I just don't get the Jonny thing. He doesn't stand out to me out. I think that Chester and Laurence have been the stand out solos but Kway was very good but his voice is too deep.

Was very emotional last night when we had to say goodbye to the 4 Olivers. Like most other forum posters, it was lovely to see some tribute to them and that they got to have their solos in this performance. Personally, I thought the song was pants. I mean, of all the songs they could've given to these kids, how could they?!

Of the final 8, here are my thoughts. I have a top 4, and only 1 that I think is going to get the role, the other 3 will have to fight for the 2 places.

Gwion - I think Gwion is absolutely lovely. He sings beautifully and is a strong performer. I love love the Welsh lilt in his voice. I don't think he'll get the role as Oliver though.

Chester - I think he's the strongest of all the Olivers remaining actually. He can sing, dance and act, and is a triple threat. For me, I think he is guaranteed the role on the strength of all his performances. Beautiful voice too.

Arthur - Unfortunately, I really really don't see how Arthur got through. For me, his voice is a little weak. Sorry my dear... not an Oliver for me.

Kwayedze - He has a beautiful soulful voice. I haven't seen much from the acting point of view. It's for that reason that I don't think he's an Oliver.

Alexander - He's got such a charm to his performance and the most gorgeous voice. Great performance and diction, and I think is a strong contender for being one of the 3.

Harry - I've always enjoyed Harry's performances. He doesn't just sing the song, he acts it, and he does it cleverly. Each time I watch a performance, Harry always stands out and I think could be one of the 3. Although he doesn't have the strongest voice, I think charisma outweighs it.

Laurence - He wasn't a favourite of mine until his performance last week with the group. Then I saw what a brilliant voice he has, so sweet and pure. Something is stopping me though, and even though he put in one great performance, I don't think he will be an Oliver.

Jonny - His voice has always been strong, and he always puts in great performances. He can dance, and as this weeks task showed, he can act too. A pretty smile too, could be an Oliver.

So here's what I think. I think Chester should get a place. I think Harry is a close second, with Alexander and Jonny fighting for 3rd place. I don't think which one I would prefer to see. I also think Chester should do the premiere.

Can't believe they'll be chosen next week.

I wonder if tonights results show will have all 12 Olivers still, or the top 8?

Jonny is a difficult one for me. I don't think Jonny has the best voice, nor do I feel that he is the best actor (he is probably one of the best dancers though!), so it frustrates me to see those on YouTube etc blindly rant on about how he is the best by a country mile without any idea about musical theatre. The silly girls who rave about him (not the people on DS, though) probably do so for his looks; while I do think many of the other Olivers are eye-catching as well, I do think he has the most 'commerical' look that appeals to the masses. Having said that, there is something about Jonny that captures my interest - he doesn't seem the carefree and straightforward boy like everyone else, and there's always a degree of self-consciousness about him, something a bit fragile, and I keep following him in group performances (I know, I know, I'm overanalysing as usual). He also moves extremely well. Either way, I'm glad he's through but I don't think Oliver is the right role for him.

But I'll reserve final judgment until I see him sing solo tonight He hasn't had a chance to shine properly yet, after all.

I agree, they would both suit it (if they can dance). Chester really looks like a past Billy Elliot who incidently I thought would have been a great Oliver! Whilst on the subject, Alex's brother is in Billy Elliot!

I can't believe that four Olivers are gone :'(

I can't believe another 5 have to go next week

I can't believe that the Oliver 'situation' (as Graham calls it) will all be over by this time next week. We'll know who gets those roles.

I can't believe its so close to the end and we won't see them together any more after next 2 wks.

I feel like setting up some kind of website whereby people can keep a track of anything theatre wise the boys are doing post-IDA. I think once the whole show has died down the kids will return to normality but it'd be nice not the let them go completly into oblivion.

Oh yes, that would be nice! I already thought about how I'm really going to miss these kids!

Galinda - Alex's brother is Nicholas right? Talented family!

Ashrell - I've decided; there's no such thing as overanalysing! In fact, you can never analyse enough! Let's just look at it as "reviewing the situation" I'm thinking of doing some more 'reviewing' myself later on...

I just spend half an hour on a tram listening to my mp3player which is packed with all sorts of MTsongs and one line of a very familiar song just put a smile on my face, it all of a sudden had a completely different meaning to me...
"Go go go Joseph, you know what they say, hang on now Joseph, you'll make it someday..."

Editing...

Hate to ber mean but last night all the boys sucked and today not much better. At least they will have like 4 months to improve as at the moment they are all pretty laughable im afraid. They cant seem to sing and dance at the same time, yesterday proved that with reach which is a song you dance to and yet they did the most basic moves.

How many of the boys are actually schooled dancers?

Added some videos on my blog.

The post I originally posted during the show sounded like a YouTube comment, so I decided to edit it to something more sophisticated. But when I was through editing, the time limit had past, so my edited post could not be saved. Hence my weird "editing" post above

I liked tonights performance. It really focused on the boys' vocals, and it's been a while since they had to perform a song in which they could all sing so much. I've always liked Jonny, but I never really was with all the Jonnylove. Tonight though, he impressed me. Chester was really strong (and adorable; "I cross my fingers every night...", ) as were Alexander, Laurence and Harry imo.

Seeing those other four boys sitting with the girls had me crying again (I'm sorry, I'm just a very emotional person ) Especially Joseph looked so sad ('Go go go Joseph' was playing in my head again)

I'm sorry I didn't tape tonights show. I would really like to replay some bits, because I know there was lots more I wanted to comment on, but I can't think of any of it right now. Just have to wait for it to appear on YouTube I guess...

I know Jonny and Chester are, but some of the others might be too.

Every time I try to visit your blog, my computer sends me some kind of warning and then it shuts down the page.

I am a fan of Jonny's so maybe a little biased, but I did really like him tonight. I think he's got one of the best voices out of the final 8 boys, and I he's a good little actor (he really impressed me in the mission yesterday) It was Chester that stood out for me in the group performance though - he is, to me, head and shoulders above the rest of them. Kwayedza proved he just cannot play Oliver, all the other boys had a high part and he had a lower part, I can't imagine him singing Where Is Love at all - he's amazingly talented but he isn't Oliver. Laurence, Harry and Alex also impressed me tonight.

When Jordan stood up clapping at the end of the performance, I started crying.

Gwion for Oliver!!!!

I guess we sort of posted simultaneously but basically said the exact same things!

Please don't get me wrong, I don't dislike him at all, but what did he do that impressed you - he only said one line didn't he?

To be fair he was quite good at that one line but it did struck me just how much purer Alexander and Laurence's voices are when compared to his (for me they were the stand outs in that song).

Same, that was soo sweet! Really good for him I thought!

He's probably been told to do that - I have always told my daughter (a MT student) that peole always remember if you are gracious both in defeat and victory.

We saw the one line and then a little more when Cameron announced Jonny was through. I've also seen his audition and there's a small snippet there as well. I think just came across as the strongest actor in the mission (from the small amount we saw )

Fair enough

I was just curious how someone could say he was a good actor (which I'm not disputing) from the little clip we saw thats all

I enjoyed tonight's performance, although Jonny appeared rather nervous - he lost the punch he's had in "Reach", "Give a little love" etc and I thought his voice is more poppy than musical theatre. Perhaps I'm just biased, but I thought Alexander was outstanding - I think he has the warmest/most careful/rich/pure etc quality to his voice, which even in that tiny solo came out, and there's just something so endearing about him. Same goes for Laurence (he sure can reach the top notes), and Chester was good too, although I think he's sung better. The rest were so-and-so, but again it was so obvious how low Kwayedza's voice is. I'm glad they were able to do a number that showcased their voices again (a la Electricity) but I wish they had a bit more to sing....

Ahh, I don't really want it to be decided next week - I want to hear the semi finalists (or finalists now ) sing a bit more before they are eliminated.

Thought Jordan was sweet.

The thing I'm most afraid of in regards to next weeks show, is that we will only have the usual few minutes of 'Olivertime'. Which I don't think would be right, since for the boys, next weeks show is the most important one.

I thought Alex was fantastic too. Tonight he showed he can control those nerves!
And Jordan was really sweet, I've really found myself warming to him actually.

The only boy I think is a dead cert to get through next week is Chester. I think, apart from Arthur and Kwayedza, any of the others could get it. Arthur has to be the weakest out of the final eight, and Kwayedza's voice is just too low.

I really don't see the appeal of Chester or Gwion.

It's hard to choose three, I do like Lawrence, Alex, Jonny and Harry and wish all the kids could have a turn.

Feel gutted for Jordon especially when he was on the verge of tears on Saturday, he had so much potential and enthusiasm, such a little sweetheart

I was going to say the same, to me their voices really stood out the most, and I'd almost overlooked Alex until that point.