—>Thank you so much to Lolly for typing this out for me! She did a wonderful job as my special guest blogger!

So… Amanda and I were lucky enough to be given free (VIP) X-Factor tickets last minute! How lucky! It was my first week in NZ so I had no idea where we were or where we were heading! We Jumped in the car and headed into town- we parked up, walked to the Sky Tower City all keen to go in, running exactly on time to then find out we were in completely the WRONG place and part of town! We then had a mad scram back to the car and I must admit (sorry Amanda!) a rather hair- raising ride to another part of town! By this time we were running late, it was pitch black and it was a slightly scary part of town! So we parked up the car and found ourselves wandering around an almost derelict industrial estate. Fortunately a very helpful young lad saw us wandering around aimlessly and asked us if were we OK, we said we were looking for the X-Factor and he pointed us in the right direction. Pheeeew! We got there just in time and stood close to the stage!

It was pretty cool seeing the studio and all the work that goes into a show like the X-Factor! Lots of crew running around and pretty strict audience participation rules!! It was also interesting to see the judges. Daniel Beddingfield was a bit of a Diva, being a typical polite English girl and him also being English, I was appalled by his behaviour! Tut Tut! There was so some pre-recording which ruined my image of it all being live, but if it was otherwise I can see how doing it all live would be madness! The acts were quite impressive and I quite liked Jackie (who went on to win the competition) and Moorhouse! Then a guy came onto stage with his guitar, and lone be hold, it was Benny- only the helpful young lad who showed us the way! We had met a contestant for the X-Factor, at the X-Factor and not even recognised him! CRINGE! Now my favourite contestant, a nice guy! We had a great night swaying our glow sticks and clapping for acts I didn’t know much about!! Thanks muchly Amanda x

Didn’t Lolly do a great job with typing her first blog entry? The only things I wanted to add were: the filming of the show was in Henderson. Not near downtown Auckland AT ALL. The warehouse looking building was dimly lit and the gps wasn’t able to locate it exactly. We circled around the block a few times before deciding to get out and walk around. We snuck through a chained up fence to try to find the entrance way of the building. We were very sketched because there was absolutely NO SIGNAGE for the event. When a young man with a guitar approached us to help navigate we appreciated his help. WE WERE LATER SHOCKED to realize that he was one of the contestants!…AND he would go on to become one of the top 4 contestants!

When we arrived in the building I was surprised to see how small the place was. On TV they make the building and audience seem massive. Now I realize it is just creative filming angles and the way they light the seats. ALSO they strongly encourage audience participation. Lots of things that I believed were filmed “live” are actually shot before the show airs and then just edited into place when the show is being broadcast  SO “Live TV” is really NOT completely live. As someone who loves watching DVD special features on tv shows and films; I loved being a part of the audience. I learned a lot of little insider secrets to TV filming! Also – my personal opinion is that all the singers performed BETTER live then what it comes across over the tv. I had never really paid attention to the show, when the kids were watching it in the house.  I did not know the contestants well but after watching them sing live, then hearing them on the tv, I don’t think their talents are really given the justice they all deserve. Especially Jackie’s performance; in the room the tone in her voice was so strong and powerful and that didn’t translate as well on tv. 

So glad Lolly and I got to go see X Factor New Zealand’s live show . We had fun that night and she did an excellent job on this post. A memorable experience!

Thanks for reading!!!
KeEP sMiLInG 🙂
Amanda Sumalee