Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Last week, I kept finding myself wishing The X Factor could fast forward a few weeks.

After all, the show is looking more and more like a three-contestant showdown between Josh Krajcik, Drew Ryniewicz and Melanie Amaro.

Then I reminded myself of Season 10 of Idol.  When Pia Toscano went home in ninth place.  And Haley Reinhart emerged from nowhere to challenge for the Idol crown.

Could the same happen tonight on The X Factor?  We might find out over the next two hours.  It’s Movie Night.  So I suppose theme nights are another thing this show has in common with Idol.

And, oh, wow, look, The X Factor contestants can go to movies too.

Keep checking back.  I’ll be grading each performance tonight as it occurs.

Stacy Francis: Oh, no, Stacy is first up. Remember what happened to the Stereo Hogzz when they performed first last week.  Well, no church song this week.  Not with Stacy dressed in a hot red dress and belting out Whitney Houston’s “Queen of the Night.”  Glad to see the show start on an up-tempo note after a week one filled with ballads. That, however, was not Stacy’s best vocal.  Grade: C.

Marcus Canty: With all that smoke, I can barely see Marcus on stage at the beginning of this performance of “I’m Going Down.”  Plus that silver jacket is absolutely blinding. Well, that performance was certainly over the top.  Reminded me of Jacob Lusk going a little too over the top though.  That said, Marcus has the vocal talent to go fairly deep in this competition. Grade: B-

Drew Ryniewicz: And Simon had the guts to criticize how other contestants were dressed?  Sorry, Simon, but the blue and pink hair and that dress are too distracting.  That said, a nice tender vocal from Drew.  I’m not sure it was as good as the performance from the last two weeks, but I don’t think there’s any doubt Drew is sailing right through to next week.  Just listen to the crowd reaction.  Grade: B.

LeRoy Bell: Look at this — no gimmicking outfit.  A great song choice.  And LeRoy gets away from the ballads with “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”  Nicole says he feels in his element with this song, and he looked like it.  Very smooth performance.  Excellent vocal.  My favorite of the night so far.  Grade: B+

Lakoda Rayne: Well, they aren’t dressed like the seasons. But they didn’t take L.A.’s advice either, singing another country-pop tune, “I Wanna Love Somebody Like You.”  I sorta liked that performance.  And I think this X Factor formed quartet is sounding better and better together each week.  But, unlike Paula, I still can’t see them as serious contenders for the $5 million prize. Grade: B-

Astro: So Astro writes notes to girls and they always turn into love songs. And that makes him good at writing his own lyrics?  Anyway, our little egotist does his own version of “Lose Yourself” this week.  That said, I thought that was Astro’s best performance yet.  And matched Leroy as the best performance of the night so far.  And, gee, I didn’t miss that huge cutout of Astro’s name in the background. Grade: B+

Melanie Amaro: Simon introduces her as the magnificent Melanie. Well, she looks magnificent. She’s singing “Man in the Mirror.” And showing a lot of attitude in the process.  Wise decision, Simon.  I was hoping for something a little more upbeat, something that would allow Melanie to show some personality and attitude.  That did it.  Plus another spot-on vocal.  Grade: A.

The Stereo Hogzz: If this is the answer to finishing in the bottom two, I’m not sure I get it.  Of all the movie songs out there, they perform “Ain’t No Other Man.” Didn’t like the song.  Didn’t really care for the performance.  The might have been the weakest effort of the night so far.  Grade: C-.

Josh Krajcik: This week, Josh gets the wind machine treatment.  He’s singing Joe Cocker’s “With a Little Help from My Friends.”  Josh is trying to make the song his own; the changes aren’t really working for me.  Nor are the demonic expressions he gave the crowd while performing it.  Not his best performance.  That said, he remains one of the best voices in the competition. Grade: B-.

Chris Rene: It’s about time for Chris to turn it around after a couple of letdown performances. He’s doing “Gangsta’s Paradise,” with some new lyrics.  I think after the last couple of weeks, L.A. came to the conclusion I did — best to have Chris rap as much as possible and sing as little as possible.  His best performance since his audition.  Grade: B.

Rachel Crow: So far, I’ve seen nothing from Rachel to show she’s worthy of being the show-closer. Was that really Rachel singing that song?  That sounded so much better than anything she’s done to date, I’m not sure.  That rendition of “Rather Be Blind” was the first time she proved she deserves a spot in this competition.  The song seemed a little grown up for her, but that was a really strong performance. Grade: B+