'The X Factor' Eliminates Four: Country Boy Band Restless Road Tackles Katy Perry (VIDEO)

"The X Factor" returned to the Fox schedule on a special night with its first live show. First up was whittling down the remaining 16 contestants to the top 12. In other words, it was a night of brutal cuts and soaring voices. But it was perhaps the show's homemade country boy band Restless Road that offered up the biggest surprise.

They put their country twang on a very unexpected rendition of Katy Perry's "Roar." It was a huge surprise, but also a huge hit. Buddy TV's John Kubicek called them "Simon [Cowell]'s greatest accomplishment" this season.

Over at HitFix, Daniel Fienberg agreed with Simon's take on the group -- they could win the whole show. "Restless Road is going to be commercial as heck. There's no point in saying anything else about them," he wrote. "I don't love the harmonies in this country-fried take on Katy Perry, but I have zero doubt that people are going to vote for these guys. And I'd say, at least as of now, that they're your prohibitive favorites.”

Should the World Series wrap up in 6 games, "The X Factor" will introduce this Top 12 in a special episode on Thursday, October 31 at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Regardless, the Top 12 take the stage to compete as "The X Factor" returns to its usual timeslots of Wednesday and Thursday nights at 8 p.m. ET on Fox starting November 6.

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