What better way to cap off a week of giving thanks than with a double elimination?'The X Factor' found an excellent way to make the hour of filler pass more speedily this week, fitting in performances from Kelly Clarkson and Bruno Mars as well as two "save me" songs and two remarkably drama-free exits.
Without further adieu, the two acts eliminated this week were ...
Lakoda Rayne and LeRoy Bell.
We were treated to our first exit before the show hit the 25 minute mark, when Steve Jones called Lakoda Rayne and Drew to the center of the stage for the verdict. Even after Simon and L.A.'s childish argument during last night's show, there was no real danger of Drew going home, and though she had the good grace to look honestly nervous, it was the the end of the line for the Lakodas.
It was clear that the group knew that they had been living on borrowed time (didn't we all?) but they exited with composure and grace, with one of the interchangeable girls insisting "the dream is not over ... you'll be seeing Lakoda Rayne in concert everywhere!" It's an ominous threat, but somehow, I'm not too concerned that it'll come to fruition. Paula took it well, all things considered, and if this is anything like the UK 'X Factor,' she now has a front row seat at the judges' table for the rest of the season, without the bias that the other mentors have.
Perhaps the biggest shock of the night was that Astro wasn't in the bottom three, proving that his tantrum last week hasn't sullied his image -- or that his "Astro-nauts" are more of a force to be reckoned with than we thought. That left Marcus Canty and LeRoy Bell to sing for survival.
Marcus sang Christina Aguilera's 'You Lost Me,' which I found a little weak at the beginning. He gained strength as he went, and I think the stripped-down performance was just what he needed to show off a little more of his range. LeRoy gave a raspy rendition of 'Don't Let Me Down' that started strong but got wobblier as it went, but his higher notes are always a pleasure to listen to. I thought the pair were fairly evenly matched this week, although Marcus is undoubtedly the more charismatic performer overall.
L.A. unsurprisingly sided with his boy, imploring his fellow judges, "Marcus Canty has delivered time and time and time again -- if we're talking about who could be a massive star, it's Marcus Canty."
Nicole naturally went the other way, praising her contestant for proving that it's never too late to follow your dreams and never too late to change, voting to send Marcus home.
Paula loved both artists and thought that both could have strong careers (doubtful), but chose to send home Marcus because she felt that LeRoy had given a stronger "save me" performance.
Simon thought that Marcus was nudging ahead of LeRoy in the overall competition, but admitted that LeRoy had delivered more than Marcus did with tonight's song. He decided to send the vote to deadlock by choosing to eliminate LeRoy, meaning that the contestant with the lowest total votes out of the pair would be the one going home.
America's vote thus eliminated LeRoy, and he, too, had a classy exit. "I'm actually feeling okay," he told Steve. "It was a great ride, it was a wonderful journey ... I gave it my all tonight. I'm okay."
A farewell as bland as many of his performances have been, but respectable nonetheless. Now that we've cut much of the dead weight (by ridding ourselves of the groups entirely and taking out two-thirds of the Over 30s) here's hoping that the competition can really begin. At this stage, I think it's safe to say that Melanie and Josh are the ones to beat, but did Astro's close call in the bottom two invigorate his fans to fight harder for him? Only time will tell.
'The X Factor' airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8PM ET on Fox.
Were you surprised to see LeRoy or Lakoda Rayne exit? Did you think Astro would be in the bottom two?
Follow Laura on Twitter: @LauinLA
'The X Factor' Sneak Peek
- 'The X Factor' Cast
- 'The X Factor' Cast
- 'The X Factor' Judges
- Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell
- Host Steve Jones Backstage
- 'The X Factor' Judges
- Simon Cowell, Judge
- Steve Jones, Host of 'The X Factor'
- L.A. Reid, Judge
- Paula Abdul, Judge
- Nicole Scherzinger, Judge
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