Idol Chatter & Voice Views

So, Nicole Scherzinger might have banned Simon Cowell from her contestants’ rehearsals for meddling.

And so it goes on The X Factor, where the judges seem more interested in critiquing one another than the contestants the show is supposed to be about.

Here’s hoping that changes this week, because viewers look for them for guidance on who’s deserving and who’s not.

And I’m not sure last week’s results on Thursday were indicative of the performances we saw Wednesday.

Anyway, The X Factor returns with another two-hour marathon Wednesday, followed by a one-hour results show Thursday. This week’s special guest: Willow Smith.

Here are my rankings for the final 11.  Last week’s rankings are in parenthesis.

1.  Drew Ryniewicz (1): The only thing I didn’t like about Drew’s performance last week was that frilly-bottomed princess dress she was wearing.  Otherwise, this young lady is on fire.  Last week’s performance merely solidified her status as the show’s early frontrunner.

2.  Josh Krajcik (5): Wow, there’s no lack of passion and intensity when Josh performs, is there?  I’ve wondered whether voters will rally around the former burrito maker.  Now I’m hoping talent outweighs backstory (Chris Rene) and youth (Astro) in their eyes.

3.  Melanie Amaro (6): Without a change in strategy, I’m still seeing Pia Toscano 2.0 in Melanie.   She has an undeniably fabulous voice, but Simon needs to give her songs that (1) are not ballads and (2) show her personality.

4.  Marcus Canty (2): I still think he has the ability to hang around longer than any other member of L.A.’s team of male singers.  But that Bobby Brown impersonation did little to remind us of Marcus’ charm or how good his voice is.

5.   Stacy Francis (9): Did the tear ducts stop working?  Whatever the reason, Stacy Francis had held it together through two emotional performances on stage and seems much less desperate as a result.  Of course, there was never any question she has one of the biggest voices on the show.

6.   Chris Rene (3): Advice to L.A. — Pick a song where Chris is rapping much more than he is singing.  Because the last couple of weeks, he’s seemed incredibly weak compared to better singers in this competition.  He’s rapidly losing his early status as a contender.

7.  Stereo Hogzz (7): Do they really have that little support?  Or did they pay the price for performing first last week?  Either way, viewers don’t see nearly as enamored with boy bands as Simon is.   For this week, I suspect the group’s supporters will rally to make sure they don’t land in the bottom two again.

8.  Lakoda Rayne (11): First, Paula makes them sing “Come On, Eileen.”  Then she dresses them like the seasons and has a gale force wind whipping their hair around while they sing.  Through it all, this X-Factor formed quartet is sounding better, and more like a group.

9.  Astro, aka Brian Bradley (8): Kudos to Astro for penning his own lyrics to the covers he’s assigned to sing.  Kudos do not go to whoever decided the kid with the astronomical ego should perform in front of a cutout of his stage name that was taller than he is.

10.  LeRoy Bell (12): I was thrilled to see this talented singer survive week one, but I still don’t like his prospects  for hanging around long.  Advice to Nicole — Give him something to sing that will surprise viewers and let LeRoy’s voice do the rest.

11.  Rachel Crow (10): She’s still adorable during those pre-performance interviews.  And I still wish I were watching Tora Woloshin or Caitlin Koch every time young Rachel starts singing.  Or do you call that shouting?