There were some fantastic moments on last night’s episode of The X Factor. The minions from Despicable Me 2 had a bit of a sing-song, there were cute kids who had no clue why they were there, and The Manic Street Preachers performed a great song.
But there was also a stage invasion by dozens of New Zealand’s reggae stars (for a good cause, of course) and in the end judge Melanie Blatt’s girl group Gap 5 was voted off the show.
I have to admit, at the beginning of the show when the judges came out to play, a pang of jealousy hit me: If Ruby Frost can wear a bathrobe to work, why can’t I
Stan Walker stuck to his glasses rather than contact lenses – sensible given there could be tears.
Daniel Bedingfield was his flowery, tartany self (“my comments will be serious but my pants won’t be”) and Blatt seemed a bit sad that she had to appear without the purple eye shadow which was after all her favourite thing about Sunday’s show.
And while host Dominic Bowden wasn’t getting tired of repeating what a shock last week’s elimination of Tom Batchelor was, Walker just hoped that some of the contestants would learn to play the game and get hard.
But before we got anywhere, we were told the contestants were treated to a bit of Hollywood feel, at the New Zealand premiere of Despicable Me 2. Sure enough, it was one really glitzy affair with at least two dozen preschool and primary school kids. The Ridges were there too.
There even was a short clip of film’s minions singing. Similar to some contestants, they might not have the best voice but they’re funny, lovable and easy to recognise.
Then it got busy on the stage: The Aotearoa Reggae All Stars, comprising of pretty much everybody who has ever recorded a song of the genre in New Zealand, were performing Herb’s classic Sensitive To A Smile.
The children looked as if they didn’t have the slightest idea of what was going on.
Che Fu told us that they have brought together 12 of NZ’s reggae bands aiming to stop child abuse. It is a great project and a wonderful cause but I wish they would have given them a bit more time to actually speak about the charity, Mana Ririki, and the work they are doing. But there you go.
All I could think was: Jeez, what a tough act to follow for the Manics.
But the revelation first (and I spare you the Bowden-esque pauses): Jackie Thomas, Benny Tipene. Moorhouse and Whenua Patuwai got through, while Cassie Henderson and girl group Gap 5 were left on the chopping block.
And yeehaa, the Manic Street Preachers played
