Rion Paige & The X Factor USA (2013) VBR

Rion Paige & The X Factor USA

Year 2013

Tracks
01 Blown Away
02 I Won't Let Go
03 Ain't No Mountain High Enough
04 Born This Way
05 Skyscraper
06 We Belong
07 Your Song
08 Swingin
09 Perfect
10 We Belong
11 Swingin
12 See You Again
13 Glass
14 The House That Built Me (Eliminated)

Rion Paige, who covered Carrie Underwood's "Blown Away" for her first audition — and immediately
made us lose our minds with joy (and call her a winner). So, just who is the pint-sized curly-haired girl?
The 13-year-old hails from Jacksonville, Florida, and has an ever-present smile on her face.
And while a lot of people notice her malformed hands first, and her mom mentioned how worried
she was about her sweet daughter, Rion isn’t afraid to talk about her difference.
"I have arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC)," Rion explained openly. "It's basically a whole bunch
of words to describe something really simple. My hands are curved differently because of my joints,
so I have to learn to do things differently. And I'm almost permanently blind in my right eye."
Rion hasn't let that stop her, though. She got four immediate yeses from the judges, with Simon Cowell
telling her that he'd love to work with her and that her powerful voice reminded him of Carrie,
whom he helped discover on American Idol.
On October 3, Rion beat out several contenders in the Girls Category to make it to the Top 16
where she kept her spot by performing mentor Demi Lovato's "Skyscraper." She kept the power
going during the Top 13 performances with Diana Ross's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"
and again less than 24 hours with Lady Gaga's "Born This Way."
Was it all enough to keep Rion in the running? Yes! She returned as a member of the Top 12
and performed Pat Benatar's "We Belong." Rion, we totally think you belong on X Factor!
Thankfully, America agreed and Rion made it to the Top 10. For UK Invasion night she sang Elton John's
"Your Song" to rave reviews from the judges...and to America! Rion made it to the Top 8
and Big Band night. Her performance of "Swinging'" was tons of fun and even got Simon to share a rare
compliment. He called the cutie a real "cupcake." She seems as sweet as one, too!
For her Top 6 numbers, Rion returned to a favorite performer, Carrie Underwood, with her rendition
of "See You Again" followed by an unplugged version of "Glass" by Thompson Square. But sadly,
Rion's two performances didn't qualify her for the Top 4. After battling it out with Carlito Olivero, Rion
was sent home on December 5. Man, we're going to miss that little cupcake.