The top twelve performed this week on The X Factor, with some falling flat and others rising to surprising new highs. Whether you missed a song or just want to watch again, read on for a full recap of this week's performances!
This week's theme is "Divas" which, as always, could potentially pretty much cover just about any song, so whatever. Jennel Garcia is kicking things off tonight with Tina Turner's "Proud Mary." Her outfit looks like she was hit with a paper shredder backstage, but this is by far her best performance in a lot of weeks (and her hair looks so much better with some highlights, which Simon takes credit for by saying "I'm glad you listened to me.")
Tate Stevens, who got the most votes last week, performs "From This Moment On" by Shania Twain. I forgot how much I used to love this song, siiigh. It was a little surprising that Tate did so well in votes last week, but he's a very clear singer and people know what they'd be getting if he put out an album - and this week was better than last week's, which is always a plus. "That was so good," Demi says, "You were very good. Very good."
Next to hit the stage is Diamond White. After being eliminated before the top twelve, she returned last week and placed fourth in the votes. She's tackling Beyonce's "Halo," a choice that seems dubious at best - it's a song that seems like it's made for radio, not so much for live performance, but other than a few places where it seems like the music is drowning her out Diamond's definitely proving that it was a good decision to bring her back. "Those are really big shoes to fill, and you filled them." LA tells her.
Beatrice Miller's next. Beatrice is stressed because she's taking it upon herself to provide for her family (such a sweet thought, but she is only a kid). Her stylists always make her look like she pulled random pieces out of a dresser in pitch darkness and it annoys me to no end. Also: Khloe's dress is so unflattering this week. It's probably from the Kardashian Target/Macy's/whatever line or something, but it doesn't fit her right at all. Anyway, Beatrice is singing Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time." I love this song (who doesn't?) but it's just kind of a boring performance of a super popular song. "Britney isn't quite getting the right song for you," Simon says, and Britney tells him that Beatrice has more talent in her pinky than all his contestants combined. I mean, I get that it was directed to be catty toward Simon, but ouch if you're those people listening backstage.
Lyric 145 is doing a mashup of "We Will Rock You" with some of Katy Perry's "ET," thrown in for good measure. I don't like this one as much as I've liked their past couple of weeks. It's a little more...noisy. That's not to say it's bad - it was pretty good and, as always, highly energetic. "I don't know, I just think you guys have lost you way. This could be the last time we see you," LA says. I don't think so. I think it might be Arin or Cece's last week, but they haven't even performed yet, so we'll see.
Arin Ray's up next, actually, and he's taken last week's eleventh place as an opportunity to improve. "It's just me and my voice," he says of his performance to Madonna's "Crazy for You." Arin needed to perform without his dance moves that strangely seem to be over-rehearsed and under-rehearsed at the same time, at least once. Other than some girls screaming constantly throughout the whole thing (really, do they not have anyone to quiet the crowd, ever?) the main flaw here is that this is a less than exciting way to do it. "I felt like you nailed it," Britney says, though the others disagree.
Paige Thomas sings "Last Dance" by Donna Summer, and it's definitely one of her better performances, though she hasn't really done anything extraordinary yet. The song has been amped up and the costume toned down a little - the biggest avante garde touch is that her lips match her sparkly red dress, which is actually pretty awesome.
Mariah Carey's "Hero" is Fifth Harmony's selection for the week. I'm not ashamed to admit that this song is still on my iPod (I mean, I am a little, but not enough to skip it. Ever.) With the inclusion of a chorus in the background in addition to the girls, it comes together really well toward the end. "I think Simon is doing amazing with you guys," Britney says.
Carly Rose Sonenclar will take on the worst possible song that anybody can sing in a singing competition: "My Heart Will Go On." Nobody can sing this song like Celine Dion did - not even Celine, anymore - but Carly (obligatory reminder: she's thirteen), brings a lot of soul to it and delivers the best performance of the song that I've heard in a long time. "I don't believe you're a human being, because you can't do that when you're thirteen," Simon says. "Incredible."
Vino Alan chooses "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green - and it's the perfect choice for him. It doesn't sound like he's imitating someone else and it doesn't sound like he's trying to be something he's not. It also showcases his voice and the beautiful tone behind it. "There's no doubt about it that you have an incredible, soulful voice," Demi says, and then
reiterates that she was bored for like the fifth time tonight.
Emblem3, who were shocked to be sixth because they've been "getting so many compliments," perform Alicia Keys' "No One." I kind of don't want to like it because they look like fools with their quote on quote dance moves, but it's actually not that bad. "On the back of that performance, we're going to see you right at the top." Simon says.
Cece Frey will close out the show with "All By Myself." Although I haven't really been impressed with Cece (and I think some of the things she's done are waaaay too over the top), I feel kind of badly saying that it was super pitchy and pretty bad. It just kind of feels like beating up on Cece, because she gets a poor response from the judges as well. "Sorry, I just don't get it," Britney says. In all fairness, Cece looked really nice without her stupid leopard print face paint.
Tune in tomorrow to find out who's headed home and who's one step closer to $5 million!
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