After two weeks of painfully uncomfortable "X Factor" results shows -- replete with a child crying hysterically and death threats against Nicole Scherzinger -- this week's elimination seemed poised to offer a little satisfaction for the outraged fans of Rachel Crow and Drew. But did Marcus manage to escape the chopping block for a fourth week, with no "save me" performance to pull him back from the brink?
After 55 minutes of the typical shameless fillers and commercials, one colorful Florence and the Machine performance and one bass-heavy attempt from Scherzinger to imitate Steven Tyler (yes, she has a great voice, but I could've lived without her straining to sound raspy), we finally got to the results. So without further ado, the act sent home this week was ...
Marcus Canty.
Better late than never, I guess. Although it was two weeks overdue -- since I actually was rooting for him against LeRoy Bell in his first "save me" sing-off -- justice was finally served and Marcus was eliminated from the competition. Too late to be any consolation to Drew or Rachel, of course, but still a no brainer. The sad part is, I actually think that Marcus is a more consistent performer than Chris Rene, but clearly there's no beating a sob story.
Marcus took the elimination with typical good grace and humor, reassuring his fans, "It's all good -- this is not the last time you will see Marcus Canty." He told his family to stop crying at home, and remarked that he gave the competition his all, so he felt satisfied. I can't imagine that L.A. Reid wouldn't support him with a record deal after the dust has settled, so I'm sure we'll see him at the bottom of a chart or two very soon.
That means our final three contestants are Josh Krajcik, Melanie Amaro and Chris Rene. Who do you think will emerge triumphant as the first ever USA champion of "The X Factor"? And did you enjoy Simon's attempt at critiquing Nicole's performance in Nicole's style as much as I did? "God is smiling on you, life is a waterfall and you are the ultimate rainbow" is going to be my new go-to compliment. Share your reactions below.