If YouTube views are any indication of who should win or be eliminated on the U.S. version of The X Factor, the show's judges appear to agree with the online audience so far.
Last week, the judges eliminated five acts to determine the top 12 finalists. Those finalists will compete for the public's vote for the first time tonight. The eliminated performers attracted the fewest numbers of views as of Nov. 2, while the acts who received the highest praise from the judges also netted the most views.
In the video gallery above, Mashable ranked the top 12 contestants (as well as the five eliminated semi-finalists) based on YouTube views for their Oct. 25 performances.
Drew Ryniewicz, Astro (Brian Bradley) and Melanie Amaro came out as the clear YouTube favorites for X Factor, which has recently sparked more social buzz than the majority of cable or broadcast shows on TV. Flip through the gallery or check out the list below to see how the finalists fared:
1. Drew Ryniewicz: 720,469 page views
2. Astro (Brian Bradley): 682,523
3. Melanie Amaro: 527,522
4. Rachel Crow: 357,274
5. Chris Rene: 327,582
6. Josh Krajcik: 313,974
7. Marcus Canty: 256,840
8. Stacy Francis: 254,766
9. Lakoda Rayne: 213,257
10. LeRoy Bell: 210,861
11. The Stereo Hogzz: 198,480
12. InTENsity: 196,162
ELIMINATED: Phillip Lomax: 187,166
ELIMINATED: Simone Battle: 179,820
ELIMINATED: Tiah Tolliver: 166,002
ELIMINATED: Dexter Haygood: 160,926
ELIMINATED: The Brewer Boys: 116,573
The X Factor doesn't tally YouTube views as votes, but the stats still show which finalists are resonating with YouTube users, who often help the contestants get more exposure by sharing the videos on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks.
For now, the show has five voting methods, including a new way to support their favorite performer: Twitter direct message-enabled voting.
Viewers also can vote by calling, texting, going to the show's website or -- if you're a Verizon subscriber with an Android device -- using The Xtra Factor App.