Precious could go all the way, says 4J

Long live the king! Precious is back and this time he means business. The Nigerian St Pat's student lit up CGT with an amazing take on I Feel Good a few weeks ago and after a couple of so-so weeks (or os-os, as Bart Simpson put it), he showed amazing bouncebackability with a fantastic cover to close the show last week. His version of Earth, Wind and Fire's September was absolutely brilliant and made this judge eat his words. He jizzed up the crowd, threw ion some a cappella ad-libbing and left them wanting more. This was show biz at its best and, for the first time, this teen idol showed he may have what it takes to go all the way. It was a long night, but a fun one. "Are you all floaters?" bellowed Joe Finnegan to the crowd in his customary pre-show gee-up. Er, no, Joe, we're not, their silence seemed to say, not that the host with the most was bothered. The MC kept the show on the road with his usual consummate professionalism, and what a show it was. "Call them judges, call them experts, call them gurus, call them what you want," he said when introducing panellists Keith Walsh, Louise O'Reilly and Paul Cox. The Fourth Judge doesn't need to be told to call them names Joe, you should know that by now. First up was Nadine Lyons, a wee girl of whom we have come to expect big things. Her take on Empire State of Mind (while holding a basketball, no less) was underwhelming, and although she turned in a decent take on Alexis Jordan's Good Girl, I wasn't blown away by the Cavan town pocket rocket. "Little diva" Nadine did well, but the bar is getting higher each week and she'll need to up her game again in this week's semi. Greg Lawton, whose taste in music ended in 1993, sang Bryan Adams' Summer of 69 and, even though he threw his jacket into the crowd mid-song, I quite liked it. Greg has a great voice, as he showed with his second song, Amazed by Lonestar, but, like his fellow townie Nadine, Gregory needs to raise his game in order to convince the judges (and the floaters!) that he's deserving of the 10k. One thing the G-Dawg does is support. His screaming fans raised the roof after his sets and drowned guest judge Keith out with boos when he harshly deemed him a good karaoke singer. Ouch! "He's taking shite," said Paul Cox to the cheers of the Lawton massive. Cox - who has been a bit cheeky to 4J recently (back off, little man) - was also a fan of Stephanie Donohoe. The Mullahoran babe was on form again this week, delivering flawless renditions of Show Me Heaven and ("I felt like I was in heaven listening to that" said Louise) and Patsy Cline's Crazy. The blond stunner is a terrific singer, but, again, It would be great to see her try something new. "Sing a bit of Katy Perry or Black Eyed Peas, stomp around the stage and go for it," advised Keith, whose honesty made him an excellent - if unpopular - judge once again. The DJ even found time to wave a banner in honour of mise; kudos to you, Keith! The sassy DancEnergy were criticised by the judges after their first performance but I thought their Jacko-inspired routine was brilliant. They brought along a few zombies (no shortage of them around Laragh!) and were a welcome break from the backing tracks and power ballads which blighted the rest of the show. OK, maybe "blighted" is too strong but you get my drift. Live music is the way to go, as The Yellow Snowmen showed for the umpteenth time. The baby-faced assassins of rock were on fire once again. Axe man Sean Finan wielded his weapon superbly, as he has since the start of the show, and he was sensational on Sweet Home Alabama. If ever a band nailed the theme (American anthems), this was it. The boys started off with half the riff of Hendrix's Star Spangled Banner and tore into an outstanding cover, and they kept the energy levels ratcheted on "high" with the Stones' Jumpin' Jack Flash in Part Two. The more the show goes on, the more they improve and the more I reckon they've got what it takes to emulate the Wotsits and pocket the cheque. Just think how much sweets and football stickers 10 grand could buy! Seriously, well done again lads. As Keith Walsh rightly noted, this brought the show to life. Speaking of which, one chick whose dreams are dead in the water is Kellie Cadden. KC, ironically, turned in arguably her best performance yet with Heaven Is A Place On Earth and Shania's Honey I'm Home, but it wasn't enough to save the Erne girl from the chop. Hard luck Kellie. On a side note, wannabes, please check if the song you're covering has been performed before. It's bad enough sitting through some of this stuff once... I'm joking of course. The standard of the songs and the presentation from all at Club Vision is as high as ever. Michael Meehan, 4J's tip for the top (I'm starting to waver Mike) showed that - the Cavan town man may have been a victim of his own success. His superb recent performances have raised the bar and I was disappointed with him in week nine. He's got the voice and while he got some stick (pun, as always, intended) for his image, it was his song choices which did for him in my eyes. As Keith commented, Michael "didn't set the world alight". His first song, I Am by Neil Diamond, didn't exactly sparkle for me. Palm trees don't grow, and the rents (and the effin' jaysus price of drink) aren't low in Cavan, unfortunately, and the song didn't take off, and while he grew into Chasing Cars second time round, I was expecting more. I still fancy Meehan to do the business but, again, more is needed Sticko! Next week is effectively the semi-final, and will separate the wheat from the crap... Things are about to get interesting!