‘The X Factor’ recap: Who’s headed to the live shows?

After a baseball rain delay wreaked havoc on “The X Factor’s” big who-made-the-live-shows reveal last week, Fox finally managed to deliver the rest of the results in an hourlong show Tuesday night.

Heading into the episode, we already knew which singers in the Teens category Britney Spears had ushered through (Diamond White, Carly Rose Sonenclar, Arin Ray and Beatrice Miller) and which Over 25s L.A. Reid had finally resigned himself to embracing (David Correy, Jason Brock, Tate Stevens and Vino Alan).

We’d also seen Demi Lovato make two selections for her team of 18-to-24-year-olds (Jennel Garcia and Willie Jones) before the network abruptly and inexplicably cut away to other programming. Lovato, who has a great poker face, followed up Tuesday night by delivering bad news to ambitious rapper Nick Youngerman, who appeared to have thought he was a lock for a slot in the live show, and good news to Rihanna-esque mom Paige Thomas, whose tears revealed she was ready for the worst.

That left back-from-bullying, heart-on-her-sleeves Jillian Jensen and bullying, eerily emotionless CeCe Frey. Surely Lovato, who had connected with Jensen so strongly during the audition phase, would choose her. Alarmingly, no. It was Jillian’s tear-strewn face the cameras cut to after Lovato said, “You’re going home. I’m so sorry.”

Jensen was left crying in her friend Jennel Garcia’s arms. While Frey boasted that she felt “unbelievable.”

Unbelievable, indeed.

Later, Lovato — who herself wept a bit after sending Jensen home — would express confidence that she could make America love the icily unlikeable Frey. But I am more than skeptical that the “X Factor” voters will allow themselves to be manipulated. I predict Frey will go the way of her leopard spots — and quickly — once the voters get their say, which is too bad for Jensen, whom the show’s voters may have embraced.

Meanwhile, at Simon Cowell’s house, the groups learned their fate. Lyric 145, a talented rap trio formed by the show’s producers by combining a solo artist and a duo, was in; non-manufactured rap group Dope Crisis was out. California beach-bum boy trio Emblem3 would advance, despite messing up the lyrics in their judges’ home performance, and as would Texas harmonizers Sister C, whom Cowell predicted America was “gonna love.”

That left only one spot and two insta-groups with hopes of snagging it, the girl group LYLAS and the boy band Playback. The girls had unarguably performed more impressively, but Cowell had seemed to enjoy the boys. Was he about to make one of his trademark wacky calls? Nope.

“I’m really sorry, but it’s been a pleasure meeting you all. I’m sorry it didn’t work out,” he told the crestfallen boys.

To the girls, he said, “You are through,” adding that both he and his guest judge, Marc Anthony, had been “seriously, seriously blown away.”

So there you have it. What do you think? Did the judges make the right decisions? Would you, like Lovato, have picked CeCe Frey over Jillian Jensen?

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