X-Factor - Final 5 Perform

Well, no doubt last week was a shocker for many with the whole Drew ousting.  And many feel it was Paula and Nicole's fault.  I'm not saying I'm a fan of Marcus or anything, but he did do better between the two of them in that face-off.  And Simon is the one that put her in that position with the song choices every week.  Everyone has had a week to settle down and now we're pretty convinced that Josh or Melanie will win this thing, right?   Well, that's how I felt going into last night.  It's still what I want, but I'm scared the show may be going in another direction.  And for me, it may be an unredeemable direction!   Let's divulge in our quick recap below.


The Great

• Melanie Amaro - So Adele's ballad as a dance number?  Eh, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that remix on a top 40 station or club on Saturday night.  But no one can deny that voice of Melanie's.  She sounded amazing on that track and even MORE amazing on the Whitney/Mariah song.  She basically IS the new Whitney Houston which the world is sorely lacking.  (crazy Bobby Brown!)  2 big issues with Melanie though.  1.) She's a TRADITIONAL singer and X-Factor is looking for something unique.  While many love her, I just feel like something is going to keep her from winning.   2.)  That mouth of hers.  Once she asked L.A. to hold back his judgement so she could rant one more time, I was screaming "NO MELANIE SHUT UP!!!  DON'T TALK, JUST SING!"   It's so painful to watch.  I mean, I understand she's emotional but someone has to tell her it's not helping her cause at all!  She can say all of those things to the judges in private, not in front of millions.   Oh and by the way, I'm now more than ever convinced that Simon not originally picking her was a total ploy for dramatic effect.  There is NO WAY he would have sent her packing for Tiah Tolliver and that other girl I can't remember.
• Josh Krajick - Okay, so the Rihanna song choice may have been weird, but I thought Josh sang it convincingly and well.  The facial expressions on "Something" were a little too "Joe Cocker"ish but he sounded fantastic on it.  There is nothing the judges will say that would make me think any less of Josh.  He's an amazing singer and he's caught up in a ridiculously bitter judges brawl.  That being said, he might be in danger tonight, but I doubt I'll be picking him. 

The Decent

• Chris Rene - Obviously, the show really wanted to beef up Chris's reputation in this episode of television.  There is no doubt in my mind that he is the least talented singer up there.  Simon even mentioned that.  But, he does make up for it a little bit with his stage presence (on the T.I. song you could tell most notably) and persona.  It was cool that he made up new words to the song and all of that.  And I'll even say for the first 30 seconds of his "ORIGINAL" song I was captivated a little bit.  I never heard his voice sound so good.  But then I heard the chords he was playing, and the lyrics he was singing and I realized..."I could have written this song."  Basic chord structure for millions of songs out there.  And come on..."I don't know what to say.  It doesn't have to be that way.  What are you doing today?  HEY?"  Those weren't the exact words, but the rhymes were that bad.   And then the chorus?  "Where do we go from here?  Where do we go from here?  Where do we go from here?  Where do we go from here? Where do we go from here? Where do we go from here?  UH UH UH UH UH UH UH UUH UH UH"    Added the UH's for my wife.  She was so annoyed by them!   But the mood lighting, his positioning of the guitar resting on his knee as he sat cross-legged made it felt like he was welcoming in the whole world to his very personal life.  And then the standing o's from the judges and all of a sudden you paint the facade that this was a REALLY REALLY legendary performance and maybe this guy is better than we thought!   I'm not buying it folks.   I will say one thing about his original song, the melody he wrote was very catchy.  But the lyrics and everything else about the song were bland.  For a 5 million dollar contract, I expect a bit more.  And if the originality isn't quite there, I'll vote for an AMAZING VOICE (Melanie) every time.   That being said, I'm afraid that this performance may have brainwashed his already large fanbase plus a few extras and he may actually have a shot at winning this show now.
• Marcus Canty - I can't say anything really bad about Marcus's performances tonight.  They were better than anything he's done since the audition so he proved he still belonged there.   But I have to slightly agree with Simon on the 2nd song.  "A Song For You" has been done by so many of these Idol/X-factorists over the years so there are many renditions.  It seems like it has become the "GO TO" song when you need to impress people.  And while Marcus did well on it, it's tough to forget how good Elliott Yamin was back in season 5 of Idol.  I don't know, I just don't see Marcus winning this thing, but he did well tonight.  It'll be a tough elimination night.
• Rachel Crow - Rachel is Rachel.  She's totally adorable.  L.A. Reid was on my nerves tonight.  His critique that Rachel was singing about girls?  UGH...Come on dude, she's 13!  But you gotta love Rachel's response that she was singing about Paula and Nicole.  Very quick wit there!  She sings amazing for her age.  She would be a great singer even if she was older and sounded like that.  But someone has to go home tonight, right?  Yikes, I'm not even sure I know who to pick!

And I must say that I didn't understand why they were making such a big deal of this "TWIST" where they had to learn a new 2nd song.  It was their "SAVE ME" song which they'd be singing tonight if they were in the bottom.  So, wouldn't it be prepared already?  Maybe adding a bunch of effects and lighting around it is the difference?  I don't get it.  But whatever.  I'm so glad the Pepsi Challenge will be next week!  Whew, I was afraid they might cut the whole thing!  (you all are noting the sarcasm, right?)

Elimination Picks
I see a bottom 2 of Marcus and Rachel.  It could be Josh in there but I don't want him there so I'm not picking him!  So who will the judges pick out of those 2?   Well, if there's any sense in the world, they'd pick Rachel to stay.   Marcus as been there twice so he obviously wouldn't be resonating with the public.  So, I'm most likely incorrect with this pick but it's what many of us want at this point. 

Going home: Marcus Canty

We'll see how that goes!  Hope you enjoyed my ramblings and I'll see you next week!