Idol Chatter & Voice Views

At the end of Tuesday’s special Thanksgiving episode of The X Factor, it’s pretty clear Simon Cowell and company should be thankful for two things.

1.  For any viewer who watched the entire two-hour episode live.   We were more than 20 minutes into the episode before we heard the second song of the night.  This episode made a snail look speedy.

2.  For Drew Ryniewicz ad Josh Krajcik, who turned in show-saving performances in the final two spots of the night.  Before they arrived on stage, Tuesday’s show was abysmal.

The recap:

Best of the night: Josh, sitting at a piano and delivering a stirring rendition of “Wild Horses,” dedicated to his daughter.  It wasn’t as special as one of those truly special Idol moments, but it was my favorite Josh performance to date.  Close behind was Drew, with a heartfelt version of “Skyscraper,” complete with the wonderful message to 14- and 15-year-old girls everywhere to be happy with who they are.   In the process, Drew reminded us again that she has the most unique voice on the show.  I just wish she’d take more risks with her song choices.

Runners-up: Melanie Amaro and LeRoy Bell turned in fine vocal performances.  I just wish neither had been joined by The X Factor chorus, which can always be counted on to drown out the singer they’re supposed to be backing.  Melanie finally showed some personality with a rant about being thankful for The X Factor opportunity.  The rant went on for quite a while, and the ensuing hug from judge Nicole provided one of those over-the-top moments that threatens to make this show totally unwatchable.

Worst of the night: Chris Rene tried to sing-rap “Let It Be,” which was every bit as terrible as the concept sounds.  Then he retreated to perform the song he auditioned with, which should be an automatic penalty, but gave our ears a break because it’s the one song he does well.

Astro’s half-hearted apology — that was supposed to be an apology, wasn’t it? — during which he said he took heart from all the support he was getting from fans after last week’s tantrum.  Apparently, he wasn’t reading the same post-show Tweets I was.  The low vote-getter automatically goes home tonight, and I’m hoping that’s were Astro lands.

The judging: OK, maybe the judges should also be thankful for whatever happy pills they were taking, because they were in some sort of delirious dreamland for most of last night’s show.  Or perhaps it was just the dreamland one travels to when at least half of your final nine are in no way worthy of the $5 million prize that’s up for grabs and you’re trying your best to pretend they are.

Rachel shouted through another song.  The judges loved it.  Marcus Canty made a touching tribute to his mom.   Too bad his performance was just mediocre Marcus.  Again.  The judges loved it.  Chris, Lakoda Rayne and Astro also got better treatment from the judges than they deserved.  Judges grade for the night:  D.

The LA. Reid factor: So, L.A. didn’t like LeRoy Bell.   Who to that point in the competition was one of the best singers.  So, L.A. criticized Drew for singing a song suited for 40-year-olds when she was singing a current song released by 19-year-old Demi Lovato.

Perhaps this is the desperation one stoops to when one singer you’re mentoring can’t sing (Chris Rene), when one has failed to live up to his potential (Marcus Canty) and when one has just shot himself in the foot (Astro and his now infamous tantrum).  Grade for L.A. on Tuesday:  F.

Who’s in danger: I hope voters give Astro the boot.  I can’t imagine he’d attract any new fans with last week’s outburst.  And his performance this week was one of his weakest.  But, somehow, I imagine he’ll survive.

Rachel Crow and Chris Rene need to be gone really soon.  And Lakoda Rayne seems forever on the brink of elimination, even though they’ve only landed in the bottom two once.