THE X FACTOR 12/1/11: Top 7 Results

Wow. I’m shocked.  Did NOT expect a LOT of what went down tonight on the results show!

• I think a lot of people are still BOGGLED by the fact that Chris Rene has YET to see the bottom 3.  Yes he may not be the strongest performer or vocalist, but…a little heart really does go a long way.  People feel for his story (the druggie trying to turn his life around…be a better man for himself and his son) and they TOTALLY wanna root for him.  Plus  he doesn’t come across arrogant AT ALL, and his performances are always so REAL and GENUINE.  Gotta give it to him.  But I do think his time is about to/should run out (next week).
• Wow, Astro was FINALLY booted!  And booted to the point where the judges COULDN’T save him!  Can I get a woohoo?!   I thought he would be in the B3, but not THE lowest.  I figured the judges would’ve had a chance to save him…and they would have.  If I’m being honest, good riddance.  Never thought he was going to win, and don’t feel he deserved it after what he did a couple of weeks ago anyway.
• Now for the REAL shocker — DREW!!!  Wow.  Still can’t believe it.  When she was the last girl standing I was thinking…Uh oh…I feel a shocker coming on.  To me, this was a perfect example of why allowing the JUDGES to boot someone out actually HURT the contestant.  You would think having the judges decide would be BETTER, but…no.  Not when the votes that counted were Nicole & Paula.  Simon & LA cancelled each other out, and when it was down to the ladies, I was worried.  And obviously for good reason.  I KNEW the ladies haven’t been impressed with Drew lately…they were getting bored with her “same old” performances every week.  And to be honest, Paula especially was the iffy one.  She ALWAYS tends to fall for/lean towards the guys.  If it came down to America’s votes, I am 99% sure Drew would STILL be standing there.  Poor thing.  I totally had her pegged in the Top 3!
• Oh boy was Simon mad.  The other judges really went after him last night, and he stood by his decisions.  But tonight, when his girl was handing on her last leg, he really had to try to play nice & suck up to the ladies…and obviously it was too little, too late.
• I honestly felt that Drew was BETTER than Marcus.  I still believe that…Marcus may be a more energetic and charming performer, but vocally Drew was definitely more consistent.  Plus I really do believe she’ll sell more albums than Marcus would.  She reaches more demographics than he does.
• Drew shouldn’t worry.  Someone (probably Simon) will pick her up/sign her anyway.  Although the LONGER you can stay…even if you don’t win…the better.  The amount of EXPOSURE you get from a show like this…you CAN’T get anywhere else.  But I think Drew did leave a lasting impression on America.  Good luck to her and I’m SURE this isn’t the last we’ll be seeing/hearing about her!

THE X FACTOR 9/28/11

Here are just to two standout moments for me from last night’s auditions:

• Umm, I seriously did not take this girl seriously during her intro piece.  I thought she was just a typical Bieber groupie who just wanted to be on TV so that she could get closer to Justin Bieber.  AND she said she was going to sing Justin’s song “Baby” for her audition?  COME ON.  BUT once she started singing, I was like…OH WOW.  She sounded good!  AND she made that song her own!  AND she did it in front of LA Reid, who signed Justin Bieber!  GREAT JOB!

This wasn’t really an audition moment, but it was pretty awesome.  Simon Cowell criticized this one girl’s audition and compared it to “Nicole Scherzinger’s first audition as a 20 year old wannabe.”  Well Nicole did NOT like that.  And I don’t blame her.  Simon was basically saying that Nicole can’t sing and all she is is someone nice to look at who can dance.  I know/have read that Nicole really does thing of herself as a SINGER first and foremost, so I know it annoyed/offends her when ppl think she’s basically just eye candy…

So in response to Simon’s comment, Nicole did an impromtu “audition,” singing Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You.  It was quite an awesome moment!  Good for you Nicole!  Show them how it’s done!

THE X FACTOR: World Premiere Preview

Here’s a preview for Simon Cowell’s upcoming singing reality show, X Factor.  

Gotta say I’m kinda intrigued/looking forward to it.  I really do miss Simon on Idol…it’ll be interesting to see what kind of talent shows up for this show.

Simon Cowell…ENGAGED!

Us Weekly is reporting that…after much speculation…Simon Cowell IS INDEED ENGAGED!

He’s engaged to makeup artist Mezghan Hussainy (who I believe is/was the makeup artist on American Idol), who he sorta started dating only weeks after his breakup with longtime girlfriend Terri Seymour.

Wow…seriously?!  Not bad.  This girl MUST be something special to have “roped in” Simon…

What Is X Factor?

Now that Simon Cowell has announced that he’s leaving American Idol and will bring The X Factor to the United States…the first thing I thought was…ISN’T X FACTOR THE SAME THING AS AMERICAN IDOL?!  Apparantly, it’s kind of a mix between American Idol and Nashville Star.

Some of the major differences from Idol:

• No upper age limit, and kids as young as 14 are eligible.   Groups are also eligible (like Nashville Star).
• Contestants are put into groups: Girls, Boys, Over 25 and Groups.
• Each group is assigned to a judge who mentors them (like Nashville Star). Supposedly a lot of the drama is created in these mentor sessions…
• The judges decide who goes home between the bottom 2 vote getters, who sing for their lives on results day.  Then on the finale, America will get to vote for the winner.

The most notable winner of Britain’s version of X Factor was Leona Lewis.

Some of these changes (groups and a wider range of ages) could make the show a bit more interesting, but the fact that the audience isn’t as involved in keeping the contestants until the end probably won’t go over as well.  That’s the main reason why AI does so well…everyone wants to “have a say”.  Also, how can you compare a musical GROUP to a SOLO artist?

Just thought that people must be wondering about this show…like I was.

BREAKING NEWS: It’s Official! Last Season of Idol for Simon!

Simon Cowell as announced that THIS (Season 9) will be his LAST season of American Idol!

Supposedly Simon has drawn up an agreement to bring his OTHER “idol-ish” show, X-Factor (the British singing show that Leona Lewis won a couple years ago) to American television.  Simon is also a judge on that show, so he felt he couldn’t be a judge on BOTH shows.  The plan is for X-Factor to air in the Fall, Idol in the Spring.

Hmm…ANOTHER singing show on FOX?!  Is that REALLY NECESSARY?!

Once Simon leaves, Idol‘s viewership will definitely decline…

Simon Interview: The Save, Disco Week, etc.

Simon was interviewed by Terri Seymour (his ex-gf who is also a news correspondent) about this week’s results show:

In a nutshell:

• He used the save this week because he figured Anoop would be out next week and he didn’t want to save him.
• Paula & Kara wanted to save Matt; Randy didn’t really care either way.
• He doesn’t think Matt has ANY CHANCE of winning AI8.  If he’s lucky he’ll get Top 4.
• Disco week is MADE for Adam; Lil could do well also IF she picks the right song (which is true EVERY week and yet she can’t come through…); Everyone else will struggle.