And now for something completely different; boot camp! Tonight; successful auditionee’s will quickly learn that this competition only gets harder and more spectacular from here on in and for some of them; they won’t be so successful by the end of it! It’s time to stick the boot in!
We begin the episode in bustling Sydney as Luke Jacobz line debriefs us on the show thus far and talks about the upcoming boot camp. We see some thoughts from the contestants as they head by bus to their destination.
We are reminded of the different groups and that the judges will find out soon what category they will be mentoring. The judges are travelling by boat, motorcycle, limo and car to The Metro where the boys are waiting to find out who their mentor will be.
They are blinded as bright lights behind a stage they are facing turn on before they dim to show Guy as their mentor and they all come over to hug him!
The girls are next to find out whom their mentor is and it turns out to be Mel B! The over 25’s get Natalie Bassingthwaighte who takes over from Ronan Keating who was last year’s over 25’s judge. This year, he has been left with the groups and hey, as last year’s winning mentor, they should be happy with this.
Today, contestants will sing before their mentor who will then choose 12 of them to progress to the next round. Guy calls out Wynter Gordon to help him decide his lucky 12 boys.
They boys are now nervously waiting out back as Guy and Wynter take their seats. The first guy to be judged is last night’s auditionee Johnny Ruffo who feels under prepared. He will be singing Chris Brown’s With You without all of his dance moves.
It sounds good, but maybe not the best. Guy cuts him off quite short which could be a good thing or a bad thing. The next guy up is so nervous; he forgets the name of his song and soon enough; Guy has already crossed some names off his list.
Guy and Wynter determine they need to be shaken up a bit and they go out back and give them some words of encouragement and tell them to step it up a notch.
Up next is Emmanuel Kelly who is this year’s X Factor golden boy. But that was one audition; can he impress today?
He will be singing Home by Michael Buble today. I won’t comment on the performance because to me; it was quite good and Guy thought it was good, and I don’t doubt he will go through.
The rest of the auditions continue and Guy finds that the talent is improving and he and Wynter are soon smiling eye to eye.
We then have a look at SA’s Reece Mastin who, despite being a rocker is taking a gamble by singing Nina Simone. Guy knows it is a risk and Reece says he grew up with the song.
He begins to sing and he does really well. He is able to hold strong notes, but it will be a long wait before any judgement is passed.
We then go to Natalie’s over 25 group where she asks Darren Hayes to come out and help her! We previously saw this guy as a guest on Dancing With The Stars.
The first guy of the day is in fact the first auditionee we had this year; Andrew Wishart and today, he is singing a song that made his wife cry.
He has a strong start, but as we start to see, he’s one of a few as many more auditionees begin to fall under pressure.
Mitchell Callaway is one man who was so nervous in his audition; he could hardly answer the judge’s questions. Today; he is back with his one word answers and hopefully, he can pull of a doozie today.
They seem to be a bit off put by his nerves but they know something is there. From there, many favourites, including Pamela and Paige, deliver.
Marina Davis was that chick from last night who had her music career put on hold by her extending family. Tonight; she is back and blows Natalie and Darren away with her stunning voice. Darren comments on Natalie’s hard job.
After the break, we head to Mel B’s girl group where she announces that her guest judge is husband Stephen Belafonte. The first girl up is Christina Parie; a 15 year old girl who will be singing Dear Mr. President by Pink because of her political views.
Her performance seems a little off and she missed a few notes. She doesn’t get too many nice comments from the judges, and cries outside. Apparently, it is her demise that throws a few more of the girls off course as girl after girl forgets their words.
Up next is a girl who is doing this for her now deceased father, Jacqui Newland. Her audition impressed Mel and Stephen. From here on in, the girls do deliver, including Tara from last night!
Last up is Tyla Bertolli who was put through to Boot camp thanks to Mel B. She will be singing an Eminem rap today; which is an interesting choice.
Her take on the song is an interesting one and I am not too sure if it worked for me.
We’re back after the break where the under 25 boy’s are ready to hear the verdict. Wynter and Guy discuss the choice they have but nothing much is given away.
The judges soon come up with a decision and he begins to give the bad news to some, and the good news to others. Some of those who get through include Johnny Ruffo, that Einstein look-a-like, Sam Trenwith, Emmanuel Kelly, Zack (the Christian guy) and Reece Mastin.
After the break, we head to the over 25’s where Natalie is discussing with Darren who to send home.
Soon enough; it is judgement time. The noticeable move throughs include Marina Davis, Paige and Andrew Wishart. Mitchell Callaway; our nervous auditionee; also gets the nod to go through.
After the break, we fly into Mel’s girl group and after a few heart breaking no’s, it is on to the yeses. Some of the notable contestants going through from this group include Tyla Bertolli; Jade the panel divider, Tara from last night, Jacqui Newland and Christina Parie.
So a very engaging episode tonight, and the omittance of Ronan’s group was a good decision in my opinion as it led to a clearer episode. It doesn’t have the grandiose style of American Idol; but it is a more personal reach to the contestants. At times however, I think the wrong people went through based on popularity, but considering this episode was shot ages ago, I can’t see how that is possible; so I will give the show the benefit of the doubt.
Other than that, a beautifully produced episode but maybe a bit slow on the introduction.
Courtney’s Verdict: 9.3/10
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