Last night, Jeff Gutt sang to win The X Factor.
While many have predicted a certain win for sappy duo Alex & Sierra, Jeff Gutt certainly made the decision a lot tougher for X Factor fans with a gutsy performance where he did everything in his power to win.
The night truly belonged to the rocker as his first performance was a breathtaking display of spectacular lasers and powerful vocals as he rocked out Aerosmith’s “Dream On.” Unquestionably his best performance of the season, Gutt looked like a bonafide superstar as The X Factor team outdid themselves with a pyrotechnics display that I simply cannot say enough about. While Jeff has been accused of being a one-trick pony in the past, if that pony wins every race he is in with the one trick… it doesn’t really matter, does it?
From there, Gutt went on to duet with Goo Goo Dolls frontman John Rzeznik on “Iris,” one of the most popular singalong songs of all time and another great pick by his mentor Kelly Rowland. There is no question that it was the smartest pairing of the night and Jeff’s experience was starting to shine through as he was making the smartest decisions, realizing that the opportunity at hand.
For his final performance (which asked the finalists to do an encore of the song that made the most impact on their X Factor journey), Jeff chose “Creep” by Radiohead which is another hugely popular song.
I have seen so many reality show finales where the contestants are given the ability to choose what they would like to sing on the finale and there have been some disastrous selections in the past. Leaving aside music clearance issues, the general rule is to pick songs that the audience is familiar with because that makes them more inclined to vote for you.
There is a reason why “guys with guitars” do well on these shows (Phillip Phillips, David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee DeWyze… the list goes on and on) and that’s because they typically know who they already are instead of attempting to find themselves on the show.
Jeff Gutt knows exactly who he is and it is for that reason, that he will probably win.
After the performance finale episode, I caught up with Jeff to ask him about the night, the lasers, the influence his son has had on his musical career and his prediction for who will be named the winner.
Check out the video above!
