‘The X Factor’ Recap, Night 2 Of Season Premiere

I have to say I enjoyed the second night of 'X Factor''s season premiere much more than the first. We were over Britney being the "mean" judge and got to see some pretty good talent, which should be the focus of the show. Auditions continued in San Franciso were they were more flops than potential stars, expect for a couple of standouts.

At the beginning of the episode we were introduced to Johnny Maxwell, a cute 16-year old who was just that. He was a hit as soon as he walked out on stage, and performed an original song, "All These People," that got the crowd going, but didn't really move me. It was kind of a throwback to Season 1 winner Chris Rene's audition, but something was missing. Didn't matter though, the judges loved it and I have to admit his song does sound a lot like what is being played on the radio now. Four big yeses for him.

However, 22-year old Lexa Berman didn't fare so well. Britney seemed to be over it before Lexa even opened her mouth but she was just thinking what all of us watching were, and she was right. I can't even tell you what song Berman performed but it was bad. While Demi was trying to tell her that she came off as "really over-confident" to the point of unlikable she flipped her hair instead of paying attention. She and Spears gave her firm Nos, but Simon liked how cocky she was and wanted to give her another chance. Oh, Simon.

Then there was Jason Brock who I honestly thought was going to be an absolute mess, surprised the judges and me with a very soulful rendition of "New York State Of Mind." L.A. said he was "flawless" and Britney made up a word for him, "magnificental."

Ew. Creep-eeeeee.

On to Rhode Island, where Spears had to face another creepy guy. Patrick Ford came with a bouquet of flowers for Ms. Spears but she didn't seem to impressed, she actually looked downright scared. Can't say I blamed her. He did a Buffalo Bill-tastic version of "Circus" before they finally stopped him and said no to try to quickly get him off stage. He was so upset that Britney didn't further acknowledge him that he refused to talk to the cameras backstage. Yikes.

The show ended on a good note though. Carly Rose Sonenclar wowed the judges, the crowd and me (and DivaJulia actually shed a TEAR??) with an almost too good version of "Feelin Good." Simon couldn't believe his ears either, he asked if there was someone behind the curtain singing for her. While her voice is remarkable for such a youngin', she does have a couple of things to work on but I'm sure Carly will be a force in the competition.