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The 'Please GOD, no more themes!' thread
.Kooky.
Posts: 620 Forum Member
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Yes. The dreaded themes. A singer will be performing a disco anthem one week and a Big Band number the next. You begin to question the point and indeed the legitimacy of such themes when a contestant like Ruth Lorenzo delivers the best, most passionate vocal of the entire competition to date with a song that *isn't* part of a theme and is a choice made by *herself* and not the judges/producers.
It then annoys you even more that these themes deliberately hinder talented singers like Ruth (and countless others who have fallen victim to Disco Night and the such). They flounder in a genre of unsuitable music for them when they could be flourishing with their own style that got them into the Top 12 in the first place.
And then, perhaps most irritatingly of all, whenever somebody attacks the theme nights, you get something this thrown back at your face;
'Theme nights are there to show the singer's versatility'.
Now, please correct me if I'm wrong, but does Eminem suddenly belt out a Celine Dion number mid-concert? Indeed, does Celine Dion suddenly start rapping halfway through My heart will go on?
No. They don't. Because as an artist, who says you have to be versatile? You should be able to sing whatever the hell you want. If you can't sing uptempo it shouldn't be a problem. If you're not a power singer who can't get through ballds, then you shouldn't need to do them.
Versatility shouldn't be an issue. The only issue is whether or not the contestant has the X Factor, the whole idea of the show to find a talented, special UNIQUE artist.
So yes, whether it's been confirmed or not, this is for all those that agree that themed nights should be put to death for Series 6 and beyond to give contestants a chance at connecting to the audience with their own style.
It then annoys you even more that these themes deliberately hinder talented singers like Ruth (and countless others who have fallen victim to Disco Night and the such). They flounder in a genre of unsuitable music for them when they could be flourishing with their own style that got them into the Top 12 in the first place.
And then, perhaps most irritatingly of all, whenever somebody attacks the theme nights, you get something this thrown back at your face;
'Theme nights are there to show the singer's versatility'.
Now, please correct me if I'm wrong, but does Eminem suddenly belt out a Celine Dion number mid-concert? Indeed, does Celine Dion suddenly start rapping halfway through My heart will go on?
No. They don't. Because as an artist, who says you have to be versatile? You should be able to sing whatever the hell you want. If you can't sing uptempo it shouldn't be a problem. If you're not a power singer who can't get through ballds, then you shouldn't need to do them.
Versatility shouldn't be an issue. The only issue is whether or not the contestant has the X Factor, the whole idea of the show to find a talented, special UNIQUE artist.
So yes, whether it's been confirmed or not, this is for all those that agree that themed nights should be put to death for Series 6 and beyond to give contestants a chance at connecting to the audience with their own style.
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Comments
I like the themes but if we're approaching the show from the angle of 'it's there to find talent' then you do have a point. I quite like guessing who'll sing what once we know what a given week's theme is, but you are right - an artist should be versatile but they don't need to be a hit with every genre.
I think the best medium is having very broad themes such as 'UK/US number 1s,' but then it's difficult to come up with 10 themes along those lines and it also defeats the objective a bit (i.e. if the choice is that broad then you might as well be able to choose anything).