Saturday, November 17, 2012

The X Factor US: Taylor Swift's 'State of Grace' Performance And A Surprising Double Eliminations

The X Factor US Season 2

I have a good news and a double dose of bad news. The good news is, Taylor Swift performed one of her singles in The X Factor's Top 12 Elimination Night. The bad news is, due to the redux episode brought about by Diamond White's comeback, two acts have been eliminated this week.

So let's focus on the good new first: Taylor Swift has made an appearance on the show to perform her State of Grace single included in the recently released multi-million dollar album, Red. Red is the new green, as in many will be jealous of that red-colored microphone the star has been using throughout her performance! For sure, every Taylor Swift fan will be rushing to the nearest music store to buy one, if they could find any.


Taylor Swift proves she's flawless than ever, but this time with a grander sound reminiscent of U2's guitar-driven songs with melodramatic overtones. The night just got bigger and bigger with audience screaming like it's the Apocalypse already -- no wonder this episode was among the ones with higher ratings, ranking second in it's time slot and #6 during that night. Thanks to Taylor, the show's usual #3 or #4 rank elevated a few notches.

On the other side, the bad news is, LYRIC 145 and Jennel Garcia are both going home after receiving the lowest public votes and most numbers of thumbs down from the judges. I am sure there were much worse performances during the Top 12 Live Performance other than these two acts, but the results were already final.

The bottom three for the night were LYRIC 145, which was eliminated instantly, and Jennel Garcia and Paige Thomas, who both sang for survival and for the votes of the judges.

Let's take a look back on the last performances of the eliminated contestants:

LYRIC 145's Sudden Death Elimination


The very moment the show started the crowd was greeted by a sudden death elimination based on the lowest number of public votes. But the sport members of LYRIC 145 faced the moment with full acceptance and a full smile on their faces. They were eliminated even before Taylor Swift could perform her song!

The group's mash-up performance of Queen's We Will Rock You and Katy Perry's E.T. during the Top 12 Live Shows was agreeably not their best, but their previous acts were very good actually. That's why Mario Lopez's announcement was met by a jarring boo from the disappointed studio audience.

Jennel Garcia Voted Out by the Judges


Majority of the judges decided to let go of Jennel Garcia instead of Paige Thomas. Her performance of Hoobastank's The Reason didn't make quite a say against Paige's Paradise originally by Coldplay. With the exception of Demi Lovato, the judges -- LA Reid, Britney Spears and Simon Cowell -- agreed that it's her time to go. Simon Cowell, as always, harshly stated it was an easy decision and felt that Thomas has star potential after watching her final showdown performance.


Next week we will be able to see the Top 10 once again for their live performances on November 21, to be followed by the elimination night on the 22nd. Cher Loyd will take a short visit to perform Oath, the fourth single from her Americanized Sticks + Stones album. Giving Thanks will be the theme of the show.

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