The X Factor, Sunday 8pm, ITV1

Posted by Jim Holmes

Ladies and gentlemen, please raise your glass and toast the downfall of Jedward.

Six became five on tonight's X Factor result show, when the Irish twins John and Edward were given the chop after failing to ignite the voting lines over the past 24 hours.

After the remaining contestants took to the stage for a collective performance of Wham!'s 'Wake Me Up Before You Go Go', Britain's Got Talent alumna Susan Boyle took to the stage for a quite remarkable performance of the Rolling Stones' 'Wild Horses'.

Singing live and wearing a flattering sequined gown, SuBo successfully converted her early nerves into a powerful rendition of the classic 1971 track, while guest of honour Mariah Carey was backed by a 12-piece gospel choir as she performed her new single 'I Want To Know What Love Is'.

Much to everyone's surprise, odds on favourite Olly Murs was forced to sing for survival against über-quiffed duo John and Edward after being identified as the acts with the least number of public votes.

Captivating performers they may be, but Jedward's rendition of Boyzone's 'No Matter What' did little to silence their critics' concerns, battling bravely as they did through a consistent wall of boos. In the end Olly's showmanship shon through with a confident and solid performance of Eric Clapton's 'Wonderful Tonight'.

After appearing to divide the judges' votes equally, another Deadlock loomed as Dannii was asked to give the final vote.

She asked the audience: "Is it a singing competition?"

"On the premise that it's a singing competition, I'm going to have to send home John and Edward."

Should Jedward have gone a long time ago? Is the show worth watching in their absence? Let us know your thoughts on all the acts by posting a comment below.

To hear the tracks as they should have been sung, head to the Orange Music Store now to browse through our huge catalogue of songs.

SEE ALSO:
Calvin Harris interrupts Jedward's performance >>
I'm A Celebrity lineup >>

The X Factor, Sunday 8pm, ITV1

Posted by Dan Hodgson

Jamie 'Afro' has been voted off The X Factor after losing out to Lloyd Daniels in the sing-off.

This week's show saw Latino beauty Shakira give a sizzling performance of her single 'Did It Again'.  

It also debuted this year's X Factor charity single - a cover of Michael Jackson's 'You Are Not Alone' - in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, for which all the original finalist took to the stage adorned in white for a moving rendition. 

Last week saw Simon Cowell go to the public vote rather than vote out controversial twins John and Edward but this time there was no such drama as Lloyd Daniels and Jamie Archer made up the bottom two.

Jamie was first up and he gave an impassioned rendition of Queen's 'The Show Must Go On' whilst Lloyd delivered an accomplished version of Paolo Nutini's 'Last Request'. 

With Simon and Cheryl Cole each voting for their respective artists it was down to Louis Walsh and Dannii Minogue to decide who would leave the show. Louis went for Lloyd because he would have the most appeal, while Dannii opted for Jamie saying that he gave the best performance on the night.

Sadly for Jamie the show won't be going on as he left the show after receiving the fewest votes.

Let us know your thoughts on all the acts by posting a comment below.

To hear the tracks as they should have been sung, head to the Orange Music Store now to browse through our huge catalogue of songs.

SEE ALSO:
Calvin Harris interrupts Jedward's performance >>
I'm A Celebrity lineup >>

The X Factor, Saturday, 8pm, ITV1

Posted by Michael Baggs

Everyone got a little hysterical last weekend when Lucie Jones was eliminated from The X Factor instead of John and Edward. Within minutes of her shock departure, the internet was full of people declaring that they would never watch the show again (they watched) and that the show was a fix (it isn’t).

Jedward bashing has hit the world of celebrity, as this week's show saw clueless Scottish popstar Calvin Harris invade the X Factor stage during John and Edward’s actually-very-good cover of ‘Under Pressure’ by Queen / Vanilla Ice. Hating John and Edward has become a national pastime, but Harris’ ‘hilarious’ attempt to upstage the boys by leaping into the middle of their performance with a pineapple on his head (yes, our sides are splitting) phased the brothers not one bit as they continued their performance. The twins have endured weeks of cruel campaigns online and in the tabloid press but there seems to be nothing that these boys can’t rise above. Their determination and resolve is as steadfast as their trademark quiffs.

However, this week’s show was far from the series’ strongest. Choosing Queen as the band to honour may have seemed like a good idea on paper, but Queen were more than just some blokes with a load of good songs. The true Queen legacy has a good deal to do with Freddie Mercury, and as talented as the contestants are, no one managed to capture the grandeur or brilliance of their chosen tune. Most notably Stacey Solomon, who tackled ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’. While she was the evening’s vocal highlight, giving this track, with the emotional resonance of it being made famous by a man who died from Aids, to a singer who (bless her) is hardly the brightest button in the biscuit tin was an odd move. She was flawless, but it was like giving the Mona Lisa a wipe with a damp cloth - some things you just don’t touch.

Less flawless was Jamie Archer, who, as a ‘rocker’ should have excelled this week. Instead, his ‘Radio GaGa’ was as much fun as radio static. The usually impeccable Olly Murs struggled with ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’, although maybe we can blame that on his broken finger. Lloyd Daniels had one of his strongest weeks so far singing ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, but was outshone by Joe McElderry’s ‘Somebody to Love’. Little Joe is like a pop relic from a forgotten age of cute popstar boys, like Leon Jackson without the tears or Ray Quinn without being such a nuisance, and as he improves week-by -week, Joe becomes a real contender to win the show. Danyl Johnson closed the show with an oh-so-sincere ‘We Are the Champions’, leaving us slightly glum that nobody had the guts to tackle ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. 

The X Factor, Sunday 8pm, ITV1

Posted by Rex Miles

Lucie Jones has been eliminated from The X Factor after competing in the bottom two against the controversial John & Edward.

Black Eyed Peas made a guest appearance with an acrobatic performance of ‘Meet Me Halfway’ as Fergie descended from the sky on a moon crescent and Will.i.am flew across the audience.

2006’s X Factor winner Leona Lewis turned multi-platinum also appeared with a beautiful rendition of new single ‘Happy’.

Appealing to the judges, Lucie performed ‘One Moment In Time’ while the twins sang ‘Rock DJ’.

The judges' vote was split, with Louis and Simon voting to save John & Edward, while Dannii and Cheryl voted to save Lucie.

In deadlock for the fourth time this series the final choice was made by the public’s original vote, giving Lucie the boot.

Let us know your thoughts on all the acts by posting a comment below.

To hear the tracks as they should have been sung, head to the Music Store now to browse our huge catalogue of songs.

SEE ALSO:
More must-see entertainment shows >>

The X Factor, Saturday 8pm, ITV1

Posted by Michael Baggs

As themes for X Factor weeks go, ‘movie week’ was as flimsy as one of Dannii Minogue’s gowns, with judges bickering over what counted as a song from a movie and what didn’t. "I don’t know the movie it’s from and you’re cheating again Simon" trilled Louis Walsh after Jamie Archer sang ‘Crying’ from indie-flick Gummo. Not that it mattered, as Jamie was hardly the week’s talking point - other than for people to say it’s probably about time he packed up his gigantic afro and toddled off home.

But if picking a song from a movie about glue sniffing and teenage transvestites wasn’t random enough, Welsh beauty Lucie Jones plucked a track from Disney’s relatively unknown High School Musical knock-off, Camp Rock. Joe McElderry also sang ‘Circle of Life’ from The Lion King and the entire show was dominated by continual references to the contestants' outing to the movie premiere for Disney’s A Christmas Carol. It’s advertising that money just can’t buy - or rather, it’s advertising that only an international behemoth like Disney can buy. All in all, it was less subtle than being repeatedly punched in the face by a man in a 6-foot Mickey Mouse costume screaming: "GO AND SEE THE RUDDY MOVIE."

Now back to the singing. Stacey Solomon’s ‘Son of a Preacher Man’ was as boring as a morning in church and Olly Murs appeared to be morphing into papier-mâché comedian Frank Sidebottom in his ‘Twist And Shout’ routine. Danyl Johnson tried to win over the public with his newly cropped hair in a typically irritating ‘Purple Rain’ performance and poor little Lloyd Daniels continued to flounder with ‘Stand By Me’. Simon and Louis commented that Lloyd was out of his depth - making the music mogul duo the pair of hungry sharks circling the struggling Welsh teenager.

And what of the twins? Having turned being unpopular and rubbish into an art form, John and Edward’s terrible performance of the Ghostbusters theme tune was, as always, the evening’s most entertaining moment. Costumes, ghosts and a giant cardboard car - the only trick they missed was not changing the lyrics to "Who you gonna call? John and Edward!"

This year’s voting trends have been wildly unpredictable, (boo hoo hoo Rachel Adedeji) so anyone could end up in this week’s sing-off, but we’d recommend Jamie, Stacey and Lloyd leave an open suitcase on the bed before Sunday night’s results show.

The X Factor, Sunday 8pm, ITV1

Posted by Jim Holmes

Following last night's soft-rock masterclass, the nine remaining X Factor contestants were tonight reduced to this series' final eight - after Rachel Adedeji was given the boot.

Beginning with an ensemble performance of Aerosmith and Run DMC's 'Walk This Way, the stage was set for US hair metal veterans Bon Jovi to unveil their new new single, 'We Weren't Born To Follow', to the rabid live crowd. (To read a review of the track, and to download it, head here.)

Next up, X Factor alumnae JLS showed why they became such a success on last year's shows - reeling off an effervescent performance of their new track 'Everybody In Love', the follow-up to their former No.1, double Mobo award-winning single 'Beat Again'.  

After Rachel and 16-year-old Lloyd Daniels were identified as the two acts who had gathered the lowest number of public votes, the pair were forced to sing for survival.

Rachel delivered a stunning rendition of Oasis's 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out', while Lloyd - noticeably hoarse due to a throat ailment - struggled with the high notes of the Joe Cocker classic 'You Are So Beautiful'.

The four judges split their votes equally between the two acts, so the decision fell back into the hands of the public. After surviving two previous sing-offs, it wasn't a case of third time lucky for Rachel; receiving less of the original public vote than Lloyd, she was duly given the boot despite her vastly superior performance tonight.

Supporting her clearly distraught protégée, Rachel's mentor Dannii Minogue said: "Everyone who came in to perform on the show adored Rachel.

"I don't know where it went wrong. I'll be banging my head against the wall tonight."

Did Lloyd deserve to stay in the competition? Had Rachel outstayed her welcome? Backing John and Edward to win? Let us know your thoughts on all the acts by posting a comment below.

To hear the tracks as they should have been sung, head to the Music Store now to browse our huge catalogue of songs.

SEE ALSO:
More must-see entertainment shows >>

The X Factor, Sunday 8pm, ITV1

Posted by Jim Holmes

Last night's big feature may have been the big band, but tonight's show was dominated by a huge shock.

After failing to light up the voting hotlines over the past 24 hours, relative favourites Danyl Johnson and Miss Frank were chosen to sing for survival, much to the amazement of judges Dannii Minogue, Cheryl Cole, Louis Walsh and Simon Cowell.

Once Westlife had belted out an actually rather marvellous version of their new single 'What About Now', Michael Buble charmed the capacity crowd with his laid back charisma and hulking baritone voice.

Miss Frank rolled out an urban-tinged rendition of Rose Royce's 'Love Don't Live Here Anymore' - replete with Graziella Affinita's obligatory rapping, and Danyl returned to The Beatles' 'A Little Help From My Friends' - the track that brought to him to widespread attention during his original rehearsal.

After dividing the four bemused judges' affections equally, the verdict fell back into the hands of the public. As Miss Frank had scored a lower number of votes during the past 24 hours, they were duly eliminated from the show.

Should Miss Frank have gone this week? Should Danyl have been in the bottom two? Let us know your thoughts on all the acts by posting a comment below.

To hear the tracks as they should have been sung, head to the Music Store now to browse our huge catalogue of songs.

SEE ALSO:
More must-see entertainment shows >>

The X Factor, Sunday 8pm, ITV1

Posted by Zofia Niemtus

So, somehow, the Grimes twins have made it through another week and Ricky Loney has packed his bags and headed home, much to the irritation of Ricky's mentor Cheryl Cole who insisted she "can't believe they're still here."

Proving that the bizarre brotherly duo have the John Sergeant factor, if not the X Factor, the public voted them to safety, leaving Ricky and Rachel Adedeji in the bottom two.

The latter - who knocked out girl group Kandy Rain in the sing-off last week - gave an emotional rendition of U2's 'With Or Without You', while Scot Ricky went for Westlife's 'Flying Without Wings'.

Predictably, the judges opted to save their own acts; boys' mentor Cheryl stood by Ricky, and Dannii Minogue backed Rachel, leaving the deciding vote to Simon Cowell (Louis Walsh stayed away following the death of his close friend Stephen Gately last week).

The show also saw Cheryl take to the stage to perform her debut single, 'Fight For This Love'. The Geordie popstress was criticised in the press this week for her decision to mime to a pre-recorded performance, but in the event, even that corner-cutting didn't cut it, with a vocal that that was off-key, occasionally out of time and, realistically, not good enough to get through to boot camp. But, of course, the country doesn't love the star for her musical talent, and the performance (followed by a heartstring-tugging speech), was met with deafening applause.

Conversely, undeniable, if slightly wobbly, talent Whitney Houston belted out current single 'Million Dollar Bill' with a voice that could cut glass, before advising the hopefuls to "Practice, practice, practice." You can bet they will, as next Saturday is big band week.

Let us know your thoughts on all the acts by posting a comment below.

To hear the tracks as they should have been sung, head to the Music Store now to browse our huge catalogue of songs.

SEE ALSO:
More must-see entertainment shows >>

The X Factor, Sunday 8pm, ITV1

Posted by Sean Cameron

Kandy Rain’s dreams of a major record deal have been dashed after being voted off The X Factor in the first live show of 2009.

The girl band were forced into a sing-off against Rachel Adedeji after the two acts brought in the least number of votes from viewers of last night's show. The ex-strippers belted out Christina Aguilera’s ‘Fighter', with Rachel opting for a more subdued performance of Pink’s ‘Nobody Knows’.

Louis Walsh was absent from the show following the tragic death of Stephen Gately - the judge had been close with the singer since Boyzone's conception in 1993 - leaving the three remaining judges to choose which act would be on their way home.

Dannii and Cheryl voted to dismiss Kandy Rain, but Simon voted for Rachel. As their category's mentor, Louis' vote automatically went to Kandy Rain - so it was back to the public’s original vote to decide who was kept in the competition. After marginally out-performing the group in the orginal televote, Rachel was given the second chance at glory.

It was a star-studded affair with Alexandra Burke performing her new single ‘Bad Boys’ with Flo-Rida, while Robbie Williams delivered a comeback performance of new single ‘Bodies’, shouting: “It’s good to be back!”

Kandy Rain promised to carry on as a group, declaring, “You will see more of Kandy Rain,” during The Xtra Factor.

Let us know your thoughts on all the acts by posting a comment below.

To hear the tracks as they should have been sung, head to the Music Store now to browse our huge catalogue of songs.

SEE ALSO:
More must-see entertainment shows >>

Get Robbie Williams tracks now >>

X Factor, Saturday 8pm, ITV

Posted by Michael Baggs

Everything changes when X Factor hits the live shows. This is the point which separates the men from the boys - or to be more specific, separates the Danyl Johnsons from the Rikki Loneys.

Last night’s show celebrated the work of Robbie Williams - the first of the series’ big name acts to men tor the 12 hopeful finalists. However, the live show was remarkably Robbie-free as only a handful of contestants sang songs by the former Take That star.

Rachel Adedeji opened the show with a solid performance of his ‘Let Me Entertain You’, before former strippers Kandy Rain turned out an impressive cover of Robert Palmer’s ‘Addicted To Love’. The foursome’s performance sparking an early clash between the judges as Dannii and Cheryl attacked the girls’ provocative costumes while Simon and Louis celebrated the flesh flashed.

Essex lad Olly Murs and Rikki Loney struggled to make an impact with their covers of ‘She’s The One’ and Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back To Black’ before Dagenham mum Stacey Solomon’s rather wonderful take on Coldplay’s ‘The Scientist’ was the first standout performance of the night. Having already charmed the nation with her personality, Stacey’s natural sparkle and stunning voice seems certain to see this girl reach the latter stages of the competition.

Miss Frank were typically flawless on their performance of soul classic ‘Who’s Lovin' You’ before Jamie Archer turned out a rather flat rendition of T-Rex’s ‘Get It On despite the band, dancers and huge set supporting his performance. Sixteen-year-old Lloyd Daniels tackled Justin Timberlake’s ‘Cry Me A River’ with a performance that was slightly awkward but which will no doubt have struck a chord with the more maternal viewers.

Lucie Jones (who felt the need to remind us, for the umpteenth time that she is just a girl from a small town in Wales) stood out as one of the show’s strongest singers with her performance of Leona Lewis’s ‘Footprints In The Sand’. The girl’s got a great voice and looks good, but the star potential is yet to shine through.

Now. John & Edward. Facebook ‘hate’ groups, national newspaper campaigns to force them off the show, even boos from the studio audience - it’s staggering that so many people have rallied such venom towards two teenage boys. True, their vocals were the weakest of the night but their performance of Robbie’s ‘Rock DJ’ was the evening’s most entertaining and was reminiscent of the glory days of previous finalists, Same Difference.

Joe McElderry rounded off the under-25 boys’ category (mentored by Cheryl Cole and by far the weakest category of the season) with a stage-school performance of ‘No Regrets’. His voice is great, but perhaps far too suited to musical theatre for X Factor success.

Danyl Johnson closed the show with a staggering cover of ‘And I Am Telling You’, (made famous most recently by Jennifer Hudson). The strongest performer of the night, Danyl would be the year’s sure-fire winner if it weren’t for his on-stage arrogance which could all too easily prove his downfall and as Louis Walsh warned him: "You need to become more likeable - you haven’t won the competition yet." The last thing the voting public want is to have their winner served up to them in week one - we’ll make our own judgements, thank you very much.