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MMTV: Mediocre Music TV
Edition #8: The X Factor's Top 16 and my
thoughts on who should win
Written by: Wences Acosta
Well Well Well...The moment has finally arrived for XF to let us know
who made it to the live shows. We have been through inspirational
performances to attention seeking whores to total wipeouts, and after
all is said and done, we have survived. Now, I have ranked all 16
Finalists, some lower then expected because this year is so stiff in the
competition, and I will countdown from 16 to 1 on who I think will
win....Why Top 16? Because that's how many finalists there are *laughs*.
Now, you will notice my rankings will go like this: Obviously I will
post who made what spot and why I think they deserve that spot, however,
the way I narrowed this list down is based on not only skill but how I
see them doing in a Sing Off, because anyone can survive and not and up
in the Bottom 2, but as anyone has seen, The Bottom 2 is anyone's
ballgame (MK1 Shouldn't have went home....Kye's Final Song was beautiful
but MK1 were more consistant and more entertaining).
With that
said....Here we go
#16:
Sister C
Acts They Can Beat: 0
I honestly believe that them making it through was a fluke based on
how bland Dope Crisis were and how lost Playback were. If they stuck
with 3 acts per judge, then there would be no way they would make it
through. I can almost guarentee that if they were in a Final Showdown,
Britney and/or Demi would be the ones to vote against them. I do not see
any public liking them besides a small demographic, and the odds of them
changing my mind are very slim. For example, last year, I did not like
Lakoda Rayne at all but one performance changed my mind somewhat. The
first actual Live Show that America could have voted for they sang a
brilliant rendition of Landslide. Afterwards they REALLY screwed up,
even ending up in the Bottom 2 the next week, but the fact they had a
good performance is what counts. I do not see them lasting.
(Simon: 3 Acts Left)
#15:
Paige Thomas
Acts She Can Beat: 2
I like her, but we have to be honest with ourselves in the sense
that she is there from sheer luck along with Jannel Garcia who I will
get to soon. She came out of the gates with an amazing performance of
"I'm Going Down", but then once Boot Camp hit....She just wasn't there
anymore. Maybe it was nerves or maybe it was something in the air
because I had to throw in a random Mark Whalberg reference, but she
wasn't there. I like her as a person, but as a performer she does not
have what it takes to make it to the finish line. She could change my
mind, but honestly I don't see her surviving.
(Demi: 3 Acts Left)
#14:
Beatrice Miller
Acts She Can Beat: 3
She came out
of nowhere for me. Her audition song left little to no impression on me
and she did a decent version of Pumped Up Kicks but it was nothing
major. Her voice shined in her version of Titanium as I mentioned, but
going against everyone else it is just not enough in my eyes. She has
little to no personality, her voice is decent but not good enough to
what a Live Show should be. On a positive note, she has a unique quality
to her voice and I do mean that in a good way, but her odds are not
looking good.
(Britney : 3 Acts Left)
#13:
Jannel
Garcia
Acts She Can Beat: 4
She is the first act on the fence,
and here is why: Her Actual Attitude. She came out as a firecracker
choosing a perfect left field song choice and had my expectations high,
but just like Paige as she advanced my expectation of her went down and
went down fast. The only light in the tunnel is the fact that she made
it to the live shows. The Live Shows are about being spicy, about being
entertaining, and she has that factor. If Demi can let her be herself
and stop giving her advice that will harm her down the road, then she
will do fine. For now though, this is how it must be.
(Demi: 2
Acts Left)
#12:
Jason Brock
Acts He Can Beat: 4
The
first of the Over Agers, and boy this one was tough to rank....mainly
for I didn't know how low to put him. The thing about him is he has the
charisma and personality and even has the voice to back everything up,
but the problem is he just isn't memorable for anything besides being
the gay guy. I have tried seeing him survive in my head, but to me he is
a combination of Adam Lambert (US Idol) and Rylan Clark (Of Current UK X
Factor Fame). He has the talent and people will want to watch him, but
like Sanjaya there is going to become a point during the shows when it
becomes less about entertainment and more about who can actually work a
mic, and quite frankly he is deep in the water when it comes to that
(L.A.: 3 Acts Left)
#11:
Arin Ray
Acts He Can Beat: 4
Ok, i'm noticing a pattern in my review so far as being a bit
negative but I swear I will start looking at the bright side
here....somewhat. Arin Ray is an interesting out of nowhere contender to
actually make a star out of himself. Think about it if you will, Last
year he was in this spot but in a group that quite frankly he had no
business in. He came back this year basically to say fuck everyone and
make a name just for himself. The main issue he has however is what I
call "Marcus Canty" syndrome. Last year, Marcus came out and did nothing
but just be there, he wasn't good but he wasn't bad. The main thing he
made a name for himself for was somehow someway surviving 3 Final
Showdowns (Leroy Bell, Drew, and Rachel Crow) before finally being
eliminated for the lowest votes in the final 4. Arin rubs me off that
way in the sense that I can't see him surviving for his skill but rather
for his luck. We shall see where he goes but for now....this is his
place.
(Britney: 2 Acts Left)
#10:
Lylas (Name Change
To Be Determined)
Acts They Can Beat: 6
Now I would like to
touch on something before I actually get down to business. For those who
don't know, there is a reason why there is a name change here. You know
who Bruno Mars is, right? Well try and imagine his 4 sisters also in a
girl group called The Lylas who basically caused an online shitstorm
saying that these girls stole their name from them, so now a week before
The Live Shows, they are trying to find a name that hasn't been used by
anyone else. I personally think that is Bullshit, but I digress. When it
comes to them, I touched on it a little bit in my last report saying how
it feels that they are just Lakoda Rayne 2.0 only somewhat good. There
is a reason they made my Top 10 though, and that is not only their skill
but the fact that they can actually keep it together as a group. I can
see them surviving a singoff, but somehow getting eliminated down the
way because of Lowest Votes. I will keep my eye on them, not waiting for
their elimination but rather to see how they improve.
(Simon: 2
Acts Left)
#9:
David Correy
Acts He Can Beat: 8
The
"Leroy Bell" of the group. He can sing, He has the likeability factor,
and the unique ability to not only make a song his own but not sound
like a copycat from a coffeeshop. The main issue is if America can get
behind him. I can see him making it midway before something happens,
because the thing is I can see him surviving the first few rounds but
then once we try to find out who the best of the best is, SOMETHING is
going to happen. Whether he loses a sing off or gets eliminated via
votes, he will not win. I will be rooting for him, but i'm not expecting
much.
(L.A.: 2 Acts Remaining)
#8:
CeCe Frey
Acts
She Can Beat: 8
So, here is an interesting situation: She can
sing, She can entertain, She is Memorable, she has the whole
package....So what is the issue? The one main thing she must work on is
her choice of music. Look at her 3 main choices if you must. For her
audition, she sang "Aint No Other Man" from Christina Aguilara, and
showed her confidence, which is fine and all. Her Boot Camp song was "I
Will Always Love You" which showed her ability to outshine most. Finally
her song for Judges House was Sexy and I Know It with a little twist.
What do these 3 songs have in common? They are all left field songs that
most would not go to, but considering who we are dealing with, were
predictable. She does well when she goes outside her comfort zone of not
being a diva (THAT'S WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR!) as shown in her
performance of "Secrets" from Onerepublic. If she could just stop being
a Little Miss Thing and actually show us who she is as an artist and not
as a person, then she should be fine, if not then expect her in a
Singoff within the first 2-3 weeks tops.
(Demi: 1 Act Left)
#7:
Diamond White
Acts She Can Beat: 9
Now, here is the
main one I was shocked with. There is one more coming up who I did not
see myself ranking so high, but I will get to him when I get to him. For
now though, let me shine a light on Diamond (Hehe). For a young girl,
she has a very VERY beautiful voice, and I can see her going VERY far
based on that alone and her cuteness. Hell, even though her and Carly
Rose are neck and neck, she is still making a name for herself. The one
element that scares me about her though and that is her ability to be in
The Final Showdown. Take Rachel Crow for instance, she was very cute,
very likeable, and her voice was amazing, but one singoff later and we
have our most memorable breakdown of Season 1. If Diamond can keep up
with the big boys, then she will be fine, and I can see her giving one
hell of a fight if she does end up in Final Showdown....But to actually
survive, the odds are not in her favor.
(Britney: 1 Act Left)
#6:
Tate Stevens
Acts He Can Beat: 10
Now, before I
actually started doing comparisons and trying to figure out who has the
best odds in Final Showdown, I was expecting Tate to be in the middle of
the pack. Color me surprised when I realize that he is one of the most
versatile artists in this years Top 16. To do a Country Version of "Back
at 1" is Ballsy, but he pulls it off. It has been shown that he can do
Country oh so well, but it's nice to think that he can adjust himself to
other rounds like a Dance or Rock Round (If he does not pull out a
version of "Devil Went Down to Georgia", I for one will be very
dissappointed). The only fear I have with him is that no matter what he
sings, he will always have that country tone, and even though it worked
well on Idol 2 seasons ago with Scotty McCreery, I can not say the same
here. His best bet is to stay with his roots but give a twist to it so
it won't be another Melanie Amauro win (In the sense that she only won
for singing Whitney and Mariah and other big voice diva songs. No easy
task, but still...)
(L.A.: 1 Act Left)
#5:
Lyric 145
Acts They Can Beat: 10
Now, before anyone looks at me funny, yes
I had a feeling they were going to be in my Top 5, but for the record I
am NOT showing any favortism in this article. Will I anticipate them
every week? Hells Yeah Buddy! Will I hope that they can make it to The
Finals? YES! Will I Lose My Dignity and Will Someone Care?!? *crickets*
Ok, nobody got that, MOVING ON!. Between the 3 groups that were thrown
together for Judges Houses (Lylas, Playback, and Lyric 145), they are
the most connective at this point. They understand where each member
comes from between Original Group 145 and Female Rapper Lyric Da Queen.
After the death of Adam Yauch which has basically stopped The Beastie
Boys in it's tracks, we as Americans need a Hip Hop group like this. I
ca not only see them making it towards the end but if they end up in
Final Showdown, they will survive once maybe even twice. I see good
things in their future.
(Simon: 1 Act Left)
In my Top 4,
each judge has one act remaining. No, I did not plan it this way, it
just happened. With that said....
#4:
Willie Jones
Acts He
Can Beat: 10
Now, remember when I was talking about Diamond when
I said there was one that I was shocked where he was ranked? This is
him. I know I have spoke slander of him, but hear me out. He has proven
what he can do with the material when given to him, such as his
Redemption version of "Nobody Knows". He has proven that he can actually
go half country and half RNB, which even though Demi said that was a
weakness, I think that is his best strength. If he gets sick of doing
Country Styled Songs, he can always surprise the voting audience by
singing a slow ballad. I see him as the biggest underdog story going
into this, as out of everyone on Team Demi, he has the best shot of
surviving. Expect a few surprises from this one.
(Demi: 0 Acts
Remaining. Her Team is Officially Eliminated)
#3:
Emblem3
Acts They Can Beat: 12
Love Them or Hate Them (My Boyfriend
absolutely despises them), they have made enough of an impression to
make it into The Top 16. I have no category for them, which is a REALLY
good thing at this point of the game considering how everyone is giving
me DeJaVu of last year. They are very original as seen in their Audition
and Judges House Songs, and they know when to tone it down as seen in
their version of Iris. I know they have claimed time after time that
they are not a boy band, but honestly I see them as The One Direction of
the year, in the sense that as he weeks progress they will get more and
more fans to the point of no return. Even if they lost, someone will
snag them up and they will come out with at least one radio hit (so in a
sense, the Chris Rene of this year). Time will tell with this group, but
I honestly see them as one of 3 contenders for the title.
(Simon:
0 Acts Remaining. His Team is Officially Eliminated)
#2:
Vino
Allen
Acts He Can Beat: 14
As you can tell, I pratically have
him booked as unstoppable with the exception of one person who I will
get to in just a moment. Like Lyric 145, I have shown favortism towards
him, however unlike Lyric 145 I can actually see him being a full on no
holds barred musician. When he sings, he lays his soul on the line with
the sounds of sacrifice that only a pure artist can come up with. His
version of Sober was so brilliant because not only did it have the raw
emotion but it mixed in his style with a hint of Rocker Voice. I want to
see this man in the finals, and if he ever ends up in Final Showdown, he
will wipe them all out. There is still one person who I have not talked
about yet....
(L.A.: 0 Acts Remaining. His Team is Officially
Eliminated)
#1:
Carly Rose Sonenclair
Acts She Can Beat: 15
In My honest reviewer opinion, she is THE beast that can tear down
the season with a passion that can only be matched up by Senor Vino. She
has the voice, she has the cuteness, the memorable factor, the
uniqueness, and quite frankly to be blunt she has the total package. Let
that sink in for a second, I just said a 13 year old girl has the total
package to be a superstar. It is true though, as I can honestly say she
is the only one who I can see making it straight to the finals without
having a Final Showdown. If she does end up in The Bottom 2, then there
is no way the judges can vote against her (With, of course, the
exception being the judge who's act is going against her). If she gets
eliminated, you can expect this reviewer to eat his hat (I have a nice
Winnie the Pooh cap if that counts). Overall though, we have our winner.
Now, next week and throughout the Live Shows, I will be doing things
differently. I will send Senor Robert a live report of the performance
night, and who I think will be in the Bottom 2. Then the next night,
during The Results, I will post about The Final Showdown and my thoughts
and comments on that, LIVE. So, with that said.....Let's Get Ready to
Rumble folks.
If you have any opinions or comments, please let me
know at Slackercub@yahoo.com.
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