The X Factor Recap: Thanksgiving Up the Ghost

Dear Santa,

I’ve tried to be a good boy this year — and not just because I want a new pony. The problem is, my job requires me to watch The X Factor for a living, and it’s turning me into a monster.

No, seriously, the cynical, horrible questions that went through my mind during Top 10 performance night left me feeling like I’d booked a one-way ticket to Hell; now it’s just a matter of whether I’m going express or local. READ MORE

The X Factor Leaderboard: Who's Your Favorite From the Season 2 Top 10? (Take Our Poll!)

It may be Thanksgiving week, but Simon Cowell isn’t impressed with your homemade cranberry relish or Aunt Linda’s green-bean bake. Yes, folks, The X Factor‘s Season 2 Top 10 will perform for your votes tonight (8/7 c, Fox), then return for READ MORE & VIEW PHOTOS

X Factor's Lyric Da Queen on Eye Patches, Mary Poppins and Miley — Plus: Bonus Freestyle Rap!

If a year ago, you’d told Flint, MI-based rapper Lyric Da Queen that she’d be covering a Miley Cyrus party anthem on national television, she’d have laughed in your face. But after landing in one of Simon Cowell’s patched-together groups on The X Factor, Lyric (along with her cohorts Jemelle “Melee” Joseph and Julien “Jewlz” Joseph) got in touch with her inner Disney diva — and wound up being labeled a “superstar” by Cowell and his adviser Marc Anthony. READ MORE

Reality Check: Awful Eliminations, Questionable Front-Runners Tarnish The X Factor, The Voice

Not all reality singing competition contestants are created equal. And when the best of ‘em are sent way too soon to the results-show guillotine, it can result in a creative tailspin worthy of the World War I Flying Ace under heavy fire from The Red Baron.

That was pretty much what went down this past week on The X Factor and The Voice — and on an all-new Reality Check, my cohost Melinda Doolittle and I …READ MORE & WATCH VIDEO

The X Factor Recap: Did the Right Acts Go Home?

Tension hung in the air, thicker and more pronounced than Demi Lovato’s ’80s-era eyebrows, on tonight’s X Factor Top 12 results show. Even Khloe Kardashian could feel it: “Live on stage we’ve got a sensational performance from the incredible Taylor Swift!” she declared, eyes burning with ennui (or was she merely distracted by a shiny object dangling in the distance?).

Whatever the case, …READ MORE

The X Factor Recap: Better the Diva You Know

Sometimes I wish I’d stuck with my late-’90s foray into yoga, the better to watch The X Factor while balanced on the top of my noggin. I mean, we’re all desperately seeking a different vantage point from which to make sense of this loud, brightly lit, oftentimes confounding affair, right?

Until I become the best-selling author of How Slezak Got His Namaste Back, however, I’m just going to …READ MORE

The X Factor Leaderboard: Who's Got Momentum From the Season 2 Top 12? (Take Our Poll!)

Lights, camera, more lights, backup dancers, firepots, contortionists, EVEN MORE LIGHTS, Pepsi products, action!

Yes, reality TV junkies, The X Factor‘s Top 12 performance night is mere hours away, which can only mean one thing: READ MORE & VIEW PHOTOS

The Voice Leaderboard: Ranking the Top 12

It’s taken quite a few rounds — the Blind Auditions, the Battles, the Knockouts, and the Live Playoffs — but finally, the power is entirely in the hands of the viewing public to decide which contestants will advance on Season 3 of The Voice. Yes indeed, starting this week, …READ MORE

Reality Check: Xtina's Unspeakable Crime on The Voice! Plus: Demi's X Factor Errors?

Was “self-sabotage” the primary theme last week on The Voice and The X Factor? It depends on who you ask. READ MORE & WATCH VIDEO