3:40 PM PST 12/7/2012 by Sophie A. Schillaci
The remaining X Factor contestants were treated to a brief respite from the stresses of competition on Thursday, when they attended a post-taping party at L.A.’s Mixology hosted by Sony X Headphones.
Tate Stevens and Emblem3 burned up the dance floor, while Fifth Harmony hugged well-wishers and Carly Rose Sonenclar laid low (probably to rest her voice).
Just hours earlier, mentor Demi Lovato bid her final contestant farewell as CeCe Frey was eliminated from the competition. Diamond White also said goodbye to the series after losing a final battle against Simon Cowell’s girl group.
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Reporters on the red carpet speculated that Lovato’s recent loss could be a precursor of yet another judging shakeup for the already-greenlit season three, as Paula Abdul was also without contestants at this stage in last year’s competition. So what did Cowell have to say about the observation? Read on to find out.
Is Lovato facing a similar fate to Abdul, who lost her last competitor around this time last season and was subsequently fired? Cowell: “(Laughs) I don’t think that had anything to do with her leaving. No. But it’s that time of year. You’re always going to get asked that question. (Raises his eyebrows) And I’m not going to answer it.”
Is there any possibility of Spears and Lovato performing on the finale? Cowell: “I don’t think it’s going to happen. I could always ask but I don’t think it’s going to happen.” Spears: “I don’t know. Maybe…Maybe. We’ll see.”
Can we expect more major changes heading into next season? Cowell: “Always!”
Would Spears come back for another season: Spears: “Who knows. I don’t know. We’ll see.”
Are producers going to do away with the rankings for the final two weeks? Cowell: “Yeah. We have to. I think the reason we did it tonight was because there was a change. And we wanted to tell everyone that there was a change, otherwise everyone would have assumed that Carly would have been number one. But that’s been the excitement of showing the leader board. It does change. And I want my fans to know that we’re third because you’ve got to vote more.”
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Do Lovato and Cowell continue to spar backstage? Khloe Kardashian: “No they are so nice backstage. Everyone is so calm and peaceful. And then the gloves are on once they are sitting at that desk. I want to be sitting in between them and be like "okay guys, let's have a chat and just make it happy. "
Did Mario Lopez’s wedding to Courtney Mazza go off without a hitch last weekend? Mazza: “We had our moments.” Mario: “We did have our moments. There were flowers missing, tables missing, guests missing.” C: “Yes, we couldn't find one guest. And people were arriving and some of the furniture was and put up, but it ended up being beautiful.” M: “It ended up being perfect and with destination weddings you have to work with that.”
What’s been the biggest change since tying the knot? Lopez: “Our last name. We are all the Lopez's. That's it.”
How did Carly Rose feel about teammate Diamond being sent home? “I’m kind of sad to be here without Diamond because we’ve been to so many of these things [after parties] arm-in-arm.”
What would Carly like her debut album to sound like? “I want it to be a mix of contemporary pop and soul because that’s something I don’t think anybody has really done except for Bruno Mars but I want to be like him, kind of. I think trying to showcase my voice as much as I can and not have it be all that autotune and production, but still have it be contemporary. ”
Was Tate Stevens surprised to be back at No. 1? “I was pretty confident I was stayin around but I was a little surprised being No. 1.”
Can we expect any more Bon Jovi songs from him, or is he going back to his roots? “Country, country, country. I'm riding the horse. We’re staying with country.”
Has L.A. Reid mentioned a potential label deal in Tate’s future? Stevens: “We have conversed a little bit but nothing really solid. There’s never been a, ‘Oh we’re gonna pick you up, we’re gonna send you here, send you there,’ it’s just things can happen, so be ready.”
How did Emblem3 celebrate Wesley’s 19th birthday? The trio danced to 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” at Hollywood’s Mixology following the taping, where Wesley was presented with a cake. The trio joked to THR that they would “ditch everything and go on a road trip to Washington to go snowboarding” this weekend. “Don’t tell anybody,” Drew said with a wink. Whoops.
STORY: Why CeCe Frey is Actually Cool
Could we be seeing more of CeCe on TV in the future? Cowell: "I said tonight she should do a reality show. Didn’t go down well…didn’t go down particularly well. 'I’m a singer!' You can do both." Frey told THR earlier this season that, "No, I would not hop from this to another reality show. I'm not a fame monster. Actually what I hate most about this show is the reality side of it. I would love to just get out there every week and put on a performance and let people see who I am as an artist."
Email: Sophie.Schillaci@thr.com; Twitter: @SophieSchillaci
