‘X Factor’ Ousts CeCe Frey, Diamond White
Well, you can’t say CeCe Frey went down without a fight.
After ducking and weaving through round after round of eliminations, the polarizing diva was finally KO’d from The X Factor. In a show of solidarity, mentor Demi Lovato wore matching leopard spots on her face – a sign she clearly knew in advance that her last contestant was in trouble.
‘X Factor’: Rolling Stone’s Complete Coverage
After a graceful and sincere thank you from CeCe, a choked up Demi found herself out of the competition as the first mentor to lose everyone on her team. (As a side note, we wonder if the mentors get bonus checks for each week they survive or what they win in the end, ’cause they’re certainly not just doing it out of the goodness of their hearts.)
Meanwhile, when Diamond White got the boot after her second straight week of singing for survival (this time against Fifth Harmony), it didn’t seem like she and mentor Britney Spears had any connection at all. At one point, Brit Brit stood onstage a few feet away with her hands behind her back while seemingly snapping gum. But Diamond took it in stride, saying, “Cher Lloyd came in fifth and look at her now” before adding that she’d be back one day to sing her own hit single. Nothing wrong with being a dreamer, kid.
Speaking of returning X Factor contestants, Season One winner Melanie Amaro – ‘memba her? – did just that, debuting her new single “Long Distance.” But the night’s real entertainment came in the form of Ke$ha, who showed knock-off CeCe how it’s done with “C’mon.” Oh, except for the fact that she was clearly lip-syncing. There were even moments where she forgot to keep up the charade, instead writhing around on the ground or letting out an awkward “yeow” as her prerecorded vocals kept on trucking. That’s a real star for you.
While Ke$ha and CeCe glitter-bombed each other backstage (OK, we made that part up), the leaderboard was revealed. And, despite a couple of phoned-in performances and lackluster comments from the judges last night, Tate Stevens clearly has nothing to worry about as he wound up back at the top. Huh? Sorry, but we don’t get it.
Is America just voting for Tate because his mentor L.A. Reid and the show’s producers have worked overtime to beat us over the head with what a “hard-working family man” he is and how he “deserves” a break? Correct us if we’re wrong, but isn’t The X factor supposed to be about finding someone with both vocal chops and star quality? Just sayin’.
Anyway, the constant flip-flop between him and Carly Rose Sonenclar is officially a snoozefest at this point. Co-hosts Mario Lopez and Khloe Kardashian are really going to have to put their heads together about how to drum up some mock suspense next week when announcing who’s in the finals. At this point, unless Tate defiantly sets the American flag on fire while robo-Carly goes on a killing spree, neither Emblem3 nor Fifth Harmony has a chance in hell of winning this thing. Still, we all soldier on.
Previously: CeCe Frey Takes on Lady Gaga, Katy Perry on ‘X Factor’