Arts & Entertainment

Nothing But Praise for Chris Rene on 'X-Factor' Top 5 Night

Rene performed an original song as well as a T.I's "Live Your Life" on Wednesday night.

Simon Cowell may have to keep its hometown boy in the competition of FOX's "The X-Factor" last week. The doubts were mere memories on Wednesday evening.

Rene, turned budding star with a rags-to-riches addiction recovery story, performed two songs over the course of the show, as did the rest of the top five.

His first showing was a take on T.I and Rihanna's "Live Your Life." Perhaps an homage to the woman , Rene's version of the song featured a spinning stage and had judges Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger standing the whole time.

Find out what's happening in Capitola-Soquelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"I loved the look on your face last week when you got through, because you didnt think you didn't think you were going through," Cowell said after Rene's first song. "I think the public supporting the kind of artist like you on this show is really important. I'm not going to say you're the best singer, because you're not, but on overall potential as a recording artist with current stuff, with presence, i think you are doing brilliantly." 

As well received as his first song was, it was his second that stole the night. In what was arguably his most inspired moment of the season since grabbing the country's attention back in September with Rene's original piece "Where Do We Go from Here," saw the performer go acoustic, alone on a stool, just himself and the crowd. 

Find out what's happening in Capitola-Soquelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In case you missed the show, you can catch up with both performances in the videos above.

What did you think of Rene's two songs on Wednesday? Tell us in the comments and tune in Thursday to see if he reaches next week's semi-final round. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here