The X Factor USA – Trey & Nick’s Week in Review – Top 12
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It's time for another installment of Week In Review: The X Factor USA Edition, in which myself and Trey M. will examine all the big happenings of the week, and look ahead to next week's show. How did the top 12 fare? Did the right acts go home? Let's get to it!
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Best performance of the week?
Trey admits to a certain amount of bias where this matter is concerned, but he went with Josh Levi's "Straight Up," stating that he couldn't think of a better all-around performance with solid vocals, choreography & great production. As Paula Abdul tweeted, it was one of the best covers of the song Trey has seen, and honestly, I agree completely. I wasn't expecting Josh to be my favorite of the week, going in, but he absolutely delivered above and beyond what I ever would have expected. Trey also had to give it up for his girl Khaya Cohen on her performance of "Borderline," which I was a little less enthusiastic about, although I still enjoyed the vocal.
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Worst performance of the week?
With Josh being our unanimous pick for best of the week comes our distate for Paulina's other two boys. While I didn't think Tim Olstad's performance was as boring and lifeless as Trey thought it was, I just hate (HATE!) when people sing "Against All Odds." More than any other song in the history of singing competitions, that is the ONE song I would completely obliterate from all future shows for all-time, if I only could pick one (you don't even want to get me started if you're letting me pick two or three).
But we're in complete agreement, once again, on Carlito Olivero. We know Rickey loves him, but we just don't see it, ourselves. He really should have left this week, as every performance just oozes with a kind of neediness and desperation to be seen as a star, to do whatever he needs to do in order to get the judges to say good things about him, and then pouting when his week-to-week chameleon act doesn't work. If Carlito wants to be taken seriously, he needs to stop worrying about what Simon or Demi wants from him and simply be whatever artist he wants to be, and to Hell with what they think he should be doing, since neither are his mentor anyway. This is not to say that Carlito shouldn't take their advice when they give their critiques, but he shouldn't take the negative comments to heart nearly to the extent that he does, as he's letting it impact his approach to the next week's performance.
Ideally, he either shapes up or ships out. No more of this middle-of-the-road nonsense.
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Most disappointing performance of the week?
Again, we're in agreement, as Jeff Gutt did nothing for either of us this week. Trey feels like he's watching a rock karaoke act each week, and I feel like I'm seeing a man who's trying way too hard to have an edge. I still like Jeff's voice, and I even liked Kelly's song choice for him this week, but something about the performance just never clicked. I was also a bit disappointed in both Ellona Santiago and Alex and Sierra, since they were both given song choices that should have resulted in better performances than we got. Neither was bad, but neither was what it could, or should, have been.
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Biggest surprise of the week?
Our biggest surprises are that neither Carlito or Tim hit the bottom 2, even though we can sort of understand why they didn't (Tim is wholesome, and I guess if you really want to stretch the term, Carlito is a "heartthrob"). But as for performances themselves, I was actually kind of floored by how much I enjoyed Restless Road. Their "Footloose" was a strangely inert performance, yet it still came across as light, fun, and high-energy. It was the kind of performance that, while not as technically proficient as I might have liked, was badly needed this week, as too many of the acts have gotten unsettlingly serious. It's part of why I'm going to miss Sweet Suspense so much. We need a light, fun pop act to keep the mood from being too dour from one week to the next. But I suppose America just never got on board? Or did they? This brings us to our next question...
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Given this week's results, should the voting/elimination format be changed?
Trey doesn't necessarily think the voting/elimination format should be changed, although he feels Sweet Suspense might have been able to redeem themselves if they'd at least have gotten the chance to sing for survival. Although if Sweet Suspense had been 11th instead of 12th, Trey rationalizes, they still would have been pitted against either Khaya Cohen or Rachel Potter, neither of whom really should have left.
I feel that a change to the elimination format would mitigate the randomness somewhat. I'm thinking a cross between the format they have and the Instant Save utilized on The Voice. I'm not saying that America should get to vote again once the lines have been closed, but I do feel they should announce a bottom-three sing-off, with the judges voting to send one act through to next week, effectively eliminating the other two. It just seems so weird to eliminate one person off the bat without giving them some sort of chance at redemption. I guess that's kind of the point, the cutthroat aspect of it all. But even in a situation where the judges deadlock, you just send through the act with the most votes between the two, sending the other two acts home. In essence, it wouldn't even be that drastic a change to the format, and I think the show might avoid wonkier results in the future. (Of course, to implement that approach, they'd have to make it to a fourth season, and is anyone really sure of that, at this point?)
I just worry about the possibility of a killer singer like, say, Ellona Santiago being sent home without a chance to save herself. Although I suppose that's how the majority of singing competitions have done their eliminations. Singing for your life seems like a fairly recent introduction to the American reality show canon.
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Whose elimination this week was the most disappointing?
Trey is still in shock over Sweet Suspense leaving. He doesn't care what anyone says, he's convinced this show is rigged. As evidence, he offers the viewer polls from Week 1, stating he's confused as to how they absolutely dominated the polls in their category when the audience could be the "fifth judge" but somehow plummeted two weeks later after one of their better performances.
I have to agree with Trey that Sweet Suspense's elimination was the real gut-punch of the three eliminations this week. They were never going to win the thing, but the trio brought a fun sense of levity to what is increasingly becoming an overly self-serious two hours every Wednesday.
Although neither of us was all that surprised to see Carlos Guevara or Rachel Potter land where they did. Yeah, it's probably surprising that Rachel left before, say, Carlito. But given who votes on these sorts of things, it isn't really. And on that note...
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How far will Paulina's Boys go?
Trey is willing to concede they might actually go far. He rationalizes that although Josh Levi is the only one who deserves to go far in the competition (calling him "finals quality"), it's not at all unreasonable to expect some bottom 2 appearances from acts like Rion Paige or Lillie McCloud before another one of her boys gets the chop. And while I dread the possibility of Paulina winning this thing, I agree with Trey. Other than the loss of Carlos, this was a week to exemplify just how strong Paulina's category is among voters, and that's a somewhat unsettling prospect when you consider that it's the weakest category, talent-wise. I could easily see at least another week, if not two, where Paulina's category survives another vote. We're really hoping to be proven wrong about how far Paulina's boys (Josh excluded) can go, but we're genuinely worried we might not be.
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Song suggestions for UK Artists Week:
This is all wishful thinking, as I've mostly picked songs from the last fifteen years, which I don't actually see the mentors doing. I fully expect this to be 60s night.
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Rion Paige: I'd give her Ellie Goulding's version of "Your Song" by Elton John. I think she could really nail a more restrained, less power-intensive song like this.
Restless Road: Is there any way Simon doesn't give them a countrified One Direction song? I'd like to imagine he'd be more original than that, but I could easily see him giving them "Best Song Ever" or "What Makes You Beautiful". However, if he does give them a 1D song, I hope it's "Little Things". These boys need to get back to proving their vocal chops, and I think that could be the song to do it for them.
Jeff Gutt: "Bittersweet Symphony" is made for Jeff Gutt, but in the event he wants something a bit more challenging, I think "Don't Look Back In Anger" by Oasis would be a great fit, as would "Creep" or "Karma Police" by Radiohead, although I'm uncertain he has the range for those last two songs. But now would be the time for him to start taking a bit more vocal risks than he has so far.
Alex and Sierra: I think they could surprise people with a Mumford & Sons pick, something like "I Will Wait," although I'd also love to see them do a smoky, bluesy cover of "Love Song" by The Cure. Not the Adele version, but their own arrangement, something more folksy -- like something you'd hear at a music bar in Nashville. But if I had to pick just one song for them, I'd pick "We Rule the School" by Belle and Sebastian. They could have a real moment with that song. Of course, I kind of expect Simon to give them "Falling Slowly," and really, that wouldn't necessarily be a bad choice for them either.
Carlito Olivero: One of my favorite American Idol performances ever is Chris Richardson's subdued, acoustic rendition of "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" by Gerry and the Pacemakers from British Invasion Week in Season 6. And I think Carlito could actually deliver a solid rendition of the song if he opts for a similar arrangement. I also think he'd do a pretty good job with "Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones, if he simply must continue to swag out each week.
Khaya Cohen: If any singer in the competition is given Adele, it should be Khaya. In particular, I think "Hometown Glory" is just begging to be taken out for a spin. "Rumour Has It" could also be a good fit if Demi wants to keep it uptempo for her. Of course, if they want to avoid something as obvious as Adele altogether, Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" is right there for the taking, although I'm not sure if that would count as any less obvious than giving her an Adele song.
Tim Olstad: I could see him being given something by U2, perhaps "With or Without You" or "One" (second week in a row I've gotten a hunch about these songs for Tim), but I hope Paulina gives him something different. I think Tim would do a fine job with a Coldplay song, the question is simply which one would fit best? I have a soft spot for "Yellow" and "The Scientist," even though they're incredibly obvious picks, but if I had to go with one Coldplay song for Tim, I'd go with "Trouble." I know the immediate inclination is to go with something more well-known like "Fix You," but another big ballad song won't do Tim any favors, and I'm not sure he can do uptempo and get away with it, so I think "Trouble" is the perfect middle-ground for him.
Josh Levi: I'd love to hear him just sit on a stool with a single microphone and sing something. No, literally. I want to hear him sing "Something" by The Beatles. I know it's more of a Tim choice, but I think Josh could show a whole new side with this song, and perhaps secure even more fans than he already has.
Ellona Santiago: It's a tall order, but I'd love to hear Ellona tackle Florence Welch (with or without The Machine). A song like "You've Got the Love" could be great for her, as would "Shake It Out". There's really no reason this shouldn't be one of her best weeks, but it all comes down to song choice. Pick well, Demi!
Lillie McCloud: I'd love to hear her sing "Diamonds Are Forever," but for a singer who's already so much like Shirley Bassey, it could be suicide to actually give her a Shirley Bassey song. So I'd give her "The Show Must Go On" by Queen. Granted, it would be the second Queen song she's sung in as many weeks, but she really knocked "Who Wants to Live Forever?" out of the ballpark, I though. So might as well stick with what works, where applicable.
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So what do you think? Did the right acts go home? What should the remaining artists sing next week? Sound off in the comments!