‘The X Factor Australia’ Elimination Recap: Redfoo’s Acts in the Bottom 2; Ed Sheeran, The Veronicas, AJR Guest Star [VIDEOS]

“The X Factor Australia” elimination night was a heartbreaking one, especially for mentor Redfoo, whose two remaining acts Reigan Derry and Jason Heerah were thrust into the bottom 2. Also, The Veronicas, AJR and Ed Sheeran thrilled audiences with their hits on stage.

Guest Performers

Opening the show were the Top 6 contestants and New York-based indie pop band AJR. The brothers – Adam, Jack and Ryan Met – performed their debut single “I’m Ready” with the eager remaining acts.

Another sibling act hit the stage soon after. The Veronicas, composed of Australian twin sisters Lisa and Jessica Origliasso, took the stage to sing their poignant ballad “You Ruin Me,” which has just debuted number one in Australia.

Armed with just his guitar and his incredible vocals, British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran delighted audiences with two of his hits “Thinking Out Loud” and “Don’t.” He didn’t need an elaborate stage to make people respond to him; his mere presence was enough.

Top 6

Ronan Keating was quickly cleared of worry after his under-25 girls Caitlyn Shadbolt and Marlisa Punzalan were called first during the announcement. It was a random call, but having your two remaining acts called safe immediately was what the judges were all aiming for.

Natalie Bassingthwaighte’s remaining act Dean Ray was also called safe after the two girls, followed by Dannii Minogue’s only group Brothers 3.

This meant that Reigan and Jason were in the bottom two. Their mentor Redfoo was then saddled with the onerous task of choosing between his two beloved acts.

Jason and Reigan

This was Jason’s third time in the bottom. He was first put in the dreaded group in Week 5 against Sydnee Carter. Surviving that, he was again thrust in the group in Week 7. It was a bottom 3 showdown with Caitlyn and Tee, who unfortunately lost the voting game.

His “Like It Like That” performance on Sunday was so well received by the judges that they all stood up after his number. Redfoo even ran to the stage to give him a hug. To be fair, Jason has always been an outstanding performer, rarely getting negative or even constructive criticism from the judges. However, in the end, the viewers have the last say on who they want to eliminate.

Jason chose to sing INXS’s “Never Tear Us Apart” for his bottom 2 showdown.

On the other hand, it was Reigan’s first time in the bottom 2. The 25-year-old songstress chose to sing Rihanna’s “Stay” during showdown.

Judges’ Decision

“This is the hardest ever for me,” Ronan cried after long moments of indecision. He ultimately chose to send home Jason.

Natalie was equally annoyed with the result, calling both Jason and Reigan the two most professional acts in the competition. She voted off Jason, citing the other has more downloaded hits on iTunes.

Dannii had been in a similar position with Redfoo during Week 2 when her acts XOX and Younger than Yesterday were in the bottom 2. However, she wasn’t required to make a decision anymore when her fellow judges all voted out YTY.

For this week, she chose to save Jason and send home Reigan, claiming Jason’s last performance connected with her more.

This left Foo with the unwanted task of choosing between his two acts. Since he couldn’t do that, he had let the decision go into deadlock by naming Reigan. With two votes each, Reigan and Jason then had to rely on earlier public votes to find out which of them would be going home.

Jason had the least public votes, which meant he was eliminated.

On Sunday’s live show, the remaining five contestants, including the most recent survivor Reigan, would be performing two songs each.

Read related:

‘The X Factor Australia’ Aussie Week Recap: Ronan Keating, Dannii Minogue Continue Bickering

AJR with the Top 6

The Veronicas

Ed Sheeran

Bottom 2 announcement

Bottom 2 Sing-Off

Decision