Mary for Eurovision 2011

Heres my X-Factor Summary for the Saturday show, week 7...

Dermot: Unwittingly made an amazing NKOTB reference by calling One Direction 'the newest boyband on the block'. I liked it a lot.

Matt- Nice arms, shame about the phlegm in throat at the beginning of the song. It was a good song choice for him, and nice to see him singing something quite masculine for a change. Not sure the whole production with the dancers really suited a Beatles song though, and thought his styling was a little bit too 'Kid Rock/Wife-beater' for such a much-loved sweetie. Also, he seems to have small shoulders which was distracting. But yes, lovely arms.

This girl singing 'Imagine'?? Seriously? *Lennon turns in his grave*

Cher- The song choice was just a little bit lame to me. It came across contrived-maybe because she is so young. Maybe its because the song features lines such as 'imagine no possessions' that Cher with her bratty, kinda hip-hop attitude simply couldn't make it sound believable. While she obviously has vocal talent, she really has no proper technique to speak of. I will say she had good makeup. It was nice to see her not looking like a drag queen. The best bit was the judges didn't all go crazy praising her the way they did on the Halloween show(to be honest, I thought this was better than her rendition of 'Stay'. That week was all about the styling and production.

One Direction- I thought it was a really fun performance. I liked the production- especially the crowd of dancers coming in at the end. I gotta agree with what Cheryl once said- I would love them if I was 14-15, and would probably have posters and everything. I thought the styling was good overall, except for the one dude in the silly cropped trousers. I'm not convinced they didn't have a backing vocal playing- not sure why I thought that, it just sounded like more than 5 voices at times. Oh, and the Irish dude has silly hair.

Rebecca- First impression? not loving the jumpsuit or bad trousersuit or whatever it was. Thought she was as good as ever, but yeah, maybe she wasn't quite as powerful as she could've been. every week she's always a little bit off-key in places but her voice is lovely u forgive her. I decided this week that maybe her eyebrows are drawn a bit higher than they should naturally be? They look a lot more natural than Cher's, but when u look at her bone structure and eyes closely I think they are higher than they should be, but she suits it. As always Dannii was the only one who offered constructive criticism.

Mary- Definitely had her mojo back- though I don't think it went too far away. She even seemed to be moving in a way that was a little bit sexy or something. She had amazing stage presence, and she looked beautiful. The only issue I have with Mary is, where can she go from here? Eurovision?...actually, thats not a bad idea. Get songwriting people!!Oh and realized Louis reminds me of Jedward the way he bounces around in his camp little way.

Paije- He is by far the best vocalist left in the comp. Hands down. He also has the cutest baby face ever. Has a special spark- is it the 'X' factor? I'm not 100% sure. I love his style every week- he kicks it old school. When it comes time to judge him...I don't wanna see Simon's chest hair.

Wagner- So he called Cheryl 'a council estate girl who got lucky'. I don't see the controversy in that. She's never tried to hide it, and is proud of it. Its true, he wasn't saying she isn't talented, and I think it was probably taken out of context. At the end of the day, Cheryl is an amazing dancer, but her vocals aren't exactly much better than his. She doesn't even sing live when she performs on the show, so I don't see what all the Hoo-Ha is about. Cheryl should know better than anyone that the press can take a quote and twist it to suit themselves. I thought her reaction was inappropriate and uncalled for. As for the performance- I'm with the judges on this one- there isn't really much you can say about it.

Below is a pic of Wagner when he was young:And here is a pic of Cheryl beside a pic of the nightclub attendant she assaulted: Haven't Wagner and Cheryl both come a long way?

Katie- Does she smoke? Whats with her croaky speaking voice? The song choice came across a bit desperate, and like she was trying to show us what she is going through with all the negative press- but instead it came across shallow and contrived. I dunno why this is, I really don't. There really is just an inexplicable 'thing' about her that makes her not-likeable. I guess that makes me feel ever-so-slightly sorry for her because it doesn't seem like there is anything she can do right. I liked the blonde hair better on her but think the crop is cute. Her dress was cute, but wasn't exactly a show-stopper, more like nice day-wear. And, once again, Dannii is the only one who speaks the truth.

My message to take away from this weeks episode? vote Paije. And if you don't vote Paije, then vote Wagner. That's that.

Oh, and I liked Dannii's look best. Cheryls whole look was just a bit too predictable, like we've seen it before.

Ron Weasley. Ya Would.

Ok, so Ron isn't exactly dreamy, but geez he's come a long way hasn't he?! Good for him. Anyway, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1 opened here in Ireland on Friday, and I went to see it yesterday.
So whats it all about? Basically Lord Voldemort has gathered up his crew of Death Eaters and they have taken over the magical world, including the Ministry of Magic, and of course, Hogwarts. Harry is their enemy no. 1, but thankfully he still has his loyal group of friends and supporters. Harry is on a mission to find and destroy the 7 'Horcruxes' which are seemingly normal objects that contain pieces of Voldemorts soul. In order to destroy Voldemort once and for all, these Horcruxes also need to go. The problem is, he has only little clues as to where and what these Horcruxes are. Thankfully, Dumbledore has left some cryptic clues from beyond the grave, and Harry has the ever faithful Ron and Hermione to help him.
Just as they are doing for the final installment of the Twilight saga, the last book in the series has been split in 2. For both of these franchises it absolutely makes sense. It may seem like they just want to drag it out and make more money off the series(which may well be the case) but the final book is easily more than double the pages of most of the other books, and even they had huge chunks of the plot lines removed when translated to the screen.
I deliberately chose not to re-read Deathly Hallows before the film release, as I am always one of those annoying 'it wasn't like that in the book' people. I knew the rough plot line from reading the book back when it first came out, but that was it. I couldn't remember all the teeny tiny details, which I believe made the movie altogether more enjoyable- cause lets face it, can anyone compare with our imaginations?
Overall, I loved this movie. It was dark, constantly suspenseful and even a little bit scary. Now, I am a complete wuss when it comes to scary movies, but I really did feel for the smaller children sitting nearby. Thank god it wasn't shown in 3D or parts of it would've been terrifying for them(and maybe me!!). If you're a Potter fan you'll love it. If not, this might just all be a little bit confusing for you.

yes, worse than crazy frog

I feel this may be the worst song, of all time...EVER. At the moment, when i am driving around, i am more than happy just listening to the radio. If i don't love a song, i can generally still tolerate it. BUT there is one song that makes me change stations instantly- even if it means listening to ads.
The Black Eyed Peas 'hit' The Time (dirty bit) is just so offensive to my ears. I can't even pinpoint exactly what the problem is, but I have narrowed it down.
It lacks structure, and is obviously relying on 2 important facts:

1) it 'samples' some very well known lyrics.
2) Its by the Black Eyed Peas, who could apparently release shit on a stick and people would buy it.

Basically, its shit, and if it didn't feature lines from 'The time of my life' it would be just another album track, a 'filler' if you will. But because of that one stupid line, they decided it should be a single, and strangely, bizarrely, people like it. I really really don't understand. If this is a good Pop song, then what the hell have we become?

A little underwhelming

Like all fashion-lovers-on-a-budget in this country, I was very excited to hear that Forever 21 was opening in Dublin. Dubbed the 'Primark of the US,' Forever 21 offers a wide variety of fashion and accessories for women, men and teens, including a Plus size range. I am yet to visit the store, but I have visited the new UK website which opened at the same time as the Dublin store.

Maybe my expectations were too high, but I was ever-so-slightly underwhelmed by some of the fashion, particularly the dresses. My main issue with them was that the day dresses were a bit basic, and the going out dresses a bit tacky. Overall the dresses are just not as Fashion-Forward as we are used to on the Irish and UK High Street.

The best items on offer come in the form of jewelry and accessories, but I did find a few other bits and bobs worth noting that you can see in the picture above. And the store definitely is budget-friendly, with nothing pictured being more than about £30. I say £ and not € because I had trouble with the 'change currency' button on the website. Seems like they are still ironing a few things out actually. Anyhoo, one more chain store in the country is overall a good thing, and I will be visiting the store ASAP.

The Katie-Factor

Why do the judges keep saving Katie Waissel/Voguel/Biatch?? Like, seriously? The answer, of course, is to create controversy.

I have long-ago accepted that shows such as the X-Factor have very little to do with talent. Like Idol and Popstars before it, the X-Factor is about entertainment. But I feel this new format has taken it a step further than its predecessors. Why? because while the public do get to vote, ultimately, the choice is left in the hands of the 'judges' who can manipulate the outcome as much as they like. I mean, often, Simon doesn't even attempt to justify his decisions. For example, despite being what I would consider an Aiden 'fan', giving him praise and defending on occasion, tonight he chose to save Katie. He didn't explain why he chose to go against the comments he made all season about Aiden, and the viewers are left with questions. When he doesn't explain his decision properly, isn't it natural that we are going to start crying 'FIX!!!'. He knows Katie brings the drama. She has done since say one and the Namu-gate saga. That is really all he cares about, and its upsetting, but it is the reality. Any viewers who can't see that, are quite frankly, lacking intelligence.

And who the hell is Katie anyway? As you can see from the pictures above, she hasn't really given us someone we can warm to, even though she claims to be trying to show us her 'true self'. Maybe her true self has multiple personalities?? There's the 'Quirky'(I use the term tongue-in-cheek) Popstar; The smouldering Jazz Siren; Retro Diva; Hipter Rock Star; Dramatic 'Sod-it' Darling; and the 80's Madonna.

While in the past, I have questioned whether Aiden was truly being Himself, or merely impersonating someone he thought was 'deep, intense, credible and artistic', I give him a certain amount of forgiveness because he is only 18, and at least he has been consistent.

The moral of this story? Vote Wagner! The show has become a COMPLETE JOKE anyway, so why not vote for one??

Ho-loween

Halloween sure does bring out the skanks hey? I saw the 4 sluttiest looking girls i've seen in real life tonight. And it wasn't pretty. That is, they weren't pretty and they seemed to think they were.

I am anti sexy halloween costumes. Halloween is about being scary. Sure, I had my doubts when planning my costume. I definately had moments where I just thought 'but I want to look pretty' but I am glad I went ugly for the sake of a laugh. I encourage you to think about me, and my Crazy Cat Lady costume next year. At halloween, go Fug, not skank.

ps-

if the aussies were looking for an excuse to beat the crap out of ireland in the international rules, i think they just found it

ok, so its actually really bad

this is just horrible, like I said earlier, its horrible regardless of the animal. i can't believe they even got a live animal inside a hotel. what the hell was going on??!

kangaroo-gate 2010

the news of a 'wallaby or small kangaroo' that was bought into a 30th birthday party in dublin while the theme tune to 'skippy' was played has outraged the public.
i read that, supposedly, australians are outraged as this is like a personal attack- insult a kangaroo, insult our nation. well, I can say that as an aussie i am not offended, but as a vegetarian animal-lover and generally good person I am. I am confused though, because many australians eat kangaroo on a regular basis. many hunt them for sport, while others shoot them just because they are considered 'pests' on their farm. now i am not saying that this justifies the behaviour of those involved in the birthday-nightclub incident, not at all. what i am saying is, is that aussies have no right to look at this as some kind of personal attack. we should treat this like any other defenceless animal in the same situation. Kangaroos/wallabies are not 'sacred' animals in australia- we don't worship them, keep them as pets or care for them. We eat them!(well not me personally obviously)
i do feel for the poor animal though- it would have been so scared and shocked. then again, its the kind of way most people would like to go.

a song that doesn't sound like a dance remix of a song

thankyou nelly. I am not going to pretend that I am some kind of full-on hip hop/rap/r'n'b fan, but every single song in the pop charts is starting to sound the same. So i'd like to congratulate nelly on sticking to his own style while still sounding modern and appealing to the masses. oh, and at no point doesn he repeat words, eg 'I'm wearing all my favourite brands brands brands brands...hands hands hands hands' and he doesn't include any lines as lame as 'I guess thats why they call it window pain/pane'

weekly x-factor wrap up

i shall endeavour to keep this short and sweet:

• Bruno Mars is Matt's music icon, and the Kinks are Belle Amie's
• The audience and judges clearly have no knowledge of popular hip hop music as they thought it was 'risky, fresh, unique and different' to mix rap with 'hard knock life' a-la Jay-Z
• The judges thought TreyC was amazing singing purple rain, but in parts I thought she was so screechy I actually grimaced
• Mary was also a hit with the judges and got another standing ovation- but again, cynical me thought she was a bit flat and a little boring. I guess I was overall underwhelmed.
• John was good but continues to fly under the radar as a bit of a 'blah' contestant.
• Diva Fever have gone far beyond camp. They are on a whole new level. Their music hero's are Duck Sauce. Or maybe it was in fact, an ode to Streisand? Oh, and their backing singers sang really well.
• Rebecca is really beautiful and I like her voice, but she wasn't always in key. I think that her overall 'presence' is going to save her as most people aren't going to notice how pitchy she is.
• Aiden is cool, deep, nonchalant, and an 'Artist'....or so he seems to think. But he is only 18. Does he really know?? And if he really is that cool, what the hell is he doing on the cheesiest TV show ever invented? At least Lennon really seemed to be his hero.
• Katie. The only bad thing I can say is that I was very sad that she was so good. She sang really really well, and actually has the kind of voice I wish I had(I love singing when I have a cold cos I sound all jazzy and raspy). And I seriously think she was the only one who was truly in tune through her whole performance. If you have read my previous post about her, you understand just how painful this is for me to admit. That said, I still can't stand her, cos whenever she speaks I want to slap her, she is just so darned annoying!
• I think I hate Cher as much as I hate Katie now. What a little brat. Yeah, Cher, we believe you. You are super ghetto and hardcore.
• Wagner was nutty as ever. He really should just go soon cos theres no realistic way he will win. and apparently he's seduced mary. thats a bit creepy.
• Louis still can't pronounce wagner as 'Vagner'. That would really piss me off if I was wagner.
• dannii was the best dressed again. cheryl needs to up her game.
• cheryl had red hair. i thought she learnt her lesson after the last time she did it? i think she just really liked the look on storm.

That is all.

scary

So I am trying to decide what to be for halloween and have been scouring thee net for inspiration. So far, I haven't been very inspired(except by rainbow brite). I have been scared, but for all the wrong reasons. I will continue on my search, but I am running out of time...

everything thats wrong with the world

here is miley cyrus teaching young girls how to get attention from boys. girls, when u go to the school dance, be sure to wear something sexy. dance like a stripper and be sure your bra is hanging out of your top. better yet, don't wear one. if the boys still haven't noticed you, grab one of your similarly dressed friends(preferably one slightly less hot than you) and use her like a pole dancer would use a pole. at this point, you should have caught the eye of some lovely gentlemen. if you are still not satisfied, why not snog your friend?(ok, so miley didn't do that, but she was only a step away).

seriously. miley, teenagers are getting skankier looking by the day as it is. we don't need u encouraging them and making them think it is ok or normal. u have a LOT to answer for.

Kate Miller-Heidke - Career Advice/Australian Idol Song

'i want to be a legacy'

I think that quote from epic pest katie waissel says it all. what a dumb dumb. seriously. I could write pages and pages about this girl, but I will try to condense my rant as much as possible.

anyone who knows me, knows I have super duper issues with self-proclaimed 'quirky' or 'unique' people...or people who the x-factor label these things. I want a pop-star and nothing more from this show.

from the moment I saw katie waissel on the episode that she first auditioned, she annoyed the hell out of me. instantly. aside from the 'quirky' and 'unique' labels, her cockiness and her mock-nerves made me want to slap her. and the fashion! on paper, i guess i liked her look. but i don't like a look if i don't believe it. if it doesn't look like it came naturally, was over-styled and contrived, I can see right through it.

at the judges house's she cried because she was singing an 'emotional song' for her. what a load of crap. she was hoping we would all feel for her(especially cheryl) and she probably just forgot the words and stuffed it up. pah-lease.

she also mentioned multiple times that she 'wanted to be a star' 'wanted to be huge' and 'wanted to be a legacy'. what worries me about these statements(and she certainly wasn't the only contestant to say such things) is that they aren't about music, or singing. they are about fame and being fame-hungry.

to top all of this off, it comes out that she had her own you-tube reality show sponsored by sprite and recorded a jazz album in the US. I watched a little bit of an episode and it made me feel physically ill. so friggin cheesey. and with some dodgy acting. not exactly 'real'.

u know what else annoys me? I am bothering to talk about her. perhaps I should give up on the x-factor altogether. then again, i think its important to note I am not at all suprised she got through. they need ratings, therefore they need controversy. yeah, cheryl could've just put gamu and trayc through, but would I have bothered blogging about that?

i think aussie singer kate-miller-heidke said it well in her song 'australian idol' about the show of the same name. kate was a classically trained singer for years before cracking the indie-pop market. i love this song, and while i whole-heartedly get it, i love pop and pop culture too much to kick my x-habit any time soon.

nadine goes it alone

so, this is nadine coyle's debut solo single 'insatiable'. unlike the first time i heard 'fight for this love,' when i first heard insatiable it was instantly catchy and likable. unfortunately for nadine, she is not cheryl cole. she is not the nations 'sweetheart'. in fact, it seems in recent times the media have painted her as a snob who has turned her back on ireland, girls aloud and general down-to-earthness for a flashy L.A lifestyle. i myself, a huge girls aloud fan, used to adore nadine, and now she is at the bottom of the 5 for me(along with sarah, who I just find a bit blah).

all of this said, at least her record-company-people realized she couldn't just release shit-on-a-stick and have it be a sure hit(unlike cheryl, who literally could have done just that). she has released a refreshing pop-song that has a sorta 80's/90's rock/pop power ballad feel. the reason it is refreshing, is that pop stars, hip hop stars, r&b stars, rock stars etc are all releasing what sounds like remixes of the music they used to release. I love electro music, but when kelis and co. are all doing dance then there is no variety in the pop world.

so thankyou nadine, for releasing something a bit different to what everyone else is doing. i am not sure you have a hit on your hands, purely because people seem to think u r a skinny bitch, but its a nice song. if you need a hit, consider teaming up with david guetta like everyone else.

thats gotta hurt...

fighting the fug

if in fact, u r not an old-age pensioner, here are some alternatives to wrap yourself in..

these items start at just £15. they are all available from topshop.com, boohoo.com and awear.com meaning they won't necessarily cost more than your precious square of organza- and will be much more wearable when your 'occasion' is over.

obsessed with fugly

i've learnt many things working in a *fashion* boutique in ireland. while i knew most of these things already, i didn't understand the extent of the issues irish women have.

today's issue is an obsession with wraps/shawls/bolero's for dressy occasions.

I will let you get away with wearing these if you are over about...70? yeah, if you get an aged pension, then they are ok. but if you are younger than that, please understand, wearing this look will make you instantly look that old.

aside from the general fugly-ness, shawls and wraps are also ridiculously impractical. here in ireland, if you are attending a wedding, its realistic to have something to put over your dress to keep warm at the ceremony, that you can then remove when at the reception.

the thing is, a wrap is not the answer to this predicament. it won't keep you warm. yes, you will be warmER but not warm. unfortunately, wraps/shawls/boleros are just one of those fashions that people simply accept as 'stylish' for certain 'occasions' without actually questioning whether they look fashionable or good on their body-type.

now, i am pretty good at having a rant about something without actually offering a solution. but not this time...

unfair advantage

why was i going on about donkeyboy's 'ambitions'? because here is joe mcElderry's new single 'ambitions'. Part of me loves the fact that such a good pop song is going to reach the masses in the UK and ireland. Then the other part of me thinks its ridiculous that a guy who won the x-factor, and therefore is already a sure hit, gets to release a song thats already on a lot of people's radars. u may not have heard of donkeyboy, but the song might sound familiar. then again, jedward released a cover thats a mash up of 2 ridiculously well known songs...but somehow that seems different. its jedward. they are just different fullstop.

donkeyboy "Ambitions" - Official Music Video [HD]

this is donkeyboy 'amitions'. One of the best pop songs of 2009. it reached number 1 in norway, sweden and iceland. it got a little radio airplay over here as well. I know i heard it on iradio here in the west of ireland...

how 2 look good in magic underwear & heels

dear gok wan,

I am aware that I look good in magic underwear and heels. taller, smoother, flatter.

what I would like 2 know, is how 2 look good naked.

cheers,

pop cynic

ps- my feet hurt, i need my sneakers.

convince me u r crazy and i will love u

crazy and cool without being contrived or over-styled. others could learn from these ladies.

boobs

i know the dress is low cut...but, seriously. doesn't she have a stylist to think of these things? why didn't the sesame street people think of this at the time?? I think its really cool and that katy's bubblegum pop personality is perfect for sesame street. then again, she did kiss a girl and she is marrying russell brand.

desperado

when a pop star resorts to wearing a dress made of meat to an award ceremony, it is not about art. it is about attention. unfortunately I am contributing to this attention right now. this makes me angry.
but seriously, she was nominated for a gazillion awards. surely gaga could've kept her stunning Alexander McQueen ensemble on that she wore for the red carpet?!

pop cynic

I am currently in a love/hate relationship with many popstars/tv stars/fashion designers/magazines/movies/tv shows/celebs.
my taste in all of the above is equal to that of a VERY ditzy young girl...
but I have the intelligence to see through most of them.
This sometimes pisses me off cos I think Ignorance really would be BLISS. I wish I could just look at Lady GaGa and go 'Oh wow I love her cos she is so original and different'.
Instead, I look at her and think
'anyone can get attention with crazy outfits if they want to...its her styling team...roisin murphy wore that before...she thinks shes a misfit and a freak but she would never be this popular if she wasn't hot...etc etc'
grrrr