Tim Olstad

	Tim Olstad
Information
Names	Tim Olstad
Age(s)	24
Hometown	Winona, Minnesota
Category	Boys
Mentor	Paulina Rubio
Elimination Information
Place	9th Place

Tim Olstad is an American singer from Winona, Minnesota who finished in 9th place on season 3 of the X Factor USA. He was a part of the Boys catagory, mentored by Paulina Rubio.

Background

Born and raised in Winona, Minnesota, Tim grew up the son of music teachers. When asked by Demi Lovato during his audition if he had done anything crazy in his life, Tim admitted to getting kicked out of his mother's music class for acting up.

Tim is a recent college graduate who was working as a server at a restaurant when he decided to try out for the show.

The X Factor

A very nervous Tim tried out for the show in Denver where his laid-back personality didn't seem to impress Demi Lovato, Kelly Rowland, and Paulina Rubio, who were the only three judges there due to Simon Cowell being absent. However, as he sang the Christina Perri song "A Thousand Years", Tim won the three ladies over with his sweet voice. His singing also won over the crowd. Tim got three yeses and made it to the next round where he made the top 40 and got Paulina Rubio as his mentor.

Four Chair Challenge

In this part of the competition, Tim took on the Miley Cyrus hit "The Climb" where he blew the crowd away as well as the judges. Despite earning a seat, Tim didn't stayed seated for long as Paulina switched him out with another contestant, which caused an outrage amongst the crowd and caused shock among her fellow judges, who all felt that Tim did great. With the crowd booing at her and screaming for Tim's return, Paulina changed her mind and gave him another chance, resulting in him making it to the live shows.

Live shows

In the first live show, Tim sang the Bon Jovi song "Always" where he received a stadning ovation from the crowd. Kelly Rowland told him that she loved his voice and his spirit. Despite critiques from Demi Lovato and Simon Cowell, Tim made it to the top 12.

For Motown Night, Tim decided to challenge himself by singing the Jackson 5 classic "I'll Be There", but the performance got him mixed reviews. Demi Lovato admitted to being confused over where he fit in, which got her booed. Kelly Rowland called the performance "watered down", but Simon Cowell disagreed with both Kelly and Demi by admitting that he liked it and even compared Tim to Donny Osmond. However, due to a graphics error that nullified the votes, he had to sing another song for the re-vote show. That song was "I Believe I Can Fly" by R. Kelly.

On 80s Night, Tim sang the Phil Collins classic "Against All Odds", a song that has not been kind to other singers on shows like the X Factor. Kelly Rowland felt that the performance was flat while Demi Lovato and Simon Cowell each expressed their dislike for the performance. Paulina Rubio, however, did give Tim credit for trying to make the song his own.

For British Invasion Night, Tim, frustrated by the criticism he had been getting form the judges, decided to take a risk by playing the piano on his rendition of the Elton John classic "Sorry Seems to Be The Hardest Word". Demi Lovato told him that she felt that he had found his niche, but Simon Cowell felt that Tim's future seemed to be more on Broadway instead that of a recording artist, which got him booed. However, Tim ended up in the bottom 2 with Carlito Olivero.

Despite giving it his all on the Josh Groban hit "You Raise Me Up" in the sing-off, Tim was eliminated on November 21, 2013, finishing in 9th place.