The Tribune

By LESH

Tribune Features Reporter

acadet@tribunemedia.net

THE X FACTOR USA staged its second nail biting four chair challenge audition last week, kicking the competition into a new gear.

Last week’s episodes featured The Boys and The Groups competing for an opportunity to occupy one of the four chairs and advance to the live rounds.

X Factor USA introduced the Four Chair Challenge two weeks ago. The top 40 were separated into four groups made up of 10 contestants. During the audition each contestant in each category individually sang to the judges in hopes of securing a spot in one of the top four seats. The Four Chair Challenge replaced last season’s boot camp and home auditions. The final four advance to the live shows.

“I didn’t like how the judges weren’t really receptive to the opinions of the audience. They would turn around to see what how the audience felt about keeping or switching a contestant, and they would still in the end send home someone that deserved to stay, or keep someone that really needed to go home. That is crazy,” said one Bahamian viewer.

It was not always a joyous feeling to be selected for a seat, as no seat was guaranteed until all ten acts were done performing.
Kelly Rowland was the first judge to take on the challenge with her contestants. She now has her final four: Jeff Gutt, James Kenney, Lillie McCould and Rachel Potter. Like Kelly, most of Demi Lovato’s girls delivered excellent performances, but she had to choose four. Demi’s top four are Ellona Santiago, Rion Paige, Khaya Cohen and Danielle Geimer.

Last week, Paulina Rubio and Simon Cowell chose their top four acts, weeding through the audience boos, crying relatives, pleading contestants and raging emotions.

Paulina’s final four are Josh Levi, Carlos Guevara, Tim Olstad and Carlito Olivero. Simon’s top four are Alex and Sierra, Sweet Suspense, Restless Road, and Roxxy Montana.

“I like that the challenge was different but I don’t think it was fair to the contestants. I could only imagine how they felt sitting down after earning a chair, and then have to be switched to give another contestant their spot in the show. I feel like if they were initially chosen for a seat, it shouldn’t be a consequence for that. They earned it, I think it was a little messy almost,” said another viewer.

X Factor USA contestants now head to their training camp and will return to perform during live shows beginning October 29.