Here we have Simon Cowell's category. Can we just talk about this for a second? Can we talk about what a whiny baby Simon Cowell can be sometimes? When he was revealed to be the mentor for this category, I busted out laughing. Not just because he was upset to have a category that have consecutively taken home the X Factor title 2 years in a row, but because of the contestants' reaction. They were so HYPE because, of course, say what you want about Simon but he has put together some of the most popular acts in the music game right now (One Direction and Fifth Harmony, to name a few). But as soon as they saw Simon's reaction they were all like "whuuuuu?!" I imagine Bupsi said "Do you know what...? Damn." I can recall the moment I stopped riding the Simon Cowell wagon. There was a week in The X Factor US in which Demi Lovato had her two acts in the bottom two and it was Simon's turn to vote, because per X Factor rules, the mentor with the acts in the bottom go last. Simon grows a devious grin and FORCED poor Demi, who is clearly destraught that she has to send any of her acts home. I imagine Demi would have said the act Simon didn't say just to send the vote to deadlock so the public could have decided. But no, Simon had to see the girl squirm and keep that smug plastic grin he's had since 2010. Anyways, we'll dive deeper into why Simon Cowell is the worst as I review his acts:
MAX STONE
Man, oh man, did I love this performance. Max has been the underdog this entire competition. I never remembered any of his performances up until 6 Chair when Simon absoutely ripped into the poor guy for looking "half dead" and not having a personality. Simon Cowell, stop talking. Two of the most successful acts to come out of these singing competitions absolutely had no personality whatsoever. Leona Lewis has a gorgeous voice and I am not trying to take anything away from her star power but when she was on this show she sounded like a mouse every time she spoke and could barely change the tone of her voice. Like her or not, she was an absolute bore. As was Carrie Underwood of American Idol. No doubt she was a standout in her season and the rightful winner, but the girl had the personality of a squash (its funny cause she came from a farm). Simon Cowell was just looking for a way to embarrass Max and, sadly, it worked. Luckily the audience said "oh no, girl" and got him back by the end of the episode and all was right in the world of X Factor! That being said, his rendition of Someone Like You was absolutely GORGEOUS. His voice had just the right amount of softness, yet grit, to sell the song vocally, he looked confident on stage and wasn't trying too hard. His emotional connection to the song is questionable, but he sounded amazing, and over all looked great up there. There was a point in the song where Adele alters the melody in order to take it easy on her voice and Max did it the first time ("Don't forget me, I beg, I remember you saying...") but the second time he took it up and his voice cracked in all the right ways and he had me SOLD. 9/10.
ANTON STEPHANS
Crazy eyes. Anton is another one of the acts who I didn't pay much attention to but clearly caught my eye because of what a force he was. His personality just excels and I love him the more he talks, but them eyes, man? I've loved Anton's performances...up until this one. His vocals were alright, nothing special but his eyes ruined the performance to me. You heard the mellow instrumental sounds of the violin purred and then he opened his eyes and immediately I felt disconnected from him. It felt like one of the lemurs on Madagascar had popped into the spirit of Anton, it just didn't feel right. I really liked him, but this week has me questioning whether or not he is the right fit for the competition because he was also very stiff on stage. He looked uncomfortable, but the public likes him so hopefully as the weeks go on he continues to grow. 6/10.
BUPSI
Ugh, Bupsi. You were this close. You were this close to bringing the nasty back to prime time, girl. I had to take a double take during her audition because I immediately wondered, what the hell is Analise Keating's sister doing giving Simon a lap dance? But strangely, she one me over during the group round when she had FIRE during "Proud Mary". Her performance during 6 Chair and Judges House were hit or miss for me, but overall she stayed a force to be reckoned with. This performance ruined EVERY OUNCE of momentum she picked up. Her elimination was foreshadowed in her clip package when she didn't even know the words to her song but it still came as a surprise when she laced up that thigh high corset and stiffed her way onto the stage. She immediately looked uncomfortable and she seemed nervous. Not nasty. Nervous. I'd never seen her this way before, maybe it was the fact that the show was live and she didn't want to mess up? Because she performed just fine in front of audiences during 6 Chair and her original audition. This elimination was just as bittersweet as Simon Lynch. While it pained me to see her get eliminated, it was her time to go and I understood why. 4/10.
Max quickly soared up to one of my favorites and Anton was shot down during this performance so who knows what will happen next week? I'm excited to see, though!
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