Rion Paige Thompson is a country singer from Jacksonville, Florida who finished fifth on season three of The X Factor USA. She competed in the Girls category and was mentored by Demi Lovato. Rion auditioned for the show in Charleston, South Carolina, and impressed the judges with her upbeat and spunky personality. She then stunned the audience with her rendition of Carrie Underwood’s hit “Blown Away.” With Demi Lovato as her mentor, she received four yeses and made it to the top 40.
Rion dedicated her rendition of the 1983 John Anderson song “Swingin’,” which has been covered by both Lee Ann Rimes and Chris Young, to her mother for Big Band night. Rion varied her performance by moving around rather than standing in front of a microphone as she usually does.
The judges adored it, with Simon Cowell describing it as “the perfect song for her” and describing her as “as cute as a cupcake.” She then competed in a face-off with the other seven acts. Rion, on the other hand, finished in the bottom two with Josh Levi. Rion received the most votes from the public and advanced to the next week as a result of the judges’ decision to tie the vote.
