Flamboyant makeup, writhing dancers, lip-curling attitude and enough dry ice to fill a stadium of screaming groupies… it must be rock week!
Several of our finalists may have already proved they have the voices of angels but swaggering on stage with the guts of a Gallagher and the bravado of Bono has proved a lot tougher than expected.
We caught up with vocal coach to the stars, Yvie Burnett, to find out what exactly it takes to embrace your inner rocker and who she thinks can do just that.
“It’s been quite a hard week this week. To do rock you’ve got to be really, really confident. You have to have that extra something that makes you seem rocky on stage, and sometimes if you’re not feeling very brave you just can’t get that going,” she explained.
“The best rockers are not necessarily great singers, but they’re just people who’ve got the confidence to shout and scream and not really care… if you care too much about how you sound it’s never gonna be good!”
There’s once certain afro-sporting finalist that has undoubtedly lost the fear factor when it comes to working the crowd and after his gutsy performance last night it seems this weekend is the one he’s been waiting for.
“Obviously it’s Jamie’s week,” agreed Yvie. “We all know that, but then there’s a lot of pressure with that. People were expecting a perfect performance from him. It’s difficult… but he clearly enjoyed it!”
So, this week’s theme might have had some performers in their comfort zone, but Yvie says it’s been a much harder slog for the less experienced of the bunch.
“I think anybody that’s performed a lot and who’s been a singer for their job has probably got the edge this week… I think for the girls it’s probably most challenging.”
“But, for me, the most important thing is for them to enjoy themselves and just go for it!”
Did last night’s performances prove that the girls could rise to the challenge? Did Jamie exceed your high expectations? Who rocked your world?
Find out how to vote for your favourite performance of the right here.