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Ronan picks Upfront, Australia’s answer to Jedward

Ronan Keating inexplicably chooses two 18 year old twins as one of six acts he may mentor for The X Factor.

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It must be an Irish thing.

Ronan Keating last night inexplicably chose two 18 year old twins as one of six acts he may mentor for The X Factor.

Dressed in outfits resembling school uniforms, Melbourne act Up Front have been car crash telly, even leaving sister act The Veronicas struggling for words.

Keating, who mentored Altiyan Childs to win the 2010 season, is convinced they have the X Factor.

But based on footage we’ve seen so far it’s not evident through the screen. They should have been booted a long time ago.

“We just realised like two weeks ago that we have this massive range,” one has said.

“Isn’t this show like about improving people?” the other asked.

“They can see we were shit and now we’re like amazing.”

I am reminded of Irish twins Jedward, who performed the gobsmacking “Lipstick” at this year’s Eurovision. They were certainly memorable, but for none of the right reasons.

And they didn’t win.

Last night Guy Sebastian also sent home 18 year old Iraq war survivor Emmanuel Kelly after noting he forgot his words, but picked another singer who also forgot his words.

I wasn’t there so it’s difficult to know whether the judges are making the right calls. But as a viewer the editing isn’t helping the storytelling here. H

How else do we explain why Up Front make it through when other acts have been sent packing?

Pop music thrives on gimmicks, so I guess Up Front fit that bill. They’ve certainly given me more than a few laughs. I can even remember them from 23 other acts.

Hmm. Maybe they have got that X Factor after all?

28 Responses

  1. Maybe I’m just stuck in 2005 or something but I keep thinking that the talent on Idol absolutely crushes anything on the X Factor so far.

    They are all terrible..

  2. They are unique and a train wreck. last night all they did was cry yell at each other and forget the words. The Veronicas want them gone and Ronan they wont sell any albums. I feel for the other groups who got sent home and they probably watched last night thinking how the hell can upfront beat us.

    If they get thorugh again tonight then the other 3 judges will just laugh. I think Mel B and Nat are doing the best with there groups and I reckon the winner will come from there.

  3. Re: Jedward – these guys are friggin hilarious and so on point, genuine and true to themselves personality wise I almost get jealous! Check them out on the latest Celebrity Big Brother UK on YouTube, they’re brilliant, off in their own world, yet without them the show would’ve been nothing. Youtube some interviews of them too – the interviewers always start off on the serious negative side, and by the end of it they can’t keep it together… maybe not the best singing voices but they’ll make awesome tv presenters. Ronan obviously sees this in Upront.

  4. Of course the producers were going to choose the twin Rory Gilmores to go through. The girls seem to be in on it too. It’s all very contrived, like most reality TV.

  5. The look on The Veronicas’ faces was priceless when Ronan was telling UpFront that they were going through to the next stage. Which brings up the point of why have guest judges if their opinion is dismissed.

  6. I agree Mel B has some of the most talented contestants left. Christina Parie reminds me of the lead singer of Tonight Alive – if she makes it to the top 12 I wouldn’t be surprised if she makes top three easily. Very easy on the eyes + great song choice!

    @johnjet: Cheers mate, Josh’s first audition was amazing and has received over 450,000 views on youtube between two videos. Guy has really dropped the ball on this one, but at least he sent Trent through. I know that guy personally, haha. He deserves to go far

  7. It wasn’t just about forgetting the words. Guy said during the show something like:

    ‘There were so many who tanked today. It’s almost like I’ve got to put today behind me and look for the potential.’

    I guess that’s what he did.

  8. Emmanuel was never going to make it to the live finals, it’s a great story and amazing courage but you knew that they were hoping for a slip-up and they got the excuse they needed.

    It’s also interesting to see all the faces in the top 12 that you never saw in the audition shows, which clearly gave away that they weren’t going to get any further because there was no back story. There was a bloke in Guy’s group who I’d never even seen, so knew the verdict was going to be a no.

    As for the main reason for the article, Ronan obviously likes to take a punt and create controversy, then everyone is talking about him and his groups…guess it works!

  9. What about the white haired guy with the glasses???? Some poor decisions last night!!

    Maybe we are missing something with the editing – but I just don’t get some of the decisions.

  10. Guy clearly used forgetting the words as an excuse. Emmanuel’s first performance was amazingly emotional – I was a little choked up myself – but his singing just wasn’t anywhere near as good as anybody else in the comp (including UpFront). He didn’t even get through the audition process of AGT (which I admit is very odd).

  11. I am with Ronan….a pair of hot 18 year old impressionable twins to mentor and jetting them off somewhere. Yeah I would be more than happy to “mentor ” them

    There is an old saying in pop music….” your can’t play, you can’t sing, but you look great, you’ll go a long way”

  12. Gotta agree that Ronan and Guy made some dud judging decisions last night……..I think that Mel B probably has the most talented contestants left in her group.
    Or is it that the X Factor producers think that Upfront will cause controversy and viewer outrage, so the longer they can stay on the show, the better?

  14. @nooooo – Sony hasn’t dropped Altiyan. He is still with them and will be releasing ‘ordinary man’ on September 16.

    As for some other judging choices made last night, was hoping to see Natalie Colavito go through but unfortunately she didn’t.

    As for a few other choices it is interesting that they let some through and others not, yet some they didn’t let through they gave so much screen time to them, yet others practically get zilch. These shows were done quite a while ago so it can be puzzling why they show some so much, when they’ve already left the show by the time the first episode hits screens.

  15. Wake up! Every series of reality features these left-field guests. It’s the producers in the hosts ears telling them they have to pick them. Why? Because they create train-wreck TV…they get people watching because they are unpredictable. Even people who hate the show (me) tune in to see if they stuff up live!
    It’s all a ploy!

  16. Ah youre all Jedward haters! They are obviously terrible singers but seriously Jedward are an amazing talent because they have personality – something which 99% of artists lack. They were great fun on Celebrity BB in these last few weeks. Smart move by Ronan!

  22. Ronan has become an utter joke, letting these imbociles through. Complete and utter joke. Then again he is the one that thought Altiyan had the x factor!!! Where is he now? dumped by Sony and back to his forklifting job, and dating a girl with her mums permission- according to Today Tonight!

  25. They’re at least better looking the Jedward… we still don’t need an answer to Jedward.

    They’ve certainly got the Seven X-Factor, they’re middle-class white women who are pretty. All the things Channel seven likes its viewers to be.

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