Talent Recap’s Exclusive Interview With Alisah Bonaobra About Her ‘X Factor UK’ Elimination
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The minute I saw Alisah Bonaobra was eliminated I knew, without a doubt, that we were going to get a ton of comments from Alisah’s fans. Her rabid following, Alisah’s Army, have been with her all the way and have helped keep her in the competition. But alas, it was time for her to go. I sat down with her to see what she thought of her elimination.
Many people on the boards and comment sections have been saying that Sam Black should have been sent home instead of Alisah. Even the judges were more critical of Sam than they were of Alisah. Many fans in our comment section think that racism was raising its ugly head in the decision. She was apprehensive to say that racism played a part because the British public did keep her afloat this whole time. And yet, she said the biggest factor that went into her elimination was the fact that she was not familiar with George Michael who is so iconic in the UK. She felt out of her depth singing one of England’s favorite sons.
That reminds me of claims of bias on standardized tests. Clearly if your cultural context does not inform what you are doing you will not do as well. I don’t know that this is outright racism or xenophobia and more that The X Factor UK is a show for…well…the UK and because it is designed for that audience it necessarily skews to certain cultural touchstones that may be unfamiliar to a person from somewhere like the Philippines. It’s a sticky subject, but as far as Alisah is concerned she has nothing but love for the UK fans. Hopefully soon she’ll be in a West End Show.
