Yes, Caitlin Koch we will still love you tomorrow. The X Factor took viewers to the homes of each of the judges last night, as each group of eight was assigned a song by his/her mentor and then proceeded to sing said song for said mentor, whose job it now is to narrow his/her group down from eight to four. Follow all that? Simon Cowell at least has it somewhat easy. One clear member of the final 16 should be Koch, the blonde rugby coach with the beautiful voice. Check out her latest cover below and prepare yourself. It’s seriously good. Caitlin Koch – Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow
Rain delay in ALCS game forces schedule change for Wednesday’s and Thursday’s shows. By Gil Kaufman L.A. Reid, Nicole Scherzinger, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell on “The X Factor” Photo: FOX Simon Cowell’s “X Factor” has survived more modest ratings than the brash British judge promised for his reality singing show. And given his tenacity and the amount of money piled up to promote the American version of his hit British competition show — not to mention the $5 million prize — it seems like it would take an act of God to knock the “Factor” train off the track. Well, that’s exactly what happened on Wednesday night when the show’s final 32 were slated to visit the judges’ homes and commune with such special mentors as Rihanna . The American League Championship Series game between the Detroit Tigers and the Texas Rangers was originally slated to begin at 4:19 p.m., but the pounding rain didn’t let up until after 5:30. By the time the grounds crew began prepping the field, the game had been delayed by two hours and 13 minutes. That already put the 8 p.m. start time for “Factor” into jeopardy. But add in the fact that the game went into extra innings after ending in a 3-3 tie after nine and you had a serious scheduling headache for Fox. By the fifth inning, it was announced that “Factor” would not air on Wednesday night, but would return to its regular slot on Thursday (October 13). The current plan calls for last night’s episode to air on Thursday and Thursday’s show to air on Sunday. That’s all fine and good (assuming this afternoon’s game is not delayed by rain as well), but if a game seven is forced between the two teams, “Factor” may have to shuffle again, meaning Fox might have to air three episodes of the show in the same week to keep things on track. As if all of this shuffling wasn’t confusing enough (and way frustrating for “Factor” fanatics ), the third round of the judges’ home visits will air on Tuesday, which is another switch from the Wednesday-Thursday schedule . To refresh your memory, after the grueling “X Factor” boot camp shows , L.A. Reid is mentoring the boys (Brennin Hunt, Brian Bradley, Chris Rene , etc.), Simon Cowell has the girls (Rachel Crow, Tiah Tolliver, Drew Ryniewicz, etc.), Nicole Scherzinger will deal with the over-30s (Dexter Haygood, Josh Krajcik, LeRoy Bell, etc.) and Paula Abdul is corralling the groups ( 2squar’d , the Brewer Boys, the Stereo Hogzz). After visiting the judge’s homes (or a neutral location of their choice), the 16 semifinalists will vie for a spot in the upcoming live shows. Related Videos MTV News Extended Play: ‘X Factor’ Judges Simon Cowell, L.A. Reid
Brennin Hunt is a 26-year old model who said on The X Factor last night that he’s “the total package.” Not exactly the best way to endear oneself to an audience. But then Hunt stopped talking and starting singing, delivering a strong performance on an original track, always a bold step for any contestant to take. Simon Cowell was certainly impressed, saying he could turn Brennin into a major star. Do you see the same potential? Brennin Hunt X Factor Audition Among other performers we adored last night: Jazzlyn Little and Tora Woloshin .
‘X Factor’ judge clarifies reports that he accused the superstar singers of lacking said factor. By Jocelyn Vena Photo: Ray Mickshaw/ FOX Simon Cowell is conducting damage control following some insulting statements he allegedly made recently. The always outspoken “X Factor” judge reportedly said that Katy Perry , Lady Gaga and even Beyonc
Chris Brown made good on his promise to reward the fan who returned his $22,000 watch. An Ohio girl named Alisha got the VIP treatment last night! Team Breezy rolled through the fan’s hometown of Cincinnati, where he gave her two great seats to his concert at the city’s Riverbend Music Center. Chris also met with Alisha to thank her, then invited her to hang with him and his entourage before the show and signed a picture for good measure. Good thing he didn’t lose that gold wrist thingy. If you missed it, Chris accidentally tossed the diamond-encrusted Rolex into the crowd at the MTV VMAs last month during his ree-diculous performance. Incredibly, it landed in the lap of an honest person. Alisha ended up with the thing, then amazingly came forward and gave it back to Brown’s bouncer. Good to see her do the right thing, and that Chris treated her to a heckuva time as a result. Keep your eye out and you can see it go flying here: Chris Brown VMA Performance 2011
In the tradition of all singing competitions, The X Factor aired a few catastrophes this week, from those who cannot carry a tune to those who drop their pants in the middle of the stage. Wait… what?!? Yes, Geo Godley bared almost all on Wednesday night, making Nicole Scherzinger scream and accomplishing something even more impressive: making Simon Cowell speechless. Geo Godley Drops His Pants The Parents Television Council does not find Godley’s antics funny, however, and has called out Fox for airing such filth. “If Godley performed his act in public, he would have been arrested,” writes Tim Winter. “But if he performs it in front of a Fox camera, his act is beamed via the public airwaves into every home in the nation… “Families were led to believe the ‘X Factor’ would be family-friendly programming and instead were assaulted by graphic nudity.” That’s actually not true, Godley says, responding that he was donning a g-string and they “are legal.” In less silly news, how about a couple of the acts we witnessed this week?!? Watch Melanie Amaro and Caitlin Koch display their singing skills now!
‘At one point in time, we were a family,’ Freeway tells ‘RapFix Live’ of Jay-Z/Damon Dash era. By Rob Markman, with reporting by Sway Calloway Freeway and Sway Photo: MTV News Roc-A-Fella Records was once one of the most storied labels and rap crews in the business. Under the guidance of Jay-Z, Damon Dash and Kareem “Burke” Biggs, artists like Kanye West , Beanie Sigel , Cam’ron, Memphis Bleek and Freeway were able to carve out careers for themselves that would carry on even after the label disbanded. On Wednesday’s “RapFix Live” with host Sway, Free discussed the last days of the Roc, the separation that existed between the record label’s subdivisions and how he was able to bounce back. “At one point in time we were a family. The whole thing about Roc-A-Fella that they pride themselves on is the family structure,” Freeway said of the label that was composed of a number of sub-crews like the Diplomats, State Property and Bleek’s Get Low clique. Free then went on to describe how the once-united crews came to be divided. By 2005, the Jay-Z/Dame Dash feud was dominating headlines, but for Free, the reality didn’t set in until after he dropped his 2007 sophomore album. “It definitely was a point in time when I was like, ‘Oh sh–, what am I gonna do?’ ” the bearded MC recalled, saying that it was former Roc-A-Fella A&R Lenny Santiago who broke the news to him and State Property. “I think it was the time when it was really over and everybody got dropped, after [’07’s] Free at Last, probably like a couple of months after that, that’s when we realized. Lenny S. came to Philly to talk to us. “He was like, ‘Look, man, it’s gonna be some changes again; everything ain’t how it was,’ basically, ‘It’s over.’ ” Without a hint of bitterness in his voice, the street-hardened MC described his mind-set. “What I did is go back to what I normally do,” he told Sway. According to Philly Freezer, when he first appeared on Jay-Z’s “1-900-Hustler” in 2000, he wasn’t actually signed to Roc-A-Fella: His deal came after a series of radio freestyles and battles in which Free proved himself. So when his deal with the legendary label dissolved, he went back to what he knew, grinding on the underground level. Free’s 2010 Stimulus Package, produced with Jake One, helped cement his status as a formidable MC and should nicely set up his Diamond in the Rough LP coming later this year. To let Freeway tell it, the transition from being under the Roc umbrella was relatively easy. “When the whole breakup came, I just went back to what I know,” he said. “It was actually better for me because I already had a name established from the Roc-A-Fella brand.” Related Videos Freeway On ‘RapFix Live’ Related Artists Freeway
With 12.1 million viewers, Simon Cowell’s show pulls half ‘American Idol’ season 10 premiere audience. By Gil Kaufman Simon Cowell on “The X Factor” Photo: FOX Simon Cowell has been talking all week about how he’d like his new reality singing show to bury the competition, which, in his case is his old reality singing stomping grounds, “American Idol.” Well, “The X Factor” is going to have to do a lot better than it did during its Wednesday night debut if it’s going to reach the “Idol” critical mass. According to overnight ratings, not only did “Factor” pull about half of the typical “Idol” market share, it wasn’t even the highest-rated show that aired last night. According to Nielsen, “Factor” pulled in 12.1 million viewers for its heavily hyped two-hour debut, with a 4.4/12 rating in the prized 18 to 49 demographic, which was far below the numbers for the night’s ratings champ, Emmy-winning sitcom “Modern Family,” which boasted 14.3 million viewers and a 6.0/15 for its season premiere. In fact, “Factor” was only the fourth most-watched show of the night. The Hollywood Reporter noted that overall “Factor” averaged an 8.7 rating, which was half of the 16.4 rating “Idol” pulled in earlier this year in its season 10 premiere, which drew 26.1 million eyeballs in January. The trade magazine called it a “quiet start” for a show with the richest prize on TV — a $5 million recording contract — and which the mag reported cost the Fox network $250 million to obtain the U.S. rights from NBC. That’s on top of the untold millions Fox spent promoting the show all summer and what we can only assume is Cowell’s hefty producer/judging fee. Before the “Factor” debut, Cowell told the Reporter he would view anything less than 20 million viewers for the first show as a “disappointment.” As with “Idol,” it’s likely the ratings for “X Factor” will grow as the season progresses and the competition becomes more intense among contestants to whom viewers have become attached. And judging from the first episode, while the show certainly has some glaring similarities to “Idol,” there are enough novel touches — a wider age range of contestants, singing groups and a live audience at auditions — that like the hit singing competition “The Voice,” Cowell’s latest might find its footing and end up with solid, but perhaps not record-shattering ratings. Or, it could be that no matter how much we love to hate Cowell, America doesn’t have enough room in its heart for three celebrity-packed singing shows . Only time will tell. Get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.
