‘The X Factor’ USA review: Jeff Gutt returns; Josh Levi, Carlos Guevara shine

“The X Factor” USA started off this year by doing something very smart: Actually reminding us who some of the people were by name. Unfortunately, it still had some more of the same problems from here on out that every other one of their audition shows has, including the stupid radio show looking like they weren’t just told by producers to be excited about a show still looking for a #1 star.

At the end of the show, we also had a returning contestant back for a second chance after making it pretty far last year.

Josh Levi – Great contestant. He’s mature for 14, super-likable, and the teenage girls are going to love him. Dude is BOSS. For one, he sings “Come and Get It” like he recorded it at the same time as Selena Gomez, and he has total command of the stage. Right now, he’s our favorite to win this whole shebang.

Aknu – A pretty good band. Their style is not the most modern out there, but we are in the age of Bruno Mars and some other throwback artists. With the right song, and with some more of these dance moves, they could become a sensation.

Brandie Love – Country music is extremely popular, but there’s nothing in Brandie’s voice that makes us believe that she can supplant the few female country stars on the charts. If you are going to make it there, you have to be something that we have never heard before. With this being said, we won’t be shocked if she’s around for a few more weeks.

Millie Thrasher – We love the name, and probably has more pop potential than Brandie just from a mainstream perspective.

Timmy Thames – We barely saw him, but he was pretty good … also a little bit whiny.

Yellow House Canyon – Pretty good singers, but we absolutely cannot root for anyone who refuses to sell the “hell yeah” part of “Redneck Woman.” That’s the whole point of the song!

Carlos Guevara – We wish that there were not so many people who have faked problems on reality shows, since it takes away from when there are cool, moving auditions like Carlos’, who was 100% real and very entertaining to watch. His Tourette’s syndrome appears to be worse than that of James Durbin from “American Idol,” and the truth here is that he is not the best singer on the show tonight. But there is a certain sweetness about him that makes it easy to be happy that he is getting an opportunity.

Malie Delgado – Hats off for coming in all of the way from Alaska! We don’t think Malie is good enough, but this is a major step in the right direction for her.

Colton Pack – We find it funny and a little weird that a guy from a small town would sing “Hick Down.” Are all those people from his town who came with him wondering what he’s trying to say? It’s a good story, but his voice is a little too much of the country Kermit the Frog.

Danie Geimer – This season’s CeCe Frey. A very good singer who gets painted with a pretty questionable brush as she comes across as condescending and self-indulgent. She’s great, but we have a hard time imagining many people voting for her.

Jeff Gutt – He really started things off here with all sorts of bad notes, and a cheap Aerosmith impersonation. Luckily, he did recover from there and turned out what we personally believe to be a pretty strong audition. This returning contestant will do enough to make it pretty far, we believe.

The bad

Shirley & Cynthia – Why couldn’t we start with someone good? The song choice of “I Want You Back” was more dated than a box of Wheaties with the original Dream Team on it, but it got slightly more comical as it went along thanks to the girls trying to hit bigger and bigger notes unsuccessfully. It was almost like someone talking louder to a person who doesn’t understand English.

Drama Drama – We actually like the name, and a couple of the singers weren’t terrible. But there was no energy here at all, and together they sounded like there was more drama than an episode of “The Real Housewives.”

Vincent – We’re not even going to try to spell that last name, but clearly, someone lost the bet at the bagel store and had to come try out for this show … to LeAnn Rimes. This is even worse than how she performed it during the finale last year.

Chloe J and CJ – CJ actually isn’t really that bad of a singer, but he doesn’t deserve to get through just based on actually coming on the show with the mess that was Chloe.

Did you have a favorite from tonight’s episode? Click here to see some more highlights from this season, and we’ll be back for more tomorrow.

Photo: Fox