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| X Factor season 2 contestants |
For the second round of X Factor season 2 boot camp the remaining contestants performed in pairs, so they were competing directly with each other. As judge Simon Cowell explained, “one could make it, both could make it, neither could make it” to the final 24.
Tara Simon and Jennel Garcia perform “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac. Jennel sings in a subdued manner that barely displays her vocal abilities, Tara sings in a showy manner that shows too many of her abilities with unnecessary runs and a dog whistle of a note at the end. Simon says they “didn’t represent themselves”, and after they exit the stage he adds that Tara, who chose the song, clipped Jennel's wings.
Carly Rose Sonenclar and Beatrice Miller sing “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People. Both sound fantastic, but the song seems like a better fit for Beatrice - it's hard to tell from the little we've seen of her, but she may have a more contemporary style than Carly. Both are extraordinarily talented though, and judge Demi Lovato notes that “It’s so hard when you’re that young.”
Vino Alan and David Correy do “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye. Before they sing, David tells judges he sees them as four roadblocks to his dream. They both sing well, although like Tara Simon, David over-sings it. Vino sounds great but he doesn’t think so – he throws his hat down, storms off, hits a wall and says, “I just effed up serious.”
Diamond White and Dinah Jane Hansen take on "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" by Kelly Clarkson. Both young singers sound awesome, but Dinah messes up the lyrics a little bit at the beginning; Diamond sits on the stage at the end of the song, a move that judge L.A. Reid calls “genius”. Backstage we see that the teenagers are complimentary and supportive of each other - it's sweet.
Lauren Jauregui and Sister C - We only hear a snippet of their performance, but apparently judge Britney Spears has seen enough and states, “I think Sister C is annoying”.
Willie Jones and Tate Stevens audition with “Nobody Knows” by Tony Rich. Willie forgets his words and cries after the audition, Tate does a very good job. The judges think Tate hustled Willie by picking a song Willie didn’t know.
Arin Ray and Normani Hamilton prepare“What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction. They are the first male-female showdown, and the two sixteen-year-olds may have a thing for each other. They were cute together and they sang well, but teenage relationship storylines aren't our thing. Meanwhile, Demi says of Arin, “My heart just melted.”
Jillian Jensen and LaTasha Robinson decided on “Stay” by Sugarland. Before the audition Latasha is super-confident and Jillian is laid back, but onstage Latasha barely gets a few words out before she forgets the lyrics and breaks down crying, “I’m sorry I can’t do it”. Jillian takes over and does a phenomenal job, then sticks up for Latasha by telling the judges her competitor did know the words to the song and “she really did a great job with it”. Backstage she said, “It broke my heart to watch Latasha struggling”.
Paige Thomas and CeCe Frey go head-to-head again, this time with “Secrets” by One Republic. When Simon asks why they want to win, Paige says, “I don’t fit anywhere else except for in the spotlight” and CeCe says, “I want to succeed as bad I want to breathe.” Paige does okay but doesn’t really want to do the song (CeCe picked it), CeCe belts it out and is skilled but a bit shrill for our taste. Simon points out that both women “look exhausted”, and Britney says she likes Paige better. We do too. CeCe may be technically better, but Paige has more heart.
During the show we also heard a little more of Jason Brock and his dazzling vocals (we cannot wait to hear him sing an entire song), and a few seconds of young Reed Deming that sounded superior to some of the other auditions. This episode ended with a cliffhanger though - we won't find out who the final 24 contestants are until next week.
The X Factor airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8/7c on FOX.
Photos ©Talkback Thames, FremantleMedia, SYCOtv
To read more of our X Factor coverage click here.
Posted on Friday, October 5, 2012 5:48 PM
