Jimmy Osmond found himself in the bottom two for the second time last night and failed to impress any of the judges enough to save him. All four judges voted to save McFly’s Danny Jones, who according to some bookies is now favourite to win the competition. However the cynical side of me can’t help but thinking his young female fanbase may have more bearing on that than his vocal ability. Jimmy was undeterred, however, declaring: "You've got it all wrong. My opera dreams have just begun. What a blast this has been, I'm going to go home and see my beautiful wife and our four kids - that's opera to me. It's empowering, it's exciting, and it's a way of getting in touch with your inner self. And I have fallen in love with everyone on this contest.”
The women stole the show really last night with Bernie Nolan and Marcella Detroit putting on sterling performances once again. Kym Marsh, who has impressed me hugely in previous weeks, seemed rather weaker this week and it didn’t help that she resembled a toilet roll cover in her gold tiered dress. Darius Campbell also has a strong female fanbase, one would imagine, but I’m not entirely sure his voice is really strong enough to make the grade.
Presenter Myleene Klass was obviously attempting to have a lookalike moment with judge Rolando , sporting a huge curly hairstyle which didn’t do much for her (in my opinion). Alan Titchmarsh was as soporific as ever and I really think if this programme comes back another year the presenters need to be re-thought.
The show is attracting more serious criticism, however. Welsh National Opera soprano Nicola Evans says, “It’s television gone mad”. She added: “I think it's exploiting the world of opera. They will be calling more people opera singers when they are not opera singers.'It takes years of hard graft and dedication to become an opera singer. The series will give the wrong impression.”
However, judge Katherine Jenkins defended the programme, insisting: 'It will show people how difficult it is to sing opera. “Viewers will be able to see the training sessions and understand what happens.”
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