The X Factor Contestants Talk About Divas Show

This week’s X Factor theme is DIVAS, and the contestants gave TheXFactorUSA.com a little hint of what viewers can expect.

Arin Ray decides less is more: ”It’s most definitely different this week. I did two upbeat songs [last two weeks], so to go slower is good. I don’t have too many dancers onstage. You just get the real me. I’m going to try not to do so much because when you do so much that can actually take away from your performance a bit. Less is more. I wanted to do something real special.”

Beatrice Miller shares her “oh crap” moment: ”I’m not really into the modern divas, I guess. Of course, I respect them all, but like Beyonce and Madonna, I don’t really listen to their music. I listen to older stuff, so I was a little nervous. I was like, ‘Oh crap. They have such big ranges and I really don’t.’ I don’t sing in that style. So, I got a diva that isn’t really known for being a diva, but she is more of an oldies singer, which is cool. The song is slow, which is good for me.”

Carly Rose Sonenclar stays in her lane: ”It’s definitely still my style and I love the song, which is important to me.”

Diamond White adds some movement: ”This is a song I would sing in every day life and it’s a song that I really love. I like that this performance is more extravagant and I get to move a bit more. No dancers, just me by myself. The feeling is different than anything I’ve done so far. It’s an uplifting song and it affects me in a good way. It gets me in the moment.”

CeCe Frey’s strips it down: ”I don’t consider myself a diva, but I consider my alter-ego a diva. My real name is Cecelia and that’s me offstage, but onstage CeCe comes out, the Miss X to the O, and she’s the diva. This performance is completely different because obviously the past two weeks my performances have not been working, so this week I might have to take some of Simon’s advice, as much as I don’t want to admit it. He might be right about a couple of things. He thinks I’ve been heading in a direction I should not be going and I’m starting to maybe agree with him a little bit. For this week, we stripped it back and got back to who I am as an artist, as a performer, and as a person.”

Emblem3 took seven hours to decide: ”At first, it was hard to find a song. We spent like seven hours going through tons and tons and tons of songs to figure it out. It was the hardest week yet in picking one. But we found a song that is respectful and we’re excited,” says Wes Stromberg.

Fifth Harmony goes for the powerhouse ballad gold: ”The second I heard the theme, it was like, ballad week. Powerhouse song! We’re really excited to go out there and show our vocal ability. That’s something that we’ve all been wanting to do and this is the week we get to really, really do that,” says Lauren Jauregui.

Jennel Garcia transforms from rock chick to diva: ”I definitely feel more of a diva this week. This is more upbeat and fun and I wanted to get people singing and dancing along with me. The best advice Demi has given me is that it’s not about performing for yourself, it’s about performing for the audience this week because they are the voters and they control if you stay or not and you should show them a good time. That’s what I hope to do this week.”

Lyric145 adds their own lyrics: ”When we first got the theme, we were like, Diva Week? They don’t care about us, whatever, but once we came up with the genius idea we did, we know it’s gonna be crazy. It’s unexpected. We did write our own lyrics this week,” says Lyric Da Queen.

Paige Thomas shows off her fun side: ”I was really excited when I first heard of Divas Week. I feel like this time I can actually have fun with my performance and get a little bit funky and just really be sassy but fun at the same time. I haven’t had a performance yet where I’ve really been able to just smile. Everything I’ve done has been really passionate and intense. You see more of my fun side on this. I’m ready to include the crowd with me this time and enjoy with them.”

Tate Stevens feels the pressure: ”It was amazing to be voted No. 1 last week and that’s a testament to the country music fans out there. But this week, everyone’s back to zero. Divas week is tough for me. It’s a challenge. I think I picked a great song, though. I like it because it’s a very emotional song. I set the bar high for myself last week and now I have to get back there. But I do feel the pressure for being No. 1 last week. This week, No. 12 can be No. 1 and No. 1 can be No. 12. You just have to bring it each week.”

Vino Alan gets even more romantic: ”I love this week’s song. I’m a music fan and I love love songs. It’s done by one of the biggest divas of all time and written and originally recorded by a man, which is cool. It’s a very romantic song, but it’ll get your blood pumping more. To me, it’s more romantic than last week.”

Tune in to see the Top 12 perform their Divas Week songs on WED NOV 14 and find out who America votes out on THU NOV 15 at 8/7c on FOX.

Which performance are you excited to see on Wednesday night?