A full breakdown of this week’s “The X Factor” performance show is due shortly, but in the meantime, it is imperative to look at some of the highlights of a very strong, very newsworthy edition of the show.
Notably, Antonio “LA” Reid, one of the most successful record executives in the business, again showed an odd lack of popular music knowledge. Two weeks ago, he could not identify Christina Aguilera’s hit “Ain’t No Other Man.” This week, he criticized teenage contestant Drew for singing a song designed for “40 year olds.”
What song was it, you ask? “Skyscraper,” the most recent hit performed by nineteen-year-old Disney alum Demi Lovato (and originally co-written and performed by a 24-year-old).
That is not to say Reid was wrong to criticize the song choice–the vocals are far too big for someone like Drew–but the fact that he couldn’t comprehend why a fourteen-year-old would feel comfortable performing this song is shocking.
Other highlights:
— Josh Krajick was in another league with his show-closing “Wild Horses.” And that is a big compliment–Tuesday’s show was possibly the best all-around “X Factor” performance show to date, and probably made the best two hours of music reality television in years.
— Significant attention was paid to Astro making amends for last week’s incident. Some will argue that his apology was a bit understated and forced given the circumstance, but the crowd welcomed his performance and did not boo the young rapper.
— By brilliantly adhering to a “Thanksgiving theme,” the show allowed for emotional/tearjerker moment after emotional/tearjerker moment without feeling as if it was unfairly favoring any single contestant. The emotional video packages always make for great TV, and by not specifically being used to “pimp” certain contestants, they resonated even more profoundly.