Idol Chatter & Voice Views

A week ago, The X Factor looked like a three-contestant showdown between Drew Ryniewicz, Josh Krajcik and Melanie Amaro.

Then LeRoy Bell performed “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”

Then Astro does his own version of the rap tune “Lose Yourself.”

Then Rachel Crow pulls off a big — and utterly surprising — performance of “I’d Rather Be Blind.”

And suddenly, the idea of someone not named Drew, Melanie or Josh competing for that $5 million prize doesn’t look so remote.

So we’re down to 10. Here go the song-by-song grades.

Oh, my, it’s rock week on X Factor. Simon predicts a train wreck.

Gee, then why have rock week? Especially with Rihanna as the guest star tomorrow night? Oh, well, better than Ziggy Pop and Constantine Maroulis singing something that isn’t rock.

LeRoy Bell:  Meet this week’s sacrificial lamb. This is the spot Rachel Crow should have. He or she who sings last one week sings first the next, right? Apparently it’s a rule made to be broken. LeRoy will sing Bob Seger’s “We’ve Got Tonight.” Well, it’s not exactly a rousing way to start rock week.  But LeRoy is singing the heck out of it.  And I’m sure L.A. Reid will call the performance boring.  It was, just a tad.  But I still love his voice.  Wow, the judges are judging. Simon says LeRoy should have been a shark, but wound up seeming like a dolphin. Grade: B-

Rachel Crow:  What? Rachel, 13, is singing “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction?” Well, the Rachel Crow momentum just came to an inappropriately screeching halt. Simon must have lost his mind. Plus, we’re back to shouty young Rachel. That might have been the worst performance of the finals so far. Horrible. Terrible. Nothing I’d ever want to hear again. Absolutely the worst of many version of that song I’ve ever heard. How she can get great comments for that when LeRoy Bell gets raked over the coals? Grade: D.

Chris Rene:  Oh, no, Chris is going to sing. Sorry, but he has the weakest singing voice on the show. And this performance is filled with off-key notes.  Wow, only marginally better than Rachel. And that ain’t good. He sang “No Woman No Cry” plus “Everything’s Going to be Alright.” By the way, that was rock style? Simon hit it on the head. That was a reggae performance. Problem is, regardless of style, it was a very weak vocal.  Grade: D+

Stacy Francis:  OK, Stacy is going to sing a Meatloaf song.  Does the train wreck continue? She’s going to try to sing “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now.” I stress try.  Stacy is no Meatloaf.  That performance was all over the place vocally.  She might have been into it emotionally, but that performance was not good at all.  Wow, you know you’re in trouble when Paula openly criticizes your vocal. Ah, but she said that Stacy looked nice. Grade: D+

Melanie Amaro:  She’ll sing REM’s “Everybody Hurts.” Hey, Simon, don’t throw stones about rock week protocol if you’re going to give Melanie a rock ballad.  The good news, Melanie is singing really well, of course, with a voice that soars and hits glory notes with amazing ease.  After the last three vocals, that was a welcome relief.  Grade: B.

Josh Krajcik:  The last of tonight’s Over 30’s will tackle Foo Fighters’ “The Pretender.” Well, it’s a rock song. Which is a refreshing change. L.A. says he’s the only person that has “rocked the house tonight.” Paula calls it the best performance of the evening. Simon calls it “bloody fantastic.” OK, I was not that blown away.  The best vocal by someone who really tried to rock? OK, I’ll agree. The best vocal of the night? Not sure. Grade: B-

Astro:  The artist formerly known as Brian Bradley is going to rap “Every Step You Take.” Again, no idea what “Missing You” has to do with rock week. But, hey, it wasn’t bad. Certainly not as bad as Chris trying to sing rock.  Simon says he has more maturity and intelligence than many of the older contestants, and could win.  Sorta hate to say it, but I think he could, too. There’s no lack of X factor in Astro.  Grade: B-.

Lakoda Rayne:  Paula’s last hope. She’s confident they’re in the competition to stay.  Not so sure after that opening by Haley.  Now they’ve morped into “Go Your Own Way.”  With a “y’all” thrown in by Haley, who should not be allowed to open any more songs for the group.  If they survive this week.  I’m rooting for Lakoda Rayne to hang around, but I wasn’t impressed by that performance. Simon calls it “a complete mess,” and I think he’s at least partly right. I’m surprised he didn’t pull out the cruise ship comparison. Grade: C-.

Drew Ryniewicz:  She’s singing U2.  “With or Without You.”  OK, she isn’t going to rock either.  L.A. Reid is going to tear into her for doing the same performance week after week.  And not without merit.  The thing is, I’d rather listen to Drew sing this than most of performances I’ve heard tonight. Drew calls her voice the most unique in the competition.  He’s right there.  Grade: B-.

Marcus Canty:  The guy from Maryland is going to take on Janis Joplin.  It’s “Take Another Little Piece of My Heart.” Whatever happens with the vocal, Marcus scores points for the slide, on his back, between the legs of his dancers.  That an Idol (oophs, X Factor) first.  But Marcus, singing Janis.  The show was good.  The vocal was so-so.  Grade: C+.