Owwwww! It spoils the fun!!! I like the grey haired guy but I don't really like the American dude!!

Yeah I agree!
I like Andrew Lloyd Webber though! He's way cool!

He's nice! But SERIOUSLY ugly!! No offence!!!

Yeah he is!!!!!!!!!

Oooooh guess what? you and I are 6th equal for today's top ten posters! yayyyyyy!!! *hi 5*

Oh my gosh!! I think that deserves a high ten!!

I agree!!!
*****HI 10!!!!*****
teehee lol!
and we deserve another hi 10 for posting so much in this topic!!
*****HI 10!!!!*****

ME 2!! I think we really deserve a high 20........ but you know!!!! I really have to go now cos we have been at this for an hour!! I will be back in bout 10 mins though! Before I go, how can someone have posted 126 times already today!!!!

I know!! Madness!!
Well talk to you later!!
xx

someone said it before , this competition is about more more than being able to sing. To be frank I've seen five year olds on stage selling songs better than some of these girls.

Belinda has an excellent voice but she needs more Musical Theatre skills. Connie is a better all rounder. For me Leanne has the most potential, she sold her song really well but actually being Maria is another thing. Maybe it'll get clearert as time goes on.

But she's GOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRGGGGGGGEEEEEEEOOOOOUUUUSSSSSS.

Meliz was on form too.

Incidently, whilst I love Romanian accents (studied a little Romanian once upon a time)... and I'm not really a big fan of musicals... I don't remember seeing a version of the Wizard of the Oz where the witch sings Somewhere Over The Rainbow. The dress she chose was ill-advised for the song to say the least.

She is gorgeous! There is no denying that but I don't think she is right for the part!

Maybe not. We'll have to see if she can lose some of the glamour in the coming weeks.

As good as Connie is, she's a spikey haired Julie Andrews and I thought they were trying to bring something new to the role.

(Edit: corrected a mis-placed word)

Yes I thought that too - she's doesn't seem to fit what they say they have been looking for.

However, no matter what ALW says, the main criteria HAS to be to be able to carry off the lead role in the Palladium 7 times a week. I adore Leanne too, but I'm not convinced that anyone but Connie can carry it off - after all, she has been professional for a few years now. It's not the same as 'Musicality' where the amateurs only had to perform for 1 night.

Smae as above, although Leanne and Connie seem to have the most musicallity and expression rather than just standing there singing, Connie does seem the only that I can see stood on the stage being able to play Maria well. I'm glad Laura went, as good as her voice was she didn't really have enough charisma or stage presence to persuade me she was up for it!

I agree that Connie is probably the only one who seems to express passion and commitment for the part!

What did you think of last night's show? I think they all performed very well, this is a very high standard. I was sorry to see Belinda leave, as I would have liked to heard more from her.

me too! I think Meliz should have gone as Belinda performed better. Helena amazed me - what a difference! She was really good!

I was mortified Belinda has gone, though accept she may have a better career in classical rather than musical theatre.
I thought Meliz took a sharp downward dive, and yes, Helena was much improved. Leanne could be the eldest girl (?Liesl) but is too young for Maria. Connie is still I think the favourite, and Simona's accent is still counting againts her (Id love to seeher do Evita!)

I haven't seen a lot of it, but... also I agree Simona would make a fab Evita... why do people have such a problem with Maria having an accent?? Julie Andrews may be as English as afternoon tea, but Maria was Austrian, yesno?

I think the voting public got it very very wrong last night.

Abi, Leanne and Simone were quite weak; there's no way Belinda should have been sent home. Sure, she had a bit of an off-night but she's got one of the finest voices there.

Siobhan was absolute class though. I know I'm biased (being male) but you've got to admit she's got something.

Surprise of the night for me was Connie. I knew she'd be good; but she made some serious moves to win me over with her performance. Really funny; bags of personality and she made what on paper should have been a disaster into something quite special.

Have to agree I thought Connie was hillarious this week in her performance, she is definatly one of the favourites to win along with Leanne I think!

I am going to be brave and go against majority opinion, but I am not all that keen on Connie. It is hard to put into words, but she seems too polished and clinical, she lacks warmth and a caring side to her personality. She seems incredibly driven and is quite condescending to the other contestants so that puts me off her.

Don't just single out Connie with that one though - Meliz and Simone are easily as bad.

Have to say, the bits I have seen, I have not warmed to Connie yet...

Yeah I'm watching it, Connie will definately win - she is heads above all the others!

Love this show! Have to agree with the a few of the comments here though - I can see that Connie is a great performer and probably one of (if not the) best there, but I just can't seem to warm to her for some reason - can't put my finger on it!

Disappointed Belinda went - I can see how she could be seen as too operatic, but she deserved to stay longer and show what she can really do.

Probably saying 'What evah!' to the panel - twice! - when criticised didn't do Belinda any favours. Vocally she was, as ever, one of the soundest; but visually she reminded me of a young Penelope Keith. Most likely the final 3 , at least, have already been decided. But if people want Connie to win, they'll have to vote for her - last week she received 6% of the vote, probably because everyone assumes she's a dead cert.
I was a bit surprised that only about 8000 people voted; but not surprised that the new X-Factor had 2 or 3 times as many viewers.

Connie seems to have the most in terms of total package - can sing, can act, has some personality. But I wish they'd do something about that posture - she always seems to be about to pounce...

Connie is my favourite - she has got that extra flair and sparkle and her acting is really good. I would pay to see her perform on stage. I hope she can keep this up for the next few weeks...!

I completely agree!!

I think Connie is great, however, I do think if she wins it will defeat the 'take a girl off the streets and put her in the West End' objective... she has a first class degree in musical theatre! I'd love to see Leanne win, though she does look very young.

I agree with your first comment. But wasn't the onjective to find an "unknown" - not necessarily an amateur?
Trouble is, if someone like Leanne wins (by that I mean vocally untrained), how is the voice going to stand up to a two-year contract? It will be shot after six months.

You're absolutely right, of course, though should the 'untrained' have been excluded / prevented from taking part for that very reason? Is Connie an unknown? I thought she had already had, albeit minor, West End roles? Might be wrong though.

She certainly auditioned for many West End roles but I am not sure if she got them, because she keeps saying that she feels this is her best chance out of all the West End show's she had already auditioned for!

So what did everyone think of last nights show?? I was very impressed by Siobhan, I thought she sang really well. I agree that Simona should have gone, but not too sure about Leanne. Any thoughts or opinions?

xx

I agree. Siobhan to win!!

I really liked Leanne and was upset that she went. I know her acting wasn't as great as the others, but she did so well for someone so young and who had recieved no training.

I have to say Connie gets on my nerves a bit. Not sure why, she just seems a bit too good.

I was a bit sad Simona went, though she wasn't right for the role - she should really audition for Evita though she'd be really good at that!
Leanne was great and I think it's a bit sad that she's been singled out due to being younger. I felt really bad for her when it was her and Helena in the sing-off - she already knew she was going, which was really sad
and it showed her all sad at the end

Leanne had a really nice voice, but she's too young and the acting is not good.
Siobhan has some vocal flaws which I would like to see corrected before she undertakes a role of that size and responsibility. I think the men on the panel - particularly David Ians - are voting with their nether regions.
In my opinion Connie is the only one with the vocal security and acting skills to carry it off. She may be professional (I believe she trained at Mountview), but she's still an unknown as far as the public is concerned.

Agree completely! Though it also seems to be happening on the X factor - Sharon votes for the boys, Simon and Louis for the girls Some of David Ians comments are definitely not professional though, he should act a bit more like the producer of a big show and less like a little boy in a candy shop.

Connie is really good - all her performances have been polished and her acting stands out above all the others. I think Helena has shown how well she copes with the pressure too - she performs really well in all the sing-offs, though I think her self-esteem should probably be a bit higher before she takes on such a big role.

I really couldn't choose between them now.

I shall be voting (for the first time) next week to keep Helena from another sing-off. No one should have to go through five of them.

I really felt sorry for her being told, in front of millions of viewers, that she "gurns".

I don't think one should vote just to prevent someone from going through another sing-off. If you are voting for her because you think she is better than the rest and is the most qualified person for the job, then fine. If she has had to go through five sing-offs, doesn't that tell you something? It is unfair if another more able candidate ends up in the sing-off because of this!

Have to 100% agree with FC here. Vote for the one you think is the best and most able for the job, don't vote for someone you feel sorry for!

I'm afraid I find Connie amazingly irritating, I don't know why. She also seems far too "knowing" for Maria...

I've been voting for Connie each week until last Saturday. I actually voted for Siobhan, beacuse I thought she did a good job on the night. I@d like to see a more sensative Connie next week - ie singing a lyrical song. I'm a bit tired of the 'show-Connie'.

Connie is definitely the most experienced - however, based on the aim of the show, I would definitely like Siobhan to be in with a chance. Her vocals aren't as assured as Connie, but I think she'd make a lovely Maria.

Did anyone notice ALW repeating to Simona that she should audition for Evita? Personally I couldn't stand the girl, but I said all along she'd be better as Eva Peron than Maria.

But will it make any difference to the final result who you vote for?

- if Andrew Lloyd Webber always gets to save the one he wants then he might have chosen the winner months ago.


(and I do have concerns that should Connie win (and she is wonderful) her eyes might pop right out)

Know exactly what you mean! She always looks like a startled rabbit.

We're all nailed to this, and watched on Saturday. Our final three would be, Connie, Aoife and either Abi or Siobhan. If you'd asked me last week, I'd have said, Abi for certain, but Siobhan turned up trumps this week.

I am really glued to this programme - I love it. Such good performances every week. I still don't really like Connie, she lacks a warm and appealing personality that the role of Maria really needs (despite her professional performances). I am glad Simona was voted out as her accent would have been very difficult to accept in the singing and more so in the speaking parts, and I haven't really noticed that it improved over the series even though she had been working so hard on it. Helena always does so well in the sing offs. Siobhan shone last week and did a great job with the children on Truly Scrumptious - another west end role that would really suit her. I think Siobhan should get the role now as she has a lot of appeal, and it does not matter that she might not be as reliable vocally as Connie, in every other respect she is better. They are all so good now, it will be interesting to follow their careers after this show is over.

It does - those with the higher number of votes are assured a place in the next stage.

My favourites are Connie and Siobhan. I agree with Bing - I would like to see Connie perform something more lyrical!