We see a quick shot of host Steve Jones once the opening credits are done. It makes me realize that he hasn’t been seen much at all so far this season. Not sure why that is. Could this be a sign that he’s not good at “interviewing” the acts on the fly?

Steve tells us that they are at the halfway point of Boot Camp and that there are five groups left to sing in front of the judges.

The first group tonight includes Brennin Hung, Equality, Marcus Canty, Matthew Johnson, Ma’at Bingham Shango, Chris Rene, and Gina Rene. They will be singing “What’s Going On,” a 1971 hit by Marvin Gaye. Before the singing, we are reminded Marcus’ audition and then of Chris’ audition, and that he is just out of rehab. We also see a small bit of his sister’s, Gina’s, audition, something we have never seen before. Ma’at starts off the group performance with a slightly off-key performance. But things improve considerably as the other contestants take their turns singing. Brennin, Marcus, and Chris all remind us why we enjoyed their auditions. The group Equality, however, brings things to a screeching halt, not literally, with their singing. It was very bad. Simon says that Marcus did a good job, but still needs a lot of work. He then says that a girl, who was not named, that he had fought for, really lost it tonight.

When we come back from commercial, we see short clips of two groups performing on stage. Unsure if they are two of the five groups that were left to sing before the judges today, though it wouldn’t surprise me. There is still a whole round to get through before the Top 32 announcement.

Matthew Slovacek, Tim Cifers, Hannah Bethel, Kingston, and Thomas Wells are in the next group. “I won’t Let Go” by the Rascal Flatts is their song for the round. Unlike the other groups, this group chooses to come out one by one as they sing their solos. Tim is first up, starting out sitting on a stool in the middle of the stage. Mathew and Kingston both follow, doing a good job overall. Hannah is the weakest link so far when she starts singing. Thomas steps things back up a notch. Simon says that he thought the guy with the hat, which is Tim, “is a star.” L.A. Reid says he’s not sure about him being a star, but he is a great singer.

Two groups into tonight’s show, and there is, again, an incredible lack of drama going on. Surely there were a couple of groups who fought like cats and dogs and tried to get someone evicted from their group. Then again, maybe not. They only had five hours to work on their performances, unlike American Idol, where contestants go straight from the first round into an all-night group round rehearsal. Maybe that tiredness is needed for fights to take place.

There is just one group left to perform, and they include The Brewer Boys, Henri Bredouw, James Douglas, Hannah Jackson, Emma Henry, Ryan Sims, Christa Collins, and Kyle Corr. We see a short clip of The Brewer Boys’ audition and they talk about how they have each other to get through Boot Camp. Hannah and Emma both want to sing part 3, but no real drama. A coin toss decides who will sing it. Henri starts the performance, and completely butchers his notes. It’s really, really bad. Hannah brings it back up to an acceptable level. Emma falters as she sings, but The Brewer Boys show that they have what it takes to go far in this competition. Ryan takes it up yet another notch, showing that he doesn’t plan to go anywhere anytime soon. Christa does the same. We see Simon nodding his head in beat to the singing. I’m guessing he likes what he hears.

With all the group performances done, it’s time for the judges to decide which third of the 100 acts to send home. We hear the judges arguing about Tiah and Siameze specifically, and others whose names aren’t shown to us. Simon then says they are done. Time for the acts to learn their fate. The acts will be called to the stage in three groups, with entire groups staying or going.

The first group is on stage. Paula says that some of them took L.A. Reid’s advice while others did not. Paula breaks the bad news to the group. I see a couple of people that I recognize, but faces only. One of them, the girl that sort of looks like a boy, screams that she doesn’t know what the judges want, that they must have thought her too talented to go any further. Unfortunately, they don’t stay with her too long. Shame. Could have used the drama.

The other two groups, of course, make it through. I see a couple of people that I recognize, but again, still only by face.

Back from the commercial, we see Simon tell the remaining singers that half of them will be gone after the next round. They will be given 35 songs tonight and they have to choose the song that represent them the best. After some more advice from the judges, the contestants learn that they will be performing live in front of a studio audience.

It is now the next day, and everyone is up and ready to go. Or so we’re told. We see little of the rehearsals. Not much I can do about it now, since the audience is arriving for the live performances.

First up is 14-year-old Rachel Crow. I remember her audition and really liked it, though I don’t think she’s mature enough to win this competition. Simon asks what she has chosen, and she says it is a surprise. She is singing “If I Were A Boy” by Beyonce and giving an extremely soulful performance. I may have to eat the words I just typed a minute ago. This is good. Really, really good. It is an amazing performance. Where the heck did that come from. The audience is on their feet, and rightfully so. The judges don’t give any on-the-spot comments this round, but we hear Simon tell the others that she is getting better.

We get Audrey Turner next, but just a short clip that is intermixed with a video of her saying she is giving her all on stage. Paige Ogle is next, but it’s the same treatment. Both Audrey and Paige sound good for the short amount of time we see them. Tiger Budbill gets the same treatment, and performs just as well. His clip includes him saying his house gets auctioned off in five weeks. I’m thinking the show will still be going on in five weeks, so not sure where he thinks the money will be coming from.

30-year-old burrito maker Josh Krajcik is next. He gets the full treatment for his final performance, including a pre-performance video. Once on stage, he introduces himself and actually talks about why he doesn’t want this to be the end. He is singing Kelly Clarkson’s “Up To The Mountain,” which Simon says is a great song. Josh was doing good until he went to the growling, groveling, screeching mode that didn’t work out very well for Casey Abrams on American Idol last year. When he’s not in that mode, however, he has a great, soulful voice. L.A. gives him a thumb up as he walks off the stage.

Next up is 22-year-old Simone Battle. We see her Los Angeles audition, which was very over the top in my opinion. In her pre-performance video, she says that she knows she has an attitude when she performs on stage. Then she says she can’t wait to get out there and show off. And with the short-shorts she’s wearing, she’s showing off quite a bit. She tells the judges and audience that she believes she has what it takes to be the next pop star. She is singing an Elton John song tonight. There is precious little actual singing taking place with her performance, as she does much of the lyrics in a staccato voice. Simon calls her out on forgetting the words, which she admits to. That might explain why the performance was bad. She says that she can bring it despite what just happened. Paula says its the best that she’s heard her sing.

We are then treated to several acts doing a bad job, including 4Shore, Little Ladiez, Makenna & Brock, and Siameze Floyd (someone who has been doing a bad job since day one). Brennin Hunt is next and is Alicia Keys “I Ain’t Got You.” He says he guarantees that the judges have never heard the song like this before. Simon asks L.A. for help with that, and L.A. says Brennin is trying to highlight his voice. When Simon asks Brennin about it, he says the same thing. Simon is really upset with how things are going, so they take a break, much to the audiences dismay.

After the break, both the show break and the judges break, The Stereo Hogzz. We see a bit of their Dallas audition. The boys say they have their battle uniforms on and are ready. They all look snazzily dressed, something that L.A. comments on. One of the singers in the group says he is dedicating the song to his one-month-old daughter. Their attempts at harmony at the beginning of the song put me off, since they were off. Very off. But it improves a tremendous amount as the song goes forward, and by the end of the song, I’m loving what they have done with “Cry me A River.” Absolutely loved it.

We see short clips of Brian Bradley (who is simply rapping, badly in my opinion), Phillip Lomax (who is doing a great rat pack impression), Chris Rene (excuse me….. why is he not getting the full treatment), and Nick Dean (handsome blond kid who is doing much better than he did in the previous rounds). Nicole is heard saying she loved it while Simon says he thought he was a bit cocky and hadn’t rehearsed it enough. I think Simon is talking about Nick and not about himself. Hard to tell though.

Stacy Francis takes the stage next. I think I liked her initial audition (really can’t remember), but haven’t liked her since. She comes across as pretentious to me, and I really don’t like pretentious. She says that she really wants to get it right. L.A. asks her if there is anything she can share with the people so they can get to know her a little better. She says that the day she arrived at Boot Camp, her father passed away. She missed her father’s funeral as a result. Crap. Now I feel bad for her. She is singing “Summertime,” which she starts off on an extremely well-controlled note. I am falling back in love with her again. This is the performance of a superstar. I’m not sure she can keep from sounding pretentious all season, which may affect her popularity. But the lady has a voice. And when she is singing from a point of pain, she can really deliver it. All the judges except Simon give her a standing ovation. She falls into Steve Jones’ arms crying after walking out of the auditorium.

We see short performance clips of Tiah Tolliver (who sounds amazing), Cari Fletcher (who sounds amazing as well), Drew Ryniewicz (who sounds and walks like Amy Winehouse), and Caitlin Koch (who gives a very restrained performance).

Next for the full treatment is 59-year-old Leroy Bell. Wow. I did not realize that he is that old. He doesn’t look like he’s about to turn 60. Just about the time I’m wondering if I misheard his age, he repeats it on stage, which stuns the audience. L.A. says he looks amazing for his age. Leroy gives an extremely tender and soulful performance, worth of many of the greats of yesteryear. I am loving this guy and hopes he goes far.

And ends the Final Performance round of Boot Camp. After the commercial break, we will find out the Top 32.

Now I’m excited.

And we’re back. Steve tells us that 64 acts reminds, but only half of them will go through to the Judges’ Homes. On the way to the studio, we hear L.A. say that the people that will be going home today will be those who are just ordinary. Simon says he is dreading today because he has become attached to quite a few of them. The judges don’t yet know which category they will be assigned, so they will all decide on the acts for each group.

The judges begin fighting for the acts they think should go on. The Boys are first, though we don’t see any names. Once they have that done, they move to the Girls, then the Groups. L.A. Reid says they really only have five groups and that the rest are just mediocre. While discussing the Over 30s, Paula puts her foot down considering one of the acts. And the judges argue about someone else that Paula wants to keep as well, though she finally relents.

Time for the contestants to be split into their categories. The show did not show the names of the contestants as they were called out, so I am likely to have many of the names misspelled.

The Girls are up first. The eight girls going through are Caitlyn Koch, Torah, Simone Battle, Drew Ryniewicz, Rachael Crow, Jaslyn Little, Melanie Amaro, Tiah Tolliver.

The Boys going through are Brennin Hunt, Brian Bradley, Skeylor, Nick Voss, Tim Ciferis, Phillip Lomaz, Marcus Canty, and Chris Rene.

The Groups making it through are The Stereo Hogzz, Two Squared, 4Shore, The Brewer Boys, Illusion Confusion, and The Anser. I only hear six names called out. I’m thinking two groups are about to be formed on the spot to make up the other two.

The Over 30 acts going through are Elaine Gibbs, Tiger, Leroy Bell, James Kenney, Josh Krajck, Krista Collins, Dexter, and Stacy Francis.

Fourteen people are called back out on the stage. Of the fourteen, they are split into a group of four and a group of eleven. Wow, eleven? Really? That’s too large to put something together at this late stage of the game.

Time to find out which category the judges will be getting. Once assigned, the judges will mentor their category through the rest of the competition in the hopes of having the winning act.

L.A. is waiting in New York, Nicole and Paula are in Los Angeles, and Simon is on vacation in France. L.A. says the strongest category is the Overs. Paula likes the Boys. L.A. says he has a better shot of winning no matter which category he gets. And then we see all the judges’ phones ringing.

Nicole gets the Over 30s. Nicole acts like she is excited. She says she can do that. She if faking.

L.A. gets the Boys. He says he’s just won, and that he wants to know what Simon got.

Paula gets the Groups. She acts all excited. The producer asks how she feels about that. She says she’s feeling excited and overwhelmved.

Simon gets the Girls. When the producer asks how he feels about that, he says that they have just made eight girls very happy.

Nicole calls Paula. Simon says it makes sense that Paula has the groups because the groups have multiple personalities and, well, work it out. L.A. calls Simon to tell him that Simon has just lost. Simon tells us that the judges are not a team anymore.

Next week, The X Factor goes global as the Judges’ Homes are located all over the world. Steve Jones promises us exciting shows as the acts try to prove to their judge that they deserve to make the Top 16.

Also, don’t forget to join me for the Idol Radio Show tonight at 11 PM ET / 10 PM CT, as I talk about tonight’s X Factor Boot Camp, American Idol news, and anything else in the entertainment industry that needs to be discussed. Simply click the “Listen Live” banner in the right column 11 PM ET / 10 PM CT.