X Factor S2, Ep5 Recap: Dinah Jane Hansen and Sophie Tweed-Simmons (Gene’s Daughter)

Dinah Jane Hansen, 15, dazzled the X Factor judges and crowd

By GLAMOROSI

X Factor season 2, episode 5 began in Providence, RI, with judges L.A. Reid, Britney Spears and Demi Lovato once again waiting for Simon Cowell to arrive. Last week in Greensboro, NC, Simon was late because he stopped at Jake’s for grits, this week he was the last to show because he was driving in on a tiny scooter. After the panel was seated we were treated to auditions from a talented group of singers including Dinah Jane Hansen and Sophie Tweed-Simmons.

The first audition was not so good, though. It was from The Original Greeks, a duo made up of Adonis, a 33-year-old diner owner, and John, a waiter who works for him. They performed Lionel Richie’s “Hello” and made it their own with Adonis singing it in several keys at once, and John saying “yeah” and “come on” a lot. "The good news is, you have a day job," said L.A. Reid, and all four judges passed on them.

Dinah Jane Hansen, age 15, lives in a house with 20 family members. Her voice had a huge range with nuance and control beyond her years. Her phenomenal version of the Beyoncé hit “If I Were a Boy” gave Demi chills (us too!), and L.A. predicted that Hansen would be a finalist in the competition.  She got an easy four yeses.

Arin Ray

Next up was Arin Ray, a 16-year-old student from Cincinnati. He was a solo contestant in season one of X Factor, but was placed in a group called InTENsity that was cut in the finals. He sang an original number called “Count on Me” that sounded like an Usher tune.  L.A. told him, “I liked you last year, I like you even more this year”, and he got four yeses.

A member of duo One4Five

Then we saw a quick roundup of promising auditions:  Natalie Martin and Nick Perrelli, both 16, Beatrice Miller, 13, and One4Five, a duo in which one member wore a handpuppet, and the other had cool zombie eyes; they did a pretty great rap number.

Changyi Li, a 52-year-old woman from China sang Celine Dion’s "My Heart Will Go On" in a child-like voice while dressed in a sailor suit. The song went on too,  with Li drawing out the ending far longer than normal. The judges unanimously voted "no". 

Austin Corini

Austin Corini, 16, was a blonde with a pointy haircut who signed autographs and hugged fans before his audition. Why were there audience members backstage? After he sang “Wanted” by Hunter Hayes, Demi's critique was that she wasn’t “jumping out of my seat excited, but there’s something special about you” and Simon reminded him, “You've got to be remembered for your voice and not your hair," He got four yeses.

Back in Greensboro, NC we watched 20-year-old janitor Nick Youngerman get Britney up and dancing with his version of "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice – he got four yeses – and an engaged duo called Jaime who spent most of their camera time on PDAs. They did an original song called “Will You be My Baby” and didn’t make the cut.

David Correy

David Correy, 26, had the most emotional audition of the night as he sang in the hope that his birth mother would hear his voice and reconnect with him.  He had a soulful voice with a powerful upper register, and the judges loved his rendition of the Bruno Mars tune,  “Just the way You Are”.  He got four yeses.

In San Francisco we were introduced to Tara Simon, age 27. She got this week's mean girl edit, and was shown questioning the talent of Sophie Tweed-Simmons, 19, who happens to be the daughter of actress Shannon Tweed and Gene Simmons of KISS.

Sophie Tweed-Simmons

Sophie Tweed-Simmons was up first.  We learned that she wants to make it on her own without help from her famous parents, and only told them about the audition the day before. She sang Adele’s  “Make You Feel My Love”, and Simon stated she had an “interesting tone”, and Demi and Britney liked her too. L.A. said he didn’t get the “chill bumps” and declined to send her to the next round, but she did make it through with three yeses.We were into her voice so we're happy we'll get to hear her again. Also, Gene and Shannon made gorgeous kids.  

Tara Simon was next, and she was confident and talkative before she sang David Guetta's “Without You”. Her performance was overly full of vocal tricks and runs, but she did have talent and she got 4 yeses.

Daryl Black

The final audition of the night was Daryl Black, a 37-year-old musician who is married and has five children. He did “Stereo Heart” by Gym Class Heroes and had the judges clapping. L.A. enthused that he had a “golden voice”, Britney stated he “commanded the stage”, and Simon said he reminded him of Nat King Cole. All four judges voted yes.

We were also shown one more contestant,  13-year-old Trevor Moran. At first he was full of energy and dance moves, but right before the show ended we saw him lying unconscious on the floor.  Hopefully he was okay, and we'll get to see him audition soon.

Photos ©Talkback Thames, FremantleMedia, SYCOtv

To read more of our X Factor coverage click here.

Posted on Thursday, September 27, 2012 10:51 AM