'The X Factor' Season 1, Episode 9 Recap - 'Judges Homes #3'

So we went through two episodes' worth of performances at the judges' homes, but we didn't get to see any cuts or crushed dreams. That's because they've been holding off on all the dream-crushing until tonight... all 32 contestants have performed and will now face their "mentors" (who haven't done a ton of mentoring yet) to see if they're one of the final 16.

It's time to face the you-know-what.

We start off in France with Simon, who has at least put on some shoes and a shirt that isn't baring his chest (though he still opted for a v-neck).

Tora Woloshin and Simone Battle are the first two to get their results. Simone has had a rough go of things, but did a nice performance of "Help." Meanwhile, Tora wowed everyone thus far but had a bit of trouble with her Stones performance.

Simone gets the good news, while Tora is sent packing. That may have been mostly Simon's unabashed soft spot for Simone... one thing is for sure, she'd better start remembering her lyrics from here on in.

Drew Ryniewicz, one of the youngest competitors at 14 years old. Despite her Justin Bieber obsession, she's proved to be rather mature and extremely impressive thus far. Her rendition of "Baby" at the auditions was great, but her performance in front of Simon was stupendous.

Simon tells her that she wasn't the best teenager, but that was a bit of misdirection: he tells her that she was in fact the best contestant of the entire day. That's the truth. So, she moves on. Cue the dumb Pink music

In: Drew Ryniewicz and Simone Battle

Out: Tara Woloshin

Time to hop over to the Over 30's, who are awaiting their results in Malibu. Josh Krajcik is up first... I guess the plan is to talk to the obvious ones first. After all, Josh has been monumentally good thus far. Nicole is nice enough to sit down on the couch with her contestants as opposed to Simon's rank and file system. She tells Josh that the "guy next door" image might not work for a superstar, but he's still going through. Duh.

Christa Collins and her eye makeup are up next. She's wearing a hat with a plastic baby on it. She'll be joined by James Kenney, who talks about working five jobs for his family. He succeeds in drawing more sympathy than Christa, who continues to sob about being the first child artist signed to Disney Records.

It looks like they'll be joined by Dexter and his purple shirt, who gives James a run for his sympathetic money by telling us that he's homeless. He also admits that he "stunk up the joint" during his performance.

Nicole sighs extra dramatically. She tells Christa that she needs improvement, tells James that he has a great vulnerability but isn't a solo artist, and tells Dexter that he's "hit or miss." Christa's a no-go, and James gets turned down as well, but she decides to take Dexter with her. Dexter belly-flops into the pool.

In: Josh Krajcik and Dexter Haygood

Out: James Kenney and Christa Collins

Time to take a break from Nicole's ridiculous histrionics and head over to the groups, where 2 Squar'd, Illusion Confusion and the Brewer Boys are all on Paula's chopping block. She tells IC that their vocals were beautiful but their showmanship was lacking. She sounds a little iffy about the Brewer Boys, and has a mixed reaction for 2 Squar'd as well.

Ultimately, 2 Squar'd and Illusion Confusion get axed while the Brewer Boys, surprisingly, get the invite to move on. Their performance from the other day wasn't great, but it wasn't a great song for them either. Fair enough.

4 Shore is also facing elimination, and Paula puts their leadership into question: "Who's the lead?" she asks. The foursome gets a no, and they're sent packing in their logoed multi-colored t-shirts.

In: The Brewer Boys

Out: 2 Squar'd, Illusion Confusion and 4 Shore

Over to the Hamptons, where the Boys are awaiting the results from L.A. Reid. Brian Bradley is the first up, and is eagerly awaiting his fame, fortune and girls. L.A. tells him that he was a standout, but questions whether Brian can "maintain the right kind of attitude" to continue on. But Brian gets the invite, and he'll be one of the final 16.

Nick Voss, Skyelor Anderson, Brennin Hunt and Phillip Lomax will all face L.A. next. None of them really wowed with their performances on Sunday... and sure enough, they all get some rough criticism from L.A. Philip is told he can't do Sinatra every night, and Nick is told he's not finding himself.

Nick, Skyelor and Brennin are all told no in quick succession, but Phillip is given a yes. While Brennin seems genuinely "shocked" (yeah, he said he was shocked) that he didn't make it, Phillip seems even more shocked that he did. He has a lot of talent, but he's going to have to find a way to make himself more marketable than the genre of jazz provides. Although things seemed to work out pretty well for Michael Bublé, so who knows? Maybe they'll let him be him.

In: Philip Lomax

Out: Nick Voss, Skyelor Anderson and Brennin Hunt

Nervous Nellie Jazzlyn Little is next to face Simon and his little Pepsi tea party that he has going on. He tells her that when she gets herself together, she's very impressive, but also tells her that he has to bring the strongest competitors through. She gets a no, and Simone is nice enough to give her some words of encouragement.

Out: Jazzlyn Little

Tiger Budbill and Leroy Bell will be the next to sit down on Nicole's couch. Tiger's been a bit of a wild card so far, but Leroy has only improved... his rendition of "Make You Feel My Love" for Nicole and Enrique was pretty great.

Nicole is succeeding admirably in bugging the hell out of me. First of all, sit like an adult. Second, your dramatic half-whisper is getting annoying. She tells Tiger that she wants more from him, and tells Leroy that she's concerned he doesn't want it enough. Tiger gets a no, and you can tell that Nicole hated having to tell him that. Leroy, on the other hand, gets a big yes.

In: Leroy Bell

Out: Tiger Budbill

Back to the boys, and Chris Rene is up first. We can skip all the build-up and just say that he's going through right? He's probably gotten more screen time than anyone so far. Plus, no way are the producers giving up a dramatic, rehab-filled story like his. They're doing their damnedest to make us worry by starting up Coldplay's "Fix You," and L.A. tries to sell the ambiguity as much as possible, but of course Chris is going through.

In: Chris Rene

Back to the groups, where Intensity and Lakoda Rayne, both of the hastily assembled groups made up of contestants who didn't make it in the solo rounds. The kids in Intensity are, I think, all in tears. Way to make children cry, "X Factor." You jerks.

She basically gives the two groups the same note: there needs to be a better blend and energy as a group. She tells Lakoda Rayne that they need more joy in their performance. She also tells the girls of Intensity that the boys are outperforming them

But both groups get a yes, and will be going on. Sucks to be the groups that came in as groups and yet got beaten by these slap-dash ensembles. Yeah, that's right. I called 'em slap-dash.

In: Intensity and Lakoda Rayne

Tiah Tolliver and Caitlin Koch are up next in front of Simon. Caitlin has been more or less fantastic throughout. Tiah, meanwhile, is the one that Simon fought for tooth and nail. She has been impressive since, but wasn't the best she could have been when performing the other day.

In fact, Simon tells Tiah that she has pitch issues and rails on her while he has nothing but nice things to say to Caitlin. Surprisingly, though, he gives Caitlin a no and gives Tiah a yes. Tiah is pretty damn lucky that Simon is mentoring this group. Caitlin is not. Had any other mentor been in charge, I can guarantee you it would have been Caitlin moving on.

In: Tiah Tolliver

Out: Caitlin Koch

That leaves only one spot in each category, and two contestants left in each. Drama! Excitement! Crushed dreams!

Marcus Canty and Tim Cifers are left for the Boys. While Marcus wowed with his initial audition, he left some questions with his performance for L.A. and Rihanna the other day. Tim has been solid throughout, but hasn't made a big impact yet. L.A. gives him a good note, saying that it takes a bit of selfishness to be a big star, and his selflessness for his family could be a hindrance. I agree... when he was saying that he wanted to spend more time with his family if he won, that was a big red flag. If anything, he would get even less time at home.

Thus, L.A. sends Tim home and takes Marcus through. Marcus will have to find his place in the current musical landscape, though.

In: Marcus Canty

Out: Tim Cifer

The Anser and The Stereo Hogzz are fighting over the last spot for the Groups, which seems a terrible shame. No offense to the Brewer Boys, but both these groups are better than them. The Hogzz are looking spiffy in their colorful suits. The Anser made rings to show their commitment to the group. Weird.

Paula points out that Trey, the leader of the Stereo Hogzz, is "magical," but she tells the other four that they need to step it up. She tells The Anser that they didn't blend very well the other day.

So The Anser goes home while The Stereo Hogzz get a yes. They take a dip in Paula's fountain. The Hogzz, not the Anser.  The Anser cries with the rest of the contestants.

In: The Stereo Hogzz

Out: The Anser

Off to the Over 30s, where the two wailers Elaine Gibbs and Stacey Francis are battling for the last spot. Both of them have been very strong thus far (in fact, whichever one of them goes home probably deserves Dexter's spot), but Stacey has gotten even more screen time than Chris Rene thus far.

Nicole tells Stacey that she needs the confidence to compete, and tells Elaine that it's not just about having the best voice. Unsurprisingly, Elaine gets a no and Stacey gets a yes. Elaine takes it with grace. Stacey blubbers.

In: Stacey Francis

Out: Elaine Gibbs

I just now realized that Rachel Crow and Melanie Amaro are the last two left for the Girls. That explains why Caitlin went home. It also makes the fact that Simon chose Tiah that much more ridiculous. It also was clearly the moment that we saw from Simon on Sunday when he said "everybody thought that she would be a yes, and now we're saying no." Or something along those lines.

Based purely on the other day's performances, it might go to Melanie. Rachel did "I Want It That Way" and wasn't 100% perfect. But Rachel has been a favorite all along. Simon notes to Rachel that her audition was great, but she was followed by a bunch of extremely talented people.

So Simon gives Melanie a no, and Rachel gets a yes. Shocking, and a little unfair. But what are you going to do, argue with Simon Cowell? He'll run over you with his yacht.

In: Rachel Crow

Out: Melanie Amaro

Uh oh, we get an "or have they?" and Simon says he's made a big mistake. Drama! Intrigue! Pre-planned conflict!

"I've got to right a wrong," says Simon. And he shows up at Melanie's house unannounced and tells her that he wants her back on the live shows. Will she be an extra competitor? Looks like it. Guess Tiah gets to keep her spot.

So here's what the final teams look like:

Boys: Marcus Canty, Astro (Brian Bradley), Phillip Lomax, Chris Rene

Girls: Simone Battle, Rachel Crow, Tiah Tolliver, Drew Ryniewicz, Melanie Amaro

Over 30s: Josh Krajcik, Leroy Bell, Dexter Haygood, Stacey Francis

Groups: Lakoda Rayne, The Brewer Boys, Intensity, The Stereo Hogzz