Arts & Entertainment

Chris Rene Advances to Top 10

After 'Gangsta's Paradise' performance, Rene impresses the judges and America.

Chris Rene fans can rest easy. The Santa Cruz garbage man turned rapper has made it through to the top 10 on Fox’s “The X Factor.”

The atmosphere was tense in the auditorium for a bit though as Rene was the last to be told he had made it through. But he is alive to sing for another week.

Rene made it through after performing a powerful, remixed .

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That performance was especially meaningful for Rene, who has battled drug addiction and is six months sober, because his mother was in the audience.

"She's just proud that I made it through the struggle and I'm a stronger man today because of it," Rene said.

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Donning his signature fedora along with a black leather jacket and white t-shirt, Rene took on "Gangsta's Paradise," replacing the chorus refrain with Stevie Wonder's original "Pastime Paradise" and his own lyrics throughout the verses.

"Skater boy, Santa Cruz, that's how I'm livin'," he said in the first verse, though most of the song referenced his recent lifestyle change.

Tune into "The X-Factor" on Wednesday at 8 p.m. to see Rene perform in the next phase of the competition.


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