I think so, I have watched every series of X Factor, Pop Idol and American Idol and they usually always start off for the first couple of weeks with themes like music from "a particular decade" or "from the year of your birth" etc etc or as on previous X-factor shows any damn song you want to sing.

Last saturday was obviously biased against certain acts, for example if they had said that the first week you need to sing Acapella then Unconventionals would have looked like the winners and people like Ben the loser. It is unfair to have a theme on the first week and should have been any song from any decade so that we could have heard all of the artists at their best before they needed to go down the category route which in my opinion was a lottery for all but the chosen few.
Last edited by Cortinamk2 : 16-10-2006 at 20:18

Well, first weeks in the Idol shows I've seen have been: -

Motown (AI 1 and 2)
Soul (AI 3)
60's Hits (AI 4)
50's Hits (AI 5)

Australian Made (OZI 1, 2 and 3)
Canadian Hits (CI 1, 2, 3 and 4)
Your Pop Idol (MI 1)

I don't remember what was used for Pop Idol. Possibly 'Your Pop Idol'. But overall, motown isn't too bad a theme - there have been loads of great performances, and only a couple of clangers on the shows that have used that theme. A lot of it is down to song choice, and the arrangement of that song. Some acts are going to do better than others, but it's entirely possible for those acts to take a motown song and mix it up a little (as much as I didn't ike them, G4 re-arranged their songs to suit their voices, so I don't see why something similar couldn't be done here).

Umm, okay, I ramble. Shutting up now.

Pop Idol series 1 did

My Pop Idol
Number Ones
Abba
Christmas
Burt Bacharach
Big Band
Judges Choice

Those are the ones I remember anyway.

Series 2 had

The year I was born
The Beatles
Christmas
My Pop Idol

I just think that it is unfair to have Motown week here as the first week as motown is primarily American and probably appeals more to the general American public than the general UK public.

For most voters it would have been the first time they saw those acts perform so it was obvious the ones who would be safe and the ones who wouldn.t

I disagree, with Motown there was a song out there that would have suited each and every act because it encapsulates so many different great singers and bands. The fact that some of the acts didn't pick/weren't given the right songs is their own problem.

[quote=quackaquacka]
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I think you've hit the nail on the head. Motown was actually a very broad theme, a back catalogue of hundreds of songs, slow tracks, up-tempo tracks, lots to choose from. And I'm British and I love it!

It is the choice of track and the arrangement of it which can be an act's undoing - I thought the judges were very unimaginative in their selections.

Going back to the original poster, who said it was obvious who would be safe and who wouldn't, what about Dionne?
I would have thought it was the perfect theme for her, she did it well, yet was in the bottom two. Its all very unpredictable and I think any unfairness actually comes from people voting based on personality, back story or looks.
Last edited by marks thespot : 17-10-2006 at 09:16

I think it was fair. Motown is such a varied genre that each act could have found something that suited them. The Unconventionals could have sung a motown song accapella or sang one with Drew leading and the others harmonising. It was the choice of song and the way they performed it that let them down not the theme.

The themes will only work if they keep them fairly broad. For example hits of Elvis Pressley would be better than say hits of Michelle Mcmanus.

The Unconventionals could have sang "Just my Imagination" by the temptations, acapello, all dressed in one colour and arranged a bit more neatly - i.e talls at the back smalls at the front. It would have been a bit choir like but it would have at least looked professional, in my humble opinion anyway!

The stupid idea, and our expectations also, is that every singer, whatever genre they are known for, must be able to sing any song, from any other genre, it just dont happen. All artists sing what they can or can get away with singing and fit their image loosely around it.

With the XFactor it is unreasonable to expect any of the acts to sing like a pro every week, if any, but am not too sold on allowing them to sing what they like every week, that could be a bit boring- A ballad, followed by a ballad, followed by a ballad etc.