X Factor‘s Jason Brock endured quite a week under the bright, glittery lights of season two’s inaugural live show.
First, he took to the stage in an ill-advised performance of “Dance Again” by Jennifer Lopez. Adorned in animal prints and a purple bowtie and backed by a troupe of half-dressed dancers, Brock burlesqued his way to scathing commentary courtesy of judge Simon Cowell, who deemed the whole performance ridiculous.
The next night, Cowell wrote off Brock as one of two ponies racing to finish last in the race, but if Twitter is to be believed, L.A. Reid may have the dark horse on his team as Brock leads all 12 remaining acts with an impressive 143,981 followers. As of Nov. 2, Brock was leading California surfer dudes Emblem3 by 16,000.
PHOTOS: An ‘American Idol’ to ‘X Factor’ Timeline
So what is it about Brock that is resonating with the public? Speaking after Thursday night’s broadcast, Reid said it comes down to one thing: pure fun.
“Jason Brock makes me smile,” said Reid after the elimination show. “I like genuine fun and I like it when people lose themselves in their little moment instead of thinking it through about how they’re going to look and walk. It’s just too mechanical for me. … I like it when people are footloose and free and that is Jason Brock.”
Which isn’t to slight Emblem 3, who come in second with 127,709 eager beavers ready to add the boys to the X Factor short list.
PHOTOS: ‘X Factor’ Season 2: Meet the Contestants
Other contenders topping 100,000 followers include postal worker CeCe Frey and saucy rocker Jennel Garcia.
Surprisingly, the group with the least amount of followers is Lyric 145, who tally only 16,326 fans. Not far behind them is country singer Tate Stevens, of Reid’s team.
1432 is also struggling a bit for fans, but considering the group’s oft-changed moniker — the girls were dubbed Lylas before legally forced to change its name because of a conflict with Bruno Mars‘ backing singers — its tally of 35,638 is not bad at all.
Here is how all of the X Factor contestants rank on Twitter following the first week of live episodes:
Jason Brock: 143,981
Emblem 3: 127,709
Jennel Garcia: 107, 154
CeCe Frey: 100,258
Carly Rose Sonenclar: 85, 765
Paige Thomas: 70, 370
Beatrice Miller: 42,014
Arin Ray: 38,677
1432: 35,638
Vino Alan: 31,094
Tate Stevens: 17,818
Lyric 145: 16,638
Twitter: @Idol_Worship
