We sat down for a natter with The X Factor vocal coach Anne-Marie Speed, who will be honing our finalists’ voices into perfection.
Our 16 X Factor finalists have got talent by the bucket load, natch. But what does it take to polish these diamonds in the rough and turn them into the vocal sensations?
We sat down with the lady who knows what it takes to survive in the Live Shows, vocal coach Anne-Marie Speed, to find out how she bring out the best in our natural-born performers.
Do you usually work with pop stars?
I do a lot of work for Sony and SyCo coaching artists and I’m also a professor on a musical theatre course at The Royal Academy of Music in London.
Wow! So tell us how you work the Finalists?
My work is a combination of a lot of things. Sometimes there are technical issues that need to be addressed, so I’m giving them exercises to do, other times it is coaching, performance and artistry. I’m here to help them perform their song as well and confidently as they can.
What challenges are you facing with the Groups?
The challenge varies from contestant to contestant. In the Groups there are quite a few newly-formed bands and there are some really tight harmonies that they have to get absolutely right, as well as performing some very tricky choreographies.
And the Overs?
With the Overs there is a lot of technical work. I want it to look very natural, but that takes a lot of work. It’s about making sure that they’re doing a song within their range and that suits them.
The Girls and the Boys are all very different
In the Girls and Boys category there are four very different voices and that’s really interesting to work with. It’s very important that we maintain and develop their individual sound. It’s just about tailoring what I’m doing to the needs of the individual singer. Some of them may need a bit of help with reaching the high notes, others need a bit more help with breath control…