X Factor USA Show Highlights – The First Two Episodes

The X Factor hit the ground running with Season 2. Wednesday night was filled with good talent, Britney, drama and of course, Simon. On the X Factor, you are sure of three things: Simon lusting after every young girl that graces the stage, there will be some scared girl who cries the moment the camera is focused on her and then there are the sentimental and touching backstage stories of the contestants that have a story that is beyond what we have every experienced. The judge’s panel consists of Simon Cowell, Demi Lovato from the Disney Channel, Britney Spears and L.A. Reid.

There were a few good singers on the stage tonight. Paige Thomas sang, “I’m Going Down.” Paige is a single mom of a beautiful daughter. Simon liked her so much that he asked her why she has not struck a record deal yet and with tears in her eyes, she said that she had been attending nursing school and taking care of her daughter. She received a Yes from all four judges.

Another excellent talent on the stage tonight was Jennel Garcia. She is 18 years old and L.A. Reid said she was a “feisty little fireball.” She received a Yes from all four sitting at the judges panel. She sang “Paris” from Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.

Then we come to the worst. First up was Vincent Thomas who sang “Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word” by Elton John. Simon told him that he was bland and dull. As expected, Vincent got 4 No’s from the panel.

Then there was Kaci Newton who tried to take on Katy Perry’s song “Firework.” Kaci isn’t one of the nicest people in the pact either. We saw quite a bit of her backstage antics which made her look ugly, at least on the inside even though on she is beautiful through outward appearances. She complained about an contestants’ daughter spilling a substance on her outfit and in the same breath, she claimed herself the top of the pact among other contestants, even though she had not gone out to perform as of yet. She was horrible. She screeched instead of singing and she was so off-key. Needles to say, she received 4 big fat No’s. Simon told her she sounded like she was dying.

Paige Thomas is definitely one to watch out for. I think she is going to go a long way in this competition.

Thursday night took us to Round 2 of auditions. They showed five full performances but only two were anything worth talking about. Those two were Jason Brock, a cabaret show boater and Carly Rose Soneclair, a cute preteen with a whole lot of talent.

Patrick Ford was one of the worst singers I have seen audition on any talent show. His dream, besides singing is to marry Britney Spears. He even went as far to say that if he won, he would buy a mansion that they could live in together. But he also stated that he felt Britney was his long lost sister. Not sure what is going on there. He even auditioned with her song, “Circus” which he completely ruined. He was devastated not only when he received flat denials from the panel but was heartbroken when even his love gave him a NO.

Johnny Maxwell is a 16 year old who sang one of his songs called “All These People.” He did well by impressing the judges with his high energy and his great entertaining. He had great vocals and so much passion. He may not have what it takes to win this competition but he has the potential to go pretty far.

There were two contestants that were not just good, they were amazing. Let’s start with the flamboyant Jason Brock. Jason is 34 years old and works as a tech support operator. Simon’s face was priceless when Jason came onto the stage looking like Liberace, however. But when he opened his mouth and started to sing, he was just fabulous. His vocals were on the mark each and every note during his rendition of “New York State of Mind.” When he was done his performance, you expected a standing ovation and that is exactly what he got. The judges all loved him, without a doubt.

Just as great was 13 year old Carly Rose Soneclair. She looked much younger than 13 but she sounded a lot older than her age. After hearing Jason, I thought no one could take away his spotlight but I was wrong. Carly stole the show when she sang “Feeling Good” by Nina Simone. The judges had nothing but amazing comments on her performance and were shocked that a young girl like her had a voice that sounded so mature. There is not a doubt in my mind that Carly is going to be on this show for quite some time.