It was one of those rare television moments where a thirteen year old girl standing alone under a single spotlight moved an entire studio to tears. Some viewers are saying Rachel delivered the best version of this classic as she hit a level of soul no one thought was possible for a 13 year old. How can someone that young convey so much heartbreak? Watching Rachel Crow belt out every note felt like watching raw emotion personified in song.
On stage the quarter final Elimination Show of the inaugural U.S. X Factor live broadcast on December 7 and 8 showcased seven acts tackling a Dance Music Hits challenge before the bottom two braced for a save me sing off. Rachel launched into Nothin’ on You by B.o.B featuring Bruno Mars with an upbeat groove but landed in the danger zone alongside Marcus Canty. He brought soulful flair with Ain’t Nobody and joined her center stage for a life or death showdown. But I still find myself rewinding that sing off where Crow tore into “I’d Rather Go Blind” by Etta James – watch it below:
You could here every crack in her voice to pour out pain and grit which a 13 year old should never be able to deliver – but somehow she did! One commenter even wrote “she has the soul of a forty six year old black women thats been through it all”. She may only be 13, but you can always feel real soul when you hear it.
They called the first round “Dance Music Hits” but the real drama began when both Crow and Canty landed in the bottom two. Canty registered a pulse with his cover of I’m Going Down while Crow screamed every ounce of feeling into her Etta James cover. Judges L A Reid then danced around loyalty by saving his own act Marcus Canty while Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul championed Crow. Nicole Scherzinger votes against Crow, forcing a deadlock. With two votes each, the decision reverts to the earlier public vote, sealing Crow’s fate and eliminating her from the competition
As Crow’s name echoed she collapsed in tears and the crowd gasped. Scherzinger’s choice triggered loud boos reverberating around the studio and even contributed to her departure from the U.S. panel – well at least that’s what Wikipedia said about the episode. Today Crow has credits on Disney and Nickelodeon shows and an EP on Syco Columbia under her belt. That deadlocked evening became the launchpad she never saw coming.
Crow fell short in fifth place but as we have seen before, it’s not always the winner that walks away with the best career. This cover still remains an incredible live version and is still racking up views today.