X Factor US: Judges Homes Part 1

written by Gabriel Sierra
DAM NATION, Contributor

Sorry for the delayed posts! I was just too busy to put in Gabe's X Factor reviews, but here it is! - DAM

Last week the judges chose the 32 acts that would be moving on to their own houses. This week they will be cut to 16 acts. It will be tough because I’m sure good people will be cut.

The contestants still didn’t know which judge would mentor them, but they were all pretty excited. Especially the girls, because they got to go to France because Simon Cowell was on ‘vacation’ there. They took pictures everywhere and were dancing around the Eiffel Tower, lucky girls! After that, they went to this huge mansion and Simon walked out. They went CRAZY and pretty much attacked him with hugs haha, it was a cute moment.

In Santa Barbara, California, it was time for the groups to know who their mentor would be. Paula Abdul came down the stairs and the groups clapped happily, they weren’t as excited as the girls, but it was a happy moment, and they almost buried Paula in hugs!

The Over 30s were sent to Malibu, where they were surprised to find Nicole Scherzinger as their mentor. I think none of them expected it, and it’s still a bit hard for me to understand it, but I’m sure Nicole will help guide them. She said she was excited because they had a story to tell, which might be true for some of them, but for others I doubt it. This will be very interesting.

L.A. Reid was waiting for the boys in The Hamptons, New York. The boys were happy about it, they should be, he loves Justin Bieber so he’ll probably want the next boy star.

The next thing was a surprise for me, the judges invited a special guest to help mentor with them. Nicole Scherzinger invited Enrique Iglesias, Paula Abdul invited Pharrell, Simon Cowell invited Mariah Carey but she couldn’t make it due to Hurricane Irene (OMG MARIAH CAREY! I hope she gets there eventually.) and L.A. Reid invited Rihanna! Awesome!

Recap after the jump!!

Brian Bradley was the first one to audition in front of L.A. I don’t like this kid, but I’ll accept he is good. His audition was very good and he definitely can rap. He also did a little bit of beatboxing and it was good too, if he makes it through to the finals he could be very big. Rihanna really liked him, and L.A. liked him but he wasn’t sure about him in the competition.

Simone Battle was the first girl to sing in front of Simon. She sang Help by the Beatles beautifully with a piano next to her, and I have to say, the place was just beautiful. I loved it. Simon loved it too!

Paula and Pharrell told the groups to bring it. The first group was The Anser with Pink’s F*cking Perfect” and I LOVED IT!!! They gave me chills. The bad thing was that the chorus wasn’t as good as the beginning of the song. But it was still good!

Dexter Haygood was the first in the Over 30s group. He sang Crazy In Love by Beyoncé. It was a little bit weird, but OK. The judges thought it was OK. Then he started crying because he got very emotional.

Skyelor Anderson went up next with L.A. and Rihanna. He sang Nobody Knows It But Me by Babyface, it was really good, he’s 100% country, which I love, but I don’t think he’ll go far. I think The X Factor wants more of a commercial superstar.

Tora Woloshin sang (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction for Simon. She sang the chorus like 50 times, but Simon still thinks she’s got something, which I guess it’s really good.

Lakoda Rayne, a group formed by the judges, sang for Paula and Pharrell. They sang Born This Way by Lady Gaga and it was very good, for the short amount of time they had to practice, it was really good! They have chemistry. I hope they make it!

Stacy Francis was ready to sing in front of Nicole. She sang Purple Rain and even Enrique Iglesias was blown away. She sang amazingly, I love her voice!

The Brewer Boys were ready to sing for Paula and Pharrell. They sang Only Girl by Rihanna. It was OK, but in my opinion it wasn’t enough.

Phillip Lomax was really nervous to sing a Rihanna song in front of Rihanna herself. He sang Don’t Stop The Music and it was great! It was original, Rihanna liked it, but neither her or L.A. were sure about it working commercially.

Elaine Gibbs was up next in front of Nicole and Enrique. She sang Stop Crying Your Heart Out and it was amazing! Such great vocals! I hope she makes it through!

Caitlin Koch was up next with Simon. I was nervous because I really love her! She sang Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, and yes Caitlin, I will still love you tomorrow and next week and the next one! She sang AMAZING! I love soft vocals, it was so good!

Nick Voss sang Everybody Wants To Rule The World, for some reason I don’t like him either, but he sang good. But I don’t think it was enough to make it through.  L.A. and Rihanna didn’t seem to think it either.

4Shore was up next, they sang If You Love Me and Paula wanted to hear more! They actually are really good! They will definitely make it through.

James Kenney was the next one in the Over 30s category. Now I don’t really remember his performances, but this one was really good. He sang Russian Roulette by Rihanna and Nicole and Enrique Iglesias liked him. We’ll see if they liked him enough to get him through.

Drew Ryniewicz was up next! Nerves again, I really like her. She sang It Must Have Been Love and it was AMAZING! She gave me chills! She sang so beautifully!!! She’s 14! Her voice is wonderful, I really really hope she makes it through! Though I don’t know if there’s room for her with Caitlin there… I hope so! OMG I can’t wait to see who’ll make it! Great way to end the episode.

In the next episode, the auditions will end and we’ll get to see who makes it through and who doesn’t. Can’t wait!