Category: the x factor

A double elimination in The X Factor Season 1 Episode 18 brought us the end of the road for Lakoda Rayne and Leroy Bell. Tonight the top 7 perform songs from Michael Jackson.

Josh Krajcik
Song: Dirty Diana
LA: That was cool, man. First time I’ve seen you step out of your comfort zone.
Paula: Show stopping performance.
Simon: Great spectacle. But overproduced. Your weakest performance so far.
Nicole: We like to take risks.

Astro
Song: Black or White, or something loosely resembling it
Nicole: First time I’ve seen you really enjoying yourself.
Paula: I think you could win.
Simon: That’s what someone your age should be doing.
LA: Proud. I like to think the Jackson family is as proud.

Drew
Song: Billie Jean
LA: Made it your own. I liked it.
Nicole: I like you. But not Simon.
Paula: Your best vocal performance but nothing visual.
Simon: Paula and Nicole are wrong.

Rachel Crow
Song: Can You Feel It
LA: Didn’t believe that you were really having a good time.
Nicole: Really good job but didn’t feel the connection.
Paula: Don’t think the song gave you justice.
Simon: You always put on a show, even on anti-Simon night.

Marcus Canty
Song: P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)
Nicole: You’re the whole package.
Paula: Beautiful homage to the late great Michael Jackson. The entertainer of this show.
Simon: Vocals weren’t very good.
LA: Inventive arrangement.

Chris Rene
Song: I’ll Be There
Nicole: Sounded the best you ever have.
Paula: Connected with the whole public.
Simon: A little shaky vocal but much better when the rap kicked in.
LA: Great job.

Melanie Amaro
LA: Felt that we were at a Melanie Amaro concert.
Nicole: One of the best performances of the season.
Paula: Flawless.
Simon: Could be not more proud.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The X Factor Season 1 Episode 20, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on Fox.

Tonight 2 more will be sent home.

Drew is safe. As the act having received the fewest number of votes, Lakoda Rayne has been eliminated. That marks the last of Paula’s groups.

Chris Rene is safe. Rachel Crow is safe. Josh Krajcik is safe. Melanie Amaro is safe, as Simon’s girls make it through the night. Somehow, that little punk with a bad attitude who can’t sing Astro is safe.

Leroy Bell and Marcus Canty fall into the bottom two.

LA votes to save his contestant with a vote against Leroy. Nicole votes to save her contestant with a vote against Marcus. Why do they even bother letting the judges whose acts are up there vote? Based on tonight’s performance, Paula votes against Marcus. Letting the public decide, Simon votes against Leroy. The act that received the lowest number of votes, Leroy Bell, has been eliminated.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The X Factor Season 1 Episode 19, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

The top 10 performed in The X Factor Season 1 Episode 15. Tonight 1 more will go home.

Leroy Bell is safe. Lakoda Rayne is safe, as all of Paula’s one acts are through to next week.

Chris Rene is safe. Melanie Amaro is safe. Josh Krajcik is safe. Marcus Canty is safe.

Drew is safe. Rachel Crow is safe, leaving Simon’s acts in the clear.

That puts Stacy Francis and Astro in danger. Stacy got ripped into last night, perhaps a bit too much. Meanwhile, it doesn’t seem people are buying the Astro hype. I guess it’s cool for what it is, but it’s just too one dimensional, though he’s arguably not alone in that respect.

Between the two, I don’t see how either can win, but going by the judges’ comments so far in the series, I’m assuming they’ll get rid of Stacy before Astro. LA calls Astro a quitter but sticks with his guy and votes against Stacy. Nicole votes for her act and ties the vote against Astro. Paula makes it two votes against Stacy. Simon doesn’t like Astro’s attitude either, to which Astro responds that he doesn’t want to perform for people who don’t want him here. Booing ensues, well deserved. Simon opts to send home Stacy because Astro’s got a better chance of winning, but he just threw it away.

Due to the holiday, the show will be on one day early next week. Creative scheduling again. At least this week we have some warning.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The X Factor Season 1 Episode 17, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on Fox.

After two weeks in the bottom, Stereo Hogzz were eliminated in The X Factor Season 1 Episode 14. Tonight the top 10 perform in rock week.

Leroy Bell
Song: We’ve Got Tonight by Bob Seger (this is a rock song?)
LA: Sound great but still not working it.
Paula: Beautiful voice. Needs to be more of a connection.
Simon: Nice song, good voice, unoriginal. Right now, you can’t win.
Nicole: Best you’ve ever sounded.

Rachel Crow
Song: Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones
LA: Can you sell records and tickets? Yes.
Nicole: Perfect song choice. Favorite performance from you.
Paula: Love how you are starting to connect.
Simon: I can see you winning.

Chris Rene
Song: Everything’s Gonna Be Alright by Bob Marley
Nicole: Not my favorite performance by you. Confused.
Paula: Doesn’t matter whether you are the best vocalist. You are original.
Simon: Great. If the theme were reggae music.
LA: Stayed on key.

Stacy Francis
Song: It’s All Coming Back to Me Now by Meat Loaf/Celine Dion
LA: Sang that song really well. I’ll leave it at that.
Paula: Least favorite song you’ve ever performed.
Simon: Horrible song choice. I wanted rock. That was a pebble.
Nicole: Glam rock diva.

Melanie Amaro
Song: Everybody Hurts by REM
LA: That was rock?
Nicole: Sounded beautiful. One of my favorite songs. Every time I hear it, I cry. Didn’t cry tonight.
Paula: Took us to church.
Simon: Reminded me of Adele, Alicia Keys.

Josh Krajcik
Song: The Pretender by Foo Fighters
LA: Authenticity, stage presence, right song, really rocked this house.
Paula: Best performance of the night by far.
Simon: Bloody fantastic.
Nicole: Ultimate rock star.

Astro
Song: Original rap song with I’ll Be Missing You by Puffy Daddy music
Nicole: Are you ready? Yes.
Paula: I don’t think you can suck.
Simon: More maturity and intelligence than some of the older contestants.
LA: Everything it takes to win.

Lakoda Rayne
Song: Your Love by The Outfield/Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac
LA: First time I’ve seen you have fun. Better. Not great.
Nicole: Found your lane. Country rock. Holding back a little bit.
Simon: Complete mess. Stupid choreography, gimmicky. Hope America sticks with you.
Paula: Great job. Most proud.

Drew
Song: With or Without You by U2
LA: Maybe the most original voice of any contestant. But still more of the same.
Nicole: Waiting for the tempo to pick up. Frustrated.
Paula: Take advantage of the genres to show diversity.
Simon: All about being unique and appealing to your fan base.

Marcus Canty
Song: Piece of My Heart by Janis Joplin
Nicole: Lit that stage on fire.
Paula: Take me in all the way.
Simon: Don’t think the song suited you.
LA: You rocked.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The X Factor Season 1 Episode 16, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on Fox.

The top 11 performed in The X Factor Season 1 Episode 13. Tonight 1 more act will go home.

Stacy Francis is safe. Astro is safe. Melanie Amaro is safe. Marcus Canty is safe. Leroy Bell is safe. Rachel Crow is safe. Josh Krajcik is the third of Nicole’s acts to be safe. Drew is the third of Simon’s acts to be safe. Chris Rene is safe.

Once again, the two acts in the bottom are Paula’s acts. Lakoda Rayne and Stereo Hogzz are in the bottom two. I think the public is sending the judges a message about the Stereo Hogzz, though I was not expecting Lakoda Rayne to be in the bottom.

LA votes against Stereo Hogzz. Nicole does, too. Paula refuses to vote. Lame. If Paula refuses to vote, majority rules, so with 2 votes, Stereo Hogzz will be sent home. After being told that, Paula votes against Lakoda Rayne. More lame. If you’re hired to be a judge, be a judge. Simon votes against Stereo Hogzz, who are going home.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The X Factor Season 1 Episode 15, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

The first results show of the season saw new and large group InTENsity have to pack their bags in The X Factor Season 1 Episode 12. Tonight the top 11 perform songs from the movies.

Stacy Francis
Song: Queen of the Night by Whitney Houston from The Bodyguard
LA: Much better than I thought. Why did you do the third most popular song from the movie?
Paula: Never really liked the song, but you delivered.
Simon: Liked you last week as a singer. Didn’t like the dancing.
Nicole: Shined from within. (Whatever that means.)

Marcus Canty
Song: I’m Going Down by Rose Royce from Car Wash
Nicole: Magic.
Paula: Everything about you resonates star.
Simon: 1000% better than last week.
LA: I have a crystal ball with an artist’s picture in it, and it’s you.

Drew
Song: Fix You by Coldplay from You, Me, and Dupree
LA: Really good again, but I don’t know the difference between the three performances. And who ever heard of that movie?
Nicole: You’re just a little slice of heaven.
Paula: Honest performance every week. Song sits within a beautiful vocal range.
Simon: This is the kind of record you would make.

Leroy Bell
Song: I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For by U2 from Runaway Bride
LA: Finally got it right.
Paula: Been waiting for this performance.
Simon: Your best performance by a mile.
Nicole: Aside from being 60 years old, you’re just great.

Lakoda Rayne
Song: I Wanna Love Somebody Like You by Keith Urban from How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
LA: My favorite girl group in the competition. (Out of 1.)
Nicole: So natural, such good chemistry.
Simon: The group I always hoped and prayed you’d become.
Paula: So proud of you.

Astro
Song: Original Song with Lose Yourself from 8 Mile music and chorus
Nicole: You are a champion tonight.
Paula: That level of focus you have is what creates superstars.
Simon: Incredibly creative. Great role model.
LA: Could not be more proud.

Melanie Amaro
Song: Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson from This Is It
LA: Great singer. Not that inventive.
Nicole: Brilliant song choice. Made Michael proud.
Paula: Music heals the world, and your voice truly does that.
Simon: Bloody fantastic. Your best performance so far.

The Stereo Hogzz
Song: Ain’t No Other Man by Christina Aguilera from Get Smart
LA: Great job, but I didn’t know the song.
Nicole: Bananas. Favorite performance from you yet.
Simon: Not performing the record you would make. Need to be less cabaret.

Josh Krajcik
Song: With a Little Help from My Friends by The Beatles from Across the Universe
LA: One of my favorite voices, one of my favorite songs.
Paula: This is who you are. Amazing.
Simon: First half didn’t quite work; second half was great.
Nicole: Ready for a $5 million recording contract.

Chris Rene
Song: Original with music/lyrics from Gangsta’s/Pastime Paradise by Coolio/Stevie Wonder from Dangerous Minds
Paula: Glorious seeing you in your element.
Simon: Welcome back.
LA: Like a long way home, but we’re there now.

Rachel Crow
Song: I’d Rather Go Blind by Etta James from Cadillac Records
LA: You have your eye on the target. My favorite yet.
Paula: Best performance.
Simon: Like a mini Beyonce.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The X Factor Season 1 Episode 14, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on Fox.

The top 12 performed in The X Factor Season 1 Episode 11. In tonight’s first results show, one act will be sent home.

Ah yes. An evening full of nothing but filler. Like American Idol again. Half an hour in, they start introducing the contestants and their mentors. Then the host whose name isn’t even Ryan Seacrest starts announcing the results.

Marcus Canty is safe. Drew is safe. Leroy Bell is safe. Astro is safe. Lakoda Rayne is safe. Rachel Crow is safe. Chris Rene is the third boy to be safe. Josh Krajcik is safe. Melanie Amaro is the third girl to be safe. Stacy Francis is the third of the over 30s to be safe.

Other than Lakoda Rayne, Paula Abdul seems to have drawn the short straw. Two of her groups, Stereo Hogzz and InTENsity, are in danger of elimination, and the judges will choose one of them to survive and one to go home.

Aside from the fact that there are just too many of them with only a couple of stand outs, InTENsity is still more compelling to watch.

Simon votes to send home Stereo Hogzz based on tonight’s performance. Paula votes for InTENsity. Nicole votes for InTENsity. LA votes for InTENsity. With three votes against them, InTENsity is going home, and Stereo Hogzz is safe.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The X Factor Season 1 Episode 13, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

It’s been a couple weeks since The X Factor was in its regularly scheduled time, instead of Sunday, Tuesday, or whatever other random day they could think of, but now it’s back. I’ll stick it out for this season, but if Fox is not serious about the show, I don’t know how they expect anybody else to be. If the World Series is that much more important than The X Factor, put it on hiatus for two weeks rather than making people have to hunt for it. Still, the show was renewed today for season 2 following good (but disappointing) ratings.

During that time, the top 17 were chosen.

Top 4 Boys
Brian “Astro” Bradley
Chris Rene
Marcus Canty
Phillip Lomax

Top 5 Girls
Drew Ryniewicz
Melanie Amaro (returning after originally being eliminated)
Rachel Crow
Simone Battle
Tiah Tolliver

Top 4 Over 30s
Dexter Haygood
Josh Krajcik
Leroy Bell
Stacy Francis

Top 4 Groups
The Brewer Boys
InTENsity
Lakoda Rayne
The Stereo Hogzz

From them, the judges were able to pick 3 each to save. Simon eliminated Tiah Tolliver and Simone Battle, finally ending his love affair with Tiah that only he understood. LA eliminated Phillip Lomax, for some reason continuing on with the young rapper. Paula got rid of The Brewer Boys, keeping the two brand new groups intact. Nicole eliminated Dexter Haygood. That brings us down to the final 12, performing tonight for America’s vote.

The Stereo Hogzz
Song: Rhythm Nation by Janet Jackson
LA: You have what it takes to be a star.
Nicole: You represented The X Factor so well. It’s hard to both sing and dance and make it look easy.
Simon: One of the best groups on one of these competitions. Not a band in the world as good as you right now.
Paula: Fantastic students.

Chris Rene
Song: Superstar by The carpenters
Nicole: You’ve grown so much.
Paula: This was your song, and you owned it.
Simon: Started off like you were in hell, but a big improvement over last week.
LA: I think we found the right material.

Leroy Bell
Song: I’m Already There by Rascal Flatts
LA: Love your voice. Didn’t get the song.
Paula: Never seen anyone work so hard.
Simon: Really good singer with a confidence issue. Don’t think Nicole has quite understood you.
Nicole: I’m sure you made your son, your family, and all the dads across America proud.

Rachel Crow
Song: You’re My Sunshine by Gamu Nhengu (Walking on Sunshine cover)
LA: One of the most charismatic people.
Nicole: Voice reminds me of Michael Jackson from Jackson 5. But I don’t know about the lyric change.
Paula: Would love your mentor to give you a song that shows more of your range.
Simon: This girl’s going to be around for a long, long time.

Lakoda Rayne
Song: Landslide by Dixie Chicks
LA: Felt the blend and the harmonies, but want you to pick pop or country.
Nicole: Sounded like one voice tonight. Put me in a trance.
Simon: Vocally, a massive improvement, but your mentor is insane.
Paula: I’m proud, and let’s go get frozen yogurt.

Josh Krajcik
Song: Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri
LA: Liked your before, but I really dig your after.
Paula: You just nail everything.
Simon: Incredible. Like you wrote the song.
Nicole: Feel your voice in my veins.

Melanie Amaro
Song: Desperado by Eagles
LA: The only thing Simon ever did right was bringing you back.
Nicole: No limit to what you and your voice can do.
Paula: Like fine china.
Simon: Didn’t realize how good you were. The one to beat.

Astro
Song: An original (and nothing but)
Nicole: You know how to get the party started right.
Paula: Jay Z’s got his eye on you.
Simon: Time for LA to take back his comment about how people that young can’t rap.
LA: Each week you get better.

InTENsity
Song: Kids in America by Kim Wilde/Party Rock by LMFAO
LA: Fun, fun, fun.
Nicole: Funtastic, funomenal.
Simon: Terrific. Shouldn’t like you, but I do.
Paula: Proud.

Drew (who seems to have lost her last name)
Song: Just a Dream by Nelly
LA: Spirit of a superstar.
Nicole: Amazing song choice. So relevant.
Paula: Live for the last note you sing.
Simon: Seeing a star emerge. I’m learning from you.

Marcus Canty
Song: Every Little Step by Bobby Brown
Nicole: Like watching a concert.
Paula: Total performer. Total package.
Simon: You have come alive.
LA: Just keep doing what you’re doing.

Stacy Francis
Song: Up to the Mountain by Patty Griffin
LA: Stir those souls.
Paula: Shining moment.
Simon: I think you want to give me a kiss.
Nicole: Honest, grace, poise, beauty.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The X Factor Season 1 Episode 12, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on Fox.