The X Factor episode 7 recap: Judges’ Houses #1, October 13, 2011.

Host Steve Jones welcomes us to the show from Paris, France. It’s now down to the final 32 contestants, grouped into eight contestants in each of four categories. L.A. Reid will mentor the Boys in East Hampton NY, Simon is with the Girls in France, Paula leads the Groups in Santa Barbara, and Nicole is in charge of the Over 30’s in Malibu. From these thirty-two contestants, they will have to select the Final 16, with four from each category.

We start with the Girls in Paris, where they have fun sightseeing and taking pictures. The Girls are Caitlin Koch, Tora Woloshin, Simone Battle, Drew Ryniewicz, Rachel Crow, Jazzlyn Little, Melanie Amaro and Tiah Tolliver. Simon says, “I’m more happy for them than I am for me.” He’s got a nice Corvette (plate number W-B17-AX, not X-FACTOR) that he gets around in. He lives a massive mansion with a pool on the grounds (“back yard” would be a major understatement). While the Girls wait on the balcony over the pool, Simon walks out and they all rush up to greet him and hug him. Simon says that he’s happy he got them because he thinks the future winner is one of the Girls.

We zoom over to Santa Barbara where we join the Groups. They are Stereo Hogzz, 2squar’d, 4Shore, The Brewer Boys, Illusion Confusion, The Anser and two groups formed by the judges at Boot Camp, Intensity and Lakoda Rain. Paula walks down the steps from her mansion and greets the groups, hugging them. Paula says she works with groups professionally, so she is comfortable mentoring them.

Down the coast in Malibu are the Over ’30’s. They are Elaine Gibbs, Tiger Budbill, Leroy Bell, James Kenney, Josh Krajcik, Krista Collins, Dexter Haygood and Stacy Francis. “Welcome to Mi Casa,” Nicole greets them with a hug. She says she knows the business and gives 1000% (yes, with three zeroes) in everything that she does. “I’m the hardest worker that you’ll ever meet,” she tell them. Her Mi Casa is a bit smaller than Paula’s mansion and Simon’s French chateau.

Then we cross the country to East Hampton, NY, where the Boys are assembled. They are Brennin Hunt, Brian Bradley, Skyelor Anderson, Nick Voss, Tim Cifers, Phillip Lomax, Marcus Canty and Chris Rene. L.A.’s place isn’t stacked like Paula’s or Simon’s, but it’s sprawled out and there’s a beach in the back! L.A. privately says “pound for pound, we have the most talent in this category.” The guys dig having L.A. for their mentor and Chris goes so far as to say, “Man, I’m so blessed to be on L.A. Reid’s team.”

Steve Jones tells us that the each of the judges will have an associate from the music industry to help them. Nicole introduces the Over ’30’s to Enrique Iglesias. Wow. Iglesias says it’s not all about vocal ability, but about uniqueness. Paula introduces the Groups to Pharrell Williams. Mariah Carey was supposed to join Simon and the Girls, but her plane got delayed by the recent hurricane Irene and Simon will go it alone. “It’s like having me twice,” he says. (You’re no fun, Simon.) Finally, L.A. introduces Rihanna to the Boys and they’re all goo-goo gah-gah over her. The judges have hand-picked the songs to be sung by the contestants, to be backed either by either a backing track or live instruments.

The first performance for tonight is by Brian Bradley, the “Astronomical Kid” or “Astro” for short. He sings The Message by Grandmaster Flash. He’s definitely got that rap sound down and his moves go right with the beat, looking like a pro out there. He even does a boom box sound effect with his vocals that has Rihanna almost laughing. That was rather entertaining! After Astro leaves L.A. and Rihanna, Rihanna is speechless, unable to comment because “he’s so cute.” She says he’s like a mini J-Cool, very confident. L.A. comments that “How could he measure up as a singer when he’s not a singer? America has never judged rappers or emcee’s in this environment.” Finally, somebody in the music industry admits that rapping is not singing. {Scorecard: B for entertainment, even if it’s just kid rap.}

We cross the Atlantic to Simon’s chateau, where Simone Battle will be the first of the Girls who we’ll hear and see. In a previous audition, she completely forgot the lyrics to the song but somehow made the cut. She walks out to the performing patio outside dress in what appears to be a black one-piece swimsuit with body lace over it and a golden buckled black belt around the waist. Whoa. She sings the Beatles’ Help. She starts soft, does a few end of stanza vibratos and picks up the volume and tone of the song midway in. Her expression goes along with the lyrics, although it’s hard to tell how much real feeling she’s putting into it. Vocally, she’s ok, with the voice breaking a few times, displaying some technique and range. But as a whole, there’s not the same feeling that the Beatles put into it. Simon is joined by vocal coach Savan Kotecha and music producers Ray Stack and Ray Hedges (who are no substitute for Mariah Carey!). They agree that she doesn’t have the greatest voice but there’s something about her. Simon didn’t mind the crack in the voice, as it seemed to add to the emotion in the song. {Scorecard: C+ for a nice try not quite up to the original and the attire was distracting.}

Next up is The Anser group in Santa Barbara. They’re from Salt Lake City, which they say is a very Mormon community so they feel kind of like “fish out of the water.” They walk out onto the outdoor patio and are greeted by Paula and Pharrell. They sing Pink by F’in’ Perfect with live instrumental accompaniment on the side. It starts with a solo by one of the guys, then they join in chorus. Their voices blend well together even as they diverge into multiple voices within the song. Their vocal harmony is good, but there’s not much in the way of emotion or entertainment in their performance with it’s lack of choreography. Paula thinks they’re tight and they have a distinctive voice. {Scorecard: B- for good vocal harmony, but lacking emotion or entertainment value.}

Then we move to Santa Barbara, where we join Nicole and Enrique. Next up is Dexter Heygood with Beyonce’s Crazy in Love. He’s singing and dancing to a very upbeat tempo, vocally strong and confident if a bit scratchy. Some of his moves jive but other moves look a little contrived and it gets a little crazy when he puts his foot up on the patio set table! He could use some dance coaching to polish those moves of his. Vocally, he’s got a Motown sound of his own that’s got a nice hook to it. However, he missed quite a few of the lyrics. Nicole is concerned about his verses, saying she would have liked to heard the song a bit more, but Iglasias to give him a song in his element and he’d kill it. Dexter knows he messed up the lyrics and cries afterwards. Steve Jones consoles him and tells him it’s not over yet. I’m hoping not. {Scorecard: C+ for an entertaining if flawed performance, but he needs to get his lyrics down pat and a bit of coaching to polish those moves of his. He’s got potential on tap that makes you want to see him at least once again.}

The next of the Boys to face L.A. and Rihanna is Skyelor Anderson, who aspires to be one of the very few black country singers. He talks a bit about his life story, being there when his father died and losing a brother in an armed robbery. He sings Nobody Knows It But Me by Tony Rich with that distinctive country voice of his. It’s a deeply emotional song that reaches deep inside and you can tell L.A. is moved by it. Skyelor has a fine voice, although it’s not perfect, and an even finer sense of expressing his emotions through song. Rihanna says “the dimensions of his voice are incredible”. {Scorecard: A- for a moving song well expressed through his voice.}

Then we go back to France with Simon to watch and listen to Tora Woloshin, who is studying automotive engineering and wants to eventually build race cars. She’s struggling with memorizing the lyrics to the upcoming song, the Rolling Stones’ Satisfaction. She dances as she begins the song in a soft voice, almost too soft, but then she increases the volume as the tempo picks up. She gets better throughout the song as she warms up, dancing in perfect time with the beat. Simon and his three consultants agree she’s star material, but needs some work. Simon says she got it right, but there’s something missing that he can’t explain. {Scorecard: B, for a fairly good performance, vocally sound on key and in time, but maybe a bit tentative.}

Next up is one of Paula’s group consisting of four gals who didn’t make the cut, but were given a second chance by being formed into a group called Lakoda Rain. They are Paige Ogle, Cari Fletcher, Dani Knights and Hayley Orrantia. They had time to travel and get together to practice before coming to Paula’s home. None of them intended to be part of a group and one of them almost quit but decided to stick with it, even if being in a group was outside of her comfort zone. They sing Lady Gaga’s Born This Way, mixing alternate solo lines and singing in chorus together. They dance in a bit of last-minute choreography as they sing. Surprisingly, they sound pretty good together, but they obviously need more time to polish their act as a group. {Scorecard: B, getting extra marks for a surprisingly good performance for four soloists suddenly tossed into a group. Plus, they’re all pretty and look good together.}

We return to Malibu with Nicole & Enrique and the Over 30’s contestants. Stacy Francis, mother of two, whose father passed away during the first day at Boot Camp. She sings Prince’s Purple Rain. She sings solo but also gets a chorus as a back up. As she goes into the song, her voice grows boldly louder, hitting the notes with authority. Nicole is liking it and Enrique digs it. After the song, Stacy goes into tears and says in front of Nicole and Enrique that she doesn’t want it to end here. Nicole thinks she’s great, but she has to overcome her fears and doubts. {Scorecard: B+ for a solid and emotional vocal performance. Her confidence should grow.}

Next up are The Brewer Boys, 14-year old Nathan and Justin, 17. They play in charities with Nathan playing what appears to be a mandolin and Justin playing an acoustic guitar. They sing The Only Girl in the World by Rihanna. They go straight into a duet, starting on the stools and then hopping up to dance side by side. Vocally, they sound good together in smooth harmony, although their moves look a bit amateurish, not really caring about choreography. It’s a solid performance that gets the nod from Paula and Enrique. {Scorecard: B- for a good, harmonious duet, but not that entertaining to watch on stage. They’ll want to work on their stagecraft.}

We cross the country to New York, where Phillip Lomax, the crooning cat in the hat, will sing his own version of a Rihanna song to Rihanna herself. He’s nervous about it because he describes himself as a crooner and he has rearranged her song to make it his own. He hopes she likes his version her song Please Don’t Stop the Music. He definitely has the classic crooner voice, like he was born in the music era of the likes of Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra. It’s a flawless performance, meant to entertain, and Rihanna seems to like it. Both L.A. and Rihanna agree it’s a fine performance and truly original. Their only concern is whether it’s commercially viable. {Scorecard: A- for a flawless, original performance. The only catch is that it’d be a smash hit in the middle of the last century, but not in the second decade of this one. Having said that, this guy is highly likable and charismatic as well as being well-crafted.}

Next up is Elaine Gibbs, a 53-year old wedding singer with a diva’s voice box, who sings Oasis’ Stop Crying Your Heart Out. With the very first note, we know where she’s going with this song. It seems like she knows this one by heart and lets it all out. Wow. Nicole and Enrique think that she can make it to be a superstar. {Scorecard: A for a perfect performance of this song with a clear soulful voice that commands the stage.}

We head back over the Atlantic to rejoin Simon and the girls. We’re introduced to the rugged but pretty Kaitlin Koch, a rugby coach and player. She sings Amy Winehouse’s Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow in a soft, melodic, almost Irish sounding tone. She’s looking right at Simon when she sings, hitting the vibratos, slides and sustains with ease in the phrasing. Vocally, she’s very talented and Simon says she’s fantastic. She’s not the most exciting singer, but clearly has a unique sound. {Scorecard: B+ for a vocally skilled performance, although she won’t rouse the concert crowds.}

Next up is 22-year old Nick Voss, who nearly blew it during the auditions when he forgot the lyrics and had to resort to a crib sheet in the middle of a performance. He sings Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears for Fears. He’s got an unusual vocal tone that doesn’t ring the notes out clear, but the sound instead seems to be caught in his chest. His voice dips up and down the note register almost like a roller coaster. Rihanna asks L.A. how this performance compared to his earlier performances, as she didn’t seem to particularly like this one. L.A. says he’s heard better and then they both consider whether they’ve just heard a $5 million type of performance. The answer is obviously no. {Scorecard: C for a so-so performance. There were no real flaws vocally, but the way the notes were put together with the lyrics, it didn’t come out very well, nor was it entertaining to watch, either.}

Then we move to the group 4Shore, who sang one of L.A. Reid’s own songs during one of their auditions. They sing If You Love Me. They mix solos and duets and choruses with several voices, doing a dance routine all the while. These guys sound great together, definitely in sync and in harmony, in a polished performance. It’s so polished that, ironically, Paula and Pharrell think they need to “dirty up their style a little bit”. Pharrell notes, though, that they’re very technical and that’s what they need. {Scorecard: A- for a well-refined polished performance done in perfect harmony. These guys could stand to mix it up in the coming weeks, as they’re sure to make it to the voting rounds.}

Then it’s 32-year old James Kenney performing for Paula and Enrique. He works five different jobs on top of being a husband and dad to his kids. He says singing to him is like breathing, he can’t stop doing it. He sings Rihanna’s Russian Roulette with intensity, the mike close up to his lips. He’s vocally strong and into the song, almost overpowering the background supporting him. Enrique says that he could imaging James in a Maroon 5 type of setting and Nicole questions whether he’d be a good solo artist instead of a leading band singer. {Scorecard: B for a solid, though not spectacular, performance. Enrique is probably right in that James would be better suited singing in a band instead of solo, with his style.}

Last up for tonight is 14-year old Drew Ryniewicz, a hard-core Justin Bieber fan. She sings It Must Have Been Love by Roxette. She sings with a soft sorrowful, yet melodic voice, with her expressions matching the words in the song nicely. It’s a touching song and she does very well with it. Simon looks pleased. Simon and his assistants are kind of amazed Drew is just 14, saying she has a special type of voice. They think she may be too young, and Simon says it may get hard. {Scorecard: A- for a unique vocal performance that had a certain kind of touching awesomeness to it.}

Next episode, this Sunday (if there is no baseball — can’t they postpone the game?), we hear the remaining 16 contestants and the judges have to decide which half of their contestants to keep and which half get the heartbreaking news that they’re going home.

Stay tuned!