'The X Factor' Season 1, Episode 23 Recap - 'The Top 4 Perform'

At the top of the show, we're treated to a look back at the ridiculousness of last week's elimination of Rachel Crow, including Rachel's horrific sobbing and Nicole's big dumb face. I can only hope the boos are twice as loud this week.

Will she dare trot out on stage and wave to the audience in her usual "love me please" kind of way? I hope they introduce the other three judges first and then bring her out on her own. And hopefully they supplied tomatoes to the audience to throw at her.

Steve Jones seems very excited about the fact that it's the semifinals. Probably because he gets to get away from this madness soon.

Sadly, the judges all come out at the same time, and Nicole is able to smile and wave as usual without meeting much reaction from the audience. More ire, audience! More ire! She gets a few more boos when Steve asks her about her week, but she says that the boos have made her stronger, and that "God is good." Too bad you're not so good at your job.

Anyway, Marcus Canty is the first one up with his Pepsi Challenge song, which is "I'll Make Love to You." I think that's the fifth Boyz II Men song we've heard thus far, but then again it's a song that fits Marcus' style pretty well. He does a fine if not unimpressive job with it. Simon implies that it's a little bit karaoke, and not enough was different or exciting about it. I agree. Nicole is careful to say nothing bad.

Guess we're getting the boys out of the way first, as Chris Rene is up next. I literally laugh out loud when I hear the opening lick to "Fly." Yes, as in "Fly," the mid-90's hit from Sugar Ray. That's a far cry from Chris' performance last week, of his own original song.

Nicole loves it, and says that Chris makes us all feel good. Simon calls it a "seven out of ten." I'd agree with that. Not much of a song to show off with, and it's not like Chris is the greatest singer in the competition.

Back from break, we jump right into Melanie Amaro singing "Hero" by Mariah Carey/Whitney Houston/is there a difference? Of course she does well with it being a song right in her wheelhouse. I'm beginning to think that this Pepsi "Challenge" isn't much of a challenge.

The judges love it, although Paula didn't like the switch to a minor key. Nicole says Melanie is "an inspiration." Is she?

Josh Krajcik takes the stage next, with a cover of "Come Together" by The Beatles, with a bit of a rock edge. It's not bad, probably mostly because it's a great song to begin with. It's kind of a cruel song to give to someone as Josh, since it never really affords him an opportunity to cut loose and really wail. The chorus is the most melodic point, and it's over before it starts.

Still, the judges all love it, and Simon agrees with LA that Josh has "come back strong" this week.

On to the next round of songs, we get an extensive clip package about Marcus and how things went last week. Simon was nice enough to compliment Marcus on his save song, and then condescending enough to give him a little knock of the chin. Why is he so creepy?

So Marcus does "Careless Whisper" by George Michael, oddly enough. It's certainly more energetic than the last song, which is good...solid choice making the ballad a bit more upbeat. Simon, however, calls it "a joke" and absolutely tears into Marcus and LA. Fun!

"Sometimes the judges just spew out random drivel because they have to say something," says one of the show's Twitter followers. Too astute.

Chris Rene is up next, starting off his second song in front of the piano, as he launches into "No One" by Alicia Keys. It starts out slow, then he "drops the beat" as it were and it becomes a little more Chris Rene-ish. You know what? This song actually works pretty well for him. I'm impressed.

The judges all love it. Could Chris actually win this thing? Are we going to give $5 million to a recovering addict? That seems dangerous.

Melanie's back to sing her second, which is "Feeling Good" by Nina Simone, which has been significantly tweaked to make it much more of a power ballad than the jazzy song it used to be. It works fairly well, and Melanie does a good job with it. It's much more interesting than her last one.

The judges love it, and Nicole says something else annoying. Simon makes a specific plea to the audience at home to vote for Melanie, knowing what happened to Rachel last week.

Lastly, we have Josh's second song, which is one that LA says he wouldn't pick for him. He, like Chris, is at the piano...and the song is "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen. Much better choice for Josh to show off the pipes a bit (as much as I love the Beatles, there wasn't enough range before). The performance is predictably impressive.

LA points out, though, that it "lacked excitement," and I might agree with him. Paula, through the tears that are streaming down her face just from the song, disagrees. Simon, surprisingly, takes Paula's side.

So, where does that leave us? With four contenders doing two songs apiece, who knows? But it's safe to say that Marcus was the most underwhelming. Had Chris not done the Alicia Keys song, he might have been in trouble too, but he seems untouchable at this point.

In any case, tonight's results show will send someone home based solely on the audience vote, so the judges won't do any acutal judging. So for Nicole, it'll be just like any other night. Ba-zingggg!