Petite (The Sweetest Girl in Town)” by Jackie Wilson
This performance let Marcus set his stride, essentially clinching the title of “Last Boy Standing.”
3rd: Misha B, Week 1, performing “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele, with her own rap
She has Cher Lloyd’s “urban flair”, with a better vocal. As early as the first week, I can say that Misha is the best of the bunch.
2nd: Kitty Brucknell, Week 2, performing “It’s Oh So Quiet” by Betty Hutton (Popularised by Björk)
This is perhaps the most stunning performance of the series, with the contrast of the loud and soft parts and Kitty’s stage presence. It’s sad that she barely escaped the Bottom 2 with this (and considering that she had the last performing slot). Perhaps it’s the make up.
1st: Little Mix, Week 7, performing “Don’t Let Go (Love)” by En Vogue
This performance not only turned the tide in their favour, allowing them room to screw up in the weeks after, it also made them legitimate contenders to win. This is the best performance of the series.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS (chronological order)
(a walk-in entry, because I suddenly remember how boring the rest of the performances were) Johnny Robinson, Week 3, performing “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” by The Darkness.
Little Mix, Week 4, performing “E.T.” by Katy Perry.
Little Mix, Week 10, performing a mash-up of “Empire State of Mind (feat. Alicia Keys)” by Jay-Z and “If I Ain’t Got You” by Alicia Keys, with Tulisa (duet).
Amelia Lily, Week 10, performing “River Deep– Mountain High” by Ike & Tina Turner, with Kelly Rowland (duet).
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That’s pretty much it for the UK. Now, the US has a final three, but I’m not too bothered with it.
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APPENDIX
Predictions
No one got it right since Little Mix was created after Boot Camp (then again, no one got it right in other years anyway).
Gary chose Frankie.
Louis chose Frankie and Janet (ironic because he turned against both of them at some point).
Kelly chose Janet (ironic because she essentially eliminated Janet).
Tulisa chose Jade Richards (who was eliminated at Judges’ Houses) and Nu Vibe (ha ha ha).
Dermot (the host of The X Factor) chose Janet.
Caroline (a host of The Xtra Factor) chose Craig.
Olly (2009 runner-up and host of The Xtra Factor) chose Misha B.
Percentages
There are plenty of things you can infer from this, which I won’t bother with. The number came from… This is in reverse order: eliminated contestants are in RED, returning in ORANGE, the winner in GOLD.
The Final Results
Little Mix: 48.3%
Marcus Collins: 42.8%
Amelia Lily (carried over from before the freeze): 8.9%
The Final – vote freeze
Little Mix: 39.0%
Marcus Collins: 34.5%
Amelia Lily: 26.5%
The Semi Final
Little Mix: 34.4%
Marcus Collins: 24.0%
Amelia Lily: 21.4%
Misha B: 20.2%
Week 8
Amelia Lily: 23.8%
Little Mix: 22.4%
Marcus Collins: 21.0%
Janet Devlin: 18.3%
Misha B: 14.5%
Week 7
Little Mix: 26.1%
Misha B: 22.5%
Janet Devlin: 14.8%
Marcus Collins: 14.4%
Amelia Lily: 11.3%
Craig Colton: 10.9%
Week 6
Amelia Lily: 27.4%
Janet Devlin: 17.4%
Little Mix: 15.3%
Marcus Collins: 12.9%
Craig Colton: 10.6%
Kitty Brucknell: 8.4%
Misha B: 8.0%
Week 6 vote in:
Amelia Lily: 48.8%
James Michael: 26.7%
JonJo Kerr: 13.2%
2 Shoes: 11.3%
Week 5
Janet Devlin: 18.0%
Marcus Collins: 16.0%
Misha B: 12.2%
Little Mix: 11.9%
Craig Colton: 10.1%
Frankie Cocozza: 8.7%
Johnny Robinson: 8.3%
Kitty Brucknell: 7.6%
The Risk: 7.2%
Week 4
Janet Devlin: 14.7%
Little Mix: 13.7%
Craig Colton: 13.0%
Kitty Brucknell: 12.9%
Johnny Robinson: 12.2%
Marcus Collins: 10.1%
The Risk: 7.2%
Frankie Cocozza: 5.7%
Sophie Habibis: 5.4%
Misha B: 5.1%
Week 3
Janet Devlin: 17.2%
Johnny Robinson: 17.1%
Misha B: 11.8%
Marcus Collins: 11.2%
The Risk: 8.3%
Little Mix: 6.0%
Frankie Cocozza: 6.0%
Craig Colton: 6.0%
Sophie Habibis: 5.8%
Sami Brookes: 5.6%
Kitty Brucknell: 5.0%
Week 2
Janet Devlin: 23.6%
The Risk: 10.9%
Sophie Habibis: 8.9%
Little Mix: 8.7%
Misha B: 7.8%
Craig Colton: 6.9%
Marcus Collins: 6.8%
Johnny Robinson: 6.5%
Sami Brookes: 6.2%
Kitty Brucknell: 5.9%
Frankie Cocozza: 5.2%
Nu Vibe: 2.6%
Week 1
The judges vote out 2 Shoes, Amelia Lily, James Michael, and JonJo Kerr
This is the first of a three-part series that traces back the journeys of the contestants of The X-Factor.
ONE. Australia
In a few hours, the final Live Show for The X-Factor Australia will commence. From the final twelve…
… we are down to three, which are the following.
Reece Mastin – Boys
Johnny Ruffo – Boys
Andrew Wishart – Overs
As a defensive remark, the black and white effect on some contestants is due to the only source I can get photos from: their Yahoo! site.
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Nine weeks and nine eliminations have passed. Looking at how these Live Shows progressed, we can say that this is not exactly the final three that we’d expect. The shows and the corresponding eliminations went as follows.
Week 1: Judges’ Picks
As the judges pick the songs, Declan stole the show with a quirky performance, the Groups shined, while Johnny fizzled one of many failed song choices by the judges. It was, however, the lousy portrayal of Jacqui as an Aussie Taylor Swift and Cleo’s missed cue that left voters cold, as the two ladies fall into the bottom, with Cleo going home.
On the onset, it seemed like Cleo is the best bet for the Overs to go far. It was easy to count the Overs out by then, although this dismissal could prove wrong. Also, the lousy song for Jacqui would set the tone for the rest of her stay, as the voters have no idea what kind of artist she is.
Week 2: Party Anthems
As the contestants take on party songs, the choices this week makes the typical Aussie soirée seem weird. Johnny showed what kind of songs he can pull off, Young Men Society showed potential to win, while Tyla crashed and burned, as she was sent home… by none other than her own mentor, Mel B, who opted to save two-time bottom two contestant Jacqui.
Tyla seemed out of place; this now puts to question Mel B’s merits as a mentor, as she struggles with what is usually the best category: the Girls.
Week 3: Rock
Rock week = car crash TV. While there was no particular performance that stood out as bad, no one did exceptionally well, either. Young Men Society’s failed attempt at putting a good stamp on their song sent them to the bottom, but they were saved over the woman who sang six times in three weeks: Jacqui.
There is one Girl left; fortunately, she seems to be the one that can go far (and the one who Mel hasn’t screwed up yet).
Week 4: 90′s Songs
In the first of many weeks that would shock the Aussies, Christina picks up momentum with a rendition of The Cranberries’ “Zombie” that got all four judges to stand up (whether or not it’s worth it is another story), while Declan brings all sorts of awesome and all sorts of nasty with “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” It will be, however, Johnny’s failure to do anything relevant and Audio Vixen’s failure to be exciting that would put them in the bottom, with the latter sent home via deadlock.
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” is one of the songs that can only be done by Nirvana; Guy choosing that song (as a part of his “Exploring Diversities Program”) is possibly one of the lousiest decisions ever. Audio Vixen’s elimination was marred by Mel B’s “I’m not going to take it to deadlock,” then sending it to deadlock by voting Audio Vixen out. Perhaps what she meant is that she will not send it to deadlock without reason. Starting this week until Week 8, a Boy would be in the Bottom Two; in that span, only one Boy will be eliminated.
Week 5: Number One Hits
This week, Johnny Ruffo shows that he is far from being as relevant as the likes of Chris Brown and the artist he covered that week: Justin Timberlake. In contrast, Declan and Young Men Society (who got four judges off their asses) pulled off excellent performances; this won’t save them though, as they constitute the bottom two, with Young Men Society eliminated.
This comes as a shock, not just to the voters, or to me, but also to Christina, who was confirmed to be safe last. This shock is remarkable, since the calling out of names is in no particular order. This is the beginning of the end for Christina.
Week 6: Australian Hit Songs
This is the week that I picked up from when I wrote this post. This week was the week when everyone just failed, with Guy trying to screw his acts up by not showcasing what they can do (instead showing their flaws like a set of dirty laundry), Mel starting to screw up with Christina, and so on. Johnny delivered a performance that you’d rather forget, which would send him to the bottom two, only to be saved via deadlock over the only act I would save him over: Mitchell.
The two Overs that lasted more than one week have the same thread: they are consistent. Andrew was consistently average (even though the judges would like to portray him as a magical old man with a magical rock voice): occasionally going above and below, but usually average; Mitchell was consistently below average, and seems over it at times, making it sensible to save him over Voiceless Johnny. Unlike the Aussie series last year, there seems to be no tactical voting this year.
Week 7: Dance
With Dance being favourable to Johnny, it seems inevitable that Declan will be axed, as [1] there are three boys (out of 6), [2] he has a bad performance slot, and [3] Guy has taken away Declan’s charm with his lousy song choices. This week comes as a shock since the two favoured to be the final two– Reece and Christina– are in the bottom two. Tactical voting was not used as Christina is eliminated, leaving Mel B without an act.
This was the end of Christina’s downward slope. After impressing the judges with “Zombie”, she took criticism the following week, never recovering from that. This shock result puts to question who exactly is the frontrunner. It seems like another Ronan act or another old act will win, as Three Wishez and Andrew have not reached the bottom yet. On another note, Johnny showed his relevance in the competition, as he starts a push to improvement while the others stagnate, while Three Wishez stands out not just as a group, but as an act that is relevant and could win it all.
Week 8: Legends
In a senseless theme and an underwhelming night, Johnny continues to prove his worth, Reece fumbles with a sour performance, but the judges (who also screwed up by calling “All By Myself” a Céline Dion song) tactically attack him as Declan goes home via a decision. Three Wishez is in the bottom two for the first time, providing the idea that Andrew is out to win it all.
Reece’s performance reeked of immaturity, putting to question the notion that he is a ready-made star. People have performed better while dealing with worse things, so he has no reason to whine about losing his best friend in the show (which he should be THANKFUL for, since it saved his ass). In some ways, his hissy fit is as bad as Astro’s in the US.
Week 9: Pleasure and Pain
In a week where the final four will perform two songs off the playlist of a dominatrix (PLEASURE AND PAIN, REALLY?), we have six songs that carry on the tradition of boring, and two songs that showed a comeback, as Johnny and Reece delivered performances worthy of the final showdown. In the end, Three Wishez was eliminated, leading to the showdown later.
It seems like Johnny is being shafted as he was given the death (first) slot, while Three Wishez got the last slot. The judges did their part by not concentrating on the quality of his performances, but the “development” he showed (which has its own merits, but still; they also didn’t bother with Johnny slipping up with the lyrics at some point, which they did before). This tactical move was counteracted by Johnny taking his shirt off, giving Aussie girls a speed boost in voting.
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Noteworthy Performances
There are THREE noteworthy performances, shown in order of preference.
3rd: Johnny Ruffo, Week 9, performing “Tonight Tonight” by Hot Chelle Rae
I first heard of the song literally hours before I watched the performances, with no knowledge that he will perform it. It was dynamic (almost at the level of a guest performance), but while he missed some words and seems shouty at times, this is a demonstration of nine weeks of development, as Johnny goes to the final.
2nd: Christina Parie, Week 4, performing “Zombie” by The Cranberries
This was powerful at the stage it was delivered, but while she’s not at the level of Dolores O’Riordan has when the latter performs it, this shows that she has star quality (making you wish that she didn’t crash and burn right after).
1st: Young Men Society (YMS), Week 2, performing “You Shook Me All Night Long” by AC/DC
This is, by a mile, the best performance of the season (as of Week 9). YMS delivered AC/DC energy without sounding like a wannabe metal-hip-hop group.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS (chronological order)
Declan Sykes, Week 5, performing “Forever Young” by Alphaville.
YMS, Week 5, performing a mashup of Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” and Sean Paul’s “Get Busy.”
I will assess the performances in the grand final at another time. Instead, here are predictions and other remarks.
Who will win? Andrew, as he has captured the hearts of Australia (which is surprising, since it seemed like he was fodder at the beginning) and it seems like he has a strong fan base, as he has not been in the bottom. Surely, the producers will stop this, as the younger, more appealing Reece has been their choice since Week One.
Who should win? If you asked me weeks ago, I would say Reece outright, since he has such stage presence. Since “weeks ago,” he showed a downside to him, but he is still the top gun in the competition. Therefore, for what it’s worth, Reece should win.
What about Johnny? If it were based on the last few weeks alone, I would choose him to win as he shined when others plateaued. His voice is still not perfect, and it’s still unacceptable at times, but he seems capable of taking it all.
The panel? This panel has been quite tactical at times (although now, what panel isn’t tactical? *ehemSimon*), nitpicking at slight errors in other acts’ performances, errors that would otherwise be acceptable in the real world.
Anything else? The X-Factor Australia differs from the UK and US versions because it aims to produce an “international superstar,” which differs from the usual “recording artist” or the brandishing of a large contract. That being said, it seems quite deluded. That is all.
I could have stuffed this into my previous entry, but I was quite hasty with posting, so now I have to write a new one, regarding the US live shows. Given how awful the last Aussie live show was, this was surely going to wow me, in comparison. By the time you read this, the live show has long finished and five acts have been eliminated. Let me start by repeating my musings on the show before the live show:
The Girls are marketable.
The Boys are diverse.
The Overs are talented, but hardly star material.
The Groups… who cares about them?
There are too many sob stories, and too much emphasis is given to each one.
The ones I see myself rooting for are: Simone, Stacy, Astro, Phillip, and Tiah
The ones I see going home are: Drew, Melanie, Josh or LeRoy, Phillip, and whichever group seems the least marketable.
Now, onto the show…
General Remarks about the Live Show
The production is grand; American Idol tried to copy it earlier in the year, but this is better.
The stage may be huge, but there was a lot of wasted space. Hence, some performances seemed cramped.
The show was quite rushed: the banter was put to a minimum, and Steve Jones had to push them for time… all the time.
Steve Jones comes off cold. He doesn’t seem rude (as many around the Internet comment), but at an angle, he looks mean and I really want to gouge his eyes out.
The decisions seem quite predetermined for many reasons; one of the reasons is that they had practically no time to decide (the others? read further).
2.5 hours for 17 acts is not enough, considering the amount of commercials and the strict adherence to the time limit.
Paula Abdul is not as loopy here as she was on American Idol.
L.A. Reid is not as witty as Simon Cowell, not even close (“I was looking for the kitchen sink” *awkward silence*).
The backing track drowns out the vocals of the contestant (probably where Idol or even the UK X-Factor wins). When the backing track gets loud, some wow moments get diluted, which means those with stripped-down performances tend to sound better.
The talent was generally good. There were a few wow moments, a few cringe worthy ones, but generally, it’s good. The variance in performance was less than expected, though.
The show was divided into four parts, representing the four categories: Boys, Groups, Over 30′s, Girls, in that order. After each part, a mentor chooses three of his acts to advance to next week’s live show that (finally) on its normal schedule (Wednesday and Thursday, no longer a slave to the World Series). I will try to make my remarks short and sweet.
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Part I: BOYS
The first act to perform is Astro. He took “Jump” by Kris Kross and put his own spin into it (by adding his own words, of course).
As performances go, you couldn’t ask for a better start. You could notice that, at some point, he was out of breath. As far as I see it, that is a sign of being an amateur, but it’s something that can be fixed. This is a tough act to follow.
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The next to perform is Danny Gokey on drugs and not a dead wife Chris Rene. He performed “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore” by Rose Royce.
There’s a hint sweetness in his voice (the only redeeming quality of the performance), but his attempt at high notes makes me want to rub a metal spoon with a metal fork, so the pain won’t be as much. His rapping is not as sound as Astro’s, as it sounds like your neighbourhood pastor trying to be hip by rapping. The setting isn’t good, either: given that he is milking his half year of sobriety and the stage is so dark, the song seems so wimpy.
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The next is Phillip Lomax, performing “I’m a Believer” by The Monkees.
I’m starting to think that he was a snake oil salesman in his past life, because the performance was quite good (for me) even when the song was awful.
On that note, I usually don’t bother too much with song choice because mistakes are usually small; this is not one of the usual cases. I understand that he has to make himself current, but changing from big band to THE MONKEES (there’s a reason why this group, the cast of the 60′s version of the Glee, is hardly remembered, despite selling loads of albums) is hardly a good move (as Simon Cowell put it, “You were like a racing driver, and L.A. put you in a tractor.”). L.A. Reid knows what he wants (and it’s not having Phillip in his category), and he knows how to get it. This is easily one of the worst song choices in any singing show, and L.A. Reid knew it (look at his face during the performance). At least Phillip did not take the advice of the song: “What’s the use in trying? All you get pain. When I wanted sunshine I got rain.”
That being said, I think he actually did the best he could. It wasn’t bad in the first half, but the part of him that was a potential star got lost when he went down the stairs (i.e. the song did not develop him or play to his strengths). Nonetheless, I was sold on the performance.
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Last to perform in Part I is Marcus Canty, with “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” by Culture Club.
I have issues with the people backstage putting itching powder on his pants (wait, was that dancing?), and while his style is not my favourite, his voice was good and he exuded so much star potential in that performance. While Astro is a revival of the market young rappers like Lil’ *insert name here; Wayne is not accepted*, Marcus has a style that is present in the market today.
Remarks
What have we learned about the mentor? L.A. Reid is in it to win it: he knows what he wants and how to get it.
My choice to axe (based on performance) Chris. He did not make the most of the song given, and he is not worth the buzz generated by his sob story.
Who was actually axed?
Phillip, duh.
THE AFTERMATH L.A. is definitely in his element when it comes to moulding his contestants. The problem now is that the category is quite homogeneous, and that Chris and Marcus might steal each others’ votes; they might even steal votes from Astro.
———
Part II: GROUPS
Part II opens with The Stereo Hoggz performing a twist on Otis Redding’s version of “Try a Little Tenderness,” inserting some rap from an unknown source (it’s either just the song twisted, some obscure song, or their own rap; I’m not bothered to look it up).
First of all, the name of the group is stupid. Onto the performance, the vocals were astounding. Despite the lousy acoustics, nothing seemed lost. The dance moves at the beginning (while they weren’t moving too much) were a little too cheesy for the situation, but all other additions were a nice touch. They are easily the frontrunners for this category.
—
Next up are the Brewer Boys. They are mashing up the songs “Rich Girl” by Hall & Oates and “Faith” by George Michael.
It was solid… until the transition from “Faith” back to “Rich Girl,” after which it became sloppy. There is very little else to say besides that.
—
Next came InTENsity, a group of ten teens (that failed at Bootcamp) that are set to star on Glee 10 years from now. They are performing a mash-up of “The Clapping Song” by Shirley Ellis and the title song of the movie Footloose.
It was fun, but there was very little chemistry in the group; it doesn’t help that their voices are weak when no one steps up. It wasn’t good to start, but it got better as the performance went on. In other words, another “meh” performance.
—
Last to perform is Lakoda Rayne, another manufactured group, performing “Come On Eileen” by the Dexys Midnight Runners.
There were good moments, but it was essentially KARAOKE. On another note, I love how Nicole said that they “look(ed) classy”, probably in contrast to this (I love that song, though).
Remarks
What have we learned about the mentor? Paula is actually a good mentor; I don’t think anyone else could handle the groups better.
My choice to axe (based on performance) InTENsity, but The Brewer Boys might get boring faster, so it could be them. Also, Lakoda Rayne is only marginally better than these two in the Live Show.
Who was actually axed?
The Brewer Boys.
THE AFTERMATH The Groups now have one contender in The Stereo HogsHogzHoggzHoggzz Hogzz; I wouldn’t be shocked if the other two will be eliminated quickly.
———
Part III: OVER 30s
The first to perform is formerly homeless band frontman/James Brown impersonator Dexter Haygood performing a combination of Britney Spears’ “Womanizer” and Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl.”
It was mostly “Screamed Word,” which I’m not exactly averse to, but I find the entire performance as a bit of a joke (I think he could have done that in a more refined manner). In the parts with “actual singing,” he was horribly out of tune. He can create a cult with that style; one thing’s for sure: I’m not joining that cult. Quoting Katy Perry, “It felt so wrong, it felt so right”… then it just felt so wrong.
—
Next is supposedly 60-year old LeRoy Bell, performing “Nobody Knows” by L.A. Reid protégé P!nk.
He’s a cool cat, he doesn’t look like an old man, but the performance made him as boring as an old man.
—
Next is the woman who is as bright as a star and pours out water like a raincloud: Stacy Francis, with George Michael’s “One More Try.”
She didn’t cry, she can win now… not really. Stacy is a potential diva, like a sober Whitney or a Mariah in a few years if she gets out of her R&B phase (she probably won’t). Because of that, the song does not do her justice; instead, it makes her look like a boring woman with a good voice. So boring that the best part of the clip is Nicole with her crocodile tears.
—
Last is Josh Krajcic, who looks 0% Eastern European despite the name, singing “Forever Young” by the great Bob Dylan.
It had an amazing beginning, but it plateaued. He has a great voice but as of now, I wouldn’t watch his show, even for free.
Remarks
What have we learned about the mentor? Nicole is awful. She can’t do justice to her acts, the acts that need the most boosting. She might end up ruining her acts’ potential and be the first mentor to run out of contestants.
My choice to axe (based on performance) Dexter.
Who was actually axed? Dexter.
THE AFTERMATH:
The Overs need to establish themselves. FAST. Nicole might just be the wrong person to lead them along the way.
———
Part IV: Girls
First is Simone Battle with “Just Be Good to Me” by The SOS Band.
This performance taught me the real meaning of “hot mess.” She was a such a star on stage, but her voice was annoying. Also, it pales in comparison to the performance below:
—
Next is Rachel Crow with a mash-up of The Supremes’ “Where Did Our Love Go” and Justin Bieber’s “Baby.”
It was a solid performance: it wasn’t karaoke and Rachel put her sassy twist on the songs. For the first time in the competition, I see the star in her. A song that accentuates her sassy style would have been better, though.
—
Next is Drew “Thank God She Dropped Her Last Name” Ryniewicz, now known as “Drew.” She is performing Irene Cara’s “Flashdance… What a Feeling.”
You know a performance is good when a non-mentor stands up for you; you know it’s great when said non-mentor is L.A. Reid. She showed so much star quality without moving too much (maybe it was the doves in the background, but I think it’s her). The way she ended the song was the best of them all. Although I still see her as the “Justin Bieber fan that impressed L.A. in her audition,” rather than a star, the performance is a good start to change my mind.
—
Next is Tiah “Big Lips that Nicole and Paula Hate” Tolliver, with the Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).
She was going for the mysterious, intense feel for her performance, but the attempt fell as flat as L.A. Reid’s joke after the performance. At times, her vocals sounded like normal vocals, warped by some software; and the performance seemed like some crazy task by Tyra Banks on America’s Next Top Model. At least in the clip, Paula and Nicole showed their hate and sarcasm well, even for just a few seconds.
—
Last to perform is Melanie Amaro. She is performing “I Have Nothing” by Whitney Houston
I’m sensing that her performance had a lot of wow moments that were diluted by the acoustics. A powerful performance, but her style can get boring very fast if she doesn’t develop.
Remarks
What have we learned about the mentor? As you will see below, Simon is a mentor that knows what the public wants (that hot girls get female viewers hating, hence they can’t win), and gives it to them since he wants to be the winning mentor.
My choice to axe (based on performance) Sadly, based on performance, I would axe Simone and Tiah.
Who was actually axed? Simone and Tiah.
Notice the sarcasm in Nicole and Paula’s smug faces after Tiah spoke about her elimination.
THE AFTERMATH:
The girls might have lost some star power, but they are the category to beat. Also, notice that pretty girls are out, while teen girls and generic-looking girls with potentially no personality are in.
Oh yeah, there’s this:
She may have been axed, but the video shows how much potential she has. You have to love the shameless plugging.
———————
That is it. I probably won’t write about this until a twist, a shock elimination, or 8-9 eliminations happen, whichever comes first.
Since the first live show (also the last set of eliminations before the final stage) for the US X-Factor is near, I will write an entry about three different versions of the show.
At Least in Writing This, I am Outside this Circle
I watch three series: the one from Australia, UK, and the US. From this, I have made a few observations and picked some favourites. As loaded as this entry seems to be, this will be quite light and short, hardly anything “serious.”
———
Australia
The final 12 are:
The X Factor Australia (season 3) Final 12
-contestants in black and white (or greyscale, I can’t tell which is which) are eliminated. for more information, click the photo
— On the remaining contestants
As a general remark, the final 12 (as a whole) doesn’t excite me too much. Show favourites Reece and Christina seem like “average students” from Camp Rock (i.e. what the students in Camp Rock that have no air time would be– yay, poor structure), Johnny is doing what many female singers do: rely on looks, while almost everyone else bores me enough for me not to discuss them too much. There are solid performances once in a while, but for the most part, you don’t give a damn who performs it because chances are, they will put out something forgettable next week, if they stay.
— On the panel and their song choices
As soon as I watched this, a few things stood out for me. First, the groups (usually at the bottom of the pack) started off, as far as I saw it, at the top of the pack. Second, the panel (composed of Boyzone’s Ronan Keating, Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian, Spice Girl Mel B, and Natalie Bakdjfgjskhgeshgfekhghgiueruelqq Bassingthwaighte) is made up of four perfomers and a grand total of zero producers/managers/non-performers-that-are-in-the-music-industry. This is similar to how all coaches in The Voice of (insert country here unless you’re in the US, in which you simply remove the “of” to present a semblance of originality) are all performers (because they are looking for some person with good vocals and an irrelevant amount of charisma). The difficulty with this panel is that the perspective is more or less similar, in the sense that they all know the music industry as performers. Lastly, the judges seem to have itching powder on their asses because they can’t help standing up to performances that don’t deserve a standing ovation. It’s one thing to unanimously do it once, another thing to do that to a performance that doesn’t deserve it, but doing the latter many times? That’s ridiculous!
Another story is the songs chosen by the judges: there’s Mel B making her now-eliminated girls sing ill-fitting songs (almost as ill-fitting as her wardrobe choices), there’s Natalie making her boring acts sing boring songs (and the feisty tattooed one that should be eliminated by now… never mind, it’s another story), there’s Guy making Declan sing Nirvana (anyone with a brain should know that such a choice is just wrong) and insisting that Johnny should be a (really) cheap version of Justin Timberlake, and there’s Ronan not making me give a damn about his acts’ songs. Could it get any worse?
— On the worst thing of all
Yes, there is the taste of the Aussie public. Last week, the best acts (as far as I see it) were put in the bottom two. Then again, my preferences are generally weird… NAH, it’s their problem, not mine.
— On Aussie Week
This week, the final seven had to perform Australian songs. I could review it one by one, but I’d rather not. This is one of the worst live shows I’ve ever watched: as far as I see it, everyone is either generic, boring, or just awful. To some extent, the judges saw it as well, perhaps YMS is missed now. The ways the performances are recorded for TV makes it worse; I found myself tired from the bad angles. If they really did justice to Aussie songs, as the judges would like to claim (at times), then Aussie songs must be crap. Now, I’m listening to Aussie music to clean my ears from their performances.
Thankfully, the two worst performers were sent home (versus the two best last week). Although, Mitchell was (marginally) better, I’ve been dying to see him go home for weeks now (I’m starting to like Andrew more), so good riddance! So unlike last year, there was no tactical voting to prevent Guy from going to the final six with three acts (although last year, the one blocked was former judge Natalie Imbruglia).
———
UK
Here is the final 16:
The X Factor UK (season eight) Final 16
-contestants with darkened photos have been eliminated. for more information, click the photo
— On the contestants
Compared to last season’s finalists, this bunch is quite underwhelming, especially the “Boys.” On the bright side, the “Overs” and the “Groups” categories have stepped up a bit, perhaps due to a fresh presentation of them (sort of, the Overs have someone with an actual chance of selling records, while the Groups are made to look like they will break boundaries).
The “Girls” are the best, but not by a lot. There is potential in all acts (including the eliminated Amelia), but they come off as one-dimensional at times. Janet is the “sweet ginger that reminds me of Emma from Glee, but with frizzy hair,” whose Ellie Goulding-like voice is endearing to most (not me, though); Misha is the “next big diva, in many ways”; while Sophie is the “boring, forgettable one that is using her voice to be remembered.”
The “Boys” are a collective disaster. Two of the three boys (Marcus and Craig) have ZERO (yes, ZERO, since lower case isn’t enough and negative does not make sense; although Marcus is marginally better) star quality, while the other one (Frankie) comes off as a poser (a poor, sober man’s Pete Doherty, perhaps?). You know a category sucks when the most appealing act is the one eliminated first after an awful song choice.
Speaking of awful, you know that you have awful finalists in The X-Factor when you find joy in the “Overs” and the “Groups”, the two categories that usually play fodder to the other two categories. To be specific, I see so much potential with the two remaining groups (as of Week 3) simply because they pulled something that was up to par with what is expected with the “Boys” and the “Girls.” See below:
Then there was Kitty, see below.
— On the panel and the song choices
There are three new judges in the panel, all of which are performers. One thing that stands out immediately is that they are different from the old panel; in some ways, this feels like a new show. Kelly Rowland brings her American flare, Tulisa brings a hint of nasty that you wished the females of the old panel had, while Gary brings his best Simon Cowell impression. Besides that, it’s same old, same old… except for “The Twist” (not the Chubby Checker song, in case you have no common sense), where one act for each category gets axed. More on this later, I think…
That being said, the judges are definitely a step down from last year. Gary Barlow is awful; it’s bad enough that the acts he put through aren’t good, he also gives them awful songs. Too risky, or just plain stupid? Kelly nails the song choices at times, but there is her tendency to be safe (so far, Misha, Sophie, and Janet have plateaued). Tulisa has a vision, but her vision tends to be incomplete; that is, her song choices bring out the good in her contestants, but at the same time, it lets them down. Louis Walsh is, well, Louis Walsh.
— More itching powder
If the Aussie panel can’t help stand up for mediocre acts, the British panel are “slightly better,” standing up for their own acts only (even if they did a forgettable job), especially Tulisa, who puts itching powder on her ass just before her acts perform. Of course, the Brits take it further and…
— On bickering and the bullying accusations from the last live show
… bicker like the drag queens in RuPaul’s Drag Race. They cut each other off like they aren’t professionals, to the point that it gets loud: REALLY LOUD. Imagine a classroom filled with people who know each other, before class starts. Reduce the number of students, give them formal wear and a microphone, and voilà, you get the judges! Bickering is nothing new in judging panels, but this is just awful.
Then there was the outburst during the critique of Misha B in the last live show. After her performance of Prince’s “Purple Rain,” Tulisa started to talk about Misha’s attitude. Kelly and Gary defended Misha and said that the “problem” proposed by Tulisa is irrelevant. After that, Louis pulled the “bully card” (which is almost as dumb as pulling the race card, unless done strategically, of course), and all hell breaks loose. To see a part of this, watch the video below.
First off, the fact that it was pointed out ON LIVE TV was UNPROFESSIONAL, period. It could have been resolved backstage, but no, it had to be done on TV, so Misha will be less likely to win. At least it was entertaining, though…
One last thing, since the UK version is getting boring really fast:
———
USA
Everything in the US is bigger and (sometimes) better. For example, American Idol is larger and lasted longer than the UK original (Pop Idol); due to its surprising popularity, The Voice is now considered a US original (even though it’s originally Dutch); and so on. Of the three sets of finalists, this is definitely the most exciting to discuss. For starters, 17 (five girls) are set to perform in the first live show, where five will be eliminated by their own mentors (two girls). They are as follows:
The X Factor USA Final 17
-contestants with blurred images were eliminated in Judges’ houses. for more information, click the photo
— On the “Girls”
This is, by a mile, the most marketable category: you have the nice Disney girl (Drew), the sassy Disney girl (Rachel), the fierce diva (Tiah), the all-around performer– a la Beyoncé (Simone), and the big belter (Melanie). With this in mind, we can easily conclude that this is the best category; however, when the first set of eliminations is finished, this category will not be as strong. Why? Rachel is too young to make a significant impact outside the competition (although she will go far in the competition because of all the promos of her before the show even premiered); Drew is too generic (if that’s even possible);Tiah, being Simon’s favourite (and mine), isn’t exactly the most popular (ask Paula and Nicole); while Melanie just doesn’t cut it.
Regarding the eliminations, assuming that no one stands out as awful, I can see Drew and Melanie going home because the other three seem to be more favoured by Simon.
— On the “Boys”
For me, this is the most interesting mainly because it’s very diverse, compared to the others. You have on one end a straight up rapper (Astro), which is quite new in this kind of show; on the other end, you have a throwback to big band (Phillip), also quite new in this kind of show; between them are two solid “safer” choices in Marcus and Chris. From this, we see that this category is a bit of a risk, to say the least… and that’s why this category is my favourite. I am 0% sure if America is ready for a non-singing act in a supposed singing competition (we see here that much like our circle of friends, the viewing public has members that don’t consider rap as music), or if they are ready to watch someone using early-to-mid-20th century styles in the 21st century, but I’m ready to see them go for it.
As a way of digressing, I see Chris Rene as the Danny Gokey of the competition, complete with a sob story (Danny has his dead wife, Chris has his drug problems– presumably gone longer than claimed in the show– which isn’t so much since we had Amy Winehouse making glorious music for years). That means Chris will go far and will get away with a travesty similar to this.
Regarding the eliminations, assuming that there will be no disaster, I can’t see Chris or Astro getting axed. A part of me thinks it will be a toss-up between Phillip and Marcus; another part sees no toss-up, with Marcus advancing.
— On the other two categories
The Overs are talented. Unlike their equivalents in other series, these overs hold their own. However, they lack in long-term appeal. At times, Stacy, Dexter, LeRoy, and Josh look like washed-up has-beens rather than stars. The main problem with this category is that the only old people that have long-term universal appeal are the ones that have such an appeal years ago, when they were young and kicking ass. Also, because they represent the people who have one chance left to make it big, sob stories come in bulk (more on this later).
Barring a disaster in the category, Stacy Francis is pretty much guaranteed to go to the next round. Same goes for Dexter because he’s actually a washed-up has-been who has to deal with homelessness and a really active tear duct. Hence, I see it as a toss-up between Josh and LeRoy (who looks really young for his age).
The groups aren’t worth discussing. They are in America: the closest thing to a group that has made it big is the Glee cast, and they did it behind a TV show starring them.
— On the panel
Right off the bat, this panel is the best panel out there because of one man: L.A. Reid. His presence on the panel is the equivalent of having André Leon Talley in America’s Next Top Model. He actually brings a bit of “the real music industry” into judging (in contrast to the usually huge gap between competition and the real world). He definitely commands a lot of respect: he launched the careers of Rihanna, P!nk, Usher, and the guy Usher pushed (Justin Bieber), among others; his repertoire puts other judges, across all shows, to shame.
One disappointment, though, was Nicole Scherzinger. Since she is currently a recording artist, it is quite disappointing that she has very little to offer besides clichés delivered in a sultry voice (then again, she’s quite a flop). It’s not any more flattering to her abilities that she has to deal with the Over 30′s, which is generally a challenge because marketability runs low in that category. Cheryl Cole got away with it in the UK because [1] she got the more marketable categories and [2] she’s actually a huge superstar there.
Overall, the panel has yet to realize their potential. With the live shows at hand, it remains to be seen if the panel operates well.
— On sob stories
Since this is the US X-Factor, it’s quite fitting that sob stories come by the bucket. You have many acts wanting the money, many acts wanting one last chance at fame, many acts chopping onions before being shown on camera so they could cry like their life depended on it, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The contestants are using the tough parts of their life not to develop their craft in music, but to get the sympathy vote (especially the Overs and the “older Boys and Girls”). The idealist in me just sees this, and realizes the implications of this, that some acts will be sent off in favour of crybabies that wouldn’t be seen as “good enough” had it not been for their sob stories.
—
Overall, this is a show to watch; but, if the ratings are any indication, this could be a five-million dollar disappointment. STAY TUNED!
——————
Notice that by now, there are contestants that I did not discuss too much of. There are two possible reasons: [1] they are already eliminated, [2] they bore me, and [3] they are my “favourites.”
Now, with my favourites… in no particular order (actually, they are divided by country and category, but nothing beyond that):
(1) Declan Sykes, Boys, X-Factor Australia
By a mile, the most interesting contestant in the competition is a teenager with white hair (not natural, if I’m not mistaken) and Asperger’s (and he’s better than Idol’s screechy attempt at a contestant with Asperger’s… at least the Aussies beat them in that department). He’s quirky, a bit weird, and unlike most others, he gets me excited to find out what it is he will do next. Sure, he probably won’t win (historically, no act that has to sing for their life has won the competition, and he had to sing for his life last week), but there’s something about his voice and his awkwardness that’s hard to hate, even when he did this:
Perhaps I didn’t hate it so much is because everything else was too boring… at least this one’s decent enough:
(2) Misha B, Girls, X-Factor UK
She has a commanding stage presence, and has more star quality than most acts, even if you pair the others up and “add” the respective star qualities. Bully or not, she ought to make it far and record something. Speaking of which, she also can’t win (that award goes to the boring ones; thank you, Great British Public), but damn it, she’s at another level compared to most others.
(3) Kitty Brucknell, Over 25′s, X-Factor UK
She’s quite hated (see this). She’s over the top, just the way I like my artists (most of the time). She’s an Over that brings some of the Girls to shame. She may have been in the bottom two, but I think she has what it takes to turn public opinion around enough to last long (she won’t win, though). She has a knack of taking on big songs and kicking the asses of those who took on smaller ones. She’s oh so quiet (not really, but see below). She’s Kitty Brucknell, and hopefully, she will stop looking like a drag queen.
(4) Simone Battle, Girls, X-Factor USA
Who is my favourite in the US show? It’s definitely Simone (THERE, I SAID IT). Everything about her just screams “star.” She’s ambitious, sexy, and can sing and dance; with a sufficient amount of push, she can be more successful as a solo artist than Nicole. She could encounter problems with the female voters that tend to hate the “hot girl,” but if the world is fair, she should go far…
… provided she doesn’t repeat her Bootcamp performance (see below).
P.S. I hated what she did with the song (it’s not even that hard), but I loved how she dealt with forgetting the lyrics (others would just cry or mumble).
(5) Stacy Francis, Over 30′s, X-Factor USA
She cries a lot. With her make-over, she reminds me of Diana Ross in the 90′s (which is a back-handed compliment). She’s not as deprived of opportunities as she’s portrayed to be. Despite that, she can sing, and with proper marketing, she still has what it takes to be a star. Whether or not I will like her in the long run (since I tend to get sick of sob stories really fast) is another story. For now, I’m rooting for her!
(6) Astro (Brian Bradley), Boys, X-Factor USA
He raps. He’s different, in the context of the show. That alone makes me root for him. Provided that he will advance to the final 12 (HINT: he will), he will go far. Whether or not his rapping will be well-received, whether or not he will be different beyond the context of the show: it’s all up to him.
He is polarizing because the average viewer expects singing, and because many people don’t see rap as music, he can be seen as out of place, perhaps undeserving.
Also, The X-Factor is best known as a platform for wannabes to cover songs; rap is one of those things that you DON’T COVER (you don’t see Eminem or Kanye cover “California Love,” do you?). This “gap” presents a challenge for Astro to be taken seriously. His age isn’t helping either; he may lack the life experience (which is kinda important– to say the least, more so in rap) to make good records.
Will he become a star? I hope so. He’s amazing… so far.
(7) Phillip Lomax, Boys, X-Factor USA
When I watch him perform, the first thing I think of is that reception towards his style could go either way. It could go well; after all, the last American Idol winner sounded like old country music. On the other hand, Phillip is categorized in a genre that few care about nowadays (in contrast to, say, country, which will never die in the US). I, for one, think he’s great (and that’s an understatement, I actually wish that he would turn opinion around and go far); there’s something about him that screams “STAR,” and given that this is The X-Factor, he’s in the right place. If the performance below is any indication, he can take things to the next level.
—
Of course, in the spirit of indecisiveness (after all, Simon had to choose five, and back in the day, three would suffice), some honourable mentions:
Unlike my previous post (read it!), this won’t be too long. I go back to that disgusting feeling I’m trying to bury with tons of tasks (trust me, there are plenty of them). For some reason, I can’t find a way to “reduce” this feeling into a faint heartbeat that I will return to when I’m idle again. Quoting REO Speedwagon out of context, “I can’t fight this feeling anymore.”
This awful feeling starts with the realization that some (READ: many, many) younger people (I think this obsession with youth may give the impression that I am a middle-aged bastard that writes like a hateful teenager) live more fun, successful, fulfilling, and *insert synonyms here* lives than me (I can take it when people beat you in one or two of those components… but three?). Instead of the usual shit on how “I will work harder, and maybe I will be able to ‘reach their level’,” I take the “WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?” route.
To prove that I am of this generation, I quote a less old artist (this may or may not be out of context). Stacie Orrico once sang, “There’s gotta be more to life than chasing out every temporary high to satisfy me.” Perhaps what I am doing now is nothing more than a temporary high, that I am busying myself just to mask the fact that I am “The M Word” (What is “The M Word”? Click the link above, or just read further, to find out). Perhaps “busying myself” isn’t the problem here; it’s what I’m busy with that’s the problem.
I am not the type that puts in a lot of effort into something I hate. Despite that, a part of me wishes that I’m doing something else: something bigger, better, and all those adjectives used to convey the message of yearning for something of a higher level. Despite this yearning, I never really had a clue on how to take it to the next level, which is unnerving, to say the least. From this begins a war against mediocrity, a war that I need to win, but can’t seem to.
Maybe this is all why I have a high tolerance for “arrogance,” since I fall for the trap they set with their demeanour: that they are, for the lack of a better term, better (although I can sense when hubris sets in; when that happens, I can’t help but laugh).
—
Like I said, this entry is short, so don’t hate on the underdeveloped ideas.
On a lighter note, TV shows (at least the ones I watch) are coming back! Watch out for my opening entry regarding that… not that you care.
- if you reach this point without skipping anything, I commend you! -
You know those days when you’ve got the mean reds…. the blues are because you’re getting fat or maybe it’s been raining too long. You’re sad, that’s all. But the mean reds are horrible. You’re afraid and you sweat like hell, but you don’t know what you’re afraid of. Except something bad is going to happen, only you don’t know what it is.
- Truman Capote, spoken by Holly Golightly, Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1958)
In case you are dyslexic (or just dumb… or lazy), watch the video below. I haven’t watched the movie in a long time, so the actual words may be different.
In any project I undertake, be it some life-changing exam or this entry, I generally expect a lot from myself (there are privileged cases when mediocrity is just fine, like when the project is neither useful nor interesting, and even then, a small part of me still wants to get the best). Much like Oscar Wilde, “I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.” I am averse to mediocrity, and I can handle failure “properly” only if I have a chance to “redeem myself.” As with most people, I try to achieve this level of excellence through doing things that I think will reach that goal (wow, that was a mouthful, let’s just say I “work for it”). We do things as an attempt to get out of our current state (due to something that’s like Marcel’s “metaphysical unease”), and as such, what we do with our life is the biggest project anyone can undertake (it’s not to say that I’m the only one running my life; in fact, the way I run my life is partially influenced by people around me and how they run theirs). Furthermore, unlike most projects, this one is yours until you die, after which this project is over; you can’t get fired, except by firing squad.
In the process of doing a project, there is a point where the one making the project has this sense of hubris, that what he’s doing is novel and at another level. Looking back, however, he sees its flaws and realizes that perhaps the project isn’t what it seemed. This is natural, and so is the frustration attached to it, but feeling like crap after looking back at what you have done with your life, your “biggest project,” puts to question the merits of what you have done so far. When faced with this situation, I take it further, I start thinking that perhaps I’m not very good in leading my life, if not really awful at it. The more pessimistic part of me could even think of a hypothetical situation where I fully relinquish control of my life to someone more capable (not in the “I surrender everything to you, O Lord,” sense, since that still requires you to make all the decisions and do all the actions, with the addition of trying to do justice to the divine will). Don’t get me wrong, I like what I’m doing (something I have that a lot of people don’t), but I can’t help but think that with “better management,” I could be doing something bigger and better.
This all started when I had a little too much time on my hands. Taking a break from all the things I make myself do (i.e. my “tasks,” like studying or playing Diablo), I watched reality contests (The X-Factor UK is posting auditions online, and MasterChef– American and Australian– is showing on the telly; feel free to spoil, I already know what happened). I was unusually reflective (no mirror jokes, please), and I started noticing everything. I started with shallow things, like how one looks like a contender while the other looks like a joke contestant. Then I started recalling one fact about some of these contestants: they are younger than me (and I’m not talking about shows like Junior MasterChef). I never aspired to be a chef or a recording artist, but knowing that some younger people do so well (or at the very least, get so much credit) in what they want to do, while here I am, struggling… it’s a bit unnerving, to say the least. It makes me wish I did more with what I have. It doesn’t even stop there, I carry on, thinking of every person I know or heard of that has “done better in life” than I have, and I realize, that’s just the people I know or heard of. All of a sudden, I feel like I’ve made a mess: a mess that is up to me to fix.
To make matters worse, as I write this entry (and it’s taking forever, stupid me), I’m getting more and more frustrated, not only because I am reliving all sorts of frustrations, but also because a part of me isn’t too sure about what is written. Normally, when I “get the blues,” I have to control myself from writing, because I run the risk of writing something that I will regret writing (not because I bad-mouth other people when I’m upset, but because the output is, for the lack of a better term, shameful). Now, I feel like I should get this off my chest, but I can’t, like someone with lung cancer trying to cough out the tumor (this analogy is not based on experience). Not only do I have no idea how to run my life, I also have no idea what I’m facing. I am afraid, and I think I know what I’m afraid of… but really, do I truly know what I’m afraid of?
The worst part of all this? I have to set all this aside to go back to my tasks.
Maybe if I weren’t so mediocre, writing about my problems wouldn’t be so hard; better yet, I wouldn’t have so many of them.
Maybe I should go out, instead of writing this entry.
Maybe I should just put up or shut up, fake it ’till I make it, and so on.
Maybe I have become the person I hate; that is, I have become, gasp, mediocre… or worse, that I have always been and always will be mediocre.
Maybe I should stop rambling, period.
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NOTES:
I wish footnotes were allowed here.
It took me ages to edit this, trying to be “real” with how I feel but level-headed about it (if that makes sense), and I will probably edit this from time to time (to add illustrations or something, if needed).
I probably have British English mixed with American English in this entry. Forgive me.
