By Jessica Galang
This is it: The last show of the season and the last chance for finalists Fifth Harmony, Carly Rose Sonenclar and Tate Stevens to impress America and the judges. Each of the contestants had a chance to perform alone with their “song of the season”, a song that each artist felt was their best of the whole show, and perform a duet with a celebrity. Fifth Harmony was paired with Demi Lovato, Tate Stevens was paired with Little Big Town, and Carly Rose Sonenclar was paired with LeAnn Rimes. Their final song towards the end of the show was supposed to be “worth $5 million.”
In a special performance dedicated to the victims of the Sandy Hook shootings, all of the former contestants came together at the beginning of the show and sang “You are Not Alone,” while the names of all the victims appeared on the screen. It’s touching when a huge production like X-Factor gives back.
All of my favourites happen to be from each contestant’s last performance of the night. Perhaps because all of the contestants realized “Holy crap, this is my last song.” They all really belted it out for this performance.
Here are my three picks:
Fifth Harmony — “Let it Be” by The Beatles ($5 million song)
While I enjoyed their “Anything Could Happen” performance, they’ve performed that song so many times that I’m just done with it (okay, I know, it was only twice). I felt like this song showed their individual vocal talents, while at the same time allowing them to sing together in classic Fifth Harmony fashion. I have to agree with the judges that Fifth Harmony have come really far in the competition and aren’t as boring as I originally thought. “You guys really did this song a lot of justice.” LA said. Simon Cowell, the girls’ mentor, said he’s beyond proud and that they deserve to win the competition.
Tate Stevens – “Tomorrow” by Chris Young ($5 million song)
Although his performance with Little Big Town was fun and energetic, it looked like an awkward high school talent show. I thought his song of the season, “Anything Goes,” was really well done and I was originally going to pick that for my favourite, but this one just overshadowed it. You can always see in his face and his strong stage presence how badly he wants to win. “I genuinely believe that in a year’s time we’ll be hearing about your record sales. You’ve had a really good night.” Simon said. Twitter user @CrystalCama12 tweeted: His final performance and he still never fails to give me goosebumps. Simply amazing! @tatestevensctry #TateNation.”
Carly Rose Sonenclar – “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen ($5 million song) Read more…
By Jessica Galang and Brittany Mahaney
Khloe Kardashian made her prime time hosting debut last night along with Mario Lopez and the Twitter community was pretty impressed. Every performer put their own personal spin on popular songs which made for a lively Halloween show.
Jessica’s choices
“Hey Soul Sister” Diamond White
Diamond put a fun and playful hip-hop spin on a song that’s fairly mellow and simple. Her performance was upbeat, and despite the high-energy of the dancers and stage, her voice didn’t waver and she was solid the whole way through. You could tell Britney Spears was her judge considering the high production value.
“Won’t Give Up On Us” — Beatrice Miller
Her stage setup, which included a dark background lit by comets and stars, contributed to the haunting ambience of the song. She used the “fragility in her voice,” as her mentor Britney called it, to her advantage and allowed the audience to feel the pain in the song. LA said the key to stardom is “believability, and I believe in you, I love you!”
“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” — 1432 Read more…
