14 DAY TRIAL // Robbie Williams performing his first single in many years, “Bodies,” on live television was billed as one of the greatest moments of pop music that would have enabled the legendary singer to make his splashing comeback to the music stage. Some technical difficulties, as well as what seemed like Williams having lost some of his magical touch instead turned the performance on X Factor into a genuine disaster, with fans taking to forums to vent their frustration, as the Mirror informs.
As per Robbie himself, things started off badly when the doors wouldn’t open and he had to force them open so that he could get on stage. This alone was more than enough to ruin the experience for him and to get him out of his mood. The stress of performing for millions (over 14 million viewers tuned in to watch his performance) after a three-year break did not help make things easier either. Even if, after a couple of minutes, Williams regained some of his former confidence, he knew the performance had been compromised, he said after the show.
“At this point in the rehearsals the music starts... The doors open... BUT LIVE... The music starts... The doors don’t open. So we’re a few seconds in and the doors remain closed... a few more seconds and they’re still closed. Now I don’t know if you’ve ever had 10 million people plus ready to judge you on your first performance back in three years... […] That was brute strength and now heavy nerves, shifting something I probably wouldn’t be able to move in the cold light of day. So there’s a bad start. I had a whole pose planned and what not. But that went out of the window.” Robbie said of his performance when the show ended.
Then, fans point out, there was the awkward dance and the fact that Williams spent most of his time on stage thanking the audience instead of actually singing. And the fact that he was sweating profusely and seemed to not be able to fix his gaze on a single thing at once, which prompted talk he might have relapsed to drugs. However, even if some viewers at home had a lot to complain about the performance, many others found it a clear proof that Robbie Williams was back – a somewhat lackluster proof, but a proof nonetheless.
Of course, things have changed over the past years, and, of course, Robbie will falter at first after such a long break, they say. The singer himself admits that the X Factor performance was a good place to start, even if it could have been much better. “After a bizarrely odd start to the 3.30 minutes I started to find my feet. The audience were immense and the love in the room was palpable. It all felt so electric. Like three years of anxiety leaving my body.” Williams also said once the show was done, as quoted by the same publication.
Click here to see Robbie Williams perform “Bodies” on X Factor.