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Tag: Jeff Gutt

The X Factor USA Recap: Season 3 – And Then There Were 3

You have to hand it to the X Factor producers. They were able to stretch a show with just three acts left who were performing three times each, all the way up to the two hour mark. They sure stretched that first hour out, getting in just three full performances. But it was good TV.

One of the things they do well is produce compelling human interest packages. It’s one thing to produce a talent show and it’s another to make people care about things they didn’t know they cared about. And it sounds like they’ll be back next year which is a good thing since this season was so excellent. The question is if Simon Cowell will have the same role that he’s had since the beginning of the US version of the show.

We’re going to do this a bit differently than we’ve done this season. Who deserves to win? And who is going to win.

Let’s get to the X Factor USA recap.

Who should win?

Via their Twitter page
Everyone should know my love for Sierra by now. She’s all that and a bag of chips. While I jokingly say things like Alex doesn’t deserve Sierra and how when they break up I have dibs, he truly is the steak of the group. She’s the sizzle. But from the beginning of this show until now, she’s improved so much that if she were a solo act, I still think she’d be the front runner to win the show. She’s that magnetic.

They also smartly performed Say Something which reminded everyone how their first performance of the same song was the best performance all season. They reminded folks who was boss.

Carlito Olivero is the obviously not in the same class of singer that the other two acts are. But does he need to be? He probably doesn’t need to be now that he’s in the final three. I thought it would catch up with him before the finals, but his charisma carried him. He’s also clearly a hard worker. The man nearly sweats as much as James Brown in his prime. It’s all about the female vote. If he kills it with them, he could definitely win. But it doesn’t mean he deserves it.

Jeff Gutt is also very deserving. I feel like Jeff wins last season running away and gives Melanie Amaro a helluva run on season one. He just has Alex & Sierra in front of him. But he also has a fantastic story. He was too big of a downer for me early on and while he has opened up his personality somewhat, there’s still some dark edges there. Will that hurt him? I think it will.

I’m leaning Alex & Sierra with Jeff Gutt on their heels when it comes to who should win.

Who will win?

I think it comes down to a few things.

1. Do the female voters love Sierra enough?
It seems that they do. While the haters may be out there, I haven’t really seen them. I don’t think she did anything to irritate the young female voter on Wednesday, she and Alex are probably okay with the females.

2. Is Carlito just cooler than everyone else?
This is still a popularity contest. And you have to admit that Carlito is a cool dude. His performance with Prince Royce on Wednesday’s show wasn’t the greatest performance of all-time, but he looked like he belonged on stage. Now, I don’t really know Prince Royce’s work other than the popular cover of Stand By Me, but Carlito wasn’t overshadowed by him and belonged.

3. Will Jeff’s tears overcome?
I’m not sure if this was strategic or not, but Jeff Gutt cried his eyes out. He showed love for his mentor Kelly Rowand by giving her a photo of them together. He was cut previously. He does it for his son. His son gives him inspiration. If you’re looking to vote for someone based on story, Jeff has to be your guy. But to people like me, it came off a little heavy handed and I found myself a slightly lesser fan. It’s not because I’m cold-hearted. It just seemed a bit strategic, even if it wasn’t.

Measuring all of those things, I still think Alex & Sierra win the entire thing. But if they don’t, I can see Carlito sneaking in. And if he does, we riot.

December 19, 2013
The X Factor USA Recap: Season 3 – And Then There Were 6

Sometimes, I’m pretty good at this.

At the end of last week’s show, I predicted that Josh Levi and Carlito Olivero (who I always pick) would be the two going home. But my sleeper pick was Lillie McCloud. If this were an actual singing contest instead of a popularity contest, McCloud is a shoe-in for the final three and possibly wins. But that’s not what this is. Early on, her story was strong. She’s a grandmother who looks twenty years younger than her age who had a music dream that was lost and this was her comeback.

I felt that they started to lose interest in her. Much of the voting on shows like this is heavily influenced by the production. It seemed like there was less and less attention to Lillie’s story. Was it by design? Who knows. But I do think that they started paying less attention to her and thus, because of it, one of the best voices on the show can go home very early in the ball game.

It’s time for this week’s X Factor USA recap. Each act performed two songs so they could make sure to keep us in front of the TV for two hours like always. The first song was a diva song, which seemed to be there so that guys would have to perform powerful songs by female artists. The second, and better song for most, was the unplugged performance.

Performances of the night

It was yet another strong night, but I’ll keep it at my favorite two.

My favorite performance of the night was by Rion Paige, who has taken this show by storm. Her first song was a Carrie Underwood cover and she made a lot of ugly faces in the performance. But her second song was Glass by Thompson Square. It was the perfect touch of emotion and vocals I’ve seen so far on this season. Tremendous.

What was my second favorite performance? Well, I’m biased toward Sierra (and really, this groups should be called Sierra & Alex rather than Alex & Sierra), but this time, I didn’t have to be. I enjoyed both of their performances. They did Destiny’s Child’s Say My Name which was fun, but their second performance was mean. It’s a song I hadn’t heard of until today called Say Something by A Great Big World. Sierra went behind the piano and you could tell she was nervous and her hands were shaking. But she delivered, Alex brought the chops, and it was magnificent.

Have I mentioned that Sierra is fine?

Duds of the night

Duds have been hard to find these days. I’d say the worst song choice was Ellona Santiago’s If I Were A Boy. The irony of that song is that if Beyonce were a boy, she’d be about 1/10th as famous as she is.

I don’t mean to pick on Carlito Olivero, but Let’s Get Loud was probably the worst performance of the night.

Who are the front runners?

If I were to rank the competitors at this point, here’s how I’d rank them (with their Twitter handles if anyone cares):

6. Carlito Olivero
5. Restless Road
4. Alex & Sierra
3. Ellona Santiago
2. Jeff Gutt
1. Rion Page

Alex and Sierra

For the second week in a row, I’ve given them their own section. You can watch their performance that I described above:

Have I mentioned that Sierra is fine?

Who goes home?

Two go home again. One of them has to be Carlito right? If he doesn’t go, I think the show is worse off next week. There’s another act that’s set to go home next week and while I think it should be Restless Road, I think their fans will save them. (By the way, I thoroughly enjoyed Emblem3 last year and haven’t yet looked forward to watching Restless Road.) I think it could be between Jeff and Ellona. I’ll say that Ellona goes home as a surprise.

December 5, 2013
The X Factor USA Recap: Season 3 – And Then There Were 10

Last week, Sweet Suspense and Rachel Potter were eliminated. I enjoyed both acts, but neither was going to win this competition, so the eliminations were fine. I thought Sweet Suspense could’ve been a fun American version of the Spice Girls, but they weren’t winning this singing competition. And even her knockout legs couldn’t save Rachel Potter. She’s just not that likable and you have to be super likable and easy to feel sorry for, to win this show.

By the way, that’s the only reason Tim Oldstad is still alive in the contest. He’s figured out the look. It’s the same look Dylan McKay used to give Brenda Walsh when his dad disappointed him time and time again. No one understands me. I won’t ask for help. But, I need help. I wonder if Tim Oldstad was a Beverly Hills, 90210 fan when he was younger.

It was British Invasion night, which doesn’t mean that everyone has to sing in a fake Madonna accent. They just have to sing songs from British artists.

It’s time for the X Factor USA recap.

Performances of the night

It would actually be easier to list the duds than the performances of the night because it was actually a really good night and nearly everyone was at the very least, solid. But if I had to choose the best of the night, I think there are a couple of acts who did best.

Rion Paige had the performance of the night with Your Song. She may very well have to win this show because the day she gets eliminated will be the saddest day in reality TV show history. She becomes her performance. She may over-emote, but that’s better than not emoting at all, which is a problem with some of the acts. She understands very much how to communicate with the audience which should equal many votes.

The second best performance to me was the first performance on the show, Jeff Gutt’s version of Bohemian Rhapsody. It kicked off the night very well and got everyone in gear. I don’t really enjoy Gutt all that much, but I have to give props where they are deserved. I liked this much better than Constantine’s version from American Idol. What? No one remembers Constantine!

Duds of the night

Tim Oldstad probably expects to be here because I dislike him so much, but he’s not. He can exhale.

But Carlito Olivero? He should expect to be here until he’s kicked out, which will hopefully be this week. He’s a one-trick pony in that he’s all thrust and no substance. Well, I guess that depends on what you think about his thrust. He doesn’t sing well and I don’t even think he dances well, but he can thrust.

I also didn’t enjoy Josh Levi’s version of Sweet Dreams. It was weird, almost Grace Jones-esque without the crazy haircut.

Okay, I guess I lied. Timmy Oldstad does deserve to be here. His puppy dog eyed version of Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word annoyed me third most tonight.

Who are the front runners?

It seems like Restless Road can do no wrong in the mentors’ eyes. I still think Khaya Cohen has the best voice of them all. Lille McCloud bounced back with her version of This Woman’s Work. And I think I’ll continue listing Alex & Sierra here until they get eliminated, but I may be biased because I want to marry Sierra. And I can take Alex for sure, so I won’t have to worry about him. He’s BBQ chicken as far as I’m concerned.

Who goes home?

If anyone other than Tim or Carlito leaves the show, I’ll be pretty bothered. But Tim has that Dylan McKay face down which will give hime one more week. So I’m picking thrusty Carlito.

November 21, 2013