X Factor USA had the first “Judges Homes” episode tonight in a delayed broadcast because of the ALCS Baseball game. Episode 2 of “Judges Homes” will be on Sunday October 16 now. We got to see the first 16 of the 32 contestants and groups and there was some great talent tonight. First, Simon Cowell met his group, “The Girls”, in Paris, France without a celebrity guest mentor. Mariah Carey was scheduled but weather delays kept her from the show. It didn’t phase the girls though as Simone Battle launched into a rendition of “Help” that was remarkable. Simon actually complimented her on her “emotion” during the song. Next was Tora Woloshin and she did “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction”. Simon said it was good overall but there was something missing. The third girl to sing was Caitlynn Koch and she performed “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow”. Simon had nothing but praises for her and she is fantastic. The best Girl tonight was Drew Ryniewicz and she nailed the Roxette hit “It Must Have Been Love”.
Paula Abdul hosted the “Groups” ins California and her guest mentor was Pharrell. 4 Shore was a bit of a disappointment tonight as they performed “If You Love Me”. They were just not into it and the performance was a little flat. The Brewer Boys did “Only Girl In The World” and it was cute. These guys will go far this year. Lakota Rayne performed “Born This Way” by Lady GaGa. I thought they would have trouble with this song, since they are more “country” than “pop”, but they were almost perfect. The Anser did their interpretation of “Perfect” and were clearly the best group tonight.
Nicole Sherzinger met the “Over 30s” in California and brought Enrique Iglesias as her guest mentor. Dexter Haygood was a standout tonight as he did “Crazy In Love”. this had to be the most “original” that anyone made a song tonight. It was great. Elaine Gibbs performed “Stop Crying Your Heart Out”. She was OK but her tone was a little off. James Kenney did a good job with “Russian Roulette”. He stumbled in a few places but you have to give him credit with this song. The best Over 30 was Stacey Francis who did a job on “Purple Rain” that would make Prince himself break out in tears.
The Boys met mentor, LA Reid, and his guest mentor Rihanna in NY. Nick Voss sang “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” and something was just not there. It sounded off for some reason. Phillip Lomax impressed Rihanna with his version of “Please Don’t Stop The Music” but I think she was just being nice. He was OK but this song was not right for him. Skyelor Anderson tried to sing “Nobody Knows It But Me” and it was OK. He seems tohave the “raw talent” but he needs to develop it more. The Best of “The Boys” was Brian Bradley and he stunned us with “The Message.” He was poised and polished all the way through.
So who was your favorite tonight? Leave a comment to show your support for your favorites in X Factor USA.

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