My thoughts about The Stereo Hogzz’s elimination last week can be summed up by my paraphrasing of Duke from Rocky IV.

Picture me speaking to Lakoda Rayne:

When The Stereo Hogzz died, part of me died. Now you’re the one. You’re the one that’s gonna keep their spirit alive. You’re the one that’s gonna make sure that they didn’t die for nothing. Now you’re gonna have to go through hell. Worse than any nightmare you ever dreamed. But in the end, I know you’ll be the one standing. Do it. Do it.

And then picture Lakoda Rayne high tailing it out of there wondering why I’m lecturing them about the death of the Stereo Hogzz.

Really Lakoda Rayne. You’re now the one. You have to be the one to make sure that groups are able to come back next year and to save my Paula. Paula was a crazed lunatic last week having to choose between her groups. But if Lakoda go out this week like I expect, how can you even bring groups back for season two?

Speaking of groups, Aaron Dammit is here to give us a little X Factor UK educational lesson.

From Aaron: No group has ever won the X factor UK. A few have gone onto fame and fortune and platinum CDs but not one has won. I was impressed by this crop of X Factor finalists but they all had their faults. The Stereo Hoggz was a one-voice band. InTENsity could do with 2-5 less members. And Lakoda Rayne could do with an extra couple months to work out vocal kinks. In the UK, last season, the group that went the furthest, One Direction, had the full backing of Simon. This year, when they were down to two groups, the judges refused to say anything negative about them, ever. By week 5 they were already down to one. Does this mean they should to be taken off or remain? I like them in but they need more backing/kindness from the judges.

Ok, now that we got that out of the way.

Here’s my Week 3 hotlist, which is based off my ranking of each contestant (before this show):

Hotlist Week 3
1. Drew
1. Melanie Amaro (yes, still tied)
3. Josh Krajcik
4. Rachel Crow
5. Marcus Canty
6. Astro
7. LeRoy Bell
8. Stacy Francis
9. Lakoda Rayne
10. Chris Rene

The Defeated
1. InTENsity
2. The Stereo Hogzz

Chris Rene should thank his lucky stars. He was terrible last week and deserved to go home the most.

It’s Rock Night. My guess is that Astro goes Run DMC on us tonight. Mr. Anti-charimsa Steve Jones says it’s all rock songs, or songs in a rock style. He introduced the judges and Nicole did some snarl with her lip and a whacky dance. She should never do that ever again. It may give me nightmares.

LeRoy Bell is hitting leadoff tonight. In the prepackage, LA Reid said that he was boring and then spelled it out just in case we didn’t know how to spell it. He’s singing We’ve Got Tonight from Bob Seger. I understand the performance. It showed off his vocals, but he kind of made LA’s point for him. Aaron compares him to Michael Bolton (in a good way), but knows he’ll get flack. LA says he sounds good, but he’s not rockin’ it enough. Paula says he’s starting to engage with the audience. Simon says it lacked originality and Nicole is mentoring him like a session singer. Nicole says it’s the best he’s sounded. She must’ve forgotten about last week.

LeRoy is fighting an uphill battle performance-wise. I don’t think it’s something he’s going to pick up in a short time. Luckily for him, he seems fairly well liked so he may have a chance to go further.

Rachel Crow is singing The Rolling Stones. She’s singing (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction. She’s performing a very spirited version of the song, as if she’s taking it to church. I thought she was entirely likable this week performance-wise. I generally think she’s all voice and no performance, but she was fun tonight. Aaron says he didn’t get it until the end and then he was wowed. LA says she’ll be able to sell tickets and records. Nicole says it was her favorite performance from Rachel. Paula says she’s connecting with the audience. Simon says he thinks she can win now.

Chris Rene is going to struggle unless LA can be creative with his song choice. He’s performing a whacky version of No Woman, No Cry. It absolutely sucked until he got to the hook and then it got pretty good. I’ll give it to him. He’s got that kind of charisma that doesn’t come off as forced. Aaron says it was a roller coaster performance. Nicole says it wasn’t her favorite performance. I think she’s just tired of being picked on. Paula says he’s original. Simon says it was reggae music, not rock music. LA fought with Simon over whether it was appropriate for the theme.

Stacy Francis is going rock ballad on us singing Meatloaf’s It’s All Coming Back to Me Now. This isn’t fun at all. I’m not sure if she could hear herself sing. For the second week in a row, it’s the kind of performance that should get someone kicked off. Aaron says that it finally felt like rock week, but for someone who has great vocals, it fell flat. LA says she sang it really well and he’s happy for her. Paula says it was her least favorite performance from her. Simon says it was soft and she’s going backwards. Nicole says that she rises through adversity. Stacy looks like she’s very unhappy and she just called her fans “Franactics”. Okay, she now needs to leave.

Melanie Amaro is doing Everybody Hurts. Her vocals are impeccable, though it wasn’t as challenging for her as I’d hoped. I was hoping she would try to do Aerosmith or something. She also took us to church at the end there. Aaron says it was edgeless vocal brilliance. LA says it was soul and not rock. Nicole says she wasn’t as connected as she usually is to that song. Nicole is weirder than usual tonight. Paula says Melanie took us to church, but she wants her to let go and let loose. Simon says it reminded him of Adele and Alicia Keys. Then Simon and LA argued more about the theme.

Josh Krajcik is singing The Pretender. This should be right in Josh’s wheelhouse. I’m not sure if this is good or not, but he reminded me of Jack Black. I’m no hard rock fan, but I enjoyed him very much. Aaron says it rocked though he wasn’t as wowed as he thought he’d be. LA says he has the authenticity and is the only person who really rocked the house tonight. Paula says it was the best of the night. Simon says it was bloody fantastic. Nicole says he’s the ultimate rock star.

Astro is up next with I’ll Be Missing You. Hmm, I’m not sure this is a rock song at all. Where’s Walk This Way? Well, I tried not to like it, but my man is rapping about his art form, hip hop. Does this mean that he thinks hip hop is dead? The rock part comes from the Police instrumental. Sometimes he raps a little too fast, but he’s fairly flawless. Feel good song of the week. Aaron says that he does his genre well. Nicole says he’s ready for 5 million dollars. Paula asks if he can just suck for once and says he can’t. Simon says he has more maturity and intelligence than some of the older contestants. LA says he knocked it out of the park.

What’s sad is that Astro was probably already a better rapper than Puff Daddy when he could first talk.

Lakoda Rayne went throw back with Go Your Own Way. It was fun and the set was pretty crazy. Is it enough to keep them around? I sure hope so. Aaron says there was some rock vibe in there. LA says it’s the first time he’s ever seen them have fun. Nicole says they found their edge with some country rock. Simon says it was a complete mess. Paula says the girls have earned their place.

Drew is singing With Or Without You. It’s very same samey, though her vocals are impeccable. Aaron says her vocals were off. LA says she has the most original voice, but he wants more from her. Nicole says she was waiting for more. Paula says to be diverse. Simon says to not listen to Nicole and to be unique.

Marcus Canty is up last. My man Ushered through Piece Of My Heart. He’s all flash no dash, but I don’t think it will hurt him until the field is narrowed down. He can get into the top 5 or 6, but he’s not winning this thing because the vocals aren’t there. It was definitely a rock star performance though. He tried hardest to put on a show. You know what Lionel Richie would say?


Aaron was surprised at the rock vibe. Nicole says not to worry about a thing. Paula says he’s the entertainer of the competition. Simon says the song didn’t suit him. LA says that Marcus rocked.

That’s two pretty subpar shows in a row X Factor. Step your game up!

Here’s our top and bottom three:

Top 3
GG: Melanie Amaro, Josh Krajcik, Astro
Aaron: Josh Krajcik, Melanie Amaro, Marcus Canty

Bottom 3
GG: Stacy Francis, LeRoy Bell, Chris Rene (though, he won’t go home)
Aaron: Chris Rene, Stacy Francis, Drew