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Tag: Lillie McCloud

  • The X Factor USA Recap: Season 3 – And Then There Were 10

    X Factor usa recap

    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.

    Dylan McKay lookBy 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.

  • The X Factor USA Recap: Season 3 – And Then There Were 13

    X Factor USA recapAfter last week, the top twelve was set. However, much like Simon used to do on American Idol, they kept a wild card. After being given the boot last week, Josh Levi came back to the show as the mentors thought he deserved another chance. Oh, how nice?

    The theme of the night was Motown which meant Kelly Rowland was looking as much like Diana Ross as she could look.

    It’s unfortunate that instead of trying to replicate the fun Motown sound, many of the singers chose to slow the songs down so that they could show off their voices. What happened is that instead of a fun night of television, it was a pretty drab night on the X Factor.

    Let’s get to the X Factor USA recap:

    Performances of the night

    You mean other than Rachel Potter’s legs?

    I will say that Khaya Cohen is my favorite voice in the competition because she sounds so much like Amy Winehouse and that’s a voice that we’re missing in music today. She unnecessarily sultry-ed up My Girl, but it allowed her to show off the voice. It’s hard to believe that she’s just sixteen.

    Lillie McCloud had to kill Motown night. And I think she did. I’m not sure how a 54-year old could not be outdated. Let’s not try and make her young. What’s special about her? She’s a 54-year old hot grandmother out-singing everyone! She performed one of the better versions of Stevie Wonder’s All In Love Is Fair you’ll hear.

    I’m a sucker for girl groups. Last year it was Fifth Harmony. This year, it’s Sweet Suspense. They remind me of an American version of the Spice Girls, which is right up my girl group alley. They performed You Keep Me Hangin’ On and it was fun, Fifth Harmony-y, and everything I want from a girl group. I hope they stick around for a long time.

    Duds of the night

    Carlos Guevara is very popular, partly because of his story and partly because of his crazy nice voice. It’s smooth and more powerful than it should be. But he was amateur to the core. He had zero stage presence with his What’s Going On performance, looked nervous and was out of his league. However, because of his popularity, there’s no way he goes home anytime soon.

    Tim Olstad is the weirdest contestant. He doesn’t look like he’s having any fun and he receives feedback in a very painful way. I’m wincing while the mentors are telling him what they think while he squints hard. Thankfully, Simon enjoyed his performance of I’ll Be There, which was just okay.

    Someone thought that Carlito Olivero should slow down Stop! In the Name of Love to a crawl. You mean, one of the most energetic and fun Motown songs ever? It was awful. There’s a good chance that Carlito may be on his way home.

    Who are the front runners?

    I think it’s fairly obvious that Restless Road is the main front runner right now, much like Emblem3 was last year. I find them a bit cheesy, but I get their appeal (definition: the girls love them).

    Alex & Sierra are easy to enjoy. They’re the only boyfriend/girlfriend couple in the competition and really, let’s face facts, Sierra is cuter than all get out. I can also see this backfiring on them, but for now, I think they’ll get major love from America.

    Who goes home?

    It’s quite possible that Josh Levi may leave again, even though his rendition of Who’s Lovin’ You was at the very least, the middle of the pack. I think it’s going to be between painful Tim Olstad and cheesy Carlito Olivero. The wild card here is Rachel Potter because it seems that the females hate her. But I do hope she sticks around for a while.

    If I have to make a call, I’m going with Carlito.