‘The X Factor’ USA results: Were Sweet Suspense, Khaya Cohen saved from elimination?

Tonight on “The X Factor” USA, we learned that some of the show’s viewers could find a way to actually the show make even less sense. There were only a few acts in the competition that really seemed to be marketable after the fact, and one of them was sent home mere minutes after the start of the show thanks to the double-elimination.

Yes, we are talking about Sweet Suspense, and this is proof that you really cannot say that the show is perpetually rigged for Simon Cowell and the groups. The biggest problem (at least in our mind) that these ladies had over the course of the competition had was just that it never really felt like they were singing anything. Their voices have been so drowned out by background singers that it felt over-produced and robotic from the get-go. Fifth Harmony at least could get away with having this sometimes, but they also had opportunities for their voice to independently shine.

To think, this was the least-baffling decision made in this episode, as we had a bottom two that also contained Rachel Potter and Khaya Cohen. Over Tim “Against All Odds” Olstad? Really? Over Restless Road and their summer-camp performance of Footloose? Khaya has arguably been the best vocalist each of the past two weeks, but she is doomed by a lack of screen time on this show, which relies on that so heavily for success with its tiny / very young audience. As for Rachel, there is little doubting that she is going to be just fine on Broadway, and while she is a good singer, she didn’t do enough to really prove that she is a country artist (which was kind of her goal).

Let’s go now to those individual sing-offs between these two.

Khaya – A strong, soulful performance. Easily one of the best sing-offs that we’ve had over the course of this season.

Rachel – It was a country performance, but to best honest, Khaya was far superior. There were some pitch problems in here, and the choice itself was a heaping mount of cliche.

Of course, the judges sent Rachel home, with “potential” being cited as the reason why. Mario Lopez of course was his typical robotic self the entire time, and we’re still wondering why Kelly Rowland took so long to figure out that she is supposed to support her act.

Do you think that the judges, and America, actually made the right choices, or are you just as baffled as we are over all of this? Be sure to share some of your thoughts below, and click here if you want to read our full review of Wednesday night’s episode.

Photo: Fox