The X Factor live shows kicked off last night as the 16 finalists took to the stage for the first time in a bid to secure the public vote.
Simon Cowell, Cheryl, Mel B and Louis Walsh have been working hard with their acts to prepare them for the live shows and last night we got to see who has what it takes and who needs to work a bit harder. During the show last night the wildcards were revealed as Lola Saunder (The Girls), Stevi Ritchie (The Overs), Overload Generation (The Groups) and Jack Walton (The Boys).
As is to be expected from a week one the performances varied in quality with some of the hopefuls crashing and burning, and some soaring to dizzying new heights. We’ve picked our Top 5 favourite performances of the night.
5. Stevi Ritchie – Livin’ La Vida Loca
We didn’t want to love Stevi’s performance but we did! Vocally Stevi is one of the weakest in the competition but in terms of putting on a show he thoroughly entertained. The shirt-ripping moment at the end pushed the performance to a new level of OTT but somehow it worked and we loved it.
4. Lauren Platt – Happy
We weren’t mad about the arrangement of this one. Mixing Happy with Teardrop was a bit dull but Lauren gave one of the best vocals of the evening. She’s definitely going to go far in the competition and she definitely secured her place in week 2 last night.
3. Chloe Jasmine – Toxic
Everyone keeps going on about how Chloe will divide the audience but after last night surely people can see she’s one of the most interesting and unique performers in the competition. Her jazz take on Britney Spears’ Toxic was clever and Cheryl knows what she needs to do to bring the best out of Chloe.
2. Andrea Faustini – Earth Song
Vocally Andrea is head and shoulders above everyone in the competition. The reason he’s not our number 1 this week is because we weren’t mad about the song choice. Andrea did a fantastic job but Earth Song isn’t a song anyone other than Michael Jackson should ever attempt.
1. Fleur East – All About That Bass
Wow! Where the hell did Fleur East come from? During the auditions we weren’t mad about her but her performance at judges’ houses seems to have paved the way for a new star to be born. Last night Fleur gave the most well-rounded and polished performance. Giving her Meghan Trainor’s All About That Bass was a smart move and Fleur looked, sounded and moved like a true popstar.
Tune in to ITV tonight at 8.15pm tonight to find out which two acts will be leaving the competition.
