For me, X-Factor Fright Night was the best night of the competition until now this season. The majority of the songs (5/9) were coming from 90s (3) and 80s (2). 1990s was the decade that I knew music. The fourth X-Factor live show reminded me of 90s songs with which I grew up and I had been enjoying more than 15 years ago. Furthermore, there were songs that had first been heard in the 1980s, a period that I researched at the start of the 21st Century. Regardless from the fact that the concept was totally conformed with Halloween, this X-Factor live show made me feel nostalgic.
Ryan Lawrie sang with excessive power the Backstreet Boys hit "Everybody" (released in 1997). The judges told him that it was his best performance. I agree with them; I also liked his first performance, of "Perfect" by One Direction. Nicole Scherzinger insists on assigning to him boy bands' hits and I find it plausible: they fit to his voice. Besides, Lawrie auditioned with Vamps' "Cecilia" and with this song he made a good first impression of himself in the contest.
Emily Middlemas performed "Creep" by Radiohead (released in 1992) and she received good critics from the judging panel. I believe that she was at her best. Although the song has been sung mostly by men, it was interesting to hear it from a girl. She managed to convey the atmosphere of the song without altering its sense, unintentionally due to the contrasting appearance and style she has with the original performers.
Honey G, as a woman in black, brought light and joy, for one more time, on the X-Factor stage with her version of "Men In Black" by Will Smith (released in 1997). After becoming known for her Missy Elliot songs renditions, she illustrates, the last couple of weeks, that she can compete equally with men rappers, as she is performing their songs with her own, distinctive and enjoyable style. Simon Cowell said to her that he is beginning to get her, so whatever her haters might say, obviously she is doing something right.
"Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler (released in 1983) is one of my favourite songs of all time and Sam Lavery managed to locate the feelings and emotions the song generates. She made the audience feel them too. Despite the fact that her mentor, Simon Cowell, told her that he should have guided her differently the previous week, she offered a nice rendition of the song. Besides, Cowell described her performance as fantastic, but perhaps he thought of something alternative that could make the display even better.
Five After Midnight is a group that caught my attention right from the start. The 5AM members have the gift of being extremely talented in simultaneous singing and dancing. Simon Cowell pointed that out in the Auditions and the band proves every week that they are ready to begin a remarkable career quite soon, since the music industry is in need of what they do. Their performance of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" (released in 1982) just affirmed that.
When I became aware of which songs would be sung in the 4th live show of the 2016 X-Factor, I was excited. At the same time, I was curious whether the contestants would be able to be in the climate of past decades' music. My concerns had to do with the fact that most of them hadn't been born or were babies when the, above mentioned, 80s and 90s songs had been released. However, they made it; they managed to transfer the magic, and everyone enjoyed it; despite the scary outfit.