Posted on 10/04/2012 by Todd in The X Factor

by Todd Betzold
During the first day of Boot Camp on The X Factor, we the number of acts cut in half! Simon Cowell and the gang cut the numbers down, as they went from 120 acts to 60 acts. Those acts continue on in their journey to make it to the live shows! It is battle time tonight, so the acts take each other on singing the same song, so expect some drama between CeCe Frey and Paige Thomas!
It is now Day 2 of Boot Camp and the judges have put the remaining 60 in pairs that will sing against each other. One can make it, both can make it or neither can make it! Some of the pairings: Tara Simon versus Jennel Garcia, Vino Alan versus David Correy, Paige Thomas versus CeCe Frey and L3VEL versus Emblem3. They get to pick the song, so that gives them an advantage but we see people arguing over songs already. By the end of Day 2, there will be only 24 acts left that will head to the judges' homes.
Tara Simon picks "Landslide" as their song, even though Jennel said it would have been nice to sing something in her style. Tara controls the situation and I want to smack her, but then I want Jennel to outshine her big time. Jennel starts it out and sounds amazing. In the pre-tape, she said she doesn't need to hit the big notes all the time, but does these stupid runs in the song and then ends on this huge high note. Simon said it was a terrible song choice and it may hurt them and guessed that Tara chose the song for them. I think Tara goes home and Jennel stays.
Now it is time for Beatrice Miller and Carly Rose Sonenclar. They may be young, but they do awesome. They do "Pumped Up Kicks" and it sounds awesome and a totally different rendition of it. Good job girls!
David Correy and Vino Alan hit the stage and David gives some speech about the judges being the four roadblocks of him getting to his dreams. They sing "What's Going On" and it seems they do okay, but it is not a huge song to take on. David thinks he did well, but Vino leaves the stage pissed off and hits some walls and says he screwed up his huge opportunity.
Next up are Diamond White versus Dinah Jane Jansen and they sing "Stronger." They are both nervous and want to do this for their families. Simon said they have both done great up until this point, so no need to be nervous. They do a slow version of the song and Dinah starts it out well even though she forgot the lyrics, but Diamond ends it even better and hits a huge note. Diamond totally outshined her.
Sister C and Lauren Jauregi battle and sound good, but Demi and Britney don't like Sister C. Simon said it is fair to say they don't want Sister C and Sister C doesn't want them. Brandon Hassan and Reed Deming take the stage and Reed is such a Justin Bieber lookalike. Julia Bullock and Ally Brooke and both sound very good. Demi said Jeffrey Gutt has a fired in his eyes, but Simon said he thinks he has had his moment.
It's the country battle, as Tate Stevens and Willie Jones take the stage. They will be singing "Nobody Knows" and Willie starts it out pretty decent, but then forgets the words and chokes. Tate gets his turn and gives me chills. He has an amazing voice and you can feel the emotion in his voice. They ask Willie if he knew the song and he said no and Tate knew the song. The judges then say that Tate played him.
Arin Ray and Normani Hamilton are next and they say there is some chemistry between then, but both are focused on the competition and not on dating. Arin was put in a group last year, even though he came to the auditions alone. Now he wants to make it on his own this year. They have some chemistry on stage, but Arin bothers me and I hate that he came back and has another chance. You made the show last year! Demi said he her heart is melting for him.
Jillian Jensen and Latasha Robinson are next and Latasha doesn't work well in a group she said, so she is glad they won't be harmonizing together. Latasha feels she can take Jillian. She can't take her down when she forget the lyrics and starts crying and says she can't do it. The thing I love is Jillian was saying the lyrics to her and trying to help...she is a class act! Jillian then sings and sounds amazing and has so much emotion when she sings. The song ends and Latasha said she knew all the words in the back and is sorry and Jillian said she really did and did great abck there.
Freddie Combs and Jessie Bryant take the stage and suck it up. The lyrics are bad and both screw up. The nerves keep going strong, as singer after singer hits the stage and keeps forgetting the words. This is your chance to shine and they know it is huge and they are letting the nerves get the best of them!
The battle they have been playing up is about to happen: CeCe Frey versus Paige Thomas. They will be singing "Secrets" by OneRepublic and Paige is not feeling confident about it. CeCe picked the song and then when asked about it onstage, she said Paige picked it. I am not a fan of her at all and she seems so fake. They both give some emotional speeches on why they should win before singing. Paige sounds good, as does CeCe, but I think the song choice sucked. Simon said they both looked exhausted.
We have to wait until next week to find out who moves on to the judges' houses. The judges will also find out who what group they will mentor for and L.A. gets pissed about something and he says he is out! What do you think it is?
The X Factor airs on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8/7c on FOX.
(Image courtesy of FOX)
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