'X Factor' shows another act the door

Another Thursday means another elimination on the "X Factor," and it's never pretty.

But lets talk about the good first: As usual, the show starts with all 11 contestants singing together on stage before the judges are introduced. This part is actually what I love about "X Factor" - even though the elimination show is just one hour before they toss a performer, they entice you with a great performance by a surprise artist.

On Thursday, we got a double dose with Jesse J and Willow Smith, who performed her collaboration with Nicki Minaj called “Fireball." I didn't know Willow could actually sing, and not just rap. Nice!

And now, for the bottom two: All of the contestants and their mentors take the stage, and Paula Abdul’s mentees were feeling the heat again.

Both of her two groups got the lowest scores and had to compete against one another one more time to convince the judges they deserved to stay. It was the girl group Lakoda Rayne up against the boy band Stereo Hoggz, with Paula in the middle.

Lakoda Rayne went first, performing Jordin Sparks' “No Air." They did a great job harmonizing and hit the right notes, but the performance was dull and average for me.

Then Stereo Hoggz took the stage to perform Michael Jackson’s “You Are Not Alone.” All five looked great in their tuxedos and suits, and they gave a nice performance, but they lacked confidence. Undoubtedly this is because they have been in the bottom two for the last two weeks. Paula looked on like an adoring mother, nodding in approval and standing in support of them.

But then the tough decision had to be made. Although Paula tried to give Stereo Hoggz a fighting chance by voting for Lakoda Rayne to get the boot, the rest of the judges were ready to cut ties with the boy group.

Were you surprised by who wound up in the bottom two, and do you think Stereo Hoggz was the right act to send home? Sound off below!