Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty ImagesWhile we may still be a little confused on what exactly the "X factor" is, on tonight's round of auditions we were told by the judges that some of the contestants had it.
Auditions started out in the Windy City with ex-judge Cheryl Cole still on board, but then headed to Seattle with Nicole Scherzinger instead. So who wowed us and who made us say WTF?
The Good
First up was the BFF duo Brock and MaKenna. Brock made it pretty clear (to the cameras, at least) that he wanted to be a little more than just friends with his singing partner, but when Simon asked point-blank if they were dating, MaKenna said "no" a bit too quickly. But with four yeses from the judges, the strictly platonic couple will have some more one-on-one time together.
Skylar Anderson, 16, started out with some technical difficulties that would have freaked out the most schooled of audition buffs. But the first-timer powered through without the background music and quickly won over the audience and the judges. "I'm really impressed," Paula gushed about his uniqueness...And, trust, Paula knows unique.
Josh Krajick works in a burrito restaurant and his mom is his biggest fan. So sweet! While Simon wasn't at first thrilled with his song choice—"At Last" by Etta James—Josh quickly changed the British beyotch's mind. Josh got a standing O from Paula and four yeses from the judges. Cue wild crowd and an even wilder mom.
And then there's 4Sure, an all-male group from Virginia Beach with harmonies that are out of this world. Not many groups could sing the Boyz II Men song "End of the Road," especially in front of the man who wrote it, Mr. L.A. Reid, but they did and it was freakin good! Four yeses 4Sure.
The Bad
Kim Terek sang Katy Perry's "Firework," but we'd have preferred to shoot her into space. Tim Quinn sang "Kiss From a Rose," which was mind-numbingly terrible. And yet Robin Royal was somehow worse than both of them put together, provoking Simon to ask what we all were thinking: "What the bloody hell was that?"
Then there was Charlesia Heard, who came onstage about six months too late (as pointed out by head honcho Simon) and auditioned to be a judge. To humor her they gave her a chance: Simon asked what she would say to Britney Spears, but who cares what she responded ‘cause obvi Nicole beat her to the punch.
The Paula
J. Mark Inman performed some dorky, weirdo cover of "Creep" by Radiohead and the judges were laughing—at him. "You don't belong here, you are otherworldly," Paula ranted. "You are definitely in a different jurisdiction for sure. I think I've visited there before once or twice in my life. The places we could go together!" And just like that, as if we were all on another friggin' planet, Mark was put through.
While Paula and Nicole seemed to be on a witch-hunt for the younger gals, the most controversial moment of the evening came when Tiah Tolliver, a 19-year-old deli clerk, performed a capella—but not to Nicole or Paula's liking. "This girl has something in her, I promise you. If you can't see this, you're deaf," said Simon, clearly pissed off about Paula's and Nicole's votes. After performing a second song, Paula remained firm with her no vote but Nicole finally broke down and changed hers.
"I've never felt so strongly," Simon promised. So Paula knocked the snack right out of Simon's hand, thus concluding the show.
So good to have Simon and Paula back together again. Missed you guys.