Britney Spears was definitely the focus of the season two premiere of "The X Factor" -- but there were some pretty great performances too!
While much will be made of the painfully awkward exchange between Britney and her former duet partner Don Philip, we want to highlight some of the better moments of the show as well.
The premiere definitely hooked us in right away with the audition of Paige Thomas, the 21-year-old girl with the Rihanna neck tattoos and adorable daughter Jade.
Her stage presence and overall sense of style were top notch as she sang Mary J. Blige's "I'm Goin' Down" during the Austin, TX auditions. The judges loved her too -- and we're pretty sure we'll be seeing much more of her in the future.
Joining Paige in the stellar stage department was 18-year-old Jannel Garcia from Rochester, MA -- who walked on stage looking all cute, but turned into a little sexpot once she started singing Grace Potter and the Nocturnals' "Paris."
There's nothing sexier than a little rocker and Jannel's exactly what this show needs to help keep things fresh. Just cool it on the hairography in the future!
Rounding out the cream of the crop for the women was 19-year-old Jillian Jensen, who didn't leave a dry eye in the house after her very emotional audition.
Jillian was an avid Demi Lovato fan, thankful for the singer for speaking out about anti-bullying ... a subject that hit very close to home for Jillian when she was in high school.
Her performance of Jessie J's "Who You Are" was powerful and packed with emotion ... and even had Simon admitting he teared up.
We really liked her and the message she sends, but hope she can muster up the strength to sing a full song without a single tear in the future. As Britney told her, "I really don't think you should be crying right now, you're so amazing."
And lastly, representing the guys, we have Emblem3.
While we feel a little bad for socially awkward former boy bander Vincent Thomas in this clip, the boys of Emlbem3 really stood out.
Their charisma was infectious and Demi was clearly a fan of the cute trio, who sang their own original song "Sunset Blvd."
All the judges loved 'em ... and we think young voters will too!
What did you think of the premiere? Who's your favorite so far? Sound off below!
