By: Jacob Elyachar
Attention X Factor fans! Your Top 12 were revealed last night and there were some surprises on who made the cut and whose dreams came crashing down as potential frontrunners found themselves eliminated from the competition.
This article will focus in on the strengths and weaknesses of each act plus whom I think might be in this season’s finale.
Tate Stevens could the last Over-25 standing because he has a lot of showmanship and likeability that will carry him far into the season. (Photo property of FremantleMedia, SYCOTV and FOX)
L.A. Reid and the Over-25s
While many fans are outraged that the record executive eliminated David Correy from the competition, I thought that it was good move because Correy performed a lackadaisical and horrid cover of Whitney Houston’s “My Love is Your Love” and his backstory bored me to tears. Now with him gone, all three of L.A.’s overs have a lot to work on:
Tate Stevens: One of the true dark horses in this competition is the Belton, Missouri country singer. The only problem that Tate faces is going up against powerhouse performers including Carly Rose, Beatrice Miller and Jennel Garcia that are younger than him. To stand out from the pack, Tate needs to work with his mentor on bringing out his strengths because I think we could see him in the finale.
Jason Brock: While Mr. Entertainment failed to impress the audience with his performance of Jennifer Lopez’s “Dance Again,” he redeemed himself with his take on “One Moment in Time.” In the coming weeks, L.A. needs to choose songs that can challenge Jason as a performer because he has something special and if he can recover, I think he will be in the competition for weeks to come.
Vino Alan: His rendition of Nickelback’s “Gotta Be Somebody” received strong negative comments from both Britney, who called it boring, and Simon, who stated that L.A. “completed and utterly cocked it up.” In order for Vino to stay out of the chopping block, he needs to infuse excitement into his performances and also should listen to Simon’s advice and try soul music.
Finally, all three men should also look at how Josh Krajcik and LeRoy Bell approached their performances last season. To watch L.A.’s decision to eliminate, click here: http://youtu.be/BlB61zgyczk
Demi Lovato and the Young Adults
Three powerhouse divas will be representing Demi in the Live Shows are CeCe Frey, Jennel Garcia and Paige Thomas while country star Willie Jones was given his walking papers. These women have had some great moments on the show this season but I am starting to notice that there are one pretender and two contenders remaining in this category.
CeCe Frey: CeCe has had some strong performances on this show. Since her audition in Kansas City, she has slayed each performance with her vocals and incredible drive. However, a majority of the X Factor fanbase, have been very vocal on social media and stated that the former mail clerk was fake. In order to prove these haters wrong, CeCe needs to be genuine with her future performances and in fuse her feelings into these songs or she will remain a “pretender” to the X Factor fanbase.
Paige Thomas: The single mom and nursing student channeled Grace Jones and Rihanna with her performance of Haddaway’s “What is Love.” While it was a good performance, she did not impress me vocally. In order to get deeper in the competition, she needs to combine the vocal performances that the audience saw during her audition and Boot Camp plus add some confidence; we could see her in the Final Six.
Jennel Garcia is Demi’s strongest singer in her group. In order for the rocker to make it to the finale, she needs to continue to show off her impressive vocal range every single time she appears on the stage. (Photo property of FremantleMedia, SYCOTV and FOX)
Jennel Garcia: If there were one-act that I would bet on to win this competition, it would be Jennel Garcia. X Factor’s resident rock goddess could do what Juliet Simms or Elise Testone could not accomplish on their respective shows and actually win this competition because of her fantastic cover of “Home Sweet Home.” In order for Jennel to win, she needs to continue to find songs that fit Jennel’s style. If Demi does that, Jennel could walk away with the $5,000,000 recording contract.
While all of these women could make it far into the competition, they need to remain humble throughout the competition. Willie Jones humbly accepted his elimination and proved to be one of the best sports we have seen all season. To see Willie’s farewell, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMvztuyPtw8&feature=share&list=SPbwFu5MkedP9-bnSedoYU97S5lN_4a9tB
Britney Spears and the Teens
2,813 dislikes. That is the number of people that hated the decision Britney Spears made last night when they watched fan-favorite Diamond White’s elimination on YouTube. I think that decision might have cost Britney the competition however here are the ways that she could help her three remaining team members saved from being eliminated.
Arin Ray: The former InTENsity member’s days on the show might be numbered due to last night’s elimination. In order to step up to the plate and prove to his mentor that he deserves to stay, he needs to connect more with the audience and take more risks because otherwise he might have to sing for his life again next week.
Beatrice Miller: One of the two young divas-in-training is Beatrice Miller. I think Beatrice has an impressive voice and needs to trust her mentor because I believe Britney is guiding Beatrice into the Top Six of this season and Beatrice needs to be more of a risk taker because in today’s music scene if you are not a risk taker, you are not going to make it in this business.
Carly Rose Sonenclar is one of the strongest voices left in the competition. But could Britney’s mentoring abilities do more harm than good? (Photo property of FremantleMedia, SYCO TV and FOX)
Carly Rose Sonenclar: Yes, Carly needs to start having fun on this stage of the competition because if does not pay attention to that advice, she become the “Rachel Crow” of her season. As for her mentor, Britney needs to start focusing on picking better songs that connect with her but also challenge her range because Carly is my pick to go into the Final Four.
Simon Cowell and the Groups
Simon Cowell has one abysmal group; one group filled with underdogs and one group that contained future superstars remaining in each of these categories and here is where they stand.
Emblem3: Someone once taught me that first impressions are extremely important and they could instantly mold someone’s opinion of you instantly. When Emblem3 made their debut on X Factor, they lost several viewers and me the minute they started disrespecting other contestants and property if you looked at TMZ. If the group wants to go farther in the competition, they need to change their attitudes PRONTO or else, they might have to sing for their lives.
1432 (LYLAS): While this group was formed at the end of Boot Camp, these girls have Spice Girls potential because we need to have a group that can counter the U.K.’s winner: Little Mix, once they arrive in America in 2013. The group formerly known as LYLAS has incredible harmonies and this five-person ensemble is exactly the group to fill the girl group gap that the Spice Girls left behind in years ago.
Rap group LYRIC 145 are true contenders for the finale if they keep on their hot streak and continue to entertain the crowd with mesmerizing performances. (Photo property of FremantleMedia, SYCOTV and FOX)
LYRIC 145: This Hip-Hop/Rap group could actually win this whole competition. The show did a phenomenal job putting the two Queens rappers with Flint, Michigan’s Lyric Da Queen together and in my opinion, they might be on par in the Fugees and the Black Eyed Peas after this competition is done. To watch the group’s first live show performance, click here:
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