Astro got the lowest votes and was sent home immediately. (Gracefully this time.) Then it came down between Marcus Canty (for the second week in a row) and Drew. We learned that Drew is a gracious loser and Simon is a sore one. We also learned that once you’ve hit the bottom two twice, it’s all down here from there. Simon starts looking stone-faced and giving the other judges the stink-eye after 4:21.

I was pretty sad that Drew was ultimately booted this week (of all weeks) as her performance of “Billie Jean”  (while looking like Carly Simon) was vocally amazing. Even though she wanted to do something up tempo, Simon made her stay seated on a chair for a “Billie Jean” ballad which, as one of the judges pointed out, was antithetical to Michael Jackson’s constant physical movement in his music.

Melanie Amaro‘s “Earth Song” performance was very good, but I thought Drew had edged Melanie out for the night.

Perhaps Chris Rene caught a lot of flak for his performance of “I’ll Be There” but I thought it was a more than competent showing of his vocal abilities.

Sadly, that was it for the highlights of the night. Josh Krajcik’s vocal performance of “Dirty Diana” left something to be desired (even though his guitar skills were impressive); Rachel Crow’s “Can You Feel It?” wasn’t really felt by the judges; Astro’s raps over “Black or White” suddenly got dull; and Marcus Canty’s “PYT (Pretty Young Thing)” was a hot mess even with a back flip thrown in.

Now we are down to the final FIVE: Rachel, Melanie, Chris, Marcus, and Josh. The competition is getting stiffer. Two will go home next week. I’m pretty sure Marcus will be one of them. Who’s next is anybody’s guess.

Oh, and I am still waiting for America to vote off Steve Jones as host of the show.

So we watched the performances this week and the competition keeps getting stiffer and better. Those who were simply good were weeded out, those who made poor song choices have been dropped, those who are great are being eliminated. Only the best and those with X-Factor will remain. My prediction of the top three?

1. Rachel Crow

2. Josh Krajick

3. Melanie Amaro

I was disappointed to see Astro hang on, but I’m looking forward to when he gets eliminated next. Sure, call me a hater, but I think he’s on the same plane as Drew: both need to do something different. Wait, I’m lying. Drew broke out of her box this week with the following:

Melanie began testifying and having church up in the place with this (love!):

However, Josh killed it on the piano:

Lakoda Rayne was the first to go, and Drew unfortunately ended up staying. The battle came down to LeRoy Bell and Marcus Canty. I loved Marcus Canty’s version of Xtina’s “You Lost Me,” but LeRoy (finally!) killed it with The Beatles’s “Don’t Let Me Down.” One of the judges said he sang for his life and they were right. Even Simon wasn’t willing to be the deciding factor and left it up to America. Make your decision after watching the following:

Marcus Canty

LeRoy Bell

America voted to keep Marcus Canty over LeRoy Bell, who graciously accepted defeat. But Marcus now knows that he’s not susceptible to being in the bottom as Astro is aware of the same thing. And we’ve also learned with Stacy Francis that song choice is very important.

Which is why I’m looking forward to Drew going home very soon.

1. Paramore: Brand New Eyes – 4 stars. Definitely check out “The Only Exception,” “Misguided Ghosts,” and “All I Wanted.’

2. Tricia Brock: The Road – 3 stars. Take it or leave it. Noteworthy song: “You Are My Shepherd.”

3. The Script: Science & Faith – 3 stars. An okay follow-up to their strong self-titled album.  Listen to “Dead Man Walking.”

4. Frou Frou: Details: – 3.5 stars. Only one not-so-strong song on the album. The rest are solid. Noteworthy titles: “Let Go” and “Hear Me Out.”

5. Kylie Minogue: X – 3 stars. Surprisingly bland for the mega-pop star even with a song called “Nu-Di-Ty.” Check out “Speakerphone” and “Heart Beat Rock.”

6. The Bird and the Bee: Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future – 4.5 stars. A solid, enjoyable album reminiscent of a ’60s throwback. Best songs: “My Love” and “Polite Dance Song.”

7. The Bird and the Bee: Please Clap Your Hands – 3.5 stars. A solid EP that includes “Polite Dance Song” from Ray Guns. Noteworthy cover: The Bee Gees’ “How Deep Is Your Love.”

8. Kid Cudi: Man on the Moon: The End of the Day – 2.5 stars. An eclectic album with flow that varies. Was not a huge fan. Two wins: “Heart of a Lion (Kid Cudi Theme Music)” and “Enter Galactic (Love Connection Part I).”

9. The Bird and the Bee: Interpreting the Masters Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates – 4 stars. A solid, fun album for Hall & Oates fans. Must-listen songs: “One on One” and “Sara Smile.”

10. Downhere: How Many Kings – 3.5 stars. A solid, Christmas album. Standouts: “How Many Kings” and “Five Golden Rings.”

Wow. This show is proving, in more ways than American Idol, that the competition is getting stiffer. Some people really improved and got better; some people regressed and got worse. And one just had a bad attitude.

The X-Factor USA was dramatic in unbelievable ways. This week was supposed to be rock (as in rock n’ roll) week and the following two got away with performing songs that weren’t really rock.

Chris Rene: “No Woman, No Cry,” a reggae song by Bob Marley

Astro: an original hip-hop song with P. Diddy’s “Every Step You Take” as the backing track. Worst part: it paid tribute to all the hip-hop greats and the judges took no notice it wasn’t a rock song. (Simon barely acknowledged that.)

A lot of the judges picked slower rock songs for their contestants. (Nicole never fails to remind us that LeRoy Bell is so good for being so old! He’s 60!) However, the following three actually had songs that the audience could call ROCK (in rock order):

Josh Krajcik took on Foo Fighters

Rachel Crow performed the Rolling Stones

Lakoda Rayne happened to be one of the better rock groups of the night as they covered a mash-up of The Outfield and Fleetwood Mac. I would’ve been horrified if they had been in the bottom two this week.

I was hoping for Drew to fall into the bottom two since her performances have consistently been ballad-ish and she hasn’t really grown; it’s about time she performed something “up tempo” as many of the judges pointed out in their comments. If this is the kind of music she plans to make, I won’t be buying it.

But Thursday proved to be the most dramatic night in which we discovered Rachel Crow, Astro, and Stacy Francis were on the chopping block. Rachel cried even before her name was called out as the final contestant to stay in the competition, and she broke into sobs right afterward. I thought Stacy’s elimination performance of “Amazing Grace” was amazing, and Astro’s performance to be lackluster. Everyone could tell his heart wasn’t in it. If you haven’t seen the clip after the elimination performances, it’s definitely worth watching.

Of course, L.A. Reid is gonna go with his boy Astro and Nicole’s gonna pick her girl Stacy. But now the judges are not judging based on elimination performances anymore, they’re judging based on who’s better overall in the competition and who’s got the potential to make the show money. But if I were a judge, I would have sent Astro home with his sour attitude. Not only did he disrespect the judges, he disrespected the audience and essentially disrespected (and I’m sure disappointed) his mother. You can’t be a sore loser and make it in the music business. Astro may be a hard worker, but he unfortunately reminded us that he’s 14.

Paula chose to go with Astro who has been consistently good throughout the competition and the fate of the contestants hung in Simon’s hands. (I’m sure he planned the seating order that way on purpose.) Simon gave Astro a good talking to, which the audience cheered. (You know it’s bad if Simon’s pulling out the discipline card and the audience is agreeing.)  But it also showed a part of Simon (for all his British-ness) that people normally don’t get to see, and that is he genuinely cares about these contestants. He cares about more than just the money they could make (which, of course, is his main motivation and the determining factor in his decision), but he also cares about their well-being.

After confronting Astro about his lousy attitude, Simon says he’s choosing the person who has the best shot at winning the competition: Astro.

I don’t know about that anymore. Stacy’s Wednesday performance was the worst, but I don’t think America likes being dissed. Astro just lost a helluva lot of fans, including the Brooklyn-born girl writing this.

Stacy was gracious about losing and thanked the judges and her fans for allowing her, a 42-year-old who wouldn’t normally have a shot, to get this far.

And suddenly, I was very sad to see the gracious loser go and the sore loser stay.