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Tag: Simon Cowell

  • The X Factor USA Top 12 (Again) – What You May Have Missed

    One Direction via Creative Commons

    Wednesday night’s X Factor live show was an improvement over last week’s show. Last week, the acts looked nervous, sounded nervous, and the mentors weren’t on their A games. Now they know their acts a little better and we’ll see more Vino singing soulful stuff and less of him singing wannabe rock.

    If I could describe Wednesday night’s show, like Britney, I would say in one word, it was hot, hot, hot.

    In my recap of the performance show Wednesday night for Popblerd, I opined that CeCe Frey was deserving of being eliminated. She looked like a fish out of water singing a song that she didn’t feel. She should’ve performed more Christina Aguilera.

    As good as Wednesday’s live performance show was, Thursday’s elimination show was all over the map. Instead of saving all the drama for the end, they eliminated someone in the second to last segment. Why? Well, this year, they have a rankings system. At the end of the show, they displayed the order in which the votes came in. Why? They didn’t really explain. I have a theory.

    I think it’s about audience participation. A way to get the ratings and participation up is to get the TV viewers even more attached to their favorites. Before, the voting audience didn’t really know how much their votes counted. They would only know if their favorite left the show and by then, it’d be too late and it’s possible they’d tune out.

    Now, if they see their favorite at the bottom of the pack, they’ll probably vote often and be a bit more invested in the results show which is the lesser rated show every week. But it also begs the question – if they care so much about how the votes were sorted out, why don’t they just eliminate the lowest vote getter instead of making the final two sing off? My guess is that they didn’t really plan it out because even though the audience now knows who is the top vote getter, it’s not like it makes any difference in the competition.

    So what happened?

    Since Diamond White came back to the show on Wednesday, there were thirteen to choose from rather than twelve. After One Direction opened up the show with their catchy song Live While We’re Young, Mario Lopez and Kourtney Kardashian Odom quickly went through the first six acts that made it to next week. One Direction came back to perform again and they quickly named three more who made it to next week.

    That left CeCe Frey, Jason Brock, and the newly named Fifth Harmony. There’s no way that Fifth Harmony deserved to be anywhere near the stench that was CeCe and they happily were pushed through. Thus, we had a quite predictable final two. Jason Brock hasn’t looked comfortable for a guy nicknamed Mr. Entertainment. Last week he was horrendous. This week he was fine, but his look is what may hold him back. The loud jackets and faux hawk aren’t endearing. Vocally, he’s better than CeCe, but she’s a much more interesting character for the show.

    For the mentors, CeCe performed You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me. It was a strong performance, even if it was vocally uneven. She looked determined, but worried. Jason’s performance of Total Eclipse of the Heart was exactly what he needed. It was heartfelt and authentic.

    Having the mentors whose acts are on the chopping block be part of the vote is dumb. Of course Demi wanted to send home Jason and of course LA wanted to send home CeCe. Britney decided that she wanted to send home CeCe and Simon wanted to send home Jason which made it a tie. To break the tie, the lowest vote-getter would be eliminated, which again begs the question, why doesn’t the act with the lowest votes just go home every time? If the mentor voting is dumb and you want the voting audience to feel more invested, why not just put it completely in their hands? Oh, because that’s how American Idol does it. And American Idol still nearly doubles the rating of the X Factor. Okay.

    Who went home?

    America voted wrongly and they hated Jason Brock just a little bit more than they hated CeCe Frey. My man Jason didn’t deserve to leave this early. No way.

    What was the voting order?

    12. CeCe Frey
    11. Arin Ray
    10. Beatrice Miller
    9. Lyric 145
    8. Paige Thomas
    7. Jennel Garcia
    6. Emblem3
    5. Fifth Harmony
    4. Diamond White
    3. Vino Alan
    2. Carly Rose Sonenclar
    1. Tate Stevens

    What does it all mean?

    I think it means that the country demo is hot and heavy for these shows and some of these acts will be singing country next week. But I wouldn’t take these too seriously. It’s clear that Emblem3 is far and away the best act of them all and they came in sixth behind Diamond White who the mentors didn’t even think deserved to be on the show. It also means the acts with an urban sound may be in an uphill battle. But I think we already knew that.

  • The X Factor – Who Wins?

    We’re down to the final three. Based on last night’s show, I have them ranked this way:

    1. Melanie Amaro
    2. Chris Rene
    3. Josh Krajcik

    I think Josh is a much better singer than Chris, but he lacks what Chris has; charisma. Charisma is what gets people to the phone to text in their votes. But when it comes down to it, Melanie is just so far head and shoulders above everyone else that she has to win this thing.

    We’re going minute-by-minute style tonight.

    8:04 – Mr. Anti-charisma promised Justin Bieber, Leona Lewis, and 50 Cent tonight. And during duets last night we got Avril Lavigne?

    8:05 – The final 12 are back singing Lady Gaga’s Edge Of Glory. It’s fun to see the Stereo Hogzz again. Stacy Francis was on the screen for less than 5 minutes and I think she cried twice.

    8:07 – They decided to really sex up Drew in a super tight blue dress. Thankfully, cutie Rachel was wearing stretch pants. Let them be kids!

    8:14 – Melanie Amaro is about to tear up All I Want For Christmas Is You. Do we get the Bieber duet?

    8:17 – No Biebs! LA says that her voice is the best friend a song has ever met. Yep, he said it with a straight face. Nicole says all she wants for Christmas is a Melanie album. Paula called her beautiful. And Simon says she’s been an absolute pleasure to work with. And he called her Mel. They must be friends.

    8:19 – It’s time for the Melanie friends and family montage. Grandma is the one that made her cry the hardest. I had my money on baby sis. Damn!

    8:25 – It’s Chris Rene’s turn to sing a holiday song. He’s doing Young Homie Christmas. Okay, maybe not. He’s singing Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.

    8:29 – Nicole thanks Chris for being part of the competition. Thirsty Paula says he’s the most original. Simon says he admires him. LA says he can change the world.

    8:31 – It’s time for Chris’ friends and family montage. He’s crying so much I thought he was Stacy Francis. 2nd Stacy Francis crying joke! Let’s see if I can get up to three Stacy jokes.

    8:37 – As beautiful as Nicole looks tonight, she kept her streak of being annoying alive. She’s like the Joe DiMaggio of annoying.

    8:40 – It was Josh’s turn to perform. LA says he was so good that he’s almost at a loss for words. Paula says he’s a joy. But she’s not thirsty for him like she is for Chris. Simon says he’s going to sell a lot of records while seeing who can show the most chest hair. Nicole says he’s her flippin’ love. Flippin’?

    8:43 – Well, if Josh was going to cry, they hit him with the two best ones in the end. His mom says that his dreams are her dreams. And his daughter says she doesn’t tell him that she loves him enough. His daughter made him cry! Yes!

    8:50 – It’s Justin Bieber time! If Ellen and Eminem ever pro-created, the kid might look like Justin Bieber.

    8:51 – Stevie Wonder is singing The Christmas Song with him. Stevie doesn’t look anything like Ellen or Eminem.

    8:53 – Justin just grabbed his crotch. I wonder if that was for thirsty Paula?

    8:55 – He brought out Drew to sing with him at the end. She’s absolutely beside herself. Selena Gomez might get mad.

    9:03 – And the person who finishes in third place is … the Young Homie himself, Chris Rene. Well, I guess there are more Josh fans than I thought.

    9:17 – And, the show has come to a halt. Leona Lewis is singing a very sad song. Maybe it was for the Young Homie himself.

    9:28 – Derek Fisher, fresh off the NBA lockout introduces 50 Cent who isn’t even pushing an album. He’s pushing a mixtape. And thanks to national TV, half the song is muted. I think 50 is lip-rhyming.

    9:29 – Ok, this just got great. 50 brought out Lakers bench players including Steve Blake who looks like a deer in headlights. Matt Barnes is out too. Nicole better watch out. She might end up with Matty tonight. At least Astro got to rock out with 50 a bit.

    9:38 – Pitbull and Ne-Yo are on stage together. After watching Ne-Yo, all I can say is, Avril Lavigne? And is it just me or is Pitbull just a guest on all of his songs? Marcus Canty came out in the end and he was happier than Drew was in Justin Bieber’s arms.

    9:53 – And the winner is … Melanie Amaro! That girl is 5 million dollars richer.

    9:55 – Melanie is singing Listen yet again. She can barely get through it.

    9:59 – Melanie is crying so much, she reminds of … Stacy Francis (fist pump)! I got one more in. Until next year, Seacrest out! Whoops, wrong show.

  • The X Factor – Who Makes The Top Three?

    Based solely on vocals, it’s the Josh and Melanie show. They are head and shoulders above Chris and Marcus. But when you take into account stage presence and entertainment value, Chris and Marcus make it a much tighter race. One of them goes home tonight and my guess is Marcus.

    Next week is the finals and if I had to choose right now, I think Melanie wins it, with Chris coming in second. There’s no way in hell that Chris should beat Josh in a singing contest, but he’s just a much more likable person with tons more charisma.

    Mr. Anti-charisma lets us know that Nicole is performing tonight. Maybe that means we don’t have to deal with her as much as a mentor tonight.

    There’s something that I’ve always wondered about. When the mentors are introduced, they all have some way of saying hi to the audience. LA does a kiss salute thing, Nicole does a submissive bow, Paula does the same kiss salute that LA does, and Simon winks and salutes. Did they decide at the beginning of the season that they would always say hi to the crowd in the same way? Are they that uncomfortable that they can’t switch it up. Why doesn’t one of them switch it up and cup their ear like Hulk Hogan?

    The final four perform Blackstreet’s No Diggity. This is actually Marcus’ calling. If only he was born 15 years earlier. He could’ve been K-Ci Hailey, Sisqo, and one of the dudes from 112 all in one. Chris actually starts his verse too early and it throws the entire group off. Josh looks so uncomfortable singing this song.

    Florence + the Machine are performing tonight. Flo starts with her back to the audience and gives us more of a back shot than J. Lo did at any point on American Idol. They are singing Spectrum, which includes the lyric, “Say my name.” Beyonce did a double take before figuring out they weren’t covering Destiny’s Child.

    Of course, the Teflon Don Chris Rene made it through first, like he always does. Melanie Amaro joins him in the finals. Josh Krajcik and Marcus Canty are in the bottom two, but it’s put to the audience vote. There is no singing for lives tonight.

    Josh says he has a lot of hope. Marcus just wants America to give him a chance.

    It’s Nicole’s turn to sing. The girl has a decent set of pipes. She’s just annoying as hell.

    Melanie thanks all the voters and Chris loves all his young homies.

    And the last contestant going into the finals is Josh Krajcik. Marcus Canty is no longer.

    Next week a winner is crowned.