Photo by:
There are just over half the final acts left, lets face it, the X-Factor USA has been a whirlwind of emotion. Tears and tantrums, smiles and frowns and love and hate.
Each judge make it no secret that they want to out do each other, low blow remarks and tough criticism were being fired left right and centre during the fourth live show. A nervous Paula, with only one act remaining had tears streaming down her face as her girl group Lakoda Rayne performed exceptionally, telling America she was “proud” and “confident”.
There comes to a time when watching The X-Factor where you wonder, who is actually voting for these acts? As I have mentioned before, attitudes are everything and the way in which the acts come off to the public is vital. Watching the acts perform it was obvious that their confident attitudes felt jolted as the competitions getting tougher.
Watching Nicole’s act, Stacey Francis perform was uncomfortable. She was emotionless. Even after when receiving feedback she has no look on her face, When she had a close up whilst her number to keep her safe ran across the television, she still look emotionless. Smile?
Astro and Chris Rene, yet again rapped their way to the audiences hearts, week after week showing off their talents making people like me fall in love with them. Cutie pie Rachel Crow and angel-voiced Drew sang to a tee, leaving Simon looking like a very proud father (but mentor).
However, it was LeRoy Bell who got the biggest shock of the fourth live show when he was overly criticized for his lack of connection got called first by presenter Steve Jones as safe for another week. Melanie Amaro, Chris Rene, and Josh Krajcik also sighed with relief as the public saved them for another week. Marcus Canty, Drew and Lakoda Rayne cheered with excitement leaving Stacey Francis, Rachel Crow and Astro in the “unknown”. A tearful Rachel jumped up and down with excitement being the final act safe – emotions ran high, even leaving me with a tearful eye.
The sing-off between Astro the attitude and Stacey ‘miss know it all’ Francis was powerful, leaving the judges in a touch decision. Stacey performed first, standardly singing in the same voice, singing the same kind of song and feeling the same “sorry-ness” she feels for herself every week. The X-Factor became the Shock Factor when Astro walked on stage refusing to perform because, lets face it, if people wanted to hear him sing he wouldn’t have been in the bottom two.
Shocked judges were in disbelief when Astro asked the audience if he should perform, (his attitude never fails me.) However still, after being totally ripped apart and humiliated in public for his actions, it was Stacey who’s’ road had come to an end.
Over Thanksgiving we saw the contestants sing to those they are most thankful for. Knowing it would be played out as emotional was something I was prepared for, but each act cried and, lets just say, I hope that both Nicole and Paula were wearing waterproof mascara.
Singing songs that were very heartfelt and meaningful meant each act was singing their own choice and from the soul. However, at the end of the night, there would only be five out of seven acts going through because there was a double elimination.
Quirky Drew caused much controversy as she sang Demi Laovato’s “Skyscraper” for her best friend which left L.A. is disbelief that anyone would be able to even relate to the song, asking Drew “Why are you not singing to your own age?” Angered Simon fought back and not just at the table, backstage footage showed Simon and L.A. continue to bicker throughout the night about Drew’s songchoice.
It was not Drew who should have been concerned, both Marcus Canty and LeRoy Bell performed poorly, with Marcus falling flat and LeRoy not connecting, again. Chris Rene continued to show the crowd what he was made of, performing for his life, literally to the councilor who helped him through rehab and admittedly saved his life. Paula could not fight back tears for her girls Lakoda Rayne who were told by Simon that it was their best performance to date.
The double elimiation meant the act with the lowest votes were automatically sent home, and the second and third acts with lowest number of votes sang for survival. A shocked Lakoda Rayne were shocked to hear they would be leaving straight away, telling present Steve Jones “The dream is not over.” (You go girls). The sing off left us with LeRoy and Marcus against each other both acts singing for survival for the first time.
Both acts sang with just their vocals, there was no carnival around them, jus themselves. When it came to the judges there was a tie, leaving the fate of the acts to go back to the public. The act with the lowest votes was LeRoy, who although did not win, proved that at any age, you could push yourself to reach your dream. Sixty years old and singing in front of millions, amazing achievement.
Another double elimination this week, which will reveal our final 5. Don’t miss out!
