The X Factor 2010

[mycroft]

mycroft, would you agree that it's about time they dropped the Groups category? JLS were unusually good for a group but even with them their category was still the weakest. The entire point of the Groups seems to be to piss off Louis Walsh by forcing him to mentor them.

I would agree entirely, Ms Jam. Not least because what seems to be the significant majority of groups you see appear to be made up of one singer who was too afraid to come along one htier own, so roped a friend into joining them. Waste of time for all concerned. Although I did hear a rumbling ages ago that they were going to rejig the categories a bit by giving each judge one contestant from each, which I think would help the format, as well as the Groups category in general, quite a bit.

As for the MacDonald Brothers, they come from the same town as me and my mother always reminds me that when they were very young, they would pay their accordions and sing Scottish-type songs with their dad in Asda every Saturday (their mum worked there and got them the gig). I have very little memory of this, despite being taken on the Saturday shopping trip with my mum most weekends, but it'll be fair to assume I despised the very sight of them.

Meanwhile, today's papers apparently are already calling "Fix!" at the series and its use of autotune, according to today's Chris Evans show.

[Blue Jam]

Yes mycroft, I was surprised to see "x factor autotune" as a trending topic on Yahoo just now, and that it's even made the Daily Mail:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1305115/X-Factor-2010-Outraged-viewers-Twitter-complain-auto-tune-technology-used-episode.html

I know it's used, that's no secret, but it's not even being used well or subtly here, and for a show that used to be edited so well it's a bit of a let-down.

Despite Jedward the Groups just seem like a total waste of time now, why take singers who aren't good enough to get through solo, and put them in a band who aren't good enough to win?

[Artemis]

Well, that was enjoyable. Is it a 'guilty' pleasure to like X Factor these days? It's just high-production Saturday evening telly, isn't it? Nowt wrong with that. As usual, it's playing to a tried and tested formula, but my god they've nailed that. Of course it's nonsense - that's the fun.

The build up at the start of the show was gloriously self-congratulatory, culminating with a preview of a young girl getting punched in the face. Ah, pure televisual gold. We also get previews of mentally disturbed audience members yelling at Cowell that he's better than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, before it's revealed that he's been responsible for a thousand billion singles, a number of albums so huge it's actually incalculable, the end of slavery and the closure of the Ozone layer. Pah - all Yahweh could do was walk on water - AMATEUR!!

Then we get Dannii in the only stock clip they appear to have of her, holding up a baby outfit. This is shown twenty times in the course of one show, in case we forget who she is or why she's not there. Louis is there of course, laughing openly at the Really Bad Ones and we get a little sneak peak of Louis Acting Up - all X Factor staples. Cheryl's attendance is reduced to a mixture of smiles, pre-divorce angst and her preview is of death by malaria. Wonderful - can't WAIT!!

The contestants themselves are the predictable mix of god awful acts who I can't help but believe must be in on the joke, or much better acts who are greeted with an increasing indifference by the judges lest another Susan Boyle is born. As each act has the audience either erupting in cheers or throwing hands over their head to block out the noise (indifference doesn't exist for the baying crowds), Dermot is on hand to contribute nothing of any significance.

The opening episode is all about the previews, though. Girl will get twatted! Simon will get snogged! Louis will be a grinning dick! Cheryl will die! Oh, don't worry about Cheryl though, because the commercial break reveals she's actually ok and we should all buy her shampoo.

Final thoughts – are the Talk Talk bits the most ill-thought through marketing campaign in history? Nobody knew what that 'write with lights' thing was supposed to be about last year, and they've changed nothing.

Hey Talk Talk – nobody gets it.

Thanks.

[Subtle Mocking]

Is the X Factor really edited that well? The audition episodes at least all seem to follow one of two paths

1: Auditions don't start off so well, the judges moan a bit, someone good comes on and suddenly everyone after is brilliant, the judges disagree over something and then the last audition is someone who's better than anyone else on the episode.

or

2: Auditions start off great, judges swim in pompous remarks, bad auditionee spoils the fun, judges complain, a couple of meh acts, and then the final act is some complete psycho/terrible delusional act that Simon takes the piss out of.

Oh and a lot of shows get criticised for using too much background music (Screenwipe, for example) but the amount in this, not counting the auditions of course, is just ridiculous. I suppose Cowell owns a lot of it so he has enough right to wag his song-owning cock all over the music credits, but I've yet to see one critic pick up on it.

[Artemis]

Is the X Factor really edited that well?

One bit that definitely isn't is the audience noises. It's abundantly clear that they've built a library of boos and cheers and gleefully superimpose them over any bit of the show that requires emphasising that the Audience Is Happy or the Audience Dissaproves. It's really clumsily done, especially if you listen for it.

X Factor is a show that fails massively under the slightest scrutiny however, so I'd rather just accept it for the ridiculous circus it is, and enjoy the ride. I don't really know how it can be appreciated any other way.

[Subtle Mocking]

It's that good kind of shit TV. The enticing kind that ITV seem to be so good at.

In the words of Father Ted, "It's chewing gum for the eyes."

[Blue Jam]

One bit that definitely isn't is the audience noises. It's abundantly clear that they've built a library of boos and cheers and gleefully superimpose them over any bit of the show that requires emphasising that the Audience Is Happy or the Audience Dissaproves. It's really clumsily done, especially if you listen for it.

As someone who's been in the audience I can confirm this, one example was Stunners last year:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIuOjTWdEng

There was no tumbleweed in the auditorium, about 50% of the audience felt that laughing would be too cruel, and about 50% didn't and were falling about with cruel laughter. Why bother getting an audience in when the audience noise is just going to be dubbed over?

Is the X Factor really edited that well?

It used to be, hell yes. Back before the auditions were ruined with the addition of a studio audience the production team were real masters of manipulative editing. There were loads of examples of a good-looking, confident, well-dressed and seemingly well-adjusted auditionee being introduced before facing the judges and revealing themselves to be a talentless psychopath. The build-up was always done so well, and the edits within each audition itself- cuts to the judges' reactions, cruelly apt choices of background music and sound effects, etc. It really added to the tension and drama.

It wasn't always a good thing- clever editing was used to make Rhydian look like a pompous and overconfident twat before the live shows revealed him to be a nice young man, but it was still good editing- even I fell for that last one and I'd been watching the show for years.

Now they're re-filming segments, using Autotune and possibly staging things. The show doesn't need it.

[Artemis]

Now they're re-filming segments, using Autotune and possibly staging things. The show doesn't need it.

Really? What's all that about then? How can they auto-tune a live (to tape) audition? Do they manipulate the sound in post-production? If they do, and that becomes big news, it could actually see the demise of the show, in all honesty. Wouldn't it completely undermine the very point of the show? Oh no, I forgot - the show isn't actually about the singing is it. Not at this point, anyway.

Re-filming sections is a standard practice in America. It put me off American Wife Swap for quite a while (oh yes - I'm a viewer of all quality television) but I grew to accept it for what it was. Still, it's a practice I wouldn't like to see introduced into the UK because it does spoil the appreciation of the show, even if they manage to slip it past the viewer with slick editing, which X Factor isn't as good at doing as they used to be, like you rightly said.

[Blue Jam]

Really? What's all that about then? How can they auto-tune a live (to tape) audition? Do they manipulate the sound in post-production?

It looks like they've been manipulating it in post-production. I don't know how it can be done live but I believe the Spice Girls were criticised for using Autotune on their comeback tour and lots of other singers insist on using it for live appearances, so I guess it must be possible.

[Artemis]

It looks like they've been manipulating it in post-production

Wow, that's really shitty. "Because of how many microphones there are"?! Give me a fucking break.

[Blue Jam]

D'oh.

[Phil_A]

It looks like they've been manipulating it in post-production. I don't know how it can be done live but I believe the Spice Girls were criticised for using Autotune on their comeback tour and lots of other singers insist on using it for live appearances, so I guess it must be possible.

Yeah it can be done live, with the vocal being fed through a Harmonizer.

[Blue Jam]

Yeah it can be done live, with the vocal being fed through a Harmonizer.

Of course, how could I have forgotten [noembed]this classic example[/noembed]?

^*cringe*

I'm glad this Autotune débâcle is getting so much coverage,and reassured that other people notice Autotune now. As well as this making me feel like less of a geek it's looking like people will get fed up of it soon and producers may stop using it. I write this as someone who hears far too much of Radio 1 at work and the ubiquitous Autotune abuse it spews out.

[Jaffit]

Of course, how could I have forgotten [noembed]this classic example[/noembed]?

^*cringe*

I'm glad this Autotune débâcle is getting so much coverage,and reassured that other people notice Autotune now. As well as this making me feel like less of a geek it's looking like people will get fed up of it soon and producers may stop using it. I write this as someone who hears far too much of Radio 1 at work and the ubiquitous Autotune abuse it spews out.

I'm happy its been exposed too, they cant make excuses for it, they just need to stop doing it.

I couldnt believe how obvious it was during the G & S girls singing of dont stop believing. It sounded like that Cher tune or some JLS shite. It wasnt subtle in the slightest, it was completely over the top.

[DanRev]

Maybe I'm just being cynical, but to me it feels like a publicity stunt. It's simply too obvious for me to accept they did it to "enhance the audience's entertainment" or whatever reason they gave.

[PaulTMA]

Maybe I'm just being cynical, but to me it feels like a publicity stunt. It's simply too obvious for me to accept they did it to "enhance the audience's entertainment" or whatever reason they gave.

You could be right, because it sounds absolutely absurd.  It's even present on the woman who did the weird version of 'Mercy' - you can hear her voice sliding around robotically when she's basically reciting the lyrics like an old man wheezing through a dirty phone call.

It makes seemingly no sense to use it selectively either - well, I guess you could never use autotune on the guy from G or S as the universe would explode - yet it seems it was present and incorrect on the mad Duffy woman who brought along her pet baby from the peoples to see.

Then again, I caught a bit of an Audience With Michael Buble a few months ago - you know what it's like losing the remote when you are sofa-ridden with flu HONEST - and he used more autotune than T-Pain.  I thought he was supposed to be an authentic singer, even if completely bland?

[mycroft]

Anyone else catch Jon Snow's report on Autotune on last night's Channel 4 news? Silly Season filler at its best.

[Ambient Sheep]

You could be right, because it sounds absolutely absurd.  It's even present on the woman who did the weird version of 'Mercy' - you can hear her voice sliding around robotically when she's basically reciting the lyrics like an old man wheezing through a dirty phone call.

And this is why their explanation doesn't quite add up.  If you were doing it in post, and wishing to hide the fact, why wouldn't you do a better job of sorting her out?  If they were doing it live, then it'd be understandable: the singer was so off that the box just couldn't cope and lo! captain, we have staircase artifacts which we have no time to hide.  But if you're doing it in post then why leave it in rather than going to more effort to hide it?  Either it's (a) sloppy, (b) contemptuous of the audience's ability to notice or realise what's going on, or (c) a publicity stunt, as just suggested.

I also love the way they're saying "it won't be done during the live shows", as if that's because it's not possible, rather than because they've been caught out.


They had what would have been an excellent demonstration on GMTV yesterday morning.  First they got some prominent vocal coach or other to sing in tune, then to sing out of tune, and lastly to sing out of tune through a genuine Antares AutoTune box, all using a separate vocal mike.  Unfortunately when they did this, they forgot to fade down her standard tie-clip mic that she'd used for the rest of the interview, resulting in the AutoTuned version sounding even worse than the "out of tune" version as you could hear both her original note and the corrected one beating together.  Fail!!

[Ignatius_S]

Anyone else catch Jon Snow's report on Autotune on last night's Channel 4 news? Silly Season filler at its best.

Agreed, although I did find it quite interesting when they briefly talked about how ubiquitous, inferring it ain't going anywhere - this was also on the Beeb:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11056840

[PaulTMA]

Anyone else catch Jon Snow's report on Autotune on last night's Channel 4 news? Silly Season filler at its best.

The 'expert' unhelpfully claimed there hasn't been an album released in the last ten years that hasn't used autotune.

I'd wager no new Embrace album during that time period would fit the bill, though.

[Subtle Mocking]

The 'expert' unhelpfully claimed there hasn't been an album released in the last ten years that hasn't used autotune.

That's got to be bollocks hasn't it? He's claiming that the likes of Johnny Cash, Randy Newman etc. all used autotune?

[Ignatius_S]

That's got to be bollocks hasn't it? He's claiming that the likes of Johnny Cash, Randy Newman etc. all used autotune?

The guy talking was a young lecturer from some London college or university – he said that Auto-Tune would be used to some degree and essentially in some cases, barely. The clip is online probably, but the guy seemed to me a little nervous – I didn't believe him when he said [i[every[/i] record, but I suspect he was correct that it's used much more than people think.

According to the BBC link, I posted:

"It's pretty much used in 99% of recorded music now," says Daniel Griffiths, editor of music recording magazine Future Music.

"I've spoken to engineers who have recorded really big artists - who I won't name - and they just say it's there on the mixing desk all the time.

"If the artist wants to use it, then they just flick the switch.

And

And, according to rock producer Tom Beaujour, autotune is sometimes a practical necessity.

In 2008, Beaujour told The New Yorker the process was frequently used when "an artist has left the studio and has no opportunity to return just to re-sing one or two off notes".

[lipsink]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXbYwslswf4

Fucking hell. Unfortunately the video misses out the punchline:

Simon Cowell: "I've never heard anything like that. When did you come up with this?"

Shirlena: "Last night."

[Blue Jam]

:-) I could believe the X Factor was entirely scripted if only I could believe scriptwriters that good existed... sadly Shirlena has been dropped because she failed to declare a mental health problem. Bit tactless of the producers that, they could have covered it up by saying they were dropping her for being a crap singer, then again I don't know what would have been more painful.

It looks like the 80s Madonna wannabe could become this year's first contestant to be dropped for already having a record deal.

The AutoTune ban has now been imposed for "non-competitive performances" (so Cheryl Cole will be safe if she performs again) and tomorrow's show will be a hasty re-edit, should be fun.

[Ja'moke]

I think the guy I know is on tomorrow's show. His name is Toby, so look out for him.

[Subtle Mocking]

Similarly, look out for a ginger girl called Charlotte. Apparently she acts a bit melodramatically.

[Ja'moke]

The guy I know auditioned in Manchester, so I'm not 100% sure they are going there tonight.

[Subtle Mocking]

Mine too, maybe it's on another week/Xtra Factor. The audition schedule seems to be all over the place.

[PaulTMA]

So when do we get to see the girl who gets punched?

[Subtle Mocking]

It'll be the last audition show. It always is.