For the first time during the debut season of ‘The X Factor,’ viewers were finally able to participate in the voting and have and say in who will go forward and who will be eliminated. So the remaining 12 acts pulled out all of the stops to get votes, right? Well, some of them did, and some struggled a little.
The show kicked off pretty quickly with the first act, Paula Abdul’s group effort, The Stereo Hogzz. Producers tried to introduce us to each of the group members, but all of their names started with the letter ‘T,’ so I really can’t name any of them. It was still nice of the producers to make an effort to distinguish them as individuals. One of the things that impressed me most during the set-up story was how hands-on Paula is with her acts. She was actually doing the choreography herself, which I thought was pretty cool. It made me have to watch her “Straight Up” video after the show to see her dancing back in the day. She still has it! Paula picked “Rhythm Nation” for The Stereo Hogzz to sing. The vocals off the top of the song were pretty rough. I wasn’t sure they would be able to turn it around. They kind of did, but not enough to make me want to vote for them. The choreography was good, but there were too many blaring vocal errors to make me a believer. I will stick with my membership card to Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 for now. But the judges completely disagreed with me. They all sang the praises of The Stereo Hogzz. Were they not listening to the same thing I was? Or did the 30 degree drop in weather take a toll on my hearing? Who knows. Either way, I did not pick up the phone.
Chris Rene from LA Reid’s boys’ category was next. He performed a song called “Superstar” that I am not sure I had ever heard before. Which is probably good, since I had nothing to compare it to. I really wish the show would show me more of Chris’ personality, though. It’s just all about his rehab stint. Which yes, it’s a great story and wonderful that he’s stayed clean, but there’s more to a person than rehab, right? When Chris came out on stage, I thought he looked much better than he has in previous weeks. Perhaps it’s just that he wasn’t wearing a hat. If you watch ‘The Simpsons,’ you know a good hat can make or break a Malibu Stacy doll, so maybe it’s the same case with Chris: a good hat can make or break the performance. While Chris did a great job, it didn’t seem like staying on pitch was his main concern. Granted, there were aspects of his performance that were good: his swagger, rapping and FIRE ON THE STAGE, but I don’t think he did enough to stay out of the bottom vote getters. Once again, I disagreed with the judges. They each sang his praises and went on and on about how wonderful he was. So maybe I am wrong yet again, but I don’t think Chris Rene is going to win the competition.
Nicole Scherzinger’s Over 30 category sent out the next competitor with LeRoy Bell. We all know LeRoy is 60, but I did not know he had six grandchildren and a 13-year-old. The math involved in all of that boggles my mind. Are some of the grandchildren older than his youngest child? Not that it matters, but the relationship of the child and the grandchildren hurts my brain to think about. Aunts? Uncles? Cousins? I don’t know how it works. Beyond making my brain hurt, LeRoy did manage to stir up my ears with his subdued performance of Lonestar’s “I’m Already There.” While Simon Cowell thought LeRoy had a confidence problem, I thought he was the best so far compared to the first two acts. Simon also questioned Nicole’s staging choices, which caused her to quip, “Sometimes less is more.” Meow. The Pussycat Doll still has her claws! It seems like Simon picks on Nicole more than anyone else, so I am glad she is fighting back. Regardless of Simon’s opinion, I thought LeRoy did a good job. He definitely proves you are never too old to chase your dream.
The first of Simon’s girls to perform was America’s latest sweetheart, Rachel Crow. Rachel’s song for the evening was “Walking On Sunshine,” which for some odd reason, Simon changed the chorus to “You’re My Sunshine.” Umm. What the what what, Simon? You can’t just take a well known song and change the lyrics all around. It’s not like you’re Christina Aguilera singing the national anthem at the Super Bowl and taking “artistic liberties” with the song. Leave one of the world’s most beloved songs alone! After I got over my anger of Simon making sweet little Rachel sing the wrong words, I settled on Rachel blowing it out of the water like she usually does. She has such a great voice and growl when she really gets into the song. Having said that…as fantastic as she is, I really think she needs a song soon to show off her range. Something with lots of high and low notes. Yes, she’s cute, but I think she needs her diva moment to really cement her case for winning ‘The X Factor.’ The judges all loved her, as they should have. There’s really not a bad thing that can be said about Rachel.
Four down, eight to go. Next up was one of my favorite acts from the top 17 live show, Lakoda Rayne. The four girls hit it out of the park with “Come On Eileen.” Would they do the same with Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide?” Depends on who you ask. Paula decided this week to have each of the four Lakoda Rayne members represent a season in their performance. I didn’t pay attention to which girl was which season because I was busy thinking about how stupid the whole concept was. It’s not like they were about to sing “Girl For All Seasons” from Grease 2. Mainly because if you are going to sing a song from Grease 2 on an American talent show, you pick “Cool Rider.” It has spelling in it, which is a key element of a hit song. LA and Simon also thought the four seasons thing was stupid, but when the girls took the stage, it turned out to be all right. Their harmonies weren’t as tight as their first live performance, but they made it through the song without too many blaring errors. I thought they were better than The Stereo Hogzz. The judges thought Lakoda Rayne finally blended for the first week, but criticized them for looking like they were going to a prom. I hope they stick with up-tempo songs from here on out. Those songs are their forte. As for clothes, I really don’t care what they wear. As long as they don’t bust out Debbie Gibson hats.
Burrito-slinger Josh Krajcik finished off the first half of the show. Nicole gave Josh a challenge to sing a song by a female artist, “Jar of Hearts” by Christina Perri. Josh seemed to have issues with that, but didn’t he first audition with a female artist’s song? “At Last” was most famously performed by Etta James, right? So, what was the big deal? I failed to see. I think he got too caught up in the whole not wanting to seem girly thing this week because something to me felt off about Josh’s performance. He just didn’t seem as into it as in weeks past. Plus, I absolutely despise the song, “Jar of Hearts.” It’s a song that always causes me to turn the radio if it comes on. Ugh. So horrible. However, the judges and I were once again at odds. They had nothing but wonderful things to say about Josh yet again, while I was left wondering if my television’s audio was broken. I was definitely not hearing the same sounds they were.
Starting off the second half of the show is my current selection for the one to beat: Melanie Amaro. I just don’t think she can do any wrong. Simon wanted to give Melanie an unexpected song this week, so he chose The Eagles’ “Desperado,” which certainly was unexpected by me. Simon said he wanted to not pick a Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston or Celine Dion song each week for Melanie to sing because that would be too easy. I agree with that assessment. She can’t just attempt to out-diva each of those voices each week. So why not out-diva Don Henley. Seems like the perfect situation. And that’s exactly what Melanie did. She gave me chills from the moment she opened her mouth to sing. She started off the song a cappella and went probably 30-45 seconds without any backing track. It was amazing. The judges had nothing negative to say about Melanie, which is 100% correct. She has the clearest voice in the competition and is going to be hard to top every week. I would like to eventually see her sing something a little sassier, but for now, I am perfectly happy with her belting out the power ballads. I picked up the phone for Melanie and voted several times for her after listening to her sing.
From one extreme to the other for me: after Melanie, Astro took the stage to represent the boys. He informed the cameras not to be fooled by his baby face because he’s a kid who goes hard. I’m not sure he could get a bigger ego, but confidence is a turn-on to some, I guess. Arrogance is not, though. He rides a fine line between the two. Before our favorite 14-year-old rapper started sharing his rhymes, the stage looked like a set from a performance of Sesame Street Live. I’m pretty sure the number was sponsored by the letters A, S, T, R and O. Or perhaps it was just an homage to Cookie Monster. His birthday did coincide with the top 12’s live performance night. That must have been it. Astro was trying to get votes from the Cookie Monster crowd. Nice try. It didn’t work. His song choice was a mash up of Naughty By Nature’s “Hip Hop Hooray” and Missy Elliott’s “Get Ur Freak On,” which was cleaned up to “Get The Beat On,” to make it somewhat more appropriate for a 14-year-old to perform. Astro was all right, I suppose. He does write some tight rap verses, but it’s just not something I can vote for. The judges all loved him, but I think performing after Melanie may have hurt Astro’s chances for the night. I don’t think you can follow one of the best in the competition with someone who can easily be considered a novelty act.
After Astro was the final group of the night, the 10-piece playground pep rally that is InTENsity. The major complaint of some of the older boys this week was that they didn’t want to be labeled as Disney kids. All right. I will create the label for them in a moment. Paula picked quite possibly the worst two songs to mash together ever. The group performed a mix of Kim Wilde’s “Kids in America” and LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem.” Really? They didn’t even perform the best parts of “Party Rock Anthem.” No one said “Every day I’m shuffling’,’ and no one sang Lauren Bennett’s amazing part of the song where she sings, “Get up, get down, put your hands up to the sound.” Frustration. InTENsity was okay as a whole, I suppose. I just felt like I was watching an All-Star Teen Revue at Silver Dollar City. There’s my label for them…not Disney kids. Just a Branson showcase. The judges all loved InTENsity, though. They kept saying how “fun” they were. Yes. They are fun. Fun like “I’ve just overheated while riding Fire-In-The-Hole and need to sit down in this air conditioned theater” fun. I’m sure they will go through to next week, but they need a better song to perform.
Back to Simon’s category, where Drew Ryniewicz provided my most thought provoking question of the night: should 14-year-old blonde girls be singing Nelly songs? The answer? If they sing songs the same way Drew does, then yes! Simon said in the introduction that Drew was going to do things differently this week, and that she did. I was concerned at the beginning because Drew was laying on the stage in flower petals. It was a little too American Beauty for my liking, but she eventually got up and then the beat changed. The drum loop Drew wanted came in and she ripped into Nelly’s “Just A Dream.” Drew definitely has the most unique voice in the competition. I don’t think there is anyone else out there to even compare her to. Yes, her voice is that different. Drew even had a little swag in her step during her performance, which threw me off. I considered her to be about as rough around the edges as I am. I assumed she and I could go shopping at Abercrombie & Fitch after ’The X Factor’ is over and get gelato on the way out of the mall. But maybe she’s more of a Hot Topic girl? No way. Anyway, I really liked Drew’s performance. So did the judges. It’s one I’ll be going back to watch again.
Marcus Canty was last up for LA. It kind of seems like he’s LA’s golden boy, mainly because LA thinks he can turn Marcus into the next Bobby Brown. How many times must I say it? Bobby Brown is not someone to aspire to be like! Even Simon said, “Why do we need another Bobby Brown? Isn’t one enough?” I couldn’t have agreed more with Simon. In fact, one Bobby Brown might be too many. Despite being mentored to be like Bobby B, the good thing about Marcus is that he does go all in when it comes to his performances. He took on a mix of B.O.B.’s “Nothin’ On You” and Bobby Brown’s “Every Little Step,” and it was pretty good. Granted, I thought it was like a scene out of Drum Line and kept waiting for Nick Cannon to pop out of a drum, but Marcus can sing and dance. No one can deny that. Nicole felt like she was watching a concert and Paula thought Marcus had the whole package. He definitely won’t be eliminated any time soon.
Finishing things off for the night was the final Over 30 to sing, Stacy Francis. Last week, Stacy was offended when Simon said she needed to be a church singer because she didn’t want to be labeled as one thing. So, the logical thing to do would be to go against Simon and keep singing pop songs, yes? No. Nicole and Stacy decided it would be best to take Simon to church. Honestly, it may have been the most rousing performance of the evening when Stacy opened her mouth and belted out “Up To The Mountain.” It was moving, it was spiritual, it was what any church singer should sound like. The judges loved it and I think Stacy was the best way to end the second live show of ’The X Factor.’
Following Stacy was a recap of everyone and how viewers could vote. I voted for Melanie Amaro and maybe Drew Ryniewicz once. I think Chris Rene, LeRoy Bell and Lakoda Rayne might be in trouble when it comes to drawing in the votes following their performances, but I am going to say the bottom two will be Chris and LeRoy. What do you think? Who were your favorites and who still needs a little work? And more importantly: who’s going home?