Nottingham City Schools Xfactor Competition 2010
Aiden Southall
You would think “where have you been for the past 10 years?” if one of your friends hadn’t heard of the X-Factor. Let’s face it; the competition is always a huge talking point in all areas of society right from August until Christmas. Personally, I’d never seen the Nottingham City School’s version of the competition until this year and didn’t really know what to expect of the talent. I mean it could be fantastic with some real potential or it could be awful just like some of the auditions we see year after year. Walking into the Sandfield Centre, I was hoping it wasn’t the latter.

The competition ran in a fashion not too distant from the X-Factor we’re all familiar with. The acts were put into groups and then asked to sing in front of a live audience and 3 judges. No pressure!

Group A kicked off the night with modern songs such as ‘Valerie’ and ‘You’ve Got the Love’. It was a really great start to the evening. I was hoping that the high standard set so far was an example of things to come. I wasn’t disappointed. Groups B and C followed with mixtures of soul, pop, hip-hop and even opera, by both solo artists and groups. There was so much on offer!

Group D continued the night’s fantastic standard of performance. By this point I’d noticed something superb that all the acts had in common – they chose the right song for themselves. Some people had powerful voices and chose songs such as ‘Empire State of Mind’, whereas quieter soulful voices sang tunes like ‘Dance with my Father’. In my opinion everyone pulled it off.

Now by the time we were getting to the likes of Group H, I was starting to make my predictions, as I usually do at these types of talent contests. I could pull out about 5 acts which I thought would go through, but struggled to predict the other 10. I mean, even after group I had finished the night off, I was struggling to pick my 15 acts. At that moment I was honestly starting to understand what the judges must go through when making their choices.

The break passed reasonably quickly as the bubbly atmosphere of anticipation and excitement filled the old auditorium. I think the looks on people’s faces suggested that they had no idea who was going through either. Usually on TV, we can guess what the judges are going to do as there are some great acts and awful ones. That night, everyone was so good that you just couldn’t anticipate who was going to make it.

When the lights dimmed and the judges took to the floor, the laughter and chatter decayed into nail biting tension all around the room. One by one, the three experts gave their feedback to the audience. When I say experts, I mean it, they really knew their stuff. Their feedback covered everything from stage control to breathing patterns. You could see nods of agreement and acknowledgement from both the audience and competitors.

The decision came. The names of the 15 acts going through were read out in quick succession followed by small yelps of joy at each name. I was frantically ticking and crossing my predictions with both expectancy and surprise. Out of the 15 names I eventually decided upon, only 8 were right. That’s how close the competition was; any one of a number of acts could have gone through.

Leaving the theatre on the cold November night I was thinking ahead to Thursday’s final. I mean, the standard had been raised even more looking at the 15 who got through. On the bus I read through my notes again and put some thoughts down about Thursday. People were going to have to up their game to win. In the final, somebody would have to excel to show that they’re that bit better from the other acts. I scanned across the names again and believed any one of them could do it.

Thursday was definitely an interesting night. Taking my seat towards the back again I was really pleased to see a crowd as big as the other night obviously meaning that more people had come to show their support. The acts were placed in groups again like Tuesday night but sang the full version of their song rather than being cut off half way through.

The acts raised their game as predicted. Once again I was shocked by the sheer quality of the voices on offer and the range of styles. It really was entertaining and I would argue even more than the actual X-Factor itself. I mean, in recent years I have found the proper competition repetitive, predictable, and all the acts being too similar. I was just so happy to hear a range of acts that mastered their individual style and put on a great show.

Once again in the break I struggled to draw a clear winner from the 15 acts. All but one or two had completely raised their game from Tuesday which meant the judges had a huge job trying to determine who would win. This was reflected as the break ran 15 minutes longer than it should have. When the judges eventually took to the floor, you could sense the tension was ten times bigger than on Tuesday. The judges ran through their comments for each act and then announced that four people would win this year. You could see excited faces light up round the room at the realisation they had a 26% chance of winning. The four names were read out in a slower fashion than the other night. There were yelps of joy for the winners and sighs of disappointment for those who had come so close.

All in all, the winners had fantastic voices. I mean obviously the prize could have gone to any of the acts but the four winners had displayed completely different performances and therefore were probably the best choices. I mean, to have four similar artists would make the winners list not as exciting as one with completely different acts.

I knew that this would be the last time I would see live music at the Sandfield centre. It’s a rather sad thought after all the years of ‘Bands in the Sand’ and then the ‘X-Factor’ that this fantastic venue will be knocked down. However, it made me smile that this was probably one of the best events to give the venue a farewell. A fantastic display of talent and emotions – precisely what the venue was designed for in the first place.