I head a bit on Colin's show on Radio 1. (He was doing it from the Academy.)

And it was truly dire. "Not good enough" doesn't begin to cover it. We were well into "come back, Konnie, all is forgiven territory"

Colin made a number of jokes at its expense.

Amen! Reggie should have gone tonight, not Jon!

Amen too from a broken heart!

Mind you, it'll give Culshaw some good material for the next series if Dead Ringers, so maybe he'll have the last laugh!

I mentioned on the live feed thread at the time, it was because they (Carrie and David) made it sound too Gospel

Which is fine in its place ...but not in FA I think

That wasn't the problem with what I heard on Colin's show; or if it was a problem, it was a relatively minor one. Nor were Colin's jokes, at least not the ones I noticed, about it being too gospel. They were about how very poor the singing was.

I thought it sounded great during singing rehearsal, but the session with Kevin was a bit poor, and they definitely needed a lot more time to get it right. From my school choir days, I always found singing in harmony quite tricky; they probably weren't ready to try it.

It was virtually the same as the version alex and alistair sang in the FA2 final. Carrie even re-used some ideas from Jo and Alex on pronouncing bits of it.

This morning it sounded OK - Edith and Kim were described as amazingly coordinated and with Chris were doing the difficult bits. The girls sounded fine and the boys were OK, Everything sounds better in the music room though.........

You say your top three were the last three to be saved by the public,..but when they do the announcements to say who the public have saved, they announce;.... "In no particular order....." then the name of each respective contestant who survives.

Aaaah, come on AM, you know reality shows tell the audience a load of tripe regarding voting figures etc. Can't remember the exact configurations, but when the voting percentages over the whole series were realeased by PI2 there was a definite pattern to how the names were called out in relation to the number of votes, although they also said "in no particular order".

I may be well off the mark, but to me the order they were called out last night fitted.

Well having wached last night's programme this morning on video ... I thought the standard was pretty poor all round, I caught a few of the afternoon rehearsals and they were much better. Looking at the performances I'd say:

Debra - an improvement (for me) but I still think her voice is a bit thin and not nearly as good as she thinks it is.
Reggie - can't stand him. I appreciate that some people thought it was a good "performance" but the sheer arrogance that dominates everything he does ruins it for me. Also, I know people are going on about rap being a legitimate art form but I don't think it is what FA is about - otherwise why waste such a large chunk of the day on SINGING training. On performance, he should have stayed last night, but really he should not have got that far as everything else the odious little twerp has done has been rock bottom and he is only there, as others have said, because the tweeny vote "sez e iz fit and gr8"
Kim - really weak compared to what I had expected having seen her rehearse, disappointing and she seemed nervous
Nick - another one whose ego is getting the better of him. He has a range of about 3 notes and they are not particularly tuneful. His rants at the judges were rude and attention-seeking and put me right off in advance of his mediocre performance
Gina - terrible, just awful. I don't think there is any more room to improve. She is there purely for comedy and while I do think she should survive above Reggie, I do not see why anyone is surprised when she appears in the bottom 3
Chris - HOW is his bloke in musicals? He is terrible, can't hold a tune and has no presence at all.
Dawn - she has a beautiful tone in places but I think this one was a bit low for her. She definiely has the lower register but it needs more training to be properly developed. One of the better performances but I would expect more from her.
Jon - awful choice of song as it sounded like a complete dirge bu he has definitely improved - the judges should have saved him instead of Gina.
Edith - she had my sympathy as I've had to sing in the past with a dodgy throat and it's all you can think about. She did well, boring choice of song and I still don't think she is as great as the judges and a lot of people here - but she is definitely competent and deserves her place.
Ade - performance of the night for me. He can hold a tune and is a born entertainer. The only one who acquitted himself well for me.

Sorry if I've got these out of order or forgotten anyone but those are my thoughts for what they're worth.

Oh and on the judges:

Dickie - not such an idiot as people think. I agree with a lot of his comments
Lesley - too nice. There are people there who will NEVER be singers. Maybe it's an opera thing - I have a friend who is an opera singer who tells everybody he ever hears sing that they are fantastic when clearly they are not!
The Orange Man - sometimes he is spot on, sometimes it seems he is way off the mark, probably a little too subjective a judge
Carrie and David - have grown on me a lot during this run, in the past I have had no time for their so-called expertise but I am beginning to get a little respect for them now!

He shouldn't insult the judges at all with a crap 'singing' voice like that

T--J

When writing in the forum l am writing in the style that l speak, l dont sit there trying to write an essay, for you to be picking up on phrases such as 'trust me' well.....just to let you know that that is how l express myself.

l added my opinion to the pile because the previous comments seemed to be against Gina in large numbers which seemed strange to me. The tide had suddenly changed so l thought l would add my minority opinion on the matter. So for you to add your views which seems to mirror everyone elses opinion seems...how can l say this without it being misinterpreted again...unneccessary? Do you see what l mean? Everyone else put the boot in already so when l support her you then come and start criticising again. Anyway never mind.

The comment about rap and ragga l think is valid because how are the judges able to critique the performance properly if the performer is not actually singing? If there were judges there who were able to critique the actual rapping then it would be fairer, that is the set up for urban music competitions. They usually have a panel member who can rap, produces rap or is a DJ and is used to playing rap and knows the standards.

Just my opinion and l am taking this no more seriously than you considering that you took the time to be breaking down my comment and quoting on each segment individually. l found that funny.

And your comment about the sympathy vote l found rude. That was not my intention when l posted it, l mentioned it as an apologetic note to explain why she has been blasting everyone's ear drums out. She can not hear properly which is why she is not hitting the notes and is raising her voice. She is trying her best and hopefully she will improve and learn not to raise her voice so much. She knows she can not sing but she is trying.

Now that l know this is how you respond to people you disagree with l will from now on put footnotes on the end of each comment to fully explain my perspective.

Yeah right

Well that's two essays you seem to have written now.

... and I'm letting you know that I found the way you expressed yourself very unusual. I rarely hear anyone say 'trust me' as it is commonly an expression which is ridiculed.

Why did it seem strange? Why doesn't it simply equated to large numbers disliking her performance?

Which you are perfectly entitled to do, as others also did. You were not alone in your support for Gina.

This is a forum, it is for expressing views, as you and I have both done - regardless of how many other people have already expressed that view. ... Oh, and if you find my posts unneccessary, feel free to press the alert button and we'll let the mods decide, shall we?

It was a valid comment - in fact, the students themselves brought it up last night and Carrie validated it by informing them of a young man who accessed the FA Bursery because he was such a brilliant rapper and it is considered an art form (albeit controversial to some people). I didn't dispute it's validity, I simply disagreed with it - that happens on forums like these.

That is a rather serious stance to take and to make an analogy between Comic Relief Fame Academy and urban music competitions is rather OTT! - This is purely for charity and entertainment! Do you really believe any of the panel are qualified to judge a music competition of this sort?

Lesley is an opera/classical singer so by your reckoning she should only be a judge of opera/classical - I haven't heard anyone sing that yet.

Craig is a choreographer so by your reckoning he shouldn't even be there! - Oh, hang on, I agree with that!

The only guest judge I've seen (you'll have to forgive me if there has been another because I missed the first night) was a comedian so by your reckoning he should only be judging stand-up comedian competitions.

... and that just leaves us with Richard Park!!!!!!

See above.

Gooooooooooaaaaaaaalllllll.

Well, that makes us in a similar position because my intention was certainly not to be rude. Your post seemed to imply that I should feel sorry for her because "she is trying her best" and "is partially deaf". I do not, I admire her but I am watching this programme for entertainment value and she is no longer providing me with entertainment.

Why should you feel the need to apologise for her? She has entertained many people (myself included on occassions), seems to have thoroughly enjoyed herself and made stacks of money for charity in the process - no apology needs to be made.

... and I applauded her for that in my initial post to you but her position in the bottom 3 indicates that people no longer find her as entertaining as they once did.

OK.

T--J

Just because you have never heard someone express themselves in Wales with the term 'trust me' does not mean that it is unusual and quite frankly for you to say it is a term to be ridiculed is once again rude. People talk differently everywhere and just because you have not heard people talk like that it does not mean it is stupid or ridiculous way to express yourself.

l felt l needed to explain the reason why she shouts just in case people were wondering why. Many people kept commenting that she was shouting, out of tune, tone deaf etc so l thought it would be useful for people to know. This is the reason why it is harder for her to take on board the instructions given to her. An explaination NOT an excuse OR a means of gathering up the sympathy vote for her. As mentioned before l think she has done very well by staying there as long as she has.

in regards to the competition and the judging you may be aware that competitions of this sort just like with Urban competitions could potentially launch the career of those who take part. Heaven forbid!

So just like Urban music awards people like Kim, Dawn etc if they choose to could go on to start up a music career if they wanted. Same kind of stakes and we are not mind readers, they might want to start a music career for all we know so the stakes could potentially be the same as in one of those urban music competitions.

Although Leslie is an opera singer she has singing experience and knowledge which is transferable and not only restricted to opera. She has given valuable advice which Carrie has agreed with on many occassions on the show.

This is about singing and entertainment which is why l assume they brought that guy on from musical theatre because he has knowledge of music and movement etc.

Did you watch that documentary called Musicality? Well they had a similar set up of judges, they had a judge who specialised in singing, another who specialised in voice and another one who specialised in dance and movement. So the choice of judges on this show is similar to that. The entertainment is about the overall thing, singing and movement so they needed someone who could comment about movement and delivery.

Lenny henry was just a one off guest he is not there all the time so that can not really count and he did not participate in saving any of the students at the end of the show. He just gave his opinion.

I look forward to another LOOOOOOOOOOONG reply with plenty of quotes from you.

Wow, an even bigger essay.

I may have my roots in Wales but I'm not a plant such as a daffodil or leek, I can, and do wander worldwide. ... and speaking of worldwide, don't forget, this is the World Wide Web where we can converse with people all over the world.

It's not rude, it's a fact.

Do they?

I didn't say it was ridiculous, I suggested it was a term commonly ridiculed - in fact, it's been ridiculed so long, people have been there, done that and some have even got the t-shirt.

If you're addressing 'people' might I suggest you not quote one individual poster, as the 'people' may not realise they are being addressed and the individual poster would not be wondering why you were simply addressing them.

... and then the real work and critiques would start.
Blimey, you really are taking this seriously, aren't you?

I like Lesley.

Well, well ... there's that word I mentioned - entertainment. Great innit?

There's that word again. Don't forget, we are also judges, as we have the public vote and we base that on who we find entertaining. Oh, and I just had a thought, rapping is just speaking, therefore anyone who speaks is qualified to judge rapping. There we are, all sorted.

As we are here.

Sorted.

Geez

You are talking this seriously! Looking at every individual word used and analysing it. Kind of breaks down the flow of conversation dont you think? Well.....dont answer that because you are going to defend your behaviour. But l know through personal experience that conversing with a person who analyses every word used can be tedious and to be honest l am sure you would find it tedious if someone did that to you.

And by the way what authority do you have to be determining what terms are considered ridiculous or not? And even if you have moved around in your time and lived in different places it still does not mean much if you could still claim that you have not heard of that term before. It does not matter how many places you have lived, people speak differently and the sooner you respect that the better. Diversity and all that. Not good to be putting other people down because of the way they express themselves.

And to finish off, your claim that rapping is just talking, where did you get that impression?



That would mean that everyone is a rapper because we all talk. That is not the case. Rapping is more than talking it is rhyming and not many people can do it well. That is unless you want to prove us wrong MC T--J!

You still don't get it, do you?


I feel it's quite the opposite, in fact. The only time I hear someone speaking in essays, is when someone is doing a formal presentation/lecture. Normal conversation is a two-way thing - you take a turn, I take a turn.


My behaviour?!?!?!


Well, it was funny when you first started doing it but it is getting rather tiresome now.


I repeat, I didn't determine anything.


You do a lot of analysing of my words and might I say adding your own spin too. I did not say I've never heard of it.


Hehe, you're getting funny again now.


I didn't put you down, I made a well-known joke - I guess you didn't get it. But using terms such as "Hey hang on a minute!" and "trust me", followed up with authoritarian statements such as "You seem to forget" and "I hope ... people do not fall for ... " is not the best way to go about people having respect for your posts.


Irony.