Last week, we saw the elimination of InTENsity, which wasn’t all that much of a surprise to me. But what was a surprise was that The Stereo Hogzz were in the bottom two right there with them, which was a travesty. What it showed me is that people simply don’t like voting for groups. They want one person to root for, not five.
Here’s my Week 2 hotlist, which is based off last week’s performances and my overall feel for who can win it all:
Hotlist Week 2
1. Drew
1. Melanie Amaro (yes, still tied)
3. Josh Krajcik
4. Rachel Crow
5. Marcus Canty
6. The Stereo Hogzz
7. Astro
8. Stacy Francis
9. Lakoda Rayne
10. Chris Rene
11. LeRoy Bell
The Defeated
1. InTENsity
Mr. Anti-charisma, Steve Jones tells us it’s movie night. What the heck is Astro going to do for movie night?
Aaron Dammit is back to give us his thoughts on the performances too.
Stacy Francis is hitting lead-off tonight. She’s singing Queen Of The Night from The Bodyguard. She looks and sounds like she had a rough night. This is the worst I’ve ever seen her. It’s the kind of performance that gets you eliminated. She tried some sexy dancing at the end that didn’t work. Aaron says she doesn’t look the part and he felt shouted at rather than sung to. LA says he didn’t like the song, but she did much better with it than he thought. Paula says she didn’t like the song, but Stacy delivered. Simon says she looks cute, but she should be wearing it somewhere else. Nicole says she looked gorgeous and shined from within.
Marcus Canty is singing I’m Going Down while wearing one of P. Diddy’s old glitter suits. I was waiting for Mo Money, Mo Problems. Most will remember it as a Mary J. Blige song, but it was originated on the Car Wash soundtrack by Rose Royce. It was ok, but in a K-Ci Hailey kind of way. His vocals are always going to lack, and he’s going to have to bring it home in his performance. Aaron says he came in possessed with the spirit of Dexter, only he has a voice and gets all his words and oozes charisma. Nicole says it was magic. Nicole might want a piece of my man. Paula says he resonates star. Simon says it was 1,000% better than last week. LA says he’s a massive star.
Drew is singing Fix You from You, Me, & Dupree. It wasn’t at the level of last week’s creative as all hell performance, but she’s still at a level above most of the contestants. Her stage ownage is impressive. Aaron says it was magical. LA says it was too much of the same and she needs diversity. Nicole says she’s brilliant beyond her years. Paula says she gives an honest performance every single week. Simon says she shows individuality.
LeRoy Bell is singing I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For by U2. This is working very well for him. This was a perfect song choice, and my man was on his game tonight. Aaron says he sounds like he could step in for Bono, today. LA says he got it right. Paula says this is the performance she’s been waiting for. Simon says it was his best performance by a clear mile. Nicole says she felt like she was at the LeRoy concert and he took her to church at the same time.
Lakoda Rayne is singing a Keith Urban song, Somebody Like You. It was a fun performance for sure, but it felt very amateurish. The vocals were fairly strong at least. Aaron says it was individually good, but they need to tighten up those harmonies. LA Reid says they’re his favorite girl group (even though there’s only one girl group). Nicole says they have good chemistry and are effortless. Simon says they’re the girl group he’s been hoping they’d become. Paula says she’s so proud of them.
Astro is performing his own version of Lose Yourself. The only problem is that the song is kind of fast and his lyrics are a bit darker, so the fun is a bit gone. The music is drowning him out. From a performance standpoint, he did a pretty darn good job. And he threw out a shout to Joe Frazier and Heavy D, which is classy as all hell for someone so young. Aaron says he felt off. Nicole says it was so heavy and he is a champion. Paula says he’s in a league all in his own. Simon says he has a work ethic and he’s incredibly creative. LA says he’s a star.
Melanie Amaro is singing Michael Jackson’s Man In The Mirror, which is from This Is It!. How can a concert movie count? Sounds like she was having vocal problems all week, so she sings MJ? Yikes. It was totally fine, but not mind blowing like she’s been in the past. Aaron says he could tell she was fighting through some pain, and her voice was great, but he wasn’t blown away. LA says it was strong, but not inventive. Nicole says it was a brilliant song choice and she made Michael proud tonight. Paula says music heals the world and her voice does that. Simon says she was bloody fantastic.
The Stereo Hogzz are singing some Christina Aguilera. Why would Paula choose Ain’t No Other Man for them? The choreography was hot, but the song was way too light in the ass for them. Maybe she thought they needed to be more commercial because they were in the bottom two last week? Aaron says they still look like stars, but they need to separate themselves vocally. LA says it was a great job, but he didn’t know the song. Nicole says it was bananas. Simon says their work ethic is amazing, but they’re not performing the record they’d put out. Paula disagrees and thinks it’s right in pocket.
Josh Krajcik is singing The Beatles’ A Little Help from My Friends. He has amazing vocal control. He can go from a scream to a whisper very quickly. He went Joe Cocker on us. He’s probably the performance of the evening thus far. Aaron says that much like when Melanie threw the gauntlet down last week and Drew picked it up, Josh did the same from Drew this week. LA says it was well done. Paula says his voice is comforting. Simon says the first half didn’t quite work, the second half was great, but he didn’t like his look. Nicole says he’s so worthy of 5 million dollars.
Chris Rene is singing Coolio’s Gangsta’s Paradise which I hope doesn’t come off corny. His rhyme skills leave a lot to be desired. He’s rapping the entire song and only singing the hook. He has tons of charisma, but is just confused as what he’s supposed to be. This is the weakest performance of the night, not because he’s not giving it his all, but because he’s just not a good rapper at all. Aaron says to his ears, Chris out-rapped Astro tonight. Nicole says some stuff that I didn’t understand. Paula says he was honest and truthful. Simon says welcome back to Chris Rene. LA says they’re home.
Rachel Crow is singing I’d Rather Go Blind by Etta James. It’s an even more amazing vocal than Josh’s because no 13-year old girl should be singing Etta James this well. The way they did her hair and makeup makes her look like a short old woman though. Aaron says she was singing a song much too old for her age, but he bought every word. LA says tonight, she proved she is a true contender. Nicole says it was amazing. Paula says it was the best performance. Simon says she reminded him of a mini Beyonce.
Here’s our top and bottom three:
Top 3
GG: Rachel Crow, Josh Krajcik, LeRoy Bell
Aaron: Drew, Josh Krajcik, Rachel Crow
Bottom 3
GG: Stacy Francis, Chris Rene, The Stereo Hoggz
Aaron: Stacy Francis, The Stereo Hoggz, Astro
6 comments
Mark says:
Nov 10, 2011
New song featuring Chris Rene! “Hollywood Lyfe” – Dylan Synclaire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4jc1AXKlTw
MSoli says:
Nov 10, 2011
My three cents:
I agree with LA Reid’s comment that Melanie’s performance was not inventive. She sang the song, but didn’t add anything to it. I hope she does better job of incorporating her own style to the song.
The talent of X Factor seems to be set at a higher bar than that of American Idol. That is a good thing.
Lastly, someone should have a drinking game and take a shot every time during the show when someone says “thank you”. I think people would get drunk after the first few performances.
GG says:
Nov 10, 2011
Ha! I think Melanie was sick and didn’t want to do something completely challenging, but heck, singing MJ is challenging enough!
The X Factor – Who Makes The Top 10? :: Sonic Clash says:
Nov 11, 2011
[…] SmithIn my X Factor live blog last night for Popblerd, I gave out my top and bottom three based on […]
go back to school says:
Nov 22, 2011
Nicole the word “magic” is not two words, its actually one word. Correction, what you meant to say is two syllables….
GG says:
Nov 22, 2011
Ahahahahaha. Nicole gets on my nerves.