The X Factor Season 2 Episode 4 Recap: Greensboro, North Carolina Auditions
Sep 20 2012 10:09 pm ET
On Thursday's edition of The X Factor, the panel heads to Greensboro, North Carolina to see what talent the Tarheel State has to offer. However, the weather plays the fifth judge, causing problems for one tantrum-prone contestant.
First up is 17-year-old Willie Jones from Shreveport, Louisiana. He's a soft-spoken kid, but Demi is quick to point out his Fresh Prince of Bel Air fashion sense. The backing track lets out a country riff and the entire auditorium gives each other the side-eye. Willie is doing that song that Scotty McCreery auditioned with back on American Idol. Willie sounds good and wins the crowd over quickly. After a lengthy audition, the judges offer their critiques. LA Reid and Britney Spears both praise Willie's originality. Demi Lovato thinks Willie is incredibly likable and Simon Cowell is happy they made the trip to Greensboro. Willie gets four yeses.
Next up is Kalvin McManigle, a 47-year-old who works at a lawn mower factory. He Boomhauers throughout his interview and the panel has a very difficult time understanding him. The audition pretty much goes like this:
The judges pass on Gabby Johnson.
Julia Bullock is an 18-year-old musician. Simon asks who she brought as support today. Julia has her family and her bandmates. Why isn't the band auditioning? Julia says they aren't a vocal band and she wanted to pursue this opportunity. We learn that the rest of the band isn't super jazzed about Julia possibly breaking up the group. Taking it especially hard is Julia's ex Christian. Look on the bright side: Gwen Stefani rejoined No Doubt. Anyway, Julia sings "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People and the crowd loves it. Christian: not so much. Simon thought the audition was "really really really good" and loves Julia's rocker image. Britney and Demi like her unique sound. LA says Julia is exactly what he's been looking for. Things aren't looking good for the unnamed band, but they give Julia hugs as she celebrates four yes votes backstage.
Next on stage is Krysten Colon, a 21-year-old hairdresser. She explains her reason for auditioning: "I'm finally getting the confidence to share what I hear in the shower." Ooo, that's good. She says she'll audition with "Don't You Remember" by Adele. Simon seems receptive, despite yesterday's disapproval of all things Adele. Krysten starts the song and she sounds fine, though it doesn't sound like she did anything to make the song her own. Also, there's no rise-and-fall to the track, so we don't get a sampling of her range. Simon stops the audition, but he says he would like to hear more from Krysten. She offers a gospel song, but Simon wants something that would actually sell. The panel tells her to come back later in the day with a new song. Krysten is disappointed, not reading between the lines that the panel realllllllly wants her to succeed. We'll check back with her later.
In the meantime, Jeffrey Gutt, a 36-year-old single dad, takes the stage. He has a bit of a rocker image about him, but he wants to win so he can provide for his son Talon. He sings Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" because this is a music-based competition on Fox. This song has been so overused and overwrought that it does nothing for me anymore. The audience isn't as jaded as I and is won over by Jeffrey's style. LA says Jeffrey nailed one of the greatest songs ever written. Demi compliments Jeffrey's grit and is interrupted by a rumble of thunder. "God's even rocking out right now," she adds. Simon says he has heard that song more times than anyone could count thanks to all the audition shows he's been a part of, but this version was one of the most brilliant auditions he's heard. Talon runs on stage to hug his dad after the judges send Jeffrey to Boot Camp.
The rumble of thunder leads to a montage of bad auditions accompanied by the increasingly bad weather. Lightning strikes the arena a couple times, knocking out power during some of the more egregious auditions. Then we get part two of Krysten's audition. She's decided to go with "All or Nothing" by Whitney Houston. Oh, honey, no. You can't go from Adele to Whitney when you are not 100% confident in your own abilities. The song starts out ok-ish, but falls apart completely when it gets to the chorus. You can tell that the judges want this to be better, but they all know it won't. There's another clap of thunder that causes a power blip and frightens Britney. Simon breaks the news to Krysten that this interruption happened for a reason because the audition isn't working. Krysten starts to negotiate but LA tells her she needs a voice to go along with her personality and style. Krysten gets four no votes and storms off the stage. After some hugs from her family, Krysten starts to throw a tantrum. She doesn't want to be filmed anymore and throws a water bottle and a chair at the camera operator. She gets chased out of the building while her family apologizes for the poor behavior.
Next week on The X Factor: two more audition episodes and then we head to Boot Camp. Woo!
Mike McComb – TVLatest.com
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