‘The X Factor’ finals recap: did they make it their own?
THE X FACTOR: Top 3 Perform: Melanie Amaro performs on THE X FACTOR Dec. 21 (8:00-9:30 PM ET/PT) on FOX. THE X FACTOR Finale airs Wed., Dec. 21 and Thurs., Dec. 22 on FOX. CR: Ray Mickshaw / FOX.
Loading ...Sure, this show suffered from over-production, annoyingly bickering judges and a host who shouldn’t even be hosting a small-town pageant.
But through all that dreck, they managed to come up with three decent finalists. And I watched this via DVR so I was able to fast forward through much of the dross.
Round one, the trio all showed deference to their celebrity duet partners, as in Alanis Morissette, Avril Lavigne and R. Kelly. So for me, that didn’t really help us determine their worth as individual artists.
Then we watched them repeat their original audition songs in fully produced form. And each one in their own way proved why they are here tonight.
Josh Krajcik oozes earnest soul. Chris Rene elevates joy and hope after much darkness with a hip-hop edge. Melanie Amaro is full-on diva, a vocalist of supreme power and grace when she truly lets go.
Each has their negatives. Josh is so nice, he doesn’t seem to have enough edge for a scruffy rocker. And he sometimes sounds too much like Joe Cocker. Rene’s vocals are pretty thin at times. And Melanie sometimes seems to be singing on auto-pilot.
So who will win the guaranteed $5 million?
Melanie would seem to have the edge, having the pimp spot and favorite status from day one. But Josh has a strong base of fans, too. And while polls (which may be taken by a group of people not matching the voting base) show Chris lagging behind the other two, his likely younger fans might Facebook him to victory.
I do have to make a prediction. I say Josh wins though actually, I’d like to see Chris win.
THE X FACTOR: Top 3 Perform: Josh Krajcik performs on THE X FACTOR Dec. 21 (8:00-9:30 PM ET/PT) on FOX. THE X FACTOR Finale airs Wed., Dec. 21 and Thurs., Dec. 22 on FOX. CR: Ray Mickshaw / FOX.
1) Josh Krajcik with Alanis Morissette (“Uninvited”) – Alanis dueted with runner-up Crystal Bowersox in the finals in 2009 with “You Oughta Know.” She’s back! Josh and Alanis work together well. “Uninvited” isn’t quite the masterpiece that “You Oughta Know” and Josh isn’t dominant. What do you expect? This is Alanis’ baby! “You kept your identity,” Paula said. Grade: A-minus/B-plus
2) Chris Rene with Avril Lavigne (”Complicated”) – Really? This song was sung by a bratty 16 year girl in 2002. Not a good fit for Chris. Avril swallows him during the duet moments. He at least is having a good time. Nicole should be penalized for saying, “You made it your own.” Grade: B
3) Melanie Amaro with R. Kelly (”I Believe I Can Fly”) – She seemed very nervous in the early going and it never really soars. R. Kelly was overshadowed by Kelly, as L.A. Reid said. Grade: B
The trio then joined Cirque Du Soleil’s “Michael Jackson Immortal” spectacle, which killed a few minutes.
Now each sings their original audition song and solidify why each one is in the finals:
4) Josh (”At Last” Etta James) – A lovely homage to the ailing singer, armed with just an acoustic guitar and his soulful voice. He goes thankfully with no backup dancers and singers. A truly brilliant performance. “You made it your own,” Reid said, and yes, he should be placed in the penalty box for using Paula’s line, too. “You own that stage,” said a slightly less cliched Paula. “You took that massive risk with the guitar. What I liked about it was it’s all about you,” Simon said. Grade: A
THE X FACTOR: Top 3 Perform: Avril Lavigne (L) and Chris Rene perform on THE X FACTOR Dec. 21 (8:00-9:30 PM ET/PT) on FOX. THE X FACTOR Finale airs Wed., Dec. 21 and Thurs., Dec. 22 on FOX. CR: Ray Mickshaw / FOX.
5) Chris (”Young Homie”) – This is the song that got the judges’ attention and it remains incredibly inspiring and catchy. It proves he can write music. “You are magic!” Paula said. “That was your $5 million song,” Simon said. Grade: A
6) Melanie (”Listen” Beyonce) – Melanie doesn’t always connect with the lyrics of the song and can be tentative. But she sings this one practically busting her gut. It still works. “That was a $50 million song,” L.A. raved. “So gorgeous,” Paula said. “I am so so proud,” Simon said. Grade: A
Join my Facebook fan page and Twitter.
By Rodney Ho, Radio & TV Talk
accessAtlanta Partner Sites
Sections
Advertise on accessAtlanta.com »
Reach the audience you want by advertising on accessAtlanta.com
Join the Access Atlanta Network »
Advertisers and Publishers, expand your reach by joining the Access Atlanta Network.
Tell us what you think about the site
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement | About our ads
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
157 comments Add your comment
Pitchy
December 21st, 2011
10:06 pm
DanJ, I sincerely hope he doesn’t fall by the wayside like the Man With The Golden Voice (homeless newscaster found on the corner holding the sign) or even El Debarge going back into rehab after he came back with this voice in tact.
Merlek3
December 21st, 2011
10:10 pm
DanJ: I agree. Mel did it. Josh great second round. I don’t mind who wins unless it is Chris.
DanJ
December 21st, 2011
10:11 pm
Drugs have ended many promising careers in all walks of life. If Chris can take that negative and turn it into a positive, his life will be a success.
Seth T.
December 21st, 2011
10:17 pm
Hey Pitchy, Chris has enough good recognition going for him now, to make the top 3, and a prescence on YouTube, etc., that if he can’t make good choices now, he never will. I know a couple of guys in the area that I honestly believe are better than Chris in that genre, and they would be ecstatic to have gotten the same chance that he did.
Dan J. – I think that Drew, at such a young age, has plenty of room to grow into the biz if she hangs on with the right management group. I am less enthused about where Marcus will be in two years —
but there are a number of issues with the Lakoda Rayne group that leaves me to believe we won’t see much of them after the tour. They live in different states, never had a really good stand-out singer in the group to rely on,
they can easily be diverted with love interests or an alternate life-path that is less demanding than trying to make it in the business against a good number of other well established music combines. And X-Factor producers won’t likely be investing in them after the tour, it’ll be on-to-the-next-show.
Just my humble opinion…time will tell, they do have a good-looking group though:)
DanJ
December 21st, 2011
10:17 pm
Merlek3, I think Josh and Melanie will be fine if they lose but I hope one of them wins. I will say that I would buy a CD from Chris IF notice the big if it was positive and not trashy lyrics. I don’t need to hear anything about Ho’s unless it’s from Santa. While I’ve been known to use naughty words I don’t think they belong in music. I also don’t need to hear about someones sex life. If Chris is like MC Hammer or Will Smith I’d buy it.
RxDawg
December 21st, 2011
10:18 pm
This is all I need to know. Melanie is the only one that looked she belonged up there on that stage with the other pro’s that joined the show.
Seth T.
December 21st, 2011
11:03 pm
RxDawg
December 21st, 2011
10:18 pm
This is all I need to know. Melanie is the only one that looked she belonged up there on that stage with the other pro’s that joined the show.
******** a very accurate comment*******
amanda
December 21st, 2011
11:03 pm
I hate the host..if this show comes back he needs to goooooo
Fred
December 22nd, 2011
12:52 am
RxDawg.
Thank you, I couldn’t agree with you more, of these 3 finalists Melanie is the only one
that should be there. Josh is horrible no matter what the judges say. I am also tired of
hearing about Chris bout with drugs and being saved. Melanie would be the only CD that
I would buy, even thougt Rachel is not in the finals, I thought that it should have came down to her and Melanie. Once again I will repeat myself, Josh is horrible. Please don’t let him win.
CP
December 22nd, 2011
2:56 am
Seth T: “they can easily be diverted with love interests or an alternate life-path that is less demanding than trying to make it in the business against a good number of other well established music combines.”
Are you for real? It’s 2011 buddy ~ women are well capable of accomplishing difficult career paths without getting distracted by personal choices. Though maybe not under the rock from which you crawled to post that sexist comment.
Nutmeg
December 22nd, 2011
4:46 am
It was actually the celebrity duet section that cemented my appreciation of Josh, although I won’t be crying if Melanie wins. (Chris has a great story and raps well, but his voice… yeesh. He was so off-key in the opening of his duet that I almost turned it off).
The harmony between Josh and Alanis was stellar–exactly what I want in a rock duet. When I hear him, I hear echoes of Meatloaf, who’s done several powerful duets. But some of the harmonic moments in that piece gave me chills in a good way. Did Chris even attempt harmony with Avril? I didn’t hear it. Melanie and R. Kelly did a good job, but my mind has filed R. Kelly under “pedophile,” so I couldn’t really get past that to enjoy it. Yes, I know he was acquitted. Not to retry him, but I was personally unconvinced.
In my opinion, Melanie should’ve won the Voice. Her amazing voice is better than all four finalists of that show (Javier, Dia, Vicki, Beverly). But in my opinion, she lacks exactly the title of this show: that little something extra that goes beyond how good the voice is and how likeable the contestant is and the concocted backstory. The X-Factor is that je ne sais quoi. It’s hard to define but easy to point out. In fact, it’s kind of like that overhyped upcoming series Smash: when Kat McPhee starts singing, everything stops. She commands the room, and here’s the thing–it’s not just her voice and attractiveness. It’s that something else. She glows.
IMO, Melanie doesn’t glow. (Chris doesn’t glow. Josh has had moments where I felt the glow, but overall? No).
joel
December 22nd, 2011
4:49 am
Melanie is the best and strongest vocalist, but if the purpose of this show is to find a contemporary recording artist, someone you could hear on the radio today, I’m not sure it’s her. Everything that she has sung has been from the Whitney, Celine, Mariah wheelhouse, very 90’s, not so much today. Last night was a good example of that, singing one of the biggest songs of the 90’s with R. Kelley, even her outfits looked retro, and it’s been that way pretty much every week.
Back in his Idol days, Simon was always criticizing female contestants for being too “old fashioned” and “pageanty”. It’s surprising that his top contestant on this show has consistently performed just that way.
Highlander
December 22nd, 2011
7:07 am
Morning, gang!
Okay, I’m going to go “old-time Simon” on this: Chris can perform pretty well but his singing SUCKS! I’m sure there are hundreds of guys like him working clubs across the country who can bring it the same way performance-wise but can also bring the vocals! His voice is weak and he’s got breath control problems.
And I’m tired of the mentors (Paula especially) saying BS like “every note doesn’t have to be perfect.” WHAT??? With the price of concert tickets today, do you want to put your hard-earned money down for someone who MIGHT sing on-key or might need the help of Auto-Tune?
How has that worked out for Lee Dewyze?
Highlander
December 22nd, 2011
7:23 am
I want to know who’s idea it was to pair Josh up with Alanis. (Or Chris with Avril, for that matter.) Why pick two Pop princesses to sing with a rocker and hip-hop guy?
And while Melanie has a very good voice, I can’t recall her doing anything BUT power ballads during the entire competition. (Something Simon berated people for in the past!)
I believe any CD she puts out would be boring because every track would sound similar to the last one.
Deirdre
December 22nd, 2011
7:29 am
Morning!
Didn’t see the show. Can’t say that I care all that much. If I was to pick a winner based on the season it would be a pretty hard sell between Melanie and Josh. I really liked both of them right from the start. Melanie’s voice is amazing but she reminds me of Melinda Doolittle. Great voice but the it factor isn’t there. Josh is a very good song stylist and it’s always refreshing to watch someone meld with a song. But he lacks the it factor as well.
Chris Rene could win by default.
X-Factor Watcher
December 22nd, 2011
7:53 am
I think Chris Renee should win. He has all the charisma that Pepsi is looking for. Melanie only sings slow, boring songs and has never really sung anything uptempo. I would definitely not want to see her in the commercial. Chris is hip and exactly what they need to promote their product. Josh?? Ehh, not so sure what I think about him. Melanie’s head has gotten way to big. Did you guys see the way that she put the mic back onto the stand when she was finished singing? Her whole attitude was like “yeah, now what… I got this” PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I pray she doesnt win. GOOO CHRIS !!!!!!
nonchalant
December 22nd, 2011
7:56 am
I agree with Joel. Simon did nothing to set Melanie apart, his song choices for her were everything he has ever criticized on AI. She is good but I wouldn’t buy her music. I would have liked to hear Josh or Melanie sing an upbeat tune last night. Chris wins last night because all his songs weren’t sleepers. I’d most likely buy Josh’s songs because I love his voice and quality, but nothing he has performed yet has stimulated me to purchase. Like someone said, it is all about who has the biggest following.
Breezy
December 22nd, 2011
8:34 am
Josh and Melanie were very good. When you close your eyes and just listen to the tone and sound of Josh’s voice it is terrific. After saying that, Chris is totally entertaining visually.
Sam-A
December 22nd, 2011
8:44 am
I hope Josh wins – I hope Chris doesn’t. Once again, the gal with the really good voice disappointed in her demeaner. LA said great things about her – she just glared and said nothing. Both gals says great things – again just a glare. She only acknowledged Simon’s remarks. I agree with whoever above said she looked like “there it is – just go ahead and declare me the winner now”(sic). But if she wins, she is a good singer – better than Leona Lewis (groan – my ears are still “bleeding, bleeding, bleeding” from that dreadful song awhile back.
DanJ
December 22nd, 2011
8:54 am
At this point I don’t think it matters who wins. I know the 5 million dollars and Pepsi commercial is at stake but 1 hit CD a couple of hit singles especially if written by the artist makes a lot more than 5 million. Little Homie has probably made or will make Chris Rene millions.
Only twice have my favorites won. (Kelly & Carrie) So I’m not counting on Josh or Melanie winning. If they do fine, if not I’ll buy their CD when it comes out. I’ve enjoyed the show, even with its flaws. It’s refreshing to see IMO the best two singers in the finals. (Josh & Melanie) The last time for me that happened on Idol was Carrie & Bo. While XFactor is over produced, judges bickering and the host is horrible they found or manipulated a way to get the best two singers in the final. I like the judges having the OPTION of picking who goes home or leaving it up to America.
Idol needs to do something along those lines. Scotty and Lauren were not the best two last year IMO. They won because they were young and the country music fans pushed them through. Yes I like country music!! Voting until your fingers bleed is stupid. Everyone should be allowed 1 vote by phone and Internet. Then that number needs to be blocked, IP blocked. Sanjaya who was horrible was kept in by zealots. Same for Jasmine Trias who made it to #3 while Jennifer Hudson, Latoya London and other better singers were voted off. I will watch Idol but I will see it for what it is…FLAWED! Just like XFactor and every other competition show.
RxDawg
December 22nd, 2011
9:11 am
How long Chris stays sober or if he falls back off the wagon should have NO say in wheter or not he wins this contest. Frankly, I’m kinda tired of hearing about Chris’s past drug problems. How long has Melanie been sober? How long has Josh been sober? Hehe, I’m thinking Melanie has probably been sober longer then Josh
G
December 22nd, 2011
9:12 am
Marcus would’ve done a much better job last night than Chris. He sounded worse than usual. Josh is still meh. Melanie finished strong enough to win it all. I would go as far to say that Melanie and Josh are a stronger tandum than Scotty and whats her name on AI. Based on that alone, XF tops AI.
Andy Gump
December 22nd, 2011
9:14 am
Melanie won with that last song. I like Josh’s last song but I wish he would’ve sang an Otis Redding song like ‘Sittin’ On Top Of The Bay’. And on top of that she is freakin’ GORGEOUS!!! I know R. Kelly couldn’t hardly keep his eyes off of her. She is HOT! When she came out in those boots? LAWD!!! Then to top it off with the white ensemble?!? I was about to launch myself thru the TV-she really is stunning and has a great pair of breasts!! WOW!!!
Pitchy
December 22nd, 2011
9:15 am
Good morning.
Highlander, I said the same thing about Paula’s asinine comment about “every note doesn’t have to be perfect.” This is a singing contest for $5 Mil. Someone needs to be almost perfect, in fact, dead on that people will come to their concerts or buy their CDs.
RxDawg
December 22nd, 2011
9:17 am
“Are you for real? It’s 2011 buddy ~ women are well capable of accomplishing difficult career paths without getting distracted by personal choices. Though maybe not under the rock from which you crawled to post that sexist comment.”
lol, he’s just stating the obvious. They are 4 young, pretty girls that had other things going for them then a music career. And the music career doesn’t look that promising. The odds of 1 of them moving on to something else is extremely high. He was just stating a love interest has one possibility. It was pretty dang far from being sexist.
I’d go on to say that if Lakoda Rayne dropped the two tall girls and went to a duo they’d have a bigger chance. The two short girls were better singers.
RxDawg
December 22nd, 2011
9:22 am
“And I’m tired of the mentors (Paula especially) saying BS like “every note doesn’t have to be perfect.” WHAT??? With the price of concert tickets today, do you want to put your hard-earned money down for someone who MIGHT sing on-key or might need the help of Auto-Tune? ”
LOL good point. Yeh I didn’t know what Paula was thinking there. She was trying to bring Chris up after being criticized by Nicole (rightfuly) but she probably did more harm to him as that was a very backhanded complement.
kelly&carriefan
December 22nd, 2011
9:30 am
Hi y’all,
Well, last night was definitely underwhelming! The duets were weird to me. As for Chris Rene dueting with Avril. She was discovered by L.A. Reid, I’m guessing she owed him a favor (and Pink, another L.A. discovery, said no?)
I am in agreement with the Simon critique about keeping Melanie in the 90s. Sure it worked for Kelly, 10 years ago! It’s a totally different world.
But anyway. At this point, I’m still don’t have a horse in the race. I’m going to go ahead and stick with my prediction of Chris Rene taking the title. BTW, the X Factor is NOT a singing competition as much as an “entertainer” show. They’ve shown it with the production and have been reminding us of that for the past few weeks…to which I say, fine, at least they are honest about that.
My comments during the show last night:
1. Josh and Alanis, like them both, but that was an Uninvited Mess…
2. X Factor? More like MEH Factor.
3. I’m more interested in hearing the girl singing Billionaire in the Chevy commercial than this show.
4. The finalists singing “They don’t care about us.” Subliminal messages?
josh
December 22nd, 2011
9:35 am
for all you guys debating on lakoda rayne (if they are going to stay together), the answer for now is yes. 2 of the members are staying in LA and the other 2 plans to move over as soon as they are done with high school. not sure if they have a record deal or anything. hope to hear more details after the finale.
and yes, they are staying together as a group.
DanJ
December 22nd, 2011
9:54 am
Josh, I may be alone in my thinking but I think Lakoda Rayne will do well when all is said and done. They remind me of the all girl group ALL SAINTS, albeit a country version. All Saints don’t have a true lead singer but they’ve done pretty well in the business. Their big hit was the song Never Ever for those who may want to see them on you-tube.
DanJ
December 22nd, 2011
10:00 am
k&cfan, you hit the nail on the head about XFactor. They’re not looking for the best pure singer they’re looking for the best entertainer. They’re looking for Lady GaGa not Celine Dion, Elton John not Michael Buble. Chris best fits what they’re looking for. Of course America may choose Josh or Melanie. It will be interesting who wins.
Pitchy
December 22nd, 2011
10:10 am
Josh and Chris may be more marketable than Melanie. I would have bought a ticket to see Rachel perform.
timthebrave
December 22nd, 2011
10:18 am
X Factor is way overproduced. They must think that more=better. The robot/Michael thing was awful. Glitter falling. Bad stiff host. I like reality television but I am over the X factor. Thank God for my DVR service so that I can get through it in 20 minutes instead of 1.5 hours…Melanie deserves to win but I could see any of them winning. just my 2 cents
Jubie
December 22nd, 2011
10:49 am
Poor Melanie is just plain boring to me. Josh and Chris both have more X Factor. Either of them could win.
Deirdre
December 22nd, 2011
11:07 am
Uh Oh!
Singer Adam Lambert has been arrested in Finland amid allegations of a bust-up with his boyfriend, according to multiple reports.
The former “American Idol” star is currently on vacation in the country with his Finnish-born boyfriend, Sauli Koskinen.
The pair was enjoying a night out at Helsinki gay club Don’t Tell Mama when they were allegedly involved in a scuffle.
Police were reportedly called to the venue to break up the brawl, and officers then took Lambert and Koskinen to separate cells, according to GossipCop.com.
Woodpappy
December 22nd, 2011
11:28 am
Boy won’t that be interesting. Go on vacation and wind up in jail….
Pitchy
December 22nd, 2011
11:41 am
Just finished watching American Jail and this was said “go on vacation and leave on probation!”
JTesla
December 22nd, 2011
11:47 am
The “Don’t Tell Mama” club? Really? Yeah, that’s all I got out of that news.
Mercedes S.
December 22nd, 2011
11:51 am
Adam needs to calm down.
Watched my recorded XF LATE last night, feel asleep repeatedly.
Rene has limited appeal, Melanie is, indeed, boring, and her entitlement is getting on my nerves.
Josh, Josh, Josh!
Mercedes S.
December 22nd, 2011
11:56 am
New York magazine lists “The Eight Most Annoying Characters on TV”. Has this to say about Nicole Scherzinger: ” It’s hard to imagine a less authentic creature than Nicole Scherzinger, who won a reality show, whose “prize” was a spot in a fake girl band of mean-looking strippers. Now she fake cries on TV, offers garbage advice, and has to relate everything back to what it means to her (’”That is my favorite Nelly song’). “
Pitchy
December 22nd, 2011
11:56 am
I agree MercedesS.
Listening to Chris always leaves me thinking about Graybar Toastmasters! Too many freaking “ummms “when he spits….
Deirdre
December 22nd, 2011
12:08 pm
That was my favorite part, too, JT.
Andy Gump
December 22nd, 2011
12:09 pm
For all you idiots saying that Melanie is boring- who the f–k cares?!?! The girl can SAAAAA-NG!!! WTH does she have to do for you morons to be EXCITING, sing a doxen or so fast, dance, or up-tempo songs?!!? I mean c’mon!! She knows her lane and she’s staying in it. Leave her alone-she’ll have a better career than Chris (although I like him & Josh) but she’s a soulful type singer. She will be OK, just not daring like some of you want her to be. Let her sing in her lane & leave the other stuff to Josh & Chris.
DanJ
December 22nd, 2011
12:14 pm
Pitchy quote: [ Listening to Chris leaves me thinking about Graybar Toastmasters!] That is too funny. It made me snort Diet Pepsi all over my keyboard! If Chris does win I hope he will get his teeth fixed. It did wonders for Elliot Yamin. As it is now he could eat corn on the cob through a chain link fence. Not bashing, just saying…..
Sam-A
December 22nd, 2011
12:16 pm
Finally got to watch Kelly’s “Diva” performances posted yesterday. Have to give that Ledisi gal credit – took some nerve to stand next to the glorious Ms. C and try to stay in the same ballpark (she didn’t quite make it)! I’d hate to have to try and sing with Kelly – who can compete fairly?!
Lurker
December 22nd, 2011
12:23 pm
not really a fan of Kelly, BUT i heard her version of “Oh Holy night” I was floored!!!!! That gal sang that song….
Rodney Ho
December 22nd, 2011
12:25 pm
Just posted my comments about 25 minutes of Idol audition previews the network just sent to us scribes. Timing is interesting: same day as the X Factor finale!
DanJ
December 22nd, 2011
12:29 pm
Interesting Rodney. I don’t think it’s a coincidence on Idols part.
Deirdre
December 22nd, 2011
12:39 pm
Both are Fox shows and that’s no coincidence that Fox wants to grab the XF viewers and remind them about how much nicer Idol is.
G
December 22nd, 2011
12:49 pm
Deidre, AI is not that much better than XF. Talent pool is about the same. AI is certainly not the best singing show. It’s somewhere in the middle. AI has really declined from Kelly Clarkston to Scotty. Only thing AI clearly has above XF and “probably” over all the other shows is Seacrest. The voting process of AI is still the worst of all the talent shows.
DanJ
December 22nd, 2011
12:57 pm
Well G, XFactor could always hire Brian Dunkleman to replace Steve Jones. Dunkleman was the smart guy who co-hosted Idol with Seacrest the first year and didn’t resign the following year. Bad career move on his part. I do agree the talent pool is about the same on all the shows.