STAGE TUBE: Marcus Canty Eliminated on Last Night's THE X FACTOR

On last night's episode of THE X FACTOR on Fox, another contestant was eliminated and the three finalists were named.  Of all the weeks to go home, the week before the finale is arguably the hardest to be sent packing. In less than a week, one of them will be taking home the $5 million recording contract with Sony Music and a starring role in a Pepsi commercial.

The show began with the Top 4 coming out to perform a medley of "Shout" by Tears for Fears and "No Diggity" by Blackstreet. This was followed by a performance from Florence + the Machine, who gave their television performance debut of "Spectrum".

After the performance, the first two acts that got through to the finals were announced, Chris Rene and Melanie Amaro. Both were elated and hugged their mentors. Josh Krajcik and Marcus Canty were left standing, awaiting their fates.

As they did, Nicole Scherzinger gave her worldwide performance debut of "Pretty" from her upcoming album Killer Love. "Oh my gosh, I've been waiting so long to be up here. It feels amazing," she told Steve Jones after her performance. When Steve asked Simon Cowell what he thought about Nicole's performance, he said, "I'm sitting in Nicole's chair so I'm going to critique like Nicole. I believe in you, you believe in me, you transcend the universe, God is smiling on you, life is a waterfall, and you are the ultimate rainbow," joked the judge.

It was then time to reveal that the last person to go through to the finals would be Josh Krajcik, sending Marcus Canty to elimination. Marcus, who'd been in the bottom two for the past three weeks, told Steve, "It's all good, man. You're going to see me later. It's not over." When Steve asked whether he felt especially bad for going home right before the finals, Marcus replied, "God blessed me so much being here in this competition. I gave it my all and that's all you can do." 

And what did his mentor L.A. Reid have to say to Marcus? "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little sad. I'm really connected to Marcus. He's amazing," he said. "I know you'll continue to do great. You have my support."

The race to the finale is now on. Next week, the winner of THE X FACTOR will be announced and awarded the $5 million recording contract.

The Top 3 perform next Wednesday, December 21 at 8/7C on FOX.

To watch last night's elimination announcement, click below!