...yeah, I don't care either.

Cast To Lose plus Hired Panel For Nervous Breakdowns.

• All Dirge Radio,Snidget, 08:39 PM, 10-12-12
• X-Factor so far (final 6),AyaK, 02:57 AM, 12-06-12
  • RE: X-Factor so far (final 6),csnumber23, 09:28 PM, 12-08-12
    • RE: X-Factor so far (final 6),TWoman, 01:54 PM, 12-09-12
      • RE: X-Factor so far (final 6),AyaK, 10:38 AM, 12-21-12
        • RE: X-Factor so far (final 6),newager, 03:19 PM, 01-21-13
• Recap,AyaK, 03:03 PM, 12-21-12

Or based on the bit I caught tonight that is what everyone seems to think is the only way to prove they are artistic or talented or something.

Can we get anyone to "make it their own" by doing something other than slowing it down to ridiculously slow?

Dirge version after Dirge version after Dirge version.

So, I've been watching this along with my kids. I was expecting it to be a train wreck. But it's not. More specifically, it's actually come up with two artists who are really good, although I'm not sure if Simon Cowell truly recognizes either that or the problems that each of these artists will face. And it's got a judge who makes Paula look sane by comparison.

First off, the show is actually interesting. Unlike The Voice or American Idol, it isn't necessarily a karaoke show. Now, being a great karaoke singer isn't necessarily a bad thing -- ask Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry, or Phillip Phillips. But there are lots of great karaoke singers who do nothing, too, because they can't establish their own identity.

Critically important in this sea of karaoke are the judges/mentors. One of the judges is just great: L.A. Reid. He founded LaFace Records, and he used to be the head of Arista, and he's simply been great despite having the hardest category of all: the adults. Another judge has been his usual self-confident, pompous, but knowledgable self: Simon Cowell. Considering that he's currently responsible for the hottest act in the world, One Direction, it's hard not to take him seriously.

The other two judges/mentors are the controversial ones, and yet one of them has been OK, at least as a mentor: Britney Spears. She ended up with three 13-year-old girl singers (Carly Rose, Diamond White and Beatrice Miller) who would all still be in the final six had Beatrice been able to handle the pressure. Even if she doesn't contribute much as a judge, she must be doing something right. But the other judge, Demi Lovato, makes me long for the days when we all tolerated the drunken Paula Abdul -- because, even drunk, Paula made at least as much (and usually more) sense as Demi. She's also been a horrible mentor, whose only surviving artist, Cece Frey, is clearly the worst person remaining. If she's back for Season 3, I'll be stunned.

So far, Season 2 has been focused around two artists, who simply have been the standouts despite their out-of-mainstream profiles: 13-year-old Carly Rose Sonenclar and 37-year-old Tate Stevens. Not only have they placed 1-2 in the public vote every week, but they clearly have talent. They also have significant drawbacks. Tate, a country singer, works on a road crew and never pursued music seriously. Carly is so young that it's hard to believe her parents want her to become a full-time singing act. Yet both are so good that it's hard to picture either of them not making it.

I've always been a little worried about Tate's predilection for karaoke country vocals. But this week, Tate chewed into Jon Bongiovi's "Living on a Prayer" and found that there was a real country song in it. I was as impressed by that as anything he's done on the show all year. We all know the song from Bongiovi (or, as he prefers, Bon Jovi) soaring through the chorus. But Tate showed us that the song itself is closer to Springsteen than to Toto, even if it sounds more like Toto in Bon Jovi's version.

However, the other judges, perhaps because they aren't really country fans, thought the song was off and criticized Tate. In response, for his second song,he did a karaoke Garth Brooks, and they loved him. Not good.

The boy band Emblem3, put together by Simon, is painful but popular. The girl band, Fifth Harmony, is made up of five girls who are individually very good singers. But, as L.A. continually points out, they aren't really a group, just five soloists who don't sing harmony.

I have to agree on all points you made. I am enjoying the show this year. Carly Rose is the most talented I have seen on any of these shows since I have been watching. While I also agree Tate is very talented, to me it isn't even close as to who should win. I don't care for Emblem 3 at all, three kids who can't sing at all. 5th Harmony has talent and potential.

I think Demi will be shown the door, with good reason. She is way to young to be in that position.

Hmmm.. I'm actually really enjoying Demi as a judge. I love her honesty and refusal to go along with everyone else if she has a different opinion. I do agree that she's been pretty bad as a mentor, but I'm seeing some improvement and have hopes she will get better next year. I think Britney has been the exact opposite, great mentor, not so good judge. My problem with her judging is not her actual opinions (which I often agree with) it's her lack of detail in explaining why she has those opinions. Simply saying "Sorry, I don't get it" doesn't offer the contestants much guidance.

As far as the contestants go, Carly Rose is blowing everyone out of the water. She is by far the best I've seen on any singing show, young or old. That said, I ALMOST don't want her to win, because I don't want to see such a great, young and talented kid go the way of Britney or Miley Cyrus. And I'm referring both to personal life choices and well as artistic achievements. I'd rather see her grow up a fairly normal life and then offer up her amazing Jazz/Blues prowess to the world at an older age.

I agree that Britney offers very little in the way of judging criticism, constructive or otherwise. But at least she's stayed sober, unlike, say, Paula Abdul or guest singer LeAnn Rimes.

In truth, I agree that it was probably better for Carly Rose as a person that she didn't win; Tate is ready and willing to go on the road right now as a professional and Carly isn't, because she's just in middle school. And I've rarely seen anyone as happy on stage as Tate was when Little Big Town came out to join him on "Pontoon"; it's special that he'll have a chance for success at this stage in his life. That said, Carly Rose is going to be a major talent; it's just going to be about Simon and her family finding a way for her to have a life and still perform professionally.

I would be stunned if Simon didn't sign Carly Rose as well as Tate to his SYCOmusic imprint. After all, that's what his real job was. He's certainly proven that he's still capable of creating stars, as One Direction have shown.

good news in a way britney spears has left now, i think she was lacking as a judge she also seems really "spaced out" all the time, so did seem a bit too much for her to be a judge, looked like she really did not want to be there.

so it is going to be a new judging pane this year the auditions are on the way in march again, so this will be season 3 of the usa x factor.

i liked the way x factor was when it first was on uk tv, that was when it was the best format for the show.

http://xfactor2013auditions.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/classic-old-school-x-factor-funnies.html i really think they need to change the format of the show, it is kind of too made up like everything is running to a script, this is why i like the auditions so much, because you at least know most of the people auditioning have not been made up and controlled by the x factor at the first stage.

though there are people who also audition from talent agencies and the like, so not all the auditions are that random at times it would seem.

i think it might only last another season or 2 now the usa x factor.

LAST EDITED ON 12-21-12 AT 03:03 PM (EST)

By taking the age limit down to 13, Simon was able to get three absurdly-talented 13-year-olds on the show, which meant that this year's crop of singers were far better than those on AI or The Voice (with the exception of Voice winner Cassadee Pope, who was already an established star as the lead singer of Hey Monday and whose presence on the show made it a self-parody).

Both of the final two have "star" potential. I hate to admit it, but Demi Lovato was right when she said that Tate Stevens sang like he already should be on the radio. Carly Rose Sonenclar is more talented but is only 13, so the challenge is to build her career without burning her out.

Beyond that, only a few of the others had real potential, including the two other 13-year-olds, Beatrice Miller (who went home only because Simon didn't think she was mature enough yet to handle the pressure, not from any lack of talent) and Diamond White. Simon clearly thinks Emblem3 has boy band potential, and he might be right, because I would never have pegged One Direction as the huge stars they became. Fifth Harmony never really jelled as an act, although they gave some OK performances. The others -- well, Vino Alan could sing, but he didn't have any real stage presence, and the less said about the rest, the better.