‘The X Factor’ USA review: David Correy, Carly Rose Sonenclar take over judges’ houses
After being teased by an appearance of Justin Bieber and will.i.am last night on “The X Factor” last night (even to the point where Bieber got tweetin’ mad about it), we finally saw the two advisers in action with a slightly-less-angry L.A. Reid as well as Britney Spears.
There were some great performances, there were some incredibly cocky performances, and there was so much drama it almost felt like it was going to blow back in your chair a little bit.
Team L.A. “irrationally disappointed” Reid
Jason Brock – Jason is the sort of entertainer who is a little bit campy, but we’re okay with that. He seems to take himself seriously enough to avoid being labeled as one of those “joke” acts that we tend to see on the British version of the show.
David Correy – We said back during the audition rounds that David’s audition to Bruno Mars was the favorite of the entire season, and his performance here of Jessie J’s “Domino” kept that tradition alive. Right now, we would rank his performance here right up at the top along with CeCe Frey’s “Sexy and I Know It” as the best of the judges’ houses round.
Daryl Black – We still don’t really have that great of an idea who this guy really is. He is a good singer, but that’s all we can really say about him; everyone else here is probably a little bit more distinctive.
Tate Stevens – Tate is the sort of country singer that you see when you look it up in the dictionary. He comes from the Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson school of country, complete with the cowboy hat, the charisma, and the voice. The only thin we’re not sure he has is the sort of flair needed for modern country radio.
Vino Allen – We’re not as sold on Vino’s voice as the judges have been at times during this competition, but that may also be thanks to us having a harder time grasping his personality … especially during his meltdown during boot camp week.
Tara Simon – Wow. That’s the only thing we have to say about Tara. We actually really like contestants who are over-the-top and border on the line of arrogance, mostly because you need this sort of attitude sometimes to be a star. However, at the same time you still need something for people to relate to, and her walls are up so high that we just can’t see her going through. Why? We don’t think anyone would vote for her.
Team Britney “I actually like my team” Spears
Diamond White – We’ve been high on Diamond all season long, but to use her own first name as an analogy, this was more like a fine piece of quartz than something you would spent $10,000 on a jewelry. She needs to work on her presence, and also her pronunciation a little bit after so many words were slurred together.
Reed Deming – Vocally, Reed’s a pretty good singer that would probably do better with another year or two under his belt to make his voice a little less unwieldy on stage. Our only other suggestion? Stop looking like Justin Bieber circa-2010. You don’t need to look like someone else with your haircut; it’s better to be more unique.
James Tanner – Just how little of this guy have we really seen? Let’s just say that it was a surprise to see him come up and start rapping. Note to viewers: why would they put someone through to the live shows if they have shown you next to nothing about them?
Arin Ray – It still a little bit of a surprise that Arin is allowed to make it to the live shows this year after being in the groups category last year, but you can’t deny the talent that is there. He’s probably the strongest male singer out of the ones in this group, but that’s far from a guarantee that he makes it the farthest.
Beatrice Miller – It is pretty funny to hear a 13-year old say that this has been their dream for “as long as they can remember.” We also wonder whether or not this version of “Titanium” was strong enough given an off note at the end of the song.
Carly Rose Sonenclar – Considering that Carly has been the darkhorse for most of this season, this was the moment for her to really step into the spotlight. Thankfully, she did with a rendition of Karmin’s “Broken Hearted” that was the best of the teens who performed on the show. It was soulful, subtle, and there was just enough innocence about it to remind us that she was still young. Now, she just needs to drop the “Rose” so there are fewer comparisons to Carly Rae Jepsen.
Who was your favorite from this show, and do you think there could be a moment coming up where L.A. actually gets excited about some of the people he should be happy to work with? We want to hear all of your thoughts below!