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"Own twist" or "Not understanding the songs"?


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Old 25-11-2012, 12:54
grimtales1
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Following on from the Chris thread in which it was pointed out (rightly imo) that he doesnt seem to understand what he's singing (he bellowed Fernando when it should be soft and tender - why wasnt he pulled up on it?) , I think the blame can be laid to the producers too. For example Union J destroyed The Winner Takes It All - turning a heartbreaking, poignant song into a happy na-na-na anthem which was truly terrible, and showed no emotion or understanding whatsoever. Why didnt the judges pick up on this and the appalling arrangement? Also Jahmene seemed dead behind the eyes when singing the spiritual I Have a Dream
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Old 25-11-2012, 12:57
GibsonSG
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I am still in shock over the absolutely awful version of an already awful Lionel Ritchie nmumber.
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Old 25-11-2012, 13:08
daisyduck1976
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. For example Union J destroyed The Winner Takes It All - turning a heartbreaking, poignant song into a happy na-na-na anthem
I agree- that song is terribly sad and moving and they were dancing about laughing and smiling, clearly with no idea what they were singing about.

It's a song about someone who has lost the love of their life to someone else, after doing everything they can think of to stop it happening and is now truly heartbroken, you NUMPTIES!

Did I miss the judges commenting on the misinterpretation of the song, or did they not comment on it?
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Old 25-11-2012, 13:12
natalian
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Own twist is when someone the judges want to get through murder a song by completely changing the melody/lyrics etc - the kind of thing that done for Ella last week.

Not understanding the song is when someone the judges don't want to get through sings the melody and lyrics of the song.
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Old 25-11-2012, 13:47
phill363
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Own Twist is the XFactors way of saying we are slowing the performance right down so it becomes unrecognisable and alienates the viewers
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Old 25-11-2012, 13:49
grimtales1
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I agree- that song is terribly sad and moving and they were dancing about laughing and smiling, clearly with no idea what they were singing about.

It's a song about someone who has lost the love of their life to someone else, after doing everything they can think of to stop it happening and is now truly heartbroken, you NUMPTIES!

Did I miss the judges commenting on the misinterpretation of the song, or did they not comment on it?
I dont think they did - clearly UJ were misinformed about the songs meaning or just didnt get it - seeing them clapping and laughing to that song was just wrong
The judges should have commented on it It was almost as if someone had put that song in Google and picked out the words "Winner" and "victory" etc, and decided to make it a happy song. IDIOTS!
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Old 25-11-2012, 15:40
daisyduck1976
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I dont think they did - clearly UJ were misinformed about the songs meaning or just didnt get it - seeing them clapping and laughing to that song was just wrong
The judges should have commented on it
Okay- I thought I must have missed it because they usually pick up on that sort of thing. It really annoys me. How can you learn all the words to that song and then misinterpret it so badly?
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Old 25-11-2012, 16:15
grimtales1
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Just watched it back and nothing at all was said about how they misinterpreted the song so badly - the judges only said "Your vocals were on point/we're looking at the next big boy band" etc, UJ made the song sound like they were happy to be out of a relationship (?) with a "F*ck you, I'm outta here" almost (?) Nothing could be further from the truth as to the emotions displayed in the original. Disgrace
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Old 25-11-2012, 16:21
Leicester_Hunk
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It's a song about someone who has lost the love of their life to someone else, after doing everything they can think of to stop it happening and is now truly heartbroken, you NUMPTIES
I wouldn't be dancing on the ceiling if that had happened to me.
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Old 26-11-2012, 08:04
grimtales1
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The arrangement didnt make any sense whatsoever in the context of the lyrics - "I don't wanna talk about things we've gone through, though its hurting me, now its history" - yet they sound happy about it, touching girls hands etc?!?
Eejits
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Old 26-11-2012, 08:14
LIZALYNN
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I agree with most of the previous posters. There needs to be a return of the singing coaches such as Pop Idol had with Carrie and David Grant.
It isn't anough to just have a good voice if the singers can't be bothered to listen to the lyrics and deliver the song as intended.
Lyrics tell a story but the contestants have been given a free rein to also bend notes so far away that the tune of a song is almost unrecognisable as well.
These contestants have churned out songs in any way they want to and haven't been critisied for it by the judges.
Most of the ABBA performances on Saturday were dreadful.
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Old 26-11-2012, 08:23
grimtales1
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I was sure XF used to have a vocal coach/coaches - whatever happened to them? I agree they need to be shown how not only to hit notes etc, but also deliver the appropriate emotion for a song. In that sense, isnt singing/performing a bit like acting?
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Old 26-11-2012, 14:15
cathrin
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Excellent point grims (and hi! long time no see!) I'm so glad this is being discussed; it's a major feature of this series, with songs' meanings being totally disregarded. It's like they don't listen to the lyrics at all!

I started a thread last night * about Rylan's spectacularly insensitive rendition of "Wires"....a poignant, emotional song about a newborn baby fighting for life in hospital, and yet Rylan sang it with a cheesy grin and strutted around interacting with the judges. Did he even think about what he was singing? (Unfortunately, I seemed to be in a minority of one re this: the only reply I got to my thread was one post saying "Give it a rest!" (....It was my first night of posting on the X Factor forum this year, so I didn't think I'd gone over the top!! ) Anyway, it's great to see others on this thread expressing the same views re the listening-to-the-words issue. Lyrics are so important. Ignoring them simply wrecks a song.

ETA * http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showt...ighlight=wires
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Old 26-11-2012, 14:28
cathrin
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Just watched it back and nothing at all was said about how they misinterpreted the song so badly - the judges only said "Your vocals were on point/we're looking at the next big boy band" etc, UJ made the song sound like they were happy to be out of a relationship (?) with a "F*ck you, I'm outta here" almost (?) Nothing could be further from the truth as to the emotions displayed in the original. Disgrace
Spot on. TWTIA is one of the most heartbreaking, soul-baring end-of-relationship songs of all time. I can still remember the raw pain on Agnetha's face in the video, especially the last bit "I apologise if it makes you feel bad/Seeing me so tense, No self-confidence...." Aaargh! Gets me every time! He's broken her heart, but she's still trying to spare his feelings! They don't write 'em like that any more.
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Old 26-11-2012, 14:40
mmpfb
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The meaning of most songs can (theoretically) be flipped, as lyrics tend to have an element of ambiguity about them. The lyrics for *most of* The Winner Takes It All *could* be interpreted as someone moving on, for instance. declaring themselves the 'winner' after some heartbreak. The manner of a delivery of a song would contextualise the lyrics and imply the missing information, if you like.

Having said that, The Winner Takes It All's accepted meaning is so universally recognised that flipping the meaning is some hefty challenge and I agree that the Union J version was not successful in doing so. It was asinine and actually, a really poor song choice for a boyband who seem to do best when singing lightweight, happy songs.

For comedy value, it's worth looking at some of the versions of Foster The People's Pumped Up Kicks performed on the US X Factor - this is a song that's explicitly about a kid about to embark on a Columbine-style shooting spree, with little in the way of ambiguity lyrically. While the original has quite a 'singalong' backing which counterpoints the dark lyrics, watching 16 year old girls 'woo-ooh-ooh-yeah-yeah-eah-eah' they're way through it with empty eyes of ambition is really quite something.
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Old 26-11-2012, 16:10
0rch1deam
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Spot on. TWTIA is one of the most heartbreaking, soul-baring end-of-relationship songs of all time. I can still remember the raw pain on Agnetha's face in the video, especially the last bit "I apologise if it makes you feel bad/Seeing me so tense, No self-confidence...." Aaargh! Gets me every time! He's broken her heart, but she's still trying to spare his feelings! They don't write 'em like that any more.
Yep, for those that don't know this was written and sung when her marriage to one of the male Abba's was breaking up, and shortly before the group broke up. It was very, very sad to see the utter feelings of loss and pain she had when singing this, always made me hurt for her. If you can't be arsed to get the meaning of the lyrics and be true to the song, you definitely DON'T have the XF.
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Old 26-11-2012, 17:47
cathrin
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Yep, for those that don't know this was written and sung when her marriage to one of the male Abba's was breaking up, and shortly before the group broke up. It was very, very sad to see the utter feelings of loss and pain she had when singing this, always made me hurt for her. If you can't be arsed to get the meaning of the lyrics and be true to the song, you definitely DON'T have the XF.
Fabulous post. Beautifully put. Isn't it ironic to think that Abba managed to express those powerful emotions so exquisitely in their second language, yet the X Factor bunch didn't even manage to "get it" in their own language? (....Or maybe they did get it but thought "Hey, who cares, we'll just trample all over it anyway," which is actually even more depressing.
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Old 26-11-2012, 18:09
cookie_365
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x factor isn't about producing artists who can act as an emotional conduit between songwriter and listener.

So long as enough 20 somethings can shout along phonetically to the noises coming out of the speakers on Friday night after a few vodkas, that's all that counts.
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Old 26-11-2012, 19:01
patsylimerick
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It's kind of laughable quite how bizarrely some songs are 'interpreted' on X Factor. I usually just laugh it off - it's only karaoke.

However, Alexandra Burke's positively angelic version of Hallelujah - a song about embracing suffering and loss and death was the most remarkable *whoosh* in the history of X Factor.

While scholars argue about the minutiae, Hallelujah is most certainly about adultery, revenge, death and sorrow (with a bit of sex thrown in).

Even worse than the X Factor's treatment was the absolutely inexplicable decision by RTE to get a children's choir to sing Hallelujah as the finale of the annual Christmas Toy Show.

The mind boggles.
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Old 26-11-2012, 19:30
TeekyPie
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No way. I was offended by the same things as you OP but it isn't a case of 'own twist' and no one tries to say it is. When they say 'own twist' they are referring to something different altogether
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Old 26-11-2012, 19:38
grimtales1
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I also felt Chris didnt get any of the meaning or emotion of Fernando either, its about 2 people reminiscing in old age about a lost battle of the Spanish Civil War (I think ), I never got that feeling from Chris' version.
Cats, nice to see you
As for Wires, I thought that was quite good from Rylan actually But youre right, he performed it the wrong way. Its also a good point some songs meanings can in theory be "flipped" if you like (saying TWTIA is about moving on) but that isnt one of them (IMO). I mean, UJ sang the original lyrics "Though its hurting me" etc, but they sounded anything BUT hurt and cut up about it
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Old 26-11-2012, 20:47
grimtales1
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Also BTW, has anyone heard the original Swedish version of Fernando? Interesting Originally, it wasnt an "ABBA" song as such but was written for Frida, appearing on her Swedish solo album.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernand...ong%29#History

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys4lyJiqG8E
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Old 26-11-2012, 20:51
Midnight Moggy
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Own twist is when someone the judges want to get through murder a song by completely changing the melody/lyrics etc - the kind of thing that done for Ella last week.

Not understanding the song is when someone the judges don't want to get through sings the melody and lyrics of the song.
Yes exactly. They criticise some people for bringing nothing new to the song and others for not singing it like the original!
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Old 26-11-2012, 21:15
Malc London
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I thought it was about a chicken restaurant chain.
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Old 26-11-2012, 22:14
grimtales1
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Christopher also messed up his words in Fernando as well, never mind not connecting with the song properly. He repeated the "You were humming to yourself" line when it should have been "We were young and full of life and none of us prepared to die", I could see Louis laughing
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