RECAP: X Factor Finally Begins To Show True Talent

By Rosemary Vega on September 18, 2013@rosevega

X-Factor finally showed some real talent tonight when the auditions continued in Los Angeles, Charleston, and Long Island.

As always, the auditions featured the horrendous, the mediocre, and this time around, the incredible. Newbie judge, Paulina Rubio, missed a portion of the auditions due to a concert performance. Anyone else agree the panel was much more interesting without Rubio? Her comments add nothing original to the critiques. At least last season we had Britney Spears’ facial expressions to keep us entertained. But still, the judges have continued to agree on everything (4 yeses or 4 no’s), which leaves for some pretty dull critiques.

Anyway, the horrendous began with sisters Shirley and Cynthia. The tone deaf singers gave an awful rendition of the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back.” Simon, who couldn’t contain his laughter throughout the audition, told the duo it seemed like they were in their own competition of “who can sing the worst.” Harsh. But the bad continued with what Simon called “old fashioned” acts who tried to mimic the boy and girl band greats of the past, including Drama Drama. The girl group admitted they wanted to be like the Spice Girls, and gave an awful performance of “Party in the USA.” The song was full of off-key singing and awkward stopping and starting from random members that made the audition seem like one big mistake.

The mediocre are: Josh Levi, Millie Thrasher, Timmy Thames, Yellow House Canyon, Malie Delgado, and Colton Pack. All of these wannabe stars landed themselves with four yeses, since in comparison to the jokers (they have to be kidding right?), they probably do seem incredibly talented. In reality, they all had decent voices, but nothing stood out. Fourteen-year-old Josh Levi did sing a cool rendition of Selena Gomez’s “Come and Get It,” which showed some artistry. Kelly remarked “There’s nobody like you.” Really? Because his rendition reminded me quite a bit of Justin Bieber’s acoustic songs…

Somewhere in between the mediocre and the incredible lie Aknu, Brandie Love, and Jeff Gutt. Aknu sang “Valerie,” with one brother taking the lead singer role, while the other two simply provided the “Ooohs” and “Ahhhhs.” Their slick dance moves reminiscent of Bruno Mars, made for a pretty decent performance that landed them with yeses for all the judges. Twenty-year-old sweetie pie Brandie Love from North Carolina sang a nice rendition of “Up to the Mountain.” She showed control over her smooth voice, and (surprise surprise) also got yeses from all the judges.

And what would a singing reality competition be without some heartbreaking stories, which came to us in Carlos Guevara and Jeff Gutt. Carlos is a 16-year-old living with Tourette’s syndrome. The condition causes uncontrollable physical and vocal tics. His disorder got so bad, he had to leave his school. Luckily, music allowed him a getaway from the Tourette’s. With all his friends, who stuck by his side despite his condition, waiting backstage, he sang John Mayer’s “Gravity.” Doesn’t this story sound vaguely familiar? Oh yeah, Lazaro Arbos on American Idol last season had a heavy stutter that magically went away when he sang. Carlos proved he has a nice tone in his voice, but not much else. His performance seemed to be all over the place, sometimes sounding really good, and sometimes, not so much. But his story provided one of the feel good moments of the night, and he received four yeses.

Jeff Gutt’s name may seem familiar to those who watched X-Factor last season. He auditioned last year with a unique version of “Hallelujah,” which the judges all loved. He got the boot during boot camp and was completely heartbroken to have let his son down. But he came back for another shot. He sang a nasally version of “Don’t Wanna Miss Thing” by Aerosmith. Demi and Simon assured the judges he actually does have a great rocker voice. Simon stopped the audition and told him he was disappointed, but gave Jeff another chance. On his second try he sang “Creep” by Radiohead, which started off just okay. He ended the song strong, showing off his raspy rocker tone. Simon swore this time they weren’t letting him get away.

The incredible, surprising performance of the night was by super awkward Danie Greimer. Danie’s awkwardness came out during her package when someone told her they liked her glasses. Her response, “I read books… like about neuroscience.” The seemingly shy girl sang, “The House of the Rising Sun.” The shyness turned off and out came this confident singer with a powerful, soulful voice. Demi asked her to take her hat off once she was done performing, and told her how beautiful she actually is. I sense a “She’s All That” makeover is going to happen. Danie, so far, has been the only contestant I think could make it far.