Pointing out failures isn't a great way to spend Thanksgiving, but X Factor USA did it anyway, as a double elimination sent two talents packing Thursday night. Yahoo! TV reports that Lillie McCloud and Josh Levi are sent home and are no longer in the running for the X Factor title.

The show began with a canned feature of the Top 8 contestants having an advanced Thanksgiving feast with their relatives at the Grove mall.  As the show progressed however, it was clear that no segment about Thanksgiving could ever dissipate the tension of eliminations. In a greatly unexpected turn, crowd favourite and strongest contender Lillie McCloud is eliminated while the two teens, Rion Paige and Josh Levi, are revealed to be in the bottom three and had to sing their best to survive, according to Examiner.com.

With the X Factor title at stake, 13-year-old Rion sang the best song for that moment - Pink's "Perfect" - to plead with the judges to save her. The song gave the right message, and Rion gave it her best shot onstage. Meanwhile, Josh took to the stage and belted out Bruno Mars'  "When I Was Your Man," his performance making it quite incredulous why he's in the bottom three in the first place.

After the performances, it was time to deliberate and vote;  Lovato voted for Rion of course, just as Rubio voted for Josh, the two judges being the respective mentors of the teens.  The elimination then, was really in the hands of Rowland and Cowell. Rowland then chose Rion. As Simon Cowell cast his vote, everyone in the studio and at home held their breath: the British music mogul opted to let America decide.  It was the second shocking twist of the show. Not long after, the third shocking twist for the night was revealed: between the two teens, it's Josh Levi who's earned the lowest number of America's votes.

Thursday's results show proved once again that the game could change, drastically, in a talent search show like the X Factor. Both Lillie McCloud and Josh Levi had been strong contenders for the top prize, performing strong and steady week after week. Each could have gotten far to snatch the title. But of course, it's clear now that America thinks otherwise. Vox populi, vox dei?