She gave one of her most assured performances to date, so of course Rihanna-lookalike Paige Thomas was first to be eliminated from “The X Factor” Thursday night.The two with the next least amount of votes, the youngster Diamond White, and the scary looking tattooed guy Vino Allen had to go head to head against eachother. Now if this was a mixed martial arts match, Vino would have won handily.
But it was singing; she did Beyonce’s “I Was Here,” already talking of herself in the past tense, not a good move; he sang Ray LaMontange’s “Trouble,” because he was stuck in exactly that.
Judges got to decide, and only L.A. Reid, on whose team had Vino, voted to have him stay. The three others went for White, who was pulled back to the finalists after first being eliminated weeks ago, effectively making the Top 12 a Top 13 — and packing Britney Spears’ team with four acts instead of three.
After the double elimination, it was down to just six — with another Britney act, Carly Rose Sonenclare, holding down No. 1 spot for the second week in a row. Holding tight at No. 2 after spending the first two weeks at the top spot was country singer Tate Stevens from L.A. Reid’s team.
The callow boy band Emblem 3, from Simon Cowell’s team, rose to No. 3. But Simon’s only other remaining group, Fifth Harmony, didn’t end up fifth (they ended up fourth). At No. 5, then was CeCe Frey, the only act remaining in Demi Lovato’s young adult category. Long positioned as Paige Thomas’ rival, she outlasted her in the competition.
Both Britney and Simon, then, have two acts in the remaining six; L.A. Reid and Demi Lovato each have just one.