Live Shows Kick Off

Live shows started this past Wednesday, and 12 was cut to 11 on Thursday. I will discuss the performances and rank them accordingly.

The group that was eliminated in the first round was "Intensity". This was a group that was made up by the judges. Ten of the boys and girls that tried out individually were given a second chance and put into one large group. I wouldn't have ranked this last on Wednesday night, but I am not surprised that they went home. 10 is too many people I think. Only 2 people had solos, the rest of the members were just background singers. They didn't really have a chance to shine because performances are limited to about 90 seconds.

I will now rank the following 11 starting from what I thought was the worst.
11. Lakoda Reign: Another group made up by the judges of the girls who weren't good enough to get through individually. They don't mesh well together, it was as simple as that

10. Leroy Bell: As you will shortly find out, I am not high on any of the groups of the over 30's. Bell just happens to be the worst of the over 30's in my opinion. It wasn't that he was bad, he just didn't shine as bright as the ones before him.

9. Stereo Hoggz: They were in the bottom two on Tuesday night, and only survived based on a vote from the judges. I was surprised they were in the bottom two, but like Leroy Bell, they didn't exactly shine. They put on a decent show, but nothing to make the fans think "they could win this thing".

8. Chris Rene: The worst boy of the night in my opinion, and the only boy or girl not in my top 5. Chris has a problem with finding emotion during his songs. He admits to performing better when he can connect with a song, which keeps me from ranking him too high. His performance Wednesday was better than the eighth best, but if a week comes where he can't "emotionally connect with his song choice" then I do not know how he will perform.

7 & 6. Josh Krajcik & Stacy Francis: I put them together because although they both did well, I can't see either of them winning the competition based on the fact I think the over 30's will run out of support eventually against the younger contestants. I also think having Nicole Scherzinger as their mentor will hurt them eventually. I do not think she is on the same level as the other three judges from a teaching point of view. The other three have mentored talent before, this is new for Nicole. And another reason is I just can't stand listening to her after every performance. I'm either going to have to start Fast Forwarding through her part, or muting my TV.

My top 5 is something I do not see changing as to who is in it, the order may change weekly however. I can see any of these 5, and only these 5,  winning this competition.

5. Melanie Amaro: I think has by far the best voice in the competition, but I am worried she can only sing ballads, which isn't bad for her future career, but might be problematic for her winning this competition. If she can broaden her horizon even a little bit, she could be the front runner.

4. Rachel Crow: The 13 year old sensation isn't in the top 5 because of her performance on Wednesday, because it was not her best. But her charisma and personality will make it very hard for people to vote against her. She does have an amazing voice, and I blame Simon for her performance this week because the song choice was poor. I think she will bounce back next week.

3. Marcus Canty: A young man whose mom told him he needed to find a money making career, or he was kicked out of his house. His decision was try out for X-Factor...I think it's working so far. The Bobby Brown comparisons should be all you need to hear. However, Nicole described his act on Wednesday as "not feeling like a performance, it felt like a concert." It was the only intelligent thing shes said since the show started, because he was all over that stage, and he knew how to own the moment.

2. Astro: My personal favorite, the 14 year old hip-hop sensation put together his own verse and as he as all competition, he killed it. Sometimes he gets too far into rapping about the name of the show, but I also get that he is trying to impress the judges. My ONLY concern for him is that people will eventually fall off of his Hip-Hop kick, and his votes will suffer. I hope I am wrong because he does have a lot of talent, and he will be a star whether or not he wins this competition. I just hope the voters realize that too.

1. The only other person who I think is destined for stardom already is Drew Ryniewicz. She is the favorite to win already in my opinion, and she already is quite a bit ahead of the field. What impressed me was her song on Wednesday. She sang "Just a Dream" by Nelly. Its a light R&B song, that happens to be one of my favorite songs by him. After hearing her sing it, I think I might like her version better. She killed it, her voice is so pure its unbelievable. I don't want to go out and hand her the crown yet...but it is definitely hers to lose right now.

So there you have my rankings for the week, I will try to keep this up even on weeks in which a blog is not due. It will depend on my workload for the week. If you watched, feel free to agree or disagree!!