CeCe is back and her 15 minutes are up...

This is my first BIG news of the summer kids.

And yet, I cant say anything about it... yet.

-P

Another week of X Factor... Another Victory for CeCe!

So after narrowly escaping the axe last week on The X Factor, CeCe was facing a tough road ahead as the competition continued to get smaller and the Top 3 contestants continued to remain solidified each week. With what seemingly looked like her final night on the show, Miss X to the O chose to go out with a BANG! Choosing the "Moulin Rouge" rendition of La Belle's "Lady Marmalade" as her Number 1 song choice this week.

With dancers in tow and dressed to the nine's, CeCe stormed the stage with the fierceness and confidence that has been missing for so many weeks since the judges started bringing her down to shape her into something she is not. With one last act of defiance and the blessing of her coach, Demi Lovato, CeCe proved once more why she is a force to be reckoned with.

So like I said, if she was going down, she was going down fighting and when the judges threw their two cents in, it became clear that they were a little swayed by her performance. L.A. Reid and Britney Spears conceded to liking the circus that she put on, but Simon Cowell had the most interesting opinion of them all. the man who has been a see saw of opinion during this entire contest, never seems to be satisfied with the product that CeCe puts out. This time around he said that while she had stepped it up a notch, she had given him too much and that she should "pack her bags."

I sensed a ploy in his voice, as if whatever Simon says steers the audience in another direction, I had seen it in the past on American Idol and I was seeing it once more here. His negative remarks were actually a veiled vote of confidence to help CeCe stick around for another week. So the following night when it was time to learn what the world had decided, it would turn out to be a night full of shocking turns of events. First off the Sudden Death elimination, which has become a staple of the competition each week, claimed Paige Thomas as its victim. After putting up such a strong performance of Rick Astley's viral hit "Never Gonna Give You Up" and proving that she could really shine as a pop superstar, Paige was cut loose, leaving Demi Lovato with only CeCe left in her stable of artists.

Then came the ominous Top 5...

CeCe's hard work and determination paid off once more, when the votes came through and put her once again in 5th Place, saving her for another week. I was glad to see Diamond White at the bottom, In my personal opinion, I think that she should have never been brought back into the competition after being eliminated from the Top 16. I think that in a competition like this, once you are eliminated, that should be it. You failed to prove your worth in a do or die situation and your loss is your fault. CeCe has proven herself time and again in the sing off rounds and every time she has emerged the victor.

Diamond White's face off against Vino Alan found the older singer going home after a last minute song change ultimately cost him the competition.

But, I think that CeCe is honestly living on borrowed time at this point, the competition is getting down to the heavy hitters and seemingly no one will be able to beat Tate Stevens and Carly Rose in the Top 2 spots. The two of them are getting a lot of press and support around the country for obvious reasons and the stronghold that is their fan base might be impossible to break at this point. With Vino shockingly gone now, I think Emblem 3 will claim the third spot, with their boyish (annoying) charms that speak to the loins of every teenage girl, they should safely make a secure stance in the final rounds.

 

If she can outlast Diamond and 5th harmony I will be amazed, but I think that Diamond might have a resurgence next week since she was at the bottom this week and 5th Harmony could easily fall since there really isn't a market for female singing groups right now. So what happens when CeCe has to go head to head with 5 girls at once?... I can't wait to find out.

The more and more I watch the show, I feel like I am watching a real life "Street Fighter," mixed in with a little "Hunger Games" and "Scott Pilgrim vs the World." I am excited to see how this ends with only a few more weeks left to go, but as always I wish CeCe the best of luck in her journey. She has done everything right thus far and I know that she can truly rise out of this TV show as a superstar.

Hopefully, the excitement will continue next week!

Thanks for voting

-P

CeCe Fights her way out of another Elimination!

If you are new to my site and are wondering why I am so obsessed with The X Factor this season, it's because one of my best clients is a current contestant. Miss CeCe Frey, has been kicking ass and taking names for the last few weeks on the show and this week was tasked with having to sing her way out of another elimination round... on Thanksgiving!

The week started Wednesday, when she gave an emotional performance of Bette Midler's "Wind Beneath My Wings" dedicated to her late-sister. 

This was the strong type of performance that the judges have been asking of her each and every week, and it showed when they each went to cast their opinions. Unfortunately, it is usually the opposite of their votes that sits with the general public. And sure enough on the following night, 10 Contestants were whittled down to 8, when first the R&B crooner, Arin Ray was abruptly eliminated in a sudden death round and then CeCe found herself in the bottom two with 13 year old, Beatrice Miller.

Some people can disagree with me all they want, but CeCe is in her PRIME and when faced against a 13 year old opponent, who has yet to develop into her voice, I think the choice was pretty obvious. Sure enough with a 3-1 vote, the judges chose to send Beatrice home and keep CeCe one more week, with a certain air of uncertainty still lingering.

While the competition continues to get stiffer and the Top 3 remains solidified week by week, its almost certain that Miss X to the O's time on the show will be coming to an end shortly. But let's just hope she can hang in there for a lil while longer!

Thanks for voting AMERICA!

-P

CeCe breaks the bottom 2 AGAIN!

With all of the preparation for the premiere of The Stakes last week, I forgot to blog about CeCe's win in last week's X Factor.

The assignment that week was to rock out a famous song from a movie sountrack and MissXtotheO chose "Eye of the Tiger" from Rocky III. On a personal note, I have never been a fan of this song, as much as I love the Rocky franchise... I have never really been THAT into this song and I actually find it quite annoying. But needless to say, CeCe took to "the challenge of her rivals" and beat the hell out of the song like Rocky Balboa did to Clubber Lang.

Plus her trademark leopard print made a distinct return in new fashion, which I thought was a nice touch. And fire... Seriously, FIRE on stage!

That pretty much sold the performance for me, but it didn't impress the judges. LA Reid felt like it was strong, but just wasn't doing it for him, while Simon Cowell (who has surprisingly been a CeCe suporter in the past) admitted that Demi Lovato has pretty much been "cocking" up CeCe's song choice.

CeCe has been a huge fan of Demi for some time, and I still believe that CeCe's version of Demi's "Skyscraper" is still better than the original. But here for the first time, I am starting to think that their match up is gonna cause CeCe's eventual downfall on the show. It just does not seem to be meshing. And part of that (I believe) is because Demi Lovato is just not as talented or original as the press make her out to be.

So... the next night, CeCe found herslf in the bottom two once again, this time facing off against flamboyant showman, Jason Brock (who, I absolutely LOVED btw). 

Once again, CeCe hit the judges with a ballad (Her saving grace several times over during this competition). And while pretty much putting her words into the song form, she told the judges and the audience watching at home that they "hadn't seen the last of her." And it wasn't.

After the judges were deadlocked in their votes. The audience's voting at home determined that Jason Brock was the official loser and CeCe was granted a pass to stick around for another week.

Whew, intense.
On to next week!

-P 

CeCe Narrowly escapes Elimination on X Factor!

CeCe hit the stage on Wednesday night's first X Factor LIVE show with a rockin rendition of Patti Smith's "Here Come The Night." I watched the following day with no clue of how the evening would turn out, but was blown away by how transformed CeCe had become into a mega star. I mean, just a few months ago we were in Kyle Jordan Mueller's basement filming against a green screen for her cover of "Wild Ones" and now she putting on a Britney-esque performance (not on IN FRONT OF Britney) but also in front of millions of viewers WORLDWIDE!

Unfortunately, things did not go CeCe's way and the judges ultimately criticized her vocals by chalking it up to "nervousness." The thing that gets me, is that they also claim that her performance was NOT CeCe... I thinks it was quite the opposite. I think it was 110% CeCe, and the entire perforamce (from the dancers to the makeup to the wardrobe) was all a personification of her style and creativity. I think the judges, Simon Cowell especially, only want to see the softer side of CeCe and not the "Rocker" side that she works so hard to maintain. Anyway, this left CeCe in Demi Lovato's "Bottom Two" and facing elimination on the following night's LIVE show.

Luckily, she made her presence known once again in front of those millions of viewers and established herself as a REAL contender in this competition, taking down Willie Jones and remaining in the game! I have to admit, I have been swept up in the Hunger Games aspects of this show and am now eagerly waiting to find out what happens next.

A year ago, I knew that I only wanted to work with the MOST talented artists in St. Louis before making my way to the west coast. And thus far, I truly have.

-P