'X Factor': Top 4's Best/Worst Performances

I probably should have picked one of his more upbeat sparkle explosions for his best — those, like Rock Week's ''Piece of My Heart,'' have added a lot of visual performance quality to the season. But vocally Marcus sounded strongest on Top 5 night's Contestant's Choice number.

Yes, I cried when he reached out for his mom to save her from the Smoke Monster and tell her she was the queen of his heart. But boy sounded a mess!

Chris Rene's original tune was simple, unpretentious, and exactly what he needed to seem legit as a member of the Top 4. With his stripped-down staging and acoustic guitar, it was like watching an entirely different contestant.

With the exception of his other original track (''Young Homie''), most of Chris' early performances blend together for me. But I do remember ''I'll Be There'' as one of the weakest Jackson Night numbers. Blanket was certainly not impressed.

Melanie's vocals are nearly flawless each week, but ''World's Greatest,'' during the Thanksgiving episode, showed the most raw feeling from her — and an outpour of joy. In the few weeks since then, her performances have almost seemed angry.

Having Melanie sing a wildly popular but very slow and mournful Adele single remixed as a dance hit was a bit bizarre. I'm not sure we can count it as a valiant effort for her to go upbeat. (Of course, she hit all of the notes anyway.)

I love to see a contestant play the piano, and this song from Josh delivered an emotional impact on par with my other favorite performance of his: ''First Time Ever I Saw Your Face'' at the judges' homes.

''Dance Music Hits'' and ''Josh Krajcik'' don't belong in the same sentence, but couldn't his mentor Nicole have let him branch out a bit here? (Official Rihanna Presents The X Factor rulebook says nope, sorry!)