Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-28218516-20180821190426/@comment-36760404-20180829235019

Here are my thoughts on the show having watched it.

Before reading my opinions and know what I am talking about you need to read this site and link. I know this is talking about X Factor but its the same company doing the show so the same principles apply to this, and I do agree with this site. As it says, the show is most probably steered, rather than fixed, as many people dismiss it as. http://sofabet.com/2013/11/12/how-to-watch-the-x-factor/

The Future Kingz - Was so easy to forget about, one of those dance groups who end up opening the show. In my opinion they (and the PAC Dance Team) were better than the two dance groups who made it through via the judges save, but in such a competitive night they may struggle.

Us The Duo - Looking at the link above, in long run shows, the site above has mentioned in two instances on X Factor where a contestant has fallen pregnant the producers would want to avoid having to deal with it during the critical stages so would try to get them eliminated early, which didn't bode well for them. However the pregnancy this time was used in their favour, and they gave a solid performance, it seems producers are happy to keep them around so I can see them advancing, which is good as I like them and they don't deserve to be eliminated this early.

Daniel Emmet - Probably the surprise of the evening. Going into the evening I thought he was a lock to be eliminated but his performance was incredible and he clearly had producer support behind him. After no wildcard made it past this stage last year and the eliminations of Human Fountains and Front Pictures, it seems they could be trying to create a comeback storyline with him, and if his performance translates to votes he could make the semi finals.

Brian King Joseph - He also clearly had producer backing behind him as his performance was very solid. With him I am also getting the impression that they want people to vote for him because of his talent, not because of his condition, which they did well by not overly referencing it. During his performance, it is so easy to forget his condition, as you can see the passion in his face when he performs which is his appeal, which can translate into votes.

Aaron Crow - I was wondering what he was going to do as this was basically the performance he didn't get to do on BGT as he didn't make it past 2 rounds on that show. However for some reason his performance went on for a bit, and was a bit slow, it took a while to realise what was going on, it just lacked the drama of his previous performances.

Joseph O'Brien - Probably the biggest hatchet job of the evening, with red staging surrounding him and his piano. However the performance and the song itself I didn't think was bad at all and he did continue to come across as likeable after the performance (bet the Brianna girl is going to be a little embarrassed!) But the judges comments were a bit damning.

Hans - Whether the producers want to keep him around (which I wouldn't be surprised if they did) or not, they put everything behind this performance, it felt like an X Factor novelty act's performance, and the entertainment factor as well as his personality was enough to keep everyone awake quite literaly! Whether that will translate into votes, I don't know.

UDI Dance - The judges were kind of spot on with this performance. It was a performance where the idea was good but slightly poor execution. The production also felt a little bit minimalist which maybe showed producer favour wasn't on their side.

Christina Wells - Christina clearly put everything into this performance and her attitude before and after the performance will probably motivate some votes. The performance I felt she was trying to be a bit hard and overdoing it but it felt like a moment that could well be enough to potentially see her in the Dunkin Save zone, when before I thought she was a lock for elimination.

Zurcaroh - Their treatment tonight I was anticipating, as after the first audition show, the fact they got the first show pimp slot and a golden buzzer made me convinced they were early favourites to win the entire thing. However since then Courtney Hadwin came on and she seems to have had producer backing, especially after getting the first quarter final pimp slot and hatchet jobs were performed on her rivals in that show. Zurcaroh's treatment was not over the top but not low enough to put them out of contention for the outright win, if they get a pimping of pimpings in the semi final with a performance that develops from their story concept, which was incredible, they could be right up there.

Rob Lake - He seemed to receive a favourable edit that could well translate to votes. And he gave a really good performance, where he clearly listened to Simon's advice and not just do impressive magic, but also put on an incredible show. And that can be so important. On BGT a few years ago Chloe Crawford did the same trick but didn't put as much of a show around it, this was just executed so much better.

Michael Ketterer - Talk about a pimping beyond pimpings, that was what was done with him. Like his first audition he came across as not just a very talented singer but also a fantastic man, with his backstory at the forefront for a lot of it. The fact he actually managed to make Simon Cowell cry, which is going to go viral, and the fact he gave a very emotional performance is likely to see him through with ease.

So my opinion is it was the strongest quarter final out of the 3 we have seen. There was no one absolutely awful, unlike in the last 2 (Human Fountains and Yumbo Dump). This is my prediction.

Moving on; Zurcaroh Michael Ketterer Rob Lake Brian King Joseph Us The Duo

Dunkin' Save; Daniel Emmet - Dunkin Save Hans - Judges Save Christina Wells - Eliminated

Eliminated Automatically; The Future Kingz Aaron Crow Joseph O'Brien UDI Dance

In terms of the win market it is hard to tell who is in producer favour. It is easy to say Courtney is at this stage but will the producers want another tween girl winning the show for the third time in a row? Her treatment next week is going to be very interesting as Zurcaroh look ready to pounce if there is any negativity. I am still sticking to my predictions of a top 3 of Courtney, Shin Lim and Zurcaroh, but unsure what order yet.