Finally someone with my opinion on Sam's song. all, Defying Gravity was all at one level when the song should start of really soft and then at the end really angsty, but hers was like ___ that all the way. Kinda flat, but I did think she was brave with the song choice, I just didn't think it worked for her.

There's no laughing icon, so I'll just say lol. At you, not with you. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion though.

I agree - her rendition totally left me cold. I can see that she was trying but it just didn't work for me, and her notes were all over the place.

I did say it was my opinion.

No problem - it'd be boring if everyone agreed with each other anyway.

I thought Sam's song was terrible and a really bizarre choice, given that it's not at all well known. It must be SO hard to sing. It could easily have worked against her but the panel seem totally enamoured of her whatever she does. Didn't like Niamh's song much either...

What really annoyed me about Sam's song was that I thought the ending was absolutely fantastic. She has a great belt voice and can really hit those high notes. But NANCY NEVER HAS TO DO THAT!!

The start of Sam's song was nothing special, she's not great with the low stuff, which is where all of Nancy's songs sit. I do think Sam is very very good but to be honest I think it would be a waste for her to be Nancy - she should go and get a part where she can really show off her voice.

I feel like some audience members might vote for her on the strength of her last few notes, which is ridiculous because if she gets the part, she'll never get to use them...

She has guts - I'll give her that. But overall she was just abit pants. She was sometimes abit slow with the word delivery and behind the actual music - then rushed to catch up etc. Maybe it's just because I'm a 'Wicked' freak and I'm comparing too much.

Personally for me, Sam's NOT Nancy. But sadly I can see her winning this and she's probably the one I like least. Having said that, I think she's very very good.

Wow, you've said what I feel about Jodie, more articulately than I could ever think of expressing it. I'm sure she'll get through to the finals because she seems to have a lot of support, but I am not entirely convinced. I do think she will do a reasonable job if she is Nancy though.

Rachel. Knowing her song choice, I was worried that we'd be treated to a lot of vocal gymnastics. I was pleasantly surprised. She sang it simply which I liked. And while I do agree, she was still holding back slightly, I liked her emoting in this. Subtle, not over the top. And as someone who has found her slightly remote, I thought she came across as warmer here. When this song is done well, it can be absolutely phenomenal and unfortunately , Rachel didn't quite succeed on reaching that kind of level of success. And I did notice a few bum notes. I used to dislike Rachel at the beginning but she's been growing on me recently. Kinda funny since she seems to be losing favour with the judges. I imagine she will be in the bottom 2, despite being stronger than some of the others, as she doesn't seem to have the same public support.

Sam I am not familiar with Defying Gravity, so I have no comparison. I thought she did a good job vocally with what sounds like a hard song to sing well. However, I was confused by JB suggesting that Rachel take tips from Sam about emoting cause I think that is one of Sam's weaker aspects of her performance.

Jessie She is a great singer. Unfortunately, she's lost the spark she had at the beginning. Barry made a good comment, about how she needs to take criticism on the chin. She seems to be unravelling as the show goes on, and unlike some of the others, seems to be regressing rather than improving. Unfortunately, I m starting to see why she may not have been accepted into certain drama schools, as she seems to be showing weakness in both acting and dancing. However, I am sure she is safe. Like Jodie, she seems to have a big fan base.

Niamh I think that DVO (?) had a point that because of her fragile appearance, Niamh had to prove more that she could be gritty and feisty. I think Don't Speak was a good song in terms of nuances, but it just highlighed to me how unsuited Niamh is for the part. And it seems the panel seem to think so too. I can't see her lasting much longer.

Olivers. Well, I think few people are surprised about Jonny being the last through. I think it was quite obvious in the opening act, with how smiley Jonny was and how subdued Sam, Joseph, and Jordan seemed. Reach may have been one of their weakest vocal performance alongside Breaking Free, but it was nice to see the 4 boys have the focus on them during that song. And Reach is an optimist song for them to finish on. Must admit, I did get a bit teary-eyed over their disappointment.

Josephs. I think the pairings were interesting. And if I was into conspiracy theories I might question some of the choices. I think Sam and Ben definitely were the best in that performance although that did not surprise me, considering both of them are good dancers.

Overall, I think the show was a little sub-par for what is meant to be the quarter final. Also, I think maybe the girls should learn about commenting on who is not Nancy

agreed - i think jodie would have sung this song much better. Sam is just too screechy...

i thought the whole performance was very amateurish - the boys looked fine though


oh, sorry. woops


i thought is was awful-sorry

i must correct that, i watched it back and to the person i quoted for this comment:
ALW was saying that Niamh's voice wasn't developed enough yet. that is a big difference from her ruining her voice with eight shows a week when not mentioning to any one else.

Networkbabe- you really have got this sussed.

Seconded.

I'm bewildered by the criticism of Sam. I watched it with a few others and we all thought she was knock-out. A very tough song, way tougher than the others, and she gave a controlled and very charismatic performance.

Jessie chose a bloody boring number, Jodie chose a cliche and performed it as a cliche (I really hope she doesn't suffer for it in the results) and Niamh was colourless.

Rachel was very good but I was interested by Denise Van Outen's feedback. Her comments about Rachel's likeability with women - or lack thereof - compared with Sam's "attitude with warmth" were right on the money. Rachel is a safe pair of hands but she's no leading lady. And crucially, people don't seem to like her much: there's something in those eyes that suggests she might actually kill someone for the role.

In fact on the subject of the panel, I feel like in the last fortnight they've finally started judging this properly. Barry Humphries has taken a LOT of stick on these boards, some of it really defamatory, but he's actually very astute and very gentlemanly. He's been a lot more measured than DVO and JB at times.

Another nasty little barb from ALW to Jodie this time. He really doesn't mask his feelings does he?

why did john have to say "stereotypes aside" to jodie; that just draws attention.

also hated the meat loaf comment.

I actually thought everyone was good last night,but I especially thought Niamh was very good. For the first time I saw her as Nancy, Jodie was okay, Jessie and Rachel were ogood and I really enjoyed Sams too.

I respect your opinion Scarlett but when you say people don't seem too like Rachel very much isn't very true, to me she is Nancy and she does have her fans. I think she is absolutely Amazing! And to me she definately is a leading lady
Sorry i had to say something because there are people who love Rachel!

I didn't say there were NO people who liked Rachel. She obviously has a fan base or she wouldn't be in the final five. In fact, she was my favourite in the first few weeks.

Equally though, there's something about her that lots of people I've spoken to or read on here have found off-putting. And for the first time last night, it was mentioned by the panel. Hence it's obviously not a product of my fevered imagination.

And to answer another poster: If you look at the polls Rachel is neither the most nor the least popular Nancy. She just doesn't seem to register on the radar for a lot of people. I don't like Jessie but she seems to inspire a lot of fanatical support. Same for Niamh. Whereas Rachel is the most "anonymous" candidate. On the basis of the polls...

This is something I often mention. It's amazing how diverse opinions are.

Personally, I'm amazed how many people enjoyed Rachel's performance (that dreadful hammy pause and angsty expression! Awful!) and how many hated Niamh's (I thought she was really feisty, and I loved the little clip of her with the rugby players. She could never have been Nancy, but she's a terrific character and I hope the future holds really good things for her).

Jodie is fairly reliable; her standard of performance has been the same every week barring that phenomenal Send In The Clowns (still the best performance of the series for me) and the week near the start when she was ill. Jessie was good but somehow she just doesn't click for me.

I'm really not sure about Sam's song. I'd never heard it before, and it seemed to be one of those songs that sound a bit odd even when it's properly done. That being the case, it's just difficult to know if she did it well or not.

thought you might like this delayed opinion on 17th May show

http://colouredlights.wordpress.com/...ction-delayed/