Alicia Keys brought down the house on Fox’s X Factor last night, performing a powerful version of “Girl on Fire.”
Dressed in a cropped top and fitted pencil skirt, the 31-year-old R&B superstar seemed confident with her backup dancers and production, a notable improvement from her 2012 EMA performance, where she seemed a bit shy with the Beyonce-esq stage elements. On X Factor, Keys proved she can do more than sit behind a piano.
Keys was just the latest megawatt star to perform on X Factor this season, as Simon Cowell and Fox have also brought Taylor Swift, Cher Lloyd and One Direction.
Last season’s runner up, Josh Krajcik, also stopped by to sing his new track “One Thing She’ll Never Know.”
Keys and Krajcik were there to celebrate the top 8 finalists, who were whittled down to 6 by the end of the show in a round of double elimination. Demi Lovato lost Paige Thomas, and music executive L.A. Reid said goodbye to Vino Alan.
Britney Spears’s contestant, 13-year-old Diamond White, came dangerously close to elimination herself, but bested Vino in a sing-off. Diamond chose Beyonce’s powerful ballad, “I Was Here,” for the sing-off, while Vino performed Ray LaMontagne’s “Trouble.” Following the performances, the judges voted on who would stay and who would go home. Only Vino’s mentor, L.A. Reid, voted for him to stay, while Lovato, Cowell and Spears chose Diamond.
The show ended with hosts Khloe Kardashian and Mario Lopez revealing the rankings for remaining contestants, based on fan votes:
1. Carly Rose Sonenclar
2. Tate Stevens
3. Emblem3
4. Fifth Harmony
5. CeCe Frey
6. Diamond White
It has been a big week for The X Factor, as judge Britney Spears debuted the video for her Will.i.am. collaboration ‘Scream and Shout’ on the Fox show earlier this week.
