The fifth week of X Factor 2008 live shows aired tonight here in the UK. Check out my 2 Pence on the Mariah Carey themed week below: Mariah – I Stay In Love
Mariah – Hero
Alexandra – Without You
Mariah, Mariah, Mariah. What awful performances! Ms. Cannon looked so lost up there when miming through ‘I Stay In Love’ and her live rendition of ‘Hero’ which reminded one of how much her voice is a shadow of a shadow of what it once was. What’s more, she was stiffer than stiff; yes, she’s no ‘mover’ but come on now. I’m sitting here scratching my head wondering why she seemed to be full of personality during the interview segments, yet – with her years of being a performer – offered such a dry and lifeless showing. If she doesn’t fix whatever is wrong with her or simply sit down soon, she will be tarnishing what was a remarkably successful career with such crappy performances (which she seems to have a knack for giving these days). Rant over lol.
On a more positive note, Alexadra nailed it once again – showing in the process why she must win this show!
Your thoughts?
Mariah’s voice is jacked up. It started with the Charmbracelet cd some years ago.
I didn’t like Alexandra’s performance, at all. IMO, she sounded raspy and out of tune. I’ve seen a ton of covers of Without You, from Leona Lewis to Kelly Clarkson and this doesn’t cut it. Mariah still owns this one.
leave MC alone 🙁
LAURA WAS ROBBED
I’M GENIUNELY UPSET
Alexandra annoys me
F*** YOU SAM, F*** YOU!
lol
Sam, you gotta admit that her performances this night were better than what we been recieving. Especially ISIL, I expected a lip sync mess, but she did most of it live including the end of it). Give her her credit
I have to say I was pleased with Mimi’s performances. I didn’t know what to expect as a fan because the effort of her performances this era have been very lack luster but tonight was a job well done proving that she can still pull through when she has to.
SAM WHATEVER!!!! She (Mariah) sounded good. YES she is not the OLD Mariah vocals wise but this i sone of her best in a WHILE. Plus she had the courage to sing LIVE. I applaud her.
Sam you are a f****** douchebag. You criticize artists left and right but when they agree to be interviewed by your cheap-as-s***-looking blog you jump for joy and start posting it all over the blog. If Mariah agreed to be interviewed by you, you’d be praising her all over. SMH SMH
ISIL- Nice performance especially the high note in the end.
HERO- Imma be honest Mariah can’t sang like she used to. Check out Simon’s facial expression it says it all.
Mariah performances were a whole lot betta than her other perfomances this past year.
Come on yall i know sam can hate at times…especially when he talks about rihanna, but you guys are saying that these were amazing performances..which they were not..yes good for the state of mariah voice, but i kinda agree with Sam mimi should just either rest the HELL out of her voice or next time she makes an album make it easier for her to sing..or just do movies & build her name as a brand..she has done amazing things with that voice there is no need to tarnish that rep now………
i lOVE ALEXANDRIA'S PERFORMANCE..she is s***, beautiful, and has a great voice..
i’m a huge mariah fan. i have been one since 1990. in my honest opinion she does not sound like she used to and she never will sound like she used to ever again . people need to stop living in lala land and stop expecting 90’s voiced mariah to show up because that voice is gone and now mariah has limitations. even though i don’t like how her voice is at this point , i know what to expect when she performs. i can’t get mad.
as for her performances i think she did really good compared to some of the performances that she did in the beginning of the era. i would take these two performances over most of those any day.
RANDOM RANTS:
I WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS MYSELF. MUSIC REALLY SUCKS THIS YEAR!
1. Usher been away for fours years and we get nothing but rants about his wife.
2. Kanye singing instead of rapping.
3. Beyonce as much as “I Am” confused about her state of mind by wearing a cyborg/robotic arm she too is not bringing the fierceness expected in her music for the stans.
4. Mariah is not peforming very well.
5. Many artists are pushing albums back reduce to waiting till the fat lady sings.
6. Britney…the name says it all.
7. Ciara coming out with a sh*tty first single instead listening to her fans.
Question why do artist not listen to their fans?I mean we the ones who buy the freaking music don’t we?
8. Whitney and MJ are on hiatus to infinity.
9. Don’t Rhianna look gorgeous, beautiful, stunning? Too bad I can’t say the same about her performances.
10. Janet gave up, so I gave up. Is Janet pregnant?
I hope 2009 will be betta cuz for now I will be on hiatus until music makes a comeback. Really I hate buying garbage. We are in a recession right now and I just don’t buy crappy music no matter who you are. Some of these artists need to step it up. None of them brought it this year.
First, Sam is a c***. I think Mariah did great. The judges’ reactions after ISIL and Hero says it all (they seem impressed with Louis clapping with high held hands and Simon grinning after ISIL). Mariah likely didn’t move much because she sang these songs 100% live. I don’t see how people can expect Mariah to move all over the place when she has to belt such high notes. Most singers do not sing live when they have to move around. Mariah also seemed genuinely pleased at the reaction from the crowd after ISIL. She smiled with such joy. Normally she just strokes her hair and acts coy but she seemed to be touched. It was also interesting how she shore her hair curly — perhaps to appeal to the British who now think of Mariah as a crazy diva but also remember her from her Music Box days?
Wow, Mariah Carey left me in shock, after this performance. Like what in the world; how do you go from being one of the greatest singers from the 90s to something like this vocal performance? From the first lyrics it seemed off. People have been mentioning Carey’s vocals deteriorating and being worse lately, but I never really thought much of it, until hearing this rendition of “Hero.” Really sad for a singer who solely performs with her voice (She doesn’t dance, and hardly works the stage).
After hearing Mariah Carey basically butcher her own song, “Hero,” I really would love so hear her sing her 2005 smash hit, “We Belong Together,” and attempt to hit that last note which she used to be able to hit live and hold for what seemed like an eternity. After this I highly doubt she could even come close to her old performances of “We Belong Together.
number1k9.b*******.com/
OMGoodness
@
At November 8, 2008 9:00 PM, Anonymous
Your Random rants were really mindful of the music industry lately.
Except I do not think Britney has anything to do with how the industry is. She’s got her career back on track. And I give her props to and for that.
Ciara’s single, “Go Girl,” was straight up trash. I would never in a million years pay for that single. It didn’t appeal to me SO much that I didn’t even get it from LimeWire….
mariah was amazing and freakin GORGEOUS! ENOUGH OF THE ‘HER VOICE ISNT LIKE IT USED TO BE’ DUHHHHH! SHE HAS BEEN AROUND FOR 18 YEARS! THE WOMAN SANG HER F***** HEART OUT FOR 18 YEARS!!!! OF COURSE ITS NOT GONNA BE THE SAME IDIOTS! SAM, I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY TO YOU. YOU’RE ALWAYS BASHING MARIAH. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. ITS GETTING OLD.
i think Mariah’s performances were nice. Just nice.
LAURA WAS ROBBED!
I was Expected Mariah to still be able to hit the High Notes but she was finding it hard to sing the song, What Happen?? Where’s that Voice gone???
I Like Alexandra and want her to win, However she didn’t impress me tonight, no one did, not even Mariah!!! of all people
OK guys, I think you gotta get your ears checked out, because this one was really great. MC did well on this one. And Sam… oh what can I say? You got a problem seriously!
couldn’t wait for this weeks xfactor, because the one and only mariah carey was performing. she may not perform or sing as well as she used to but whenever she sings, the impact she makes is undeniable. the performances were ok but she could have moved around a little bit, the dress she was wearing in the ‘I Stay In Love’ performance seemed to grip her.
Anyways, alexandra (my favourite to win the show) proved once more that she is an AMAZING singer wih undeniable talent. she must win this show, as she has a great career ahead of her. GO ALEXANDRA.
she was so AMAZING!!! c’mon everysthing was perfect..she focused on her voice and i had never expected her to sing I stay in Love SOO DAMN WELL!!
laura deserved to go over ruth. ruth was far better in the sing off. alexander was crap, remember how leona killed this song when she was on x facor, compare the too and you will see how lame alex is. Diana Vickers to win! even though we didnt get to see her this week =(
I obviously didn’t think last night was fair. I mean, Laura is much more talented than most on the show but I saw it coming. From all my friends and family she’s not very like-able, compared to others which seems to be a huge factor (that’s why Dan the man is still there – he seems like a nice guy).
I am happy Laura went over Ruth though. I absolutely love Ruth, her voice is so strong and she’s very mysterious. I don’t think Laura saw that coming though.
I agree, MC’s performances were pretty weak. She was dressed nicely, I loved her gold dress.
Alex is my favourite.
Mariah was a mess. Stiff mess.
I think Mariah done okay considering she looked as though she was on something.
Alex wont win the x-facotor there is something very bland and forgettable about her performances and lets be honest Leona got there first and done it better!
I like mariah carey but i have to agree with sam. Hero is one of my favorite sings since elementary school. She sang it in a lower key, but she was even struggling with that. Like someone else said, how can you be one of the best female singer of the 90’s and today you can’t even sing your own songs? Something is wrong.
I hope her voice and performances improves becasue she is truly one of the best.
P.S. beyonce should have performed instead of MC
Mariah didnt mime – she sang live – You cant expect her to be pitch perfect and 18 years of singing takes the toll on the voice and with age….Hero is a hard song to sing!
She did ok – that said she shows no stage presence whatsoever and looked nervous and awkward. Whilst she may have been concentrating on her voice – she did nothing to take control of the stage – will do nothing to change peoples perceptions of her!
Alexandra on the other hand sings a song that is incredibly difficult to sing and whilst it may not be the best version of it she did it justice – she has amazing stage presence and takes command of the stage like a pro – Mariah should take notes – I hope she wins as she is the best in the competition!
^^Mariah should take note of Alexandra???! Are you on crack?? Alexandra gave a very boring rendition of the song which needless to say did not compare to Mariah’s version. Mariah’s voice took control of the stage, she didn’t need to move around. Alexandra will never see the commercial success of Mariah, period.
the less talented ruth? whatever, sam. you’re SO out of touch with that sentence. just because ruth isn’t urban-geared, you think laura is more talented. ruth is the single most underappreciated singer on that show, she puts in amazing performances week in, week out.
I agree with you Sam. Mariah’s performances were awful and I am a fan since 1993. This is not the MC we know, there’s something going on and I don’t like it. If she continues like this, it will go bad with her. If you ask me, she should’ve stopped after TEOM, then get married. Don’t make an album, get married, and don’t promote the damn thing. It’s better then TEOM!
Mimi was awful
Does anybody notice that when she goes for the high belting notes and power sections that either her voice or her mic squeaks? Go towards the bridge of this Hero performance. SMH….
^^I think there were tuning issue with her equipment, when she hits those high notes her mic squeak like hell.
Okay! People may have thought that Leona did a better version than Alexandra but Alexandra isn’t Leona and Whitney isn’t Mariah! and Laura isn’t Amy Winehouse thats the beauty of different voices so we should appreciate the version that was done. If were talking about versions than Leona’s version of Summertime was nowhere as good as Fantasia’s, Simon almost had her copy it note for note.I think Alexandra has a great voice and her version was great and i don’t think she gets enough praise on the show or the media it seemed to be all about laura.
^^^^^ Thank you for saying that about leona version of summertime. Everybody knows that if it wasn’t for Fantasia singing that then then they wouldn’t have let leona do it on the show and everybody knows fantasia tore into that. Alex isn’t leona so I don’t know why people keep nick picking like she can’t win because leona won first. There is room for everybody as long as Alex gets good music and good people to work behind her she can make it.
What the F*CK was THAT?!?!?! OMG, Mariah freakin’ sucks. I’m sorry, but she LIPPED that WHOLE song when she sang I Stay In Love. When I bought the CD and listened to it, I’m really convinced that she wrote, and recorded that song around the time she was writing songs for Emancipation of Mimi. Because in Thanks for Nothing and Love Story, her voice is really strained at the end of both of those song and suddenly here’s this song (I Stay In Love) and the range in this song is MUCH higher the other two songs. I’m convinced that she just dug up this old song (artist record TONS of songs and then choose 12-16 tracks to put on an album) and put it on this album. Her voice is sh*t, and I believe that she re-recorded it to make it seem like she sung it live, yet she didn’t. I’ve been a Mariah fan for a VERY long time and I know when she’s singing live. I know her notes, I know her face. She sucks now and I know that everyone’s voice doesn’t last forever, however when this happens (in her case it already has), that’s when she needs to ask Lionel to scoot over so she can sit down.
You’re going to be FORTY next year… stop acting like you 24.
OK OK Daniel & Eoghan(owen pronounced) why they still in!!
I voted for Alexandra
Wasn't my fav of hers but liked that she sung in the key she did cus her range isn't as wide as the original key..She was the best though
The Judges got rid of Laura to help there own acts last longer..
In the sing-off Ruth brought it to the table and fought for her life when she sung. It was very good..
Laura is a big talent and even mimi loved her in the mentoring session. I hope the best 4her in the future. This girl gotta have a jazz album out.
Her jazzy style didn't quite work for Mariah week and once again her full voice only came out in the second half of the song.. I WAS SO MAD that she was in the bottom 2..
Whats happened to Rachel an emotional hot mess this week. How many more chances will she get…(shes still better than the 2guys i mentioned though). She really needs to enjoy the experience and stop feeling so low and down on herself. This rough diamond HAS to STEP UP big time now otherwise trouble looms. The Public have more than shown that talent doesn't matter in their eyes this year and the big singers can leave at any point…
Mariah was very stiff like her body was botoxed all over lol. I like her 1st performance and it was all live and her bv's were cool. Hero i wasn't so keen on but she ended well..
Side Point
Beyonce jus sung great on strictly come dancing
Laura wasn’t anything special. She just did that ridiculous thing with her voice to make her seem original but in actual fact, Ruth has the better voice.
I was gutted to see Laura go out. Now it’s all for Alexandra to win it.
MARIAH IS SINGIN LIVE!!!!!!
The “I Stay In Love” performance wasn’t bad, but the “Hero” performance wasn’t pleasant to hear, because of how beautifully she has sung it in the past. But I think people should ease up about her vocals, there isn’t much she can do about it, because those are results of her singing with such much power for so many years with little breaks in between. That’s why some singers take such long breaks between albums, or also try to limit speaking before performing so that they can preserve their voices.
I don’t know if this is entirely true, but I read somewhere, that Mariah has some cyst-like forms on her vocal cords and only surgery can correct it. But if she gets this surgery, her singing voice will worsen. It does make a little since considering all of the power singing she’s done over the years. So like I said, whether that is true or not, I think people should cut her a little slack. I’m sure she would try to sound as excellent as she has before if she could. I don’t think anybody wants to perform sub par if they are known for doing a lot better.
^^^^^^^^^^^
“It does make a little since considering all of the power singing she’s done over the years.”
^^^^^THE WORD IS “SENSE”, NOT “SINCE”
SO ANNOYING
SMH
^^I AGREE WITH WHAT YOU SAID BTW, I JUST HAD TO POINT OUT THE MISTAKE 😉
She sounded just like the album on ISIL. She didn’t do Hero justice but it was okay. My thing is that she just needs to move around more and put some personality back in her performances like she used to. I’m not asking her to sing like she used to but at least work the stage like she used to. She used to be able to do both! Maybe she is focusing more on her vocals, which were on point with the record on ISIL.
I think Mariah mimed on i stay in love, i’ve listened to that song too many times to recognise that, that was the recorded version! Now, s for Mariah not being able to move much was probably due to the 5’in heals she had on. Move! She could hardly walk off stage!
I loved both of these performances by Mariah! She nailed Hero and she sounded exactly like her album on I Stay I Love. Although she has been giving some awful performances, these were both absolutely on point. She didnt need to move around on either song, these songs accentuate her voice and that was what she was doing. The high points sounded much better and she took control of the stage. Everyone in the audience loved her.
i think… Stay in love is the best performance of her in 2008… i really like it… esspecially at the end of the song… and hero… i like too… but i agree with Anonymous At November 9, 2008 5:17 PM,
but she is still DiVA….
Well, I don’t see anything ‘awful’ in Mariah’s performaces! Hello? Sam, you can’t expect her to sing “Hero” as though she’s still in her 20’s… Everybody’s voice changes in time… Yours too… It is different when you’re a child, when you’re a teenager, when you get 20, 30, 40… Don’t you know that??? That’s a fact!
And you can’t expect her to sing “Hero” exactly the same way either cuz it gets boring sometimes (especially when you have to sing a song more than a 100 times…) and that’s why she’s singing the other version that maybe she likes better…
And she doesn’t have to jump on the stage like something that she isn’t, OK? A real DIVA doesn’t have to do that, don’t you think??? This is a ballad song, not a circus…
-Bobby from Bulgaria-
Carey performed the song on November 8, 2008 on “The X Factor” in the United Kingdom and made Simon Cowell stand up and applause her. As people say, Mariah gave one of her most astonishment live performances ever.
britney spears, michelle williams, madonna, katy perry, etc cannot sing live. Mariah can! Sam you are a retarded and your blug sucks. I Stay is already a huge success in UK on downloads alone.
F*** the haters!!!!! I love you Mimi
“What the F*CK was THAT?!?!?! OMG, Mariah freakin’ sucks. I’m sorry, but she LIPPED that WHOLE song when she sang I Stay In Love. When I bought the CD and listened to it, I’m really convinced that she wrote, and recorded that song around the time she was writing songs for Emancipation of Mimi. Because in Thanks for Nothing and Love Story, her voice is really strained at the end of both of those song and suddenly here’s this song (I Stay In Love) and the range in this song is MUCH higher the other two songs. I’m convinced that she just dug up this old song (artist record TONS of songs and then choose 12-16 tracks to put on an album) and put it on this album. Her voice is sh*t, and I believe that she re-recorded it to make it seem like she sung it live, yet she didn’t. I’ve been a Mariah fan for a VERY long time and I know when she’s singing live. I know her notes, I know her face. She sucks now and I know that everyone’s voice doesn’t last forever, however when this happens (in her case it already has), that’s when she needs to ask Lionel to scoot over so she can sit down.
You’re going to be FORTY next year… stop acting like you 24.”
You are a w**** or a gay! I hate you b****! You are nothing compared to Mariah! Die!!!!!!!!!
Mimi, you’re the best!!!
Mariah did it. That was awesome. 🙂
Stop Hating!
Why do people think that Mariah will have the same voice she did 15/20 years ago?
I thought Alex was a complete pile of cack. The worst without you performance ever.
She lacks personality. She lacks character. She is really that bad.
By the way, Mariah sang the song on a lower register out of respect and she was awesome.
You don’t have to trumpet out ever song like an elephant you know. If you haven’t heard Mariah sing like this in her career you don’t know jack.
Mimi’s past her sell-by-date. If she was in the competition, she’d have been eliminated.
Laura was good in Week 1, but has been in decline ever since. She was ruined by the stylists, and standing up from the piano while the backing track continued to play was fatal.
Ruth was so much better. She’s brought heart to this competition – KOHD and Purple Rain have been the highlights so far. I want to see passion and spirit, not ‘chum whaay ovah da ray-bowwww’.
Ha-ha… Mimi – eliminated… Blah-blah… Whatever… 🙂
You guys are so anoying. Seriously.. Mariah is the most successful female recording artist of all time. She don’t need your stupid opinions. She is the best and you are nothing! The same thing for you, retarded Sam!!