‘X Factor’ Pares Down to Top Eight in Thanksgiving Massacre
Thanks for nothing, X Factor. After an enjoyable day of stuffing our belly alongside family and friends, we came home to a total bummer of a double elimination on Thanksgiving night.
While Arin Ray’s 10th-place departure from the show was expected – he’s been circling the drain for a while – it was the tearful ouster of cutesy pie Beatrice Miller that made us wish we hadn’t turned on the TV. (Adding insult to injury was that Paige Thomas got off scott free, somehow avoiding the bottom three despite a poor performance last night – and pretty much every night.)
The worst part was that poor little Beatrice saw it coming, like a train barreling down on her when there was nothing she could do. It started with a lip quiver as the totally dysfunctional duo of Khloe Kardashian and Mario Lopez told act after act they were safe, then quickly moved into full-blown tears as Beatrice learned she’d have to sing for survival against two-time bottom dweller CeCe Frey (guess America is filled with heart- and soul-less viewers). Before you knew it, you were watching a sobbing 13-year-old’s dreams get crushed on what should have been a happy day. Call it a Thanksgiving she’ll never forget – most likely because it’ll keep coming up over and over in future therapy sessions.
The usually bubbly Beatrice, wearing a sadly ironic “popular” hat, could barely make it through her sing-off song, the heart-wrenchingly apropos “White Flag” by Dido, as tears welled up and her voice cracked on the lyric “I will go down with this ship, I won’t put my hands up and surrender.” Then, we were forced to watch a little girl’s heart break over and over as three out of four of the judges said she was the one who should go home. Final vote-caster Simon Cowell seemed to pull the trigger out of pity, presumably knowing she didn’t have a chance in hell of winning and sparing us the grief of watching this all unfold again a few weeks down the line. As reality sunk in, Beatrice broke down and hung her head while apologizing to her family for “letting them down.” Talk about a holiday buzzkill.
And with that, mentor Britney Spears lost two of her Teens in one night, leveling the playing field by leaving each mentor with two acts in the Top Eight. On the flipside, though, teen Carly Rose Sonenclar squeaked into the Number One position on the leaderboard, overtaking Tate Stevens for the first time based on her spot-on performance of “Over the Rainbow.” Coming in third for the third week in a row, despite a rousing rendition of “God Bless the USA,” was Vino Alan, whose own mentor, L.A. Reid, implied he’s perpetually stuck there because he’s not rock star material.
Amid the emotional chaos, the show tried to cheer us up by throwing in an upbeat performance by British X Factor finalist Cher Lloyd, who sang her new single “Oath.” Between her and One Direction a few weeks ago, we feel like the show is trying too hard to prove it is relevant, even though the first two U.S. seasons have so far failed to produce a superstar. (Sorry, Melanie Amaro fans.)
But what actually put a smile on our face for a split second was an unintentionally funny moment between rumored rivals Britney and Khloe, who incorrectly stated that Brit Brit has kids Beatrice’s age. An honest mistake or a subtle dig? While the 30-year-old pop princess may inexplicably look like she’s pushing 40 these days, her kids are still only elementary school age. Kim’s Amazonian kid sister better tread lightly if she doesn’t want to find herself “reassigned.”
Previously: Demi Lovato Tears Up During Emotional ‘X Factor’ Performances