PopStar to OperaStar

I tuned into this out of curiosity, thinking it might be a bit car crash ... how wrong could I be? The show is an absolute delight - the popstars enjoyed every second, ergo, so did we - the panel (Meat Loaf, Laurence Llewelyn Bowen, Katherine Jenkins and Rolando Villazon) are all so totally different and compliment each other perfectly - the presenters are probably two of the nicest we possess - Alan Titchmarsh and Mylene Klass - Katherine and Rolando strike the perfect balance in mentoring the popstars - a very warm hearted show. I'll be tuning in (see what I did there?) again next week, Friday, ITV1! Here's the stats:

After a mere seven weeks of training and rehearsing, eight popstars have taken to the stage for their first performance in front of a live studio audience.

Performing to mentors Katherine Jenkins and Rolando Villazon as well as critics Meat Loaf and Laurence Llewellyn Bowen the popstars sang accompanied by a live orchestra.

Jimmy Osmond was first up singing O Sole Mio. After singing he received a standing ovation and said “It’s been so much fun.”

Meat Loaf said “Jimmy, that dog was hungry. You’re Jimmy os-solo mio!”

Katherine said “I loved that. I’m so pleased. There are still some things we need to work on, still a bit of Italian and you need to sing through your phrases. You start in your opera voice and finish in your pop voice but I loved it.”

Rolando said “You did a great job. Sometimes you uncover your sounds but most of the time you were covering the voice which is why you were able to sing the high notes.”

Laurence joked (referring to the song’s use in a famous ice cream advert) “If nothing else you’ve sold millions of tonnes of ice cream. I’d stop you and buy one!”

Next to perform was Kym Marsh singing Si Un Jour in a stunning silver dress. Greeted afterwards by her ex band mate host Myleene Klass she said “It was great. An amazing feeling. The orchestra are fantastic.”

Katherine said “I loved your performance and your interpretation. I know you’ve been ill but I thought you did really well.”

Laurence said “I loved the way you trickled down that staircase. I think the nerves got to the French but I don’t care. We won the Battle of Waterloo anyway.”

Next to perform was Alex James who sang Largo Al Factotum. Afterwards he said “My heart is beating.”

Rolando said “That was as far as opera singing can be but I saw you from the beginning and you have to enjoy the performance and you obviously did and the audience enjoyed it and that is also opera.”

Meat Loaf said “That was like watching two women kissing in the subway. That was the best opera by a bass layer in the world.”

Laurence said “You are such a scamp. I don’t know that Rossini envisaged that being done in the style of Dennis The Menace.”

Next up was Marcella Detroit singing Casta Diva. After her performance she said “I felt nervous. Sometimes it inhibits me. I don’t need anyone to tell me how bad I am.”

Laurence said “That is the holy grail of divadom. You were nervous but when you brought in the heavy artillery it exploded.”

Katherine said “The think about your voice, the top notes are just stunning and I feel relaxed listening to them. I do worry about the low notes. You need to support them a bit more.”

Meat Loaf said “That song is a prayer and darling your prayers were answered. Hallelujah!”

Next to sing was Danny Jones who sang La Donna e Mobile . It’s an honour and it was amazing and I enjoyed myself. I tried to be relaxed about it. It was hard but amazing.”

Rolando said “You tried to be relaxed and that’s not bad. I think you started a bit weak because you were nervous but you started to be confident and that is why you were able with the energy of this audience to sing from beginning to end.”

Laurence said “A rocky start but by the end you were the playboy Duke of Mantua.”

Meat Loaf said “All of these beautiful young ladies. You gave them a kiss. Commit to that kiss!!”

Vanessa White from The Saturdays was next to sing the classic O Mio Babbino Caro. After singing – and reducing her bandmates to tears - she said “I’m so nervous but I’ve got the girls here. It was so much fun but I was so nervous.”

Katherine said “The thing is about this aria is its really long phrases and you have to have the breath and control to get to the end of the lines. You did it better in the sessions. But your voice is beautiful and we can work on that. Well done.”

Rolando said “The reason you need to take more breaths is that you don’t concentrate on the sounds in the lower notes. When you sing the high notes you sound really beautiful. We need to work on concentrating that sound in the middle.”

Next up was Darius Campbell singing Nessun Dorma. He said “I didn’t know a week ago if I could sing this. I have to thank the mentors. Being a bass baritone I didn’t know if I could do it.”

Meat Loaf said “Dude you were locked in. He was so focused and locked in. It was about this!”

Rolando said “I have to say it’s not easy in a short period of time to work with hall these things like covering and placing your voice. Without a microphone we wouldn’t have been able to hear the first few notes in a theatre. It’s important to raise your voice.”

And finally Bernie Nolan sang Nuit D’Amour in a sparkling black dress. She said “I was nervous but towards the middle and end I started to enjoy it. I didn’t realise until this very moment how I felt about my mum.”

Katherine said “I thought you did so well. I think you’ve got a lovely voice. There were a few problems with the breathing but I think it must have been the nerves because in the sessions you did it really well.”

Laurence said “One of my favourite performances of the evening. It was like a huge embroidered shawl that you just wrap yourself in.”

Rolando “I think you were thinking about everything we have worked on. That’s what’s needed and why you got through the performance. You have been a very hard worker and I was very happy with your performance.”

Meat Loaf said “You were a lady in Venice and you were singing to the sky. I will be your sky darling.”

After all of the popstars had sung, guest classical singer Camilla Kerslake performed alongside Gary Barlow who was playing the piano.

No one wanted to be the first to go but it was Alex and Vanessa who found themselves in the bottom with the lowest number of votes from the public. The panel were divided after Rolando and Katherine chose to save Vanessa and Laurence Llewelyn Bowen and Meat Loaf chose to save Alex, with Meat Loaf saying: “You know what? I’m staying with roots, I’m staying with the low end, I’m saying Alex.”

As the panel failed to reach a unanimous decision, the choice went back to the public vote and Vanessa was announced as having the most votes out of the two and therefore stayed in the competition.

Asked about his dreams of winning, Alex said: “Dashed. It was great, what a blast thank you very much. I enjoyed every minute and I’ll never stop singing.”