“Hell yeah!” Dannii agrees X Factor has standing ovation overkill

Danni Minogue is adamant.

“They do not have electric seats! It’s not like they buzz us and we jump up!”

Yet week in, week out, The X Factor judges are bursting out of their seats for their singing acts. Has it gotten to the point where a standing ovation is now a pre-requisite on the Seven talent show?

Minogue reluctantly agrees things have gotten out of hand.

“It should be a sign of something being extraordinary. There’s no doubt that when we’re doing the Live shows there is adrenalin and passion involved,” she says.

“Do we sometimes get too crept up in the moment? Hell yeah! You might look at something back and think ‘That was great but did it deserve a standing ovation?’ So I get what you’re saying and you’re absolutely right.

“This week more than ever I felt the judges were split about who they were standing for. Then there are other weeks where it’s unanimous and there’s no question about how good (the act) is.”

It’s not the only bad habit I want to tackle her on. Why, in their Monday night Verdict show, does it take a lifetime for the judges to arrive at a decision about whom to cull? After all, there’s a 5 minute commercial break in between the acts singing and the moment of truth. Must they deliberate for so long that the next show invariably starts late?

“That means you have time to make a cup of tea, if you need to!” she laughs.

“Even if they’re not from your category you get to know them backstage. We do spend a lot of time together. So you’re delivering that message to people you care about. Everybody who is in the top group, we all chose together to go on the show.

“If you’re saying something you don’t want to say it is hard to get it out.”

But she also acknowledges the expectations of the format.

“It’s a bit of drama. The whole way this entertainment show works is on emotions. If you take emotions out of the show you don’t have a show, you’ve just go music, so therefore listen to the radio.

“But I’m sure sometimes it goes on a lot longer than you want it to.

“Ronan has three James Bond faces to pull before he gives his verdict.”

Minogue is now in her 6th season of X Factor internationally, on top of her seasons of Australia’s Got Talent. Whether doing TV, music, or even fashion, being creative is synonymous with the family name.

“Going back to my days on Young Talent Time I was making primetime live entertainment, with singing, dancing, talking to camera, designing my own outfits with my grandma helping me make them. So to me entertainment and fashion has always been one thing. It’s pretty awesome to be able to still doing those things.”

Would she ever return to acting?

“I like acting. I guess for me the live stuff gives me a buzz,” she continues.

“I’m looking at other opportunities to see what’s interesting.”

Meanwhile the focus is on her likeable trio, the simply-titled farm boys, Brothers 3. Initially she did not select them to be in her Top 3 acts, concerned there were no acts like them in the charts. A Wild Card audience vote proved to be their lifeline.

“They’re adorable to work with, but they’re completely different. You get that chemistry with the sound and harmonies that you can’t get otherwise,” she explains.

“But it’s the reality of the world that record companies, more than ever before, play it safe because the music industry has changed dramatically over the last 15 years. Music still has to earn money so when an act goes to a record company they’re not going to sign unless they see the potential.

“So I also have to think of the record company, I’ve also got to think of A&R, I’ve also got to think of how it goes to the radio station.”

Wasn’t the individuality of the act all the more reason to choose them?

“Yes things break through when they are different, but it could have gone either way. At the moment if you walked into a record company thinking ‘This has a 50 / 50 chance of working” –they will not sign it. If they think it’s got a 100% chance of working, they might sign it.”

As the mentor for groups, Minogue also oversaw the creation of two vocal groups comprising singers who auditioned as individuals. The success of One Direction in the UK has influenced other versions of the show to replicate their success. 2013’s The Collective are still an on-going act, albeit with 4 not 5 members.

X Factor has a good track record with acts as selling artists. But if the show manufactures 2 of its 3 Groups, are the odds stacked against Groups auditioning entirely?

“It’s the toughest category because it takes longer to perfect the performances from a group, and they’re not given any extra time. But there’s still a chance, to be in it to win it and find great success,” she says.

“I don’t think that should put anyone off. It is what it is.”

The X Factor airs 6:30pm Sunday and 7:30pm Monday on Seven.