X-Factor Final 7 Perform

So here's a question, how much butt kissing of the Jackson family can you do in 90 minutes?  Well, we got our answer last night!  Wasn't that a bit awkward to keep asking Michael's kids questions like that over and over again?  They clearly were just going through the motions and would rather have just sat there and watched the show.  But hey, any chance to see Tito again....     Anyway, we were treated to the soothing sounds of butchered Michael Jackson tunes all night.  And we have yet another double elimination to look forward to!  I guess this answers my questions of how they were going to narrow this thing down before the end of December!   Anyway, here's my quick thoughts on each contestant and my elimination picks.  I'm not as confident this week but how about me getting it right AGAIN last week?  It's almost like I have cracked this show's code! We'll see if I can do it again...


The Great

• Melanie Amaro - "Earth Song" - No doubt the best performance of the night.  I didn't even realize the whole accent coming out last week was a big deal.  The whole thing was just awkward to me!  But hey, maybe it made her more endearing to viewers.  She has the best voice in the competition and when she uses it with a "DIVA" authority like she did last night, it's magical.
• Drew Ryniewicz - "Billie Jean" - I'm on both sides of the fence with Drew.  Her performance was amazing and if it was the first time we heard her do that do a song, we would have been blown away.  This is partly Simon's fault for keeping her in this niche, but why not try something up tempo once before it's too late?   Back when there were 12 contestats, she easily could have tried a week and failed and people still would have voted for her.  Now, it would be a huge risk if she does it this far in.  But if she doesn't diversify herself at all, she probably won't be taking home that crown.  But after that performance, no way should she be in danger.

I Want to Hate Him but he keeps entertaining

• Astro - "Black or White" (with Original Lyrics) - I was really wondering how Astro would be able to totally change lyrics to a Michael Jackson song without feeling reprecussions, but somehow he found a way to balance MJ's lyrics with his own and spread a little positive message in the process.  I had a feeling this is the song he would choose because it's one of the only Jackson songs with a little rap in the middle (and he used those lyrics).  For once the kid looked like he was having fun out there and it didn't seem like the same ol' schtick to me.  And for all of those people saying that he does the same thing every week just like Drew, I disagree.  This seemed more upbeat than his normal "attitude rap" he's been doing.  Don't get me wrong, I still despise the kid for his behavior a couple weeks back and it still could put him in danger.  But, it's really hard not to respect his talent.  He has some mad skillz and I think he'll be successful either way after this competition.

The Mediocre - All 3 of these performances were over-produced schlock!

• Rachel Crow - "Can You feel It" - Hello spacesuits!  Hello huge afro!  Wow, that was a bit chaotic and too much going on on stage.  Any time they have these overproduced numbers, it's hard to even hear the contestant.  And I don't thing she sounded very well either on this one.  I hate to say it, but she might be in trouble this week.  But they'd probably keep her over Marcus or Chris if it came down to something like that. (don't know about Astro)
• Josh Krajcik - "Dirty Diana" - I wanted to like it, I really did.  The guitar solo was great but weird that he didn't bust the axe out until the solo.  I could not hear him singing at all over the music.  And the dancers?  Whaaat was that!?   He had an amazing week last week and I still think he's a favorite, so he should be fine.  But let's pretend this week never happened!
• Marcus Canty - "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" - All I could think about was Justin Guarini performing this in season 1 of Idol and all of his silly dance moves.  It looked like Marcus tried to do the same thing.  Of course, if you noticed, he barely danced at all.  Just moved his feet up and down in place for awhile and then moved down from the riser and danced in place some more.  Then he did his ridiculously out of place backflip and sang off pitch the rest of the tune.   I don't know why they're convinced that this dude is the 2nd coming.  He's really not.  He doesn't sing very well either.  I think he's in danger this week.  We'll see.

The Flat Out Awful

• Chris Rene - "I'll Be There" -  One hit wonder.  There we go, I said it.  I think the judges/producers really thought there was more to Chris originally than there actually was.  He had a great story, and a fun little ditty that he wrote.   But everything else he has done on this show has been pretty darn bad.  And what was up with that High School jacket with all of the bling or pins on it?  Why on earth would Paula call that stylish?  Is white trash stylish these days?  Oh boy.  The big question remains on if he still has that large fanbase that checked out his youtube video.  Will they still vote for him after that mess?   Maybe there are enough voters to get him away from the bottom overall vote, but I can't see the judges keeping him in this thing in a face-off.  I'd root for anyone of the other 6 against him at this point.

Elimination Picks

• Bottom overall vote prediction: Marcus Canty
• Face-off prediction: Rachel vs. Chris
• Wildcard: Astro
• Elimination Picks: Marcus Canty and Chris Rene

This could be one of those weeks where there will be a shocker elimination like Rachel or Drew or something like that, but if there's any humanity left it will be Marcus and Chris.  But yeah, there's that wildcard with Astro.  Have people forgiven him or will they let him face the music once again?  Should be interesting!

That's all I have for this week, hope you enjoyed my ramblings and I'll see you next week!