It’s been five days since Brian “Astro” Bradley threw a hissy fit on stage after being named the Bottom 2, and I’m still ticked off about it. And his attempts at apologizing since then have done little to change my mind about dropping him into the Thanksgiving fryer like the turkey he is.

But that will have to wait, as the Top 9, including Brian “Astro Turkey” Bradley, take the stage tonight. And they will need to give us everything they have tonight, because tomorrow night will see two acts fly home one way for Thanksgiving.

Join me after the jump as I live blog The X Factor Top 9 Performances. And chat with other X Factor fans during the show in our Shoutbox.

NOTE: DJ Slim will be posting the audio performances from tonight’s The X Factor over at IdolBlogLive.com. If you missed a performance, or want to hear one again, go check out our sister site.

Tonight’s show with the contestants giving thanks to whomever they want to give thanks to. It tries to be tear-inducing. It doesn’t work.

We now know how tomorrow night will work. The act with the lowest number of votes tonight will automatically go home tomorrow night. The next two lowest-voted acts will sing for their lives and the judges will send one of them home.

First up tonight is one of Simon Cowell’s Girls, Rachel Crow. She thanks her mom and dad for adopting her. Simon says he picked a song that is inspirational instead of depressing. There are some people who think they are one in the same thing. Rachel starts off sitting on top of a piano, and she is immediately swallowed up by the dress she is wearing, the music that is playing, and, once they come out, the background singers. It’s an upbeat tempo song, but Rachel completely slaughters it. She is missing so many notes, I’m not sure you can call it singing at this point. She is much better than this song, but she isn’t showing it. As usual, I have no clue what the judges were listening to while Rachel was singing. They must have had a Melanie Amaro song playing in their headsets at the time.

Next up is Marcus Canty, one of L.A. Reid’s Boys. Marcus gives thanks to his mom, who he talks to several times a week. Marcus tells us that his mom would walk a half-mile each day walking his sister to school. Not sure why, but he left out the whole “uphill both ways” part of the story. Marcus says he loves his mom more than life itself. Marcus starts his song by sitting at the top of some makeshift bleachers. He is singing softly, but so softly that it is hard to understand what he is singing. His mom is in the audience crying, so I’m guessing she understands the words. Or maybe she was just peeling some onions at her seat and hasn’t recovered yet. Marcus is missing quite a few notes, though not nearly as many as Rachel missed. Check that. He is missing just about every note now. And his voice is cracking. And now he is kneeling in front of his momma and holding her hand. Awwwwwwwwwww! And now that the song is over, he goes to give his mommma a big hug. Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! Now he’s fighting back his own tears! Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

Okay. I give up. Will someone PLEASE tell me what the judges are smoking to think these performances have been good? And do you know where I can get me some of that?

Simon’s Melanie Amaro is next to take the stage. Melanie is giving thanks to God, saying that He is the only one who has never let her down. Melanie’s mom talks about how she missed a lot of her daughter’s life. Simon says they have come up with a great song for her this week, but of course doesn’t bother to name it. Once again, Melanie is simply standing behind a microphone in the middle of the stage. And once again, she is commanding the stage. She continues to command the stage when a very large choir is revealed behind her. Her vocals are more than a match for all those voices, and unlike the first two singers, she isn’t missing any notes. She delivers a very soul-stirring performance that allows her to deliver her amazing voice. Amen, sister!

Another one of my favorites, L.A.’s Chris Rene, is up next. Chris tells us that he is 7 months sober this week. He gives thanks to Tim, his rehab counselor, the one Chris says saves his life. His mom talks about having to watch, helplessly, as Chris went down the wrong path in life. The bottom point of Chris’ life was the night he wrapped his car around a pole and almost died. L.A. thinks that of all the contestants, Chris is the one that is most thankful this week. He is singing “Let It Be,” on a stage that has been extremely pimped out. One of those decorated stages for any performance so far this season. Unfortunately, Chris’ voice isn’t matching everything we see on the stage. I think it’s the arrangement, as the song, at first glance, could have been a perfect fit for his voice. As it stands, however, he if off-key in several places. But even with that, it’s still a good performance. It has a vibe about it that is impossible to ignore. Simon is the only person in the entire auditorium not standing on his feet, which says more about Simon than it does about Chris’ performance.

Paula Abdul’s only act, Lakoda Rayne, is next to take the stage. When asked why they picked their song this week, they said it’s because they wanted to give thanks to all the people who helped them get where they are today. We see each member individually thanking one person in their life: two dads, one boyfriend, and one grandma. The girls are all sitting on chairs to start off the song on a makeshift stage. The song starts off so low, the first lead singer can’t handle it. The harmonies are off throughout the entire song. There is no connection between the girls and the song, nor is there a connection between the girls and the audience. For that matter, I see little connections between the girls themselves. Hopefully this will prove to Simon once and for all not to make a group of discarded individual singers again.

LeRoy Bell, one of Nicole’s Over 30s, is next. LeRoy gives thanks to his mom for raising him and all his siblings and for supporting his desire to be in music. LeRoy’s mom passed away two years ago, but he’s still dedicating his song to her. He starts by sitting on a stool in the middle of the stage highlighted by one spotlight. It’s another slow song, which is likely to irk at least Simon, and maybe L.A. as well. But his voice is flawless tonight and full of emotion. So maybe Simon and L.A. will latch on that instead. In a very unexpected development, LeRoy is greatly overpowered by the choir that appeared behind him. His voice is normally strong enough to overcome no matter what is going on behind him. But not this week. Still, at least he is on key. Some other acts should really take note of that.

Uh-oh. It’s that time. L.A.’s Brian “Astro Turkey” Bradley is taking the stage. I have to confess I’m hoping that enough of the audience will boo Astro Turkey at the mention of his name, causing him to throw another hissy fit. I doubt it will happen, but I can hope. The per-performance video starts by focusing on Astro Turkey’s hissy fit last week. His mom and dad both make excuses for how Astro Turkey reacted to being in the Bottom 2, basically daring us to say we would have acted any different. Really? Now we know where Astro Turkey gets his condescending attitude. Astro Turkey’s rap tonight starts off by referring to last week. The song panders to his followers, which will likely get them to vote for him this week. But will it be enough to overcome everyone who won’t vote for his this week? It’s another extremely week rap, which won’t earn him any new fans. Before the judges can start talking, Astro Turkey talks by trying to apologize, again, for last week. It comes off as condescending. As expected.

Wow. Paula Abdul just insulted every one who thinks Astro Turkey has a lot to learn. Way to go, Paula.

Next up is the last of Simon’s Girls, Drew. She is dedicating her song to her best friend in the whole world. Drew says her BFF taught her how to be herself and not take what others say about her to heart. Drew says that she and her BFF have gone through loser status together. Drew is singing “Skyscraper” tonight, which is apparently their song. As often happens with Drew, the song starts off too low for her voice to handle. It’s also another slow song for Drew, which is a problem because Drew is once again showing that she doesn’t have the ability to be subtle with her voice. It’s simply all one level with Drew, and it doesn’t work. Also, the way her voice cracks makes it sound like she is missing notes, though I don’t think she really is. And just as I type that, she does truly miss a doozy of a note. Ugh.

Wait a minute. L.A. is taking aim at Simon for this song, saying it is a song for 40-year-olds. I’m guessing L.A. has no clue who Demi Lovato is, which is a shame since this is her song. Paula correctly points out who sings this song. And Simon completely blows up at L.A. for his relentless, pointless criticism. I’m taking Simon’s side on this one. L.A., if you want to criticize Drew, she actually gives plenty of material to criticize each performance. Stop picking on her about stuff that you have no clue about.

The final performance tonight belongs to Josh Krajcik, one of Nicole’s Over 30s. Josh gives thanks to his daughter, who he had when he was 17. Josh is playing the piano this week, a first for him. In fact, the entire season has nearly been void of contestants laying instruments. It’s hard to tell if he washed his hair this week since it’s so dark on the stage. But there is a cool effect going on right now, which is a circle of spotlights pointing all the same direction around Josh. It’s another slow song for Josh, though the judges don’t seem to mind slow songs this week. His voice is spot-on perfect this week, and the song works with just him and the piano. No band. No backup singers. Nothing to distract from Josh and his song. Amazing performance. I’m very impressed with him this week.

So what did you think of tonight’s performances? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

And don’t forget to join me for the Idol Radio Show tomorrow night at 11 PM ET / 10 PM CT as I talk about tonight’s X Factor performances, tomorrow’s X Factor results, 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 when the show starts.