The X Factor – Top 6 Results – Live Blog – 12/06/2012

Welcome to the live blog for The X Factor Top 6 results show for December 6, 2012.

Tonight we have performances by Ke$ha and season one winner Melanie Amaro. Also, two acts will be heading home, just barely missing out on next week’s semifinal.

Rickey.org readers predict Diamond White and CeCe Frey will get the boot!

Credit: FOX

And here we go!

8:01 PM EST

We recap last night. CeCe tells the camera that if Simon doesn’t write her the $5 million check, someone else might. Emblem3 contends with Demi’s criticism, saying they don’t do downgraded versions of anything. Carly is excited, and strangely not-at-all entitled to good criticism, like she always is. Fifth Harmony is disappointed with the judges’ criticism, but Simon is there with a hug. Diamond takes the judges’ lukewarm feedback in stride. Tate feels that sometimes a risk is necessary, and he’s glad the judges don’t vote.

For the second round, CeCe thinks she deserves a spot in the semifinals, arguing that few people have the kind of passion she does. Emblem3 thinks Demi needs to chill out a little bit. Carly is overjoyed at the judges’ comments. The Fifth Harmony girls geek out over getting tweeted by Harry Styles, who says they “smashed it.” Diamond thinks “Diamonds” was her best performance, and hopes America sees how much she wants this. Tate prays his Pepsi Challenge song is enough to put him in the semifinals.

8:07 PM

We get a package hyping last year’s X Factor winner, Melanie Amaro, and immediately I’m struck by how the video illustrates how nothing about this season is better than last year. In my own opinion, of course. So take that with a grain of salt (an expression that still confounds me, much like “having your cake and eating it too.” Why wouldn’t you eat a cake if you have it?

8:10 PM

This song is strangely anemic for an upbeat dance number, but Melanie is performing the hell out of it. She’s lost weight too. Not that I ever thought she needed to. Also gone: her accent. Her speaking voice is guilelessly adorable.

8:15 PM

We’re back from break with Khloe backstage on the set of the Pepsi pre-show, and I’m gradually coming to realize that I can’t stand how much screentime she gets. I thought I was tolerating it, but I just can’t abide it.

8:16 PM

Simon shills the SonyX headphones, which he had a hand in creating, humbly declaring them “the best headphones in the world”. And then we throw to a video package of each of the contestants talking about when they first realized they wanted to get into music. We see Carly playing a piano, and I immediately get to wondering why on Earth we haven’t seen her doing that onstage at any point this season. Maybe it’d just be overkill, and all the other contestants would just stop showing up for the performance shows?

8:19 PM

Okay, am I the only one who thinks CeCe is hot? That shimmery black dress totally works for her.

And, on that note…

Results, pt. 1

CeCe Frey has been eliminated from The X Factor! Demi is OUT as a mentor!

CeCe says that she hopes she’s taught people that they need to love themselves first, and then we get some rather touching comments from Demi, who gets emotional talking about how much she’ll miss CeCe.

8:22 PM

So is there any way the sing-off isn’t Diamond vs. Fifth Harmony? Any possibility at all?

Results, pt. 2

Emblem3 is through to the semifinals!

Carly Rose Sonenclar is through to the semifinals!

Tate Stevens is through to the semifinals!

The sing-off will be Diamond White vs. Fifth Harmony in the least surprising result in the history of ever.

8:32 PM

Khloe is backstage with the girls, and neither seems as flustered as one might expect to be in the bottom 2. They simply are focusing on getting the sing-off over with.

We throw to a video package hyping Ke$ha, because it’s apparently necessary, for some reason.

Ke$ha takes the stage to perform her new single, and she looks like some sort of bizarre cross between CeCe Frey and last season’s X Factor UK finalist, Kitty Brucknell. These rap verses kind of Tik Tok-ish, to the point that I kept expecting “Tryna get a little bit tipsy” to come out of her mouth at any moment.

8:36 PM

And now her hands are lighting up, and she’s surrounded by an area of felines from a community theater production of “Cats”, while talking about wanting to just screw around. What nightmare hath 21st Century music wrought?

8:41 PM

It’s time for the sing-off! The idea that this entire decision could come down to Demi Lovato (or worse, LA Reid) should terrify every last one of us.

Fifth Harmony is up first!

Simon continues to be absolutely insufferable, complaining about his act having to go first and trying to get out of it. Someone needs to smack the British out of him. That said, I did have a nice laugh at Mario’s continued, inexplicable pronunciation of Simon’s last name as “Cow.”

The girls sing “Anytime You Need A Friend” by Mariah Carey, and they’re still doing that vaguely irritating thing where they all take turns singing part of a verse, instead of just picking one person to do each verse like most pop groups would do. That said, their harmonies do sound pretty tight, although it’s hard to tell if that’s the girls or the overpowering background singers. But I’m going to give it to the girls. It was pitchy in places, but that was generally a really strong vocal from these five.

8:45 PM

Diamond White is up next, singing “Nuts of Wond– I mean, “I Hope You Dance.”

Is it just me, or does she seem cheerily resigned to her fate? She just had a “Whatever happens, happens” look on her face, which is a pretty remarkable attitude for a thirteen year-old.

The first half was pretty strong, but she’s straining a lot now towards the end.

Results, pt. 3

Simon congratulates both acts for their performances before making his decision…

Simon sends home Diamond White!

Britney doesn’t say a word other than her decision…

Britney sends home Fifth Harmony!

LA is regretful for the choice he has to make…

LA sends home Diamond White!

Demi seems equally conflicted, and winces as she makes her choice…

Demi sends home Diamond White!

Diamond White has been eliminated from The X Factor!

Diamond’s attitude is awesome, citing how Cher Lloyd came in fifth place and “look where she is now.” Diamond hopes that she’ll have a hit single and have the opportunity to come back and perform it on The X Factor stage. I really can’t express how impressed I am with Diamond’s maturity. If I could find a way to email her a high-five, I would do it. You all know I would.

There is SUCH a huge gap in maturity between this year’s teens and last year’s, who reacted to their eliminations as thought their dog had just been kicked for a field goal, and the field goal wasn’t good.

8:55 PM

Rankings

It’s time to rank these contestants, and if there’s any point whatsoever to ranking only four acts, I’d like to know what that point is. What little mystique or drama remains regarding the outcome of this competition will be sapped drier than a martini without the Vermouth.

4. Fifth Harmony (any chance their fans take this as initiative to boost them into the finale?)
3. Emblem3 (to the surprise of absolutely no one)
2. Carly Rose Sonenclar
1. Tate Stevens

And like that, Carly’s two-week reign is over. I haven’t seen a televised singing competition this devoid of suspense since…hell, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a televised singing competition with this little suspense. After the first few weeks of revealing the rankings showed that nothing was changing, they probably should have stopped doing the rankings altogether, in order to preserve some measure of excitement. When the closest thing to drama that the show has had was Vino Alan going home (which many around these parts didn’t find all that surprising), then you’re running a pretty milquetoast competition. But hey, we’re two weeks away from crowning a winner, so yeah…there’s that.

And that’s it for me, as I head off to review the latest episode of The CW’s Beauty and the Beast. Pray for me.

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