Santa Cruz Siblings Advance to FOX's 'X-Factor' Top 100

It's been two weeks since FOX's "The X-Factor" debuted, highlighted by Santa Cruz garbage man . 

In his first appearance, Rene, a recovering drug addict and father of a 2-year-old son, sang an original hip-hop and reggae-infused song called "Young Homie," much to the delight of the star-studded judging panel. 

With the preliminary audition rounds complete, Rene made his primetime return on Wednesday as part of the show's top 162 contestants. In an unexpected twist, he was joined by his sister, Gina Rene, whose audition was not previously televised.

"I don’t now what's coming. I don’t know what's going on. That makes me on the edge," she said, nervous for the competition's next round, dubbed by hit-maker Simon Cowell as "boot camp." 

"It’s so critical that I do better than anyone here," Chris said. "That’s the bottom line."

In bootcamp's first on-air hour, the top 162 again sang as individuals for the judges, including the Rene siblings, who were given a noticeably large slice of screen time compared to the other contestants. 

In her solo moment, Gina sang Mariah Carey's "Vanishing" and Chris put his edgy soul spin on "Sexual Healing" by Marvin Gaye, which judge Nicole Scherzinger predicted would put female fans on his side. After a group dance drill that Chris called "frustrating," the contestants were split up into three groups, two that would advance to the top 100, and one that would be eliminated.

With a face that screamed of anxiety, Chris learned that he had, indeed, made the cut, but with Gina in another group he had to wait to find out her fate. Moments later, the other admitted group rushed the stage, which FOX used as a perfect suspense tool, zooming in on Chris panning the mob for his sister.

One slow motion hug later, the Rene siblings (in their matching fedoras) smiled in their top-100 glory. 

The episode's second half featured group performances from the next day, which have yet to include the Rene tribe. Thursday's episode, which will reveal the top 32, should tell of the local siblings' fate.

Did you watch the show? Are you a Chris Rene Fan? We've only heard a couple seconds of song from Gina. What do you think of her? Tell us in the comments!