‘The X Factor’ USA: More from Lyric 145, Emblem3, and Simon Cowell

Over the weekend, we are going to have our first edition of our “X Factor” rankings, where we will be doing our best to try and predict at this very moment who are the serious contenders to win the $5 million prize at the end of this, and who are more or less just cannon fodder to be taken out during the first two weeks.

After last week’s terrible performance from the groups mentored by Paula Abdul, we are much more excited with what is going on with them this time around. While country group Sister C hasn’t received the best edit by any means (which may set them up for an early exit), Simon Cowell has a pair of potential contenders in hip-hop group Lyric 145 along with pop / rock group Emblem3, who came on this show with a pretty solid fanbase already in tow.

So what do these two contenders specifically have to say about their act, and their chances at going far? “Access Hollywood” caught up with both of them on the set of their recent photo shoot for the show, which you can find out much more about over at the link here. During this chat, the conversations were mostly lighthearted, but we were excited to see that Lyric 145 all seemed so excited about being in a group that could really go far, even though they did not enter this competition together. They also said that they plan on sticking together as a group, even if they do not end up winning the competition. One of the reasons that we think the groups format hasn’t worked that well in America as in Britain is that we have such a larger country, and it is much more difficult for a group to be made of people who are from all around the country.

Are you rooting for either one of these groups on Simon Cowell’s team?