RECAP: Paulina Picks Her Final Four Boys

By Rosemary Vega on October 10, 2013@rosevega

Last night’s episode of X Factor reassured that Paulina Rubio has no idea what she’s doing/talking about, and that she has the weakest team in the competition with the Boys.

The show began with Al Calderon. The performance, as I’ve said in previous recaps, proved that narrowing down the contestants based on one performance was a huge mistake. The cutie-pie ,that girls obviously love regardless of his talent, performed a strange, shaky version of “Call Me Maybe.” Simon told him, “We can make you into a much better singer.” (Auto-tune?). And Al gets a seat.

But the disappointing performances didn’t stop there. Isaiah Alston, who wowed the judges in his first audition, failed to find the right key during his performance of “The Greatest Love of All,” and was sent home on the spot. Football player Isaac Tauaefa was also sent home after his nerves clearly took over during his dull performance of Colbie Caillat’s “Bubbly.”

Carlos Guevara broke the spell of absolutely awful singing with “Ain’t No Sunshine.” This time around was much better than his audition, but he needs to work on his stage presence. Having your eyes closed for 99% of the song doesn’t allow for much connection. After telling the judges he doesn’t “want to be a sob story, I just want to be an inspiration,” (remember, he has Tourette’s), he gets a seat. Also getting a seat is One Direction- obsessed Stone Martin, who sang Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn.” (Hm, didn’t One Direction sing that when they were on X Factor?)(Also, take a drink for the mention of 1D, don’t think we forgot about that drinking game) Finally, to complete the four before any switches occur, Chase Goehring sang “Airplanes,” which showed that many of these young guys lack so much experience.

Next up, nervous guy Tim Olstad. He showed that there is some talent in this competition with his rendition of “The Climb.” While Demi said she couldn’t see him being let go of the competition, Paulina had to wonder if he’s special enough. She switched him with Stone Martin, which, was a bad move at this point. It should have been Al or Chase. Carlito Olivera also got a seat, sending Chase home, as he sort of impressed the judges with his spanglish version of “Dreaming of You.” The performance had it’s highs and lows, and made Kelly wish he “would have gained more control of that vocal.”

Timmy Thames sang “The New Girl in Town,” which had the young girls in the audience screaming. Kelly called him a “little Michael Jackson.” While Demi didn’t understand his appeal, Paulina did and he got a seat. Who would be sent home? Tim. The boo’s in the audience were loud and clear. So loud, that Paulina realized how dumb her decision was, and she quickly took it back. So Tim took his seat again, which left Al packing.

Finally, 14- year old Josh Levi performed a slightly pitchy “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” The judges all loved him, so much so, that Paulina gave him, in another stupid move, Timmy Thames’ seat. And with that, Paulina has her final four: Carlos, Carlito, Tim, and Josh.

Finally, Simon’s turn for the Four Chair Challenge began. The first four to perform all got seats, which will surely lead to some “drama” in tonight’s episode. Girls United and Glamour, both trios of all girls, performed with decent vocals and cutesy choreographed dances. The difference? It fit for Glamour, but as Demi put it, was a “little young” for Girls United. Both groups probably won’t stick around anyway.

The “Country man band,” as they put it, made up of Andrew, Zack, and Colton, was put together by Simon after the three were cut as solo acts. Demi called Simon a genius for putting these guys together, and we have to agree. Not only are these guys super adorable, but they can actually sing well together. Wild Thingz, a rap?pop?joke? duo, also got a seat, which again, probably won’t last, seeing as Simon didn’t even seem to understand how or why they got this far…