Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Within the next two hours, 16 will become 12 on The X Factor.

As in just 12 contestants or groups left in the competition, three per mentor.

If there’s any justice, Jason Brock will be jettisoned from the Overs, and 1432 will be gone from the groups before anyone gets accustomed to their new name.

I gave those two the lowest grades from last night’s performances.

The best? Vino Alan and Emblem3.

But I’m not ready to label Emblem3 superstars yet, not by a long shot. And they certainly don’t make me swoon.

Who else should go?

Probably Paige Thomas and her newly shaved head from the young adults and Diamond White from the teens.

For my critique and grades on all of last night’s performances, go here.

The Young Adults: Cece Frey and Willie Jones should advance. Jenell Garcia and Paige Thomas should sing off.

And Demi screwed that one up, keeping her weakest vocalist (Paige) and her most anonymous singer (Jenell).

Cece Frey: OK, the nerves must have been getting to Cece early on in that performance, because her vocal was very shaky. But she pulled it together very well at the end, singing “Out Here on My Own.” She’s getting excellent reviews from the judges, and questions about her Wednesday night song choice. Hmm. Wasn’t that Demi’s idea? At least Simon was blaming all the song choices on Demi last night. Grade: B-

Willie Jones: He’s singing “You Don’t Know Me.” Honestly, I’m a little surprised he isn’t stronger. This is a very, very sleepy performance, and not a song that shows off a vocal range at all. If he wins, it will be because he’s unique and more likely to attract votes than Cece. That vocal was not nearly as good as I expected, not given the hype that surrounded his audition. Grade C

And Demi says: Cece stays, Willie goes. Wow, I must say I’m surprised Demi made the right choice.

The Over 25s

OK, among the over 25s, Vino Alan and David Correy should advance. Heck, so should Tate Stevens. They should just skip this segment and send Jason Brock home, sparing us the experience of having to watch him perform again. And now L.A. is taking the blame for his “Dance Again” song choice.

L.A. says Vino Alan advances. Good choice. He also saves Tate Stevens, leaving Jason and David to sing off.

David Correy: Interesting song choice. David is going to tackle Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You Been Gone.” It’s a unique take on the song. Not sure I’d buy it. It’s a bit overblown. (Which perfectly suits this show, right?) But he’s pouring heart and soul into an impressive vocal that’s allowing him to show more range than I knew he had. Grade: B-

Jason Brock: He’ll sing “One Moment in Time,” and you can tell from the opening note (and the absence of a striped suit and scantily-clad dancers) that this is going to be better than last night. But it’s still way too over the top. Far more so than David’s performance. And it doesn’t erase last night’s horrid performance. Grade: C.

L.A. Reid keeps Jason Brock and sends home David Correy. Total nonsense.

The Teens

This is tough, because Britney has three talented 13-year-old females, and you have to figure one of them is going home. My pick would be Diamond White, who’s quite the little entertainer, but delivered the weakest vocal last night.

Britney says Beatrice Miller makes the top 12. Nice pick. And Britney saves Carly Rose Sonenclar.

Arin Ray: Arin’s nerves are showing early in this performance. I hope he finds his groove on “I Look to You,” the way Cece did earlier tonight. Unfortunately, he does not sound good at all on the chorus. Nope, this is definitely not Arin Ray at the top of his game. Overall, a strained, weak vocal. Who knows what the silly X Factor judges/mentors were hearing? Grade: D.

Diamond White: She’s coming out with a totally different approach tonight, standing behind a mic and delivering a sensitive performance of “Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word.” This is one of the better vocals of the night. Not great, but much better than what we heard from Arin. And that strong ending shouldn’t hurt Diamond’s cause either. Grade: B

Britney sends home Diamond White. She keeps Arin Ray.

The groups

This is easy. Emblem3 stays because Simon loves them. And they were fairly good last night. Lyric 145 stays because they’re very good. Sister C stays because they’re fairly good. 1423 or 1432 or 1324 or whoever they are should go because they were awful last night.

Simon sends Emblem3 and Lyric 145 to the final 12.

Sister C: They turned in a solid vocal in a performance that was a little more restrained that I would have expected given this show’s penchant for big numbers. But they got solid reviews from the judges. Grade: B-

1432: They take the stage with a much better song choice, “Skyscraper.” But this is barely a group number, with each singer taking turns singing a couple of rounds. Turns out they’re much better individually than when singing together. That was miles better than Wednesday night. Grade: B+

This one is tough. Sister C was better last night. 1432 was better tonight. And 1432 — then known as Lylas — was better at the judge’s mansion. But Sister C has been more consistent. Yikes.

Simon sends home Sister C. He keeps 1432. Oh, well.

Oh, and Simon makes his best decision of the night. 1432 is going to get another new name.

Picked by the public. Oh, boy.