Arin Ray wants to make his second stint on FOX’s The X Factor way more successful than his time on Season 1 as a member in a group. But, he has hit a roadblock on the judges’ panel. The 17-year-old has had a very hard time winning over Demi Lovato.
“Literally, if Demi keeps saying she’s bored, literally I will go up on the judges’ table and dance right in front of her face,” Ray told reporters after Wednesday’s show.
“I will do back flips if I have to,” he continued. “I will make her not be bored, because she seems like she’s bored when I do ballads.”
Lovato’s criticism has definitely earned Ray’s attention. Not only has the “Give Your Heart A Break” singer said the contender has bored her, she has also told him that he lacks soul. And after Wednesday’s performance of Enrique Iglesias’ “Hero,” she said that if she were from a record company, she wouldn’t sign the young singer.
When prompted by judge Simon Cowell to explain what style he’d like to present on-stage, the Cincinnati resident said he wanted to do “me.”
“I was hoping they’d say, ‘What do you think?’ And I was like, ‘Yes, this is my opportunity,’” Ray explained. “I want to do more upbeat [songs]. I love getting the crowd hyped. I love running across the stage.”
The singer thinks that his performance during Week 2 in which he did Estelle’s “American Boy” with rap lyrics he wrote himself was closer to what he wants to be doing. “Ballads aren’t really my thing,” he said.
“[During ‘American Boy’], I felt me,” the later added. “And when I feel me, I feel like I’ve had my best performance.”
And although his mentor, Britney Spears, is supposed to be guiding Ray in the right direction, the singer avoids sending any blame her way.
“It’s not a knock on Britney, because Britney is doing the best she can with me,” he assured us. “She’s doing all that she can with me.”
Watch Arin’s Top 10 performance again above.
Two contenders will be eliminated on The X Factor airing Thanksgiving Thursday at 8 PM on FOX.
Do you think Ray should get another week to win Demi over? Sound off in the comments section below.
