 |
| X Factor contestant Beatrice Miller performs at Britney Spears' house |
On episode 9 of X Factor season 2 we saw two of the categories sing at the judges homes: the Groups auditioned for Simon Cowell and Marc Anthony in Miami, FL, and the Young Adults did their thing for Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas in Los Angeles, CA. For episode 10, the Over 25 contestants perform for L.A. Reid and guest mentors Justin Bieber and his manager Scooter Braun in Beverly Hills, CA, and for Britney Spears and her guest Will.i.am in Malibu, CA.
 |
| Justin Bieber on X Factor |
Jason Brock says that as a kid he was “a total misfit” and his family would tell him, “you can’t do that” and “there’s a lot of people who sing better than you”. He’s proving them wrong now with a legion of fans and followers known as “Brockstars”. He opens the Over 25 category with a slowed down version of Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry". L.A. Reid says, "That was a really strong vocal performance," and Justin agreed saying, "he didn't hold back at all", but questions, “is that the one?” We think he could be – we love his voice.
David Correy does an amazing version of Jessie J's "Domino" that prompts L.A. Reid to say, "There were some notes that were just, I don't know, they were giving chill bumps." Justin said, "I thought he was great. I think the voice was there. I think he's got a look to him. I think he could go far," and Scooter added, "I saw pure passion." David says, “I gave them all of me.”
Daryl Black sings Hall & Oates' "She's Gone". After his performance, which was very good, Daryl says, “I hope I did enough”. The mentors like him, Justin says he was “powerful”, and “I feel like it was strong”, but L.A. doesn’t think his tone was unique enough.
Tate Stevens, the only country singer in his category, does a great job with Brian McKnight's "Back at One" and Scooter says, “There’s something about him that you want to root for him” and Justin thinks “he's charismatic” and “has a great voice.", but when L.A. asks, "If you had to go into that bank account and write a check for $5 million, would you give it to that guy?", Justin isn’t sure. Tate tells his competitors, “If I make it through there ain’t no more asphalt work, ain’t no more concrete work for this old boy right here.”
Vino Alan takes on Pink's "Sober", but first he tells us that his mother was with an abusive man who “tortured” him, and that “music took a way the pain”. He also remarks, “To be surrounded by such talent in this six, has been like the most validating thing that’s happened in my life”. His audition is excellent and Justin states, "Emotionally, I felt it”, but L.A. isn’t sure about Vino - "Great voice. All that soul, right? But then I'm looking, okay, the package, the package, the package.”
Tara Simon chooses Hoobastank's "The Reason" as her audition song. “I feel like I will win the whole thing” she states. Then she asks, “Why does it have to be less is more, why can’t more be good?” and says that she was trying her best “to show vocal maturity and vocal restraint”. This is interesting because though we can see that she has talent, we think she over-sings. The judges all think she has "big voice," but Justin offers, "She should make sure to have more sweet moments with her voice".
At the end of the Over 25 auditions L.A. reiterates that he wasn’t thrilled with his assigned category, but that it’s going to be much tougher that he could have ever imagined. He admits, “I came into this judges home segment thinking I knew which of the contestants were my favorite, I didn’t know nothing.”
 |
| Will.i.am on X Factor |
Diamond White sings Avril Lavigne's "I'm With You", but not before she reminds us, “It’s really important for me to win because my living situation in LA is not good for me” - back home she has to share a bed with her Mom. Her audition is wonderful, and while Will.i.am says, "she sings amazing", he also thinks, “she cares about her moves too much”. Britney says, “I think she needs to work on her stage performance and a little more confidence”. Fellow contestant, Beatrice Miller, calls Diamond, "flawless to the point where it's not fair", and young Reed Deming wondered, "how do you compete against that?"
Reed Deming puts his performance in perspective - “I’m not fighting to save myself; I’m fighting to win” - before launching into The Plain White T's "Hey There Delilah". His audition goes very well, but he rushed the sing a little bit. Britney pointed out, “I think he was nervous” and "I think he could deliver a little bit better than what he did," and Will.i.am calls Reed “A little emperor kid.” We think he has a bright future ahead of him.
James Tanner, the only hip-hop artist in his category, raps Shop Boyz' "Party Like a Rock Star". Like Dope Crisis in the Groups category, we haven't heard a lot about him or his back-story. After his audition, which was awesome, he says, “I really hope I did enough – I’m just anxious”. Britney’s critique is, "I thought he was entertaining," but. "I'm just not convinced it's strong enough."
Arin Ray, who was a soloist put into the group InTENsity on last year’s X Factor, sings Nicki Minaj's "Starships" . This time he says, “I don’t have nine other people to rely on” and that “to get this second chance is amazing.” Will.i.am sees that “he has something,”, and while Britney thinks he “needs to work on his vocals a bit” she also says, "I love watching him."
Beatrice Miller has been working toward this moment for as long as she can remember. She does David Guetta’s (featuring Sia) "Titanium", and it is one of our favorite performances of this episode – we could listen to her sing all day. Will.i.am calls her “fresh”, and Britney appeared to like her but said, “she needs to control the loudness of her voice a bit”. Beatrice isn’t sure if she’s what the mentors are looking for, but she’s “satisfied” with what she did.
Carly Rose Sonenclar started singing at 2, but points out, “I’ve prepared a lot for this song, but I don’t think there’s anything that can really prepare you for this”. She sings Karmin's "Brokenhearted” and is fantastic. Both mentors think Carly is “possessed”, and Will.i.am says the admittedly soft-spoken teen is “like a little caterpillar and then you think she's gonna turn into a butterfly - dragon! Scorching the town." Britney’s opinion is that Carly is a “very talented young girl”, but she’s “scared she won’t be able to cope with the pressure.”
We’ll get the final verdict on Carly and all of the contestants on next week’s X Factor when the mentors cut two acts from each category, bringing the current 24 down to the final 16 for the live shows.
The X Factor airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8/7c on FOX.
To read more of our X Factor coverage click here.
 |
| The X Factor Teen contestants at Britney Spears' house in Malibu, CA |
Photos ©Talkback Thames, FremantleMedia, SYCOtv
Posted on Friday, October 12, 2012 1:15 PM
