A couple of people were commenting on Facebook or Twitter yesterday about autotune being used on the X Factor and I'm watching it now and it does sound a little bit in places like there might be some sort of effect on the voice. I'm totally not knowledgeable about these things and am wondering if anyone can clarify for me please?

http://watchwithmothers.net/2010/08/22/new...utotune-deceit/

It's really best not to take this show remotely seriously from a singing point of view. Except perhaps as a 'what not to do' warning.

Would be interested to know if there are any singers from previous series of the show that you thought had a good voice, meerkat.

(with apologies to the OP for the slight offtopicness)

Thanks for the link. Crazy, eh? Not massively surprised but I must admit I was a little shocked that it's happening at such an early stage in the auditions.



No problem! There have certainly been people I've thought were good, though I guess it depends on how much production there was on the voice.

Do you remember Brenda, Barry, from a few seasons ago? I liked her. The ones I like tend to get knocked out pretty early on, because they don't fit the criteria for Simon Cowell's 'complete package'.

I stopped watching a few years ago though. I think the last one I watched was the one Leona Lewis won, and I found about the last five of that year's finalists really lacklustre.

What do you think? Were there any you especially liked?

I think I do remember Brenda, yes. I quite liked her too.

The only who stands out for me who I've particularly liked over the last few years is Alexandra Burke. There have been others I've not minded or quite liked but noone else who I've really liked.

Oh yes, Brenda - I wanted her to win

Alexandra is, in my opinion, a pretty good singer, but I'm really struggling to think of any others, and last year's crop I thought were generally average...

Yeah, I thought there were a lot with nice voices but nothing 'wow'.

Funnily enough, this issue has just been on the news.

Maybe they'll find another star in 2011...

Looking forward to hearing you sing in November, Maria

Arghhhh!! Well, I definitely won't be wow but we'll give it a go, eh??!! Haha!

Whatever happened to Leon Jackson? ( and Shayne Ward? Steve Brookstein? ) Simon is the first to admit that he can't sing and that he doesn't really know anything about music - and then claims he has an ear for what the public wants! But does he, though?

As for the auto-tune, I wonder what some singers would have sounded like without it? The Zimbabwean girl seemed to have a very strange production anyway. No idea whether the very obvious auto-tune made her sound more or less weird.. I blame Glee.

That's definitely true. I think what Simon Cowell is good at is finding acts who are entertaining for a few weeks. There haven't been any acts who've come out of the X Factor who are likely to be around in 10 years time. But there we go, I guess you have to take it with a pinch of salt.

Possibly Leona and Alexandra might stay the course. Not sure about anyone else...

Reckon Olly will too and JLS, all though obviously they were runners up.

Brenda has been in the West End's Chicago and is joining We will Rock You so has been more successful than most of the winners (deserved it too)

Oh yes, JLS : who are selling out the O2 (Millennium Dome)...



Liked Brenda : should have won her year, in my opinion. Will be interested to see how she does in We Will Rock You...

I presume she's Killer Queen? Would quite like to see her in that actually!

That's the one, I bet she's great

I should think she'll do a very good job of that role...

I think he's good at manipulating the public. I don't think he really knows what they want, but he's good at sowing in their heads the idea that it's what he sells.

Perhaps, just perhaps, the outcome of last year's Christmas no. 1 is a sign that the high water mark for the X Factor has past...

Perhaps, although I wish they'd chosen a slightly more festive song to make the protest with!!!

...a bit of Wizzard's 'I Wish it Could be Christmas Every Day', possibly? Or Mike Oldfield's version of 'In Dulci Jubilo' - that's a great Christmas number...

Ahhh, Wizard! Now you're talkin'!! Happy memories of Primary School Christmas discos!

nah it has to be Slade's Merry Christmas Everybody (that hit the charts the year I went to my FIRST EVER school disco age 10 awwww)

That hit the charts when I was 1 day old...

THAT long ago???????????

you behave yourself, Juniper

Teehee!

.... and, clarinet in hand, crawled off to HMV to grab humself a copy!

It was snowing : it was flippin' cold... Didn't do the clari a lot of good either

I think Alexandra is a perfect example of how they often put people in too early. Louis rejected her the first time she made judges houses, the year Leona won it and he took quite a lot of stick from Simon about not putting her through the first time - but she wasn't ready and when she came back, more mature with more experience she was a cut above everyone else. There was a young lad that Simon put through a couple of years back, I don't remember his name, but he was emotionally and technically not ready and he's blown his chance now.

On the where are they now topic - I saw Gareth Gates at Bristol Hippodrome touring with les Miserables the other week, and blimey he has matured, in a totally different league to the old pop idol days.

WHERE, do they find these lunatics? Lordy, cannot believe that she just smacked her mate in the face!

...live, in front of a large theatre audience, and then in front of millions of TV viewers...

That autotune trickery is a disgrace. Glad I don't watch this rubbish!

i hate these shows personally i havent seen anything come out of these shows i'd back since Will Young. its all a fix only the ones that fit the required stereotype are going to get anywhere from these shows talent or none. thats why all the massive furore was caused by Susan Boil......she clearly knocked the pants off all the competition but she didnt fit their required image so she got pulled to pieces. its not a singing competition its a high school popularity contest.

I actually think that the opposite happened with her. She was a mediocre singer (a nice voice but similar to hundreds and hundreds of others in amateur operatics companies around the country) but out of a sense of PC guilt - because we'd all judged that she'd be terrible based on her looks - people voted for her.

In general I'm a bit bored of these shows. I just get addicted to watching anything in which people sing!!

So its been you lurking outside my bathroom window!

So Maria can see you in your bathroom?

Oh Lordy!! Hahaha! I'm staying out of this one! (And anyone's bathroom for that matter!!)

So what do people think of the final 12?...

Considering Cheryl picked her mini-me, who cannot sing and is a nervous wreck not able to hold it together, plus that irritating, completely annoying drama queen who cannot sing either, constantly forgets her lyrics and looks like a complete schemer to me, over people who actually CAN sing - I can only hope that people vote with their feet.

It's all a bit farcical (did I write "a bit"? )

And what qualifications does Cheryl have to be choosing the singers who get through? I haven't watched any of the extra programmes on the other itv channels, but are any vocal coaches involved at this stage?

And why oh why do they all cry????? Drives me insane, especially when it's the men (not meaning to be sexist at all)!!

I have a solution to the moaning about X-factor etc: Don't watch.

If everyone joins me in not watching the ratings will plummet, the media will stop commentating on proceedings (I presume they do now), the producers will lose their cash cow and will have to market new talent in more conventional ways that might allow for longevity of career, rather than one hit wonders.

4 wild card acts = 16 acts. It appears X Factor will be on pretty much all night...

Hear hear - I joined you weeks ago !

I don't mind a bit of X Factor (seems I'm in the minority here ), but what I don't like is the resultant manipulation of the Christmas no. 1, which used to be an exciting event. Even last year, the no. 1 was as a result of a protest. Can we have our proper Christmas no. 1 race back, please?...

Alternatively Barri, you could always join the facebook group that wants 4' 33" to be the Christmas no 1, then every time it is played, Carol singers would be free to sing a real Christmas Carol. Do remember Cage originally composed it as an anti-muzak statement!

I joined before the very first series started

Not sure that's really what I want either, laudable though it is. I just want a good old fashioned race to the Christmas no. 1, with no X Factor, Facebook or any other manipulation spoiling it...