The X Factor UK 2011 - Live Show 8

Two songs each tonight.
The first, Guilty Pleasures.
The second, Musical Heroes.

TEAM TULISA
1. Little Mix - Baby/Where Did Our Love Go? (Justin Bieber/The Supremes)
Vocally, pretty good by their standards. It was all a bit twee though, and the cheesy choreography left a lot to be desired.

TEAM KELLY ROWLAND
2. Janet Devlin - MmmBop (Hanson)
Oops a few mistakes there. Has Janet been taking stage presence lessons from Rebeckah Ferguson? Feet can move, you know.

TEAM KELLY
3. Misha B - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Cyndi Lauper)
Misha is back! She updated the song in a way that worked very well, and, more importantly, sang it well.

TEAM GARY BARLOW
4. Marcus Collins - I'm Your Man (Wham!)
Perfect song choice for his retro vibe, and his vocals were great... But it lacked a little something for me.

TEAM KELLY
5. Amelia Lily - China In Your Hand (T'Pau)
I might be biased as I love that song, but that was awesome! The hip-hop beat was subtle enough to update the song without undermining it, and her voice was incredible. Oh, and Gary Barlow can FUCK RIGHT OFF. Carol Decker is a goddess. FACT.

TEAM TULISA
6. Little Mix - Beautiful (Christina Aguilera)
Nice vocals, emotionally delivered.

TEAM KELLY
7. Janet Devlin - Under The Bridge (Red Hot Chilli Peppers)
I would never in a million years have put this singer with this song. And yet... I don't hate it. And it's Janet.

TEAM KELLY
8. Misha B - Killing Me Softly (Roberta Flack/The Fugees)
That was phenomenal. And I HATE Lauryn Hill.

TEAM GARY
9. Marcus Collins - Lately (Stevie Wonder)
The cocky smile did not fit this song, and his pitch was off. Sorry, Marcus you've had an off night. Then the second half kicked in, and it all went rather lovely. Phew.

TEAM KELLY
10. Amelia Lily - Since U Been Gone (Kelly Clarkson)
Surprisingly bad for Amelia. A great song, ideal for her voice, and the kind of song I could imagine her recording. And yet. Oh, well, China In Your Hand was good.

RESULTS SHOW

I'll ignore the charity thing and guest performers, let's get to the results. The bottom two perform.

TEAM KELLY
Janet Devlin - Chasing Cars (Snow Patrol)
Surprisingly good for Janet. Wise move to keep it understated. But still painful at times.

Misha B - Out Here On My Own (Irene Cara)
Beautifully sung.

Louis sends home Janet. An Irish person. Really!
Tulisa sends home Janet.
Kelly refuses, Janet goes home.
Gary would have sent home Janet.

The X Factor USA - Live Show 4 - Thanksgiving

It's a double elimination! So Paula's fucked... It's thanksgiving week, so lots of sob stories and emotions on stage.

TEAM SIMON COWELL
1. Rachel Crow - I Believe (Yolanda Adams)
Dedicated to her (adoptive) parents.
It started off beautifully, but went a bit wrong once the beat kicked in. I'm warming to her, there's definite talent there. I still wish they'd waited a few years though.

TEAM LA REID
2. Marcus Canty - Mama (Boyz II Men)
Dedicated to his mother. Obv.
Definitely opening in the wrong key, he struggled with the lower notes. It was obviously intended to build toward the better range of his voice, but it also cracked on the high notes. That said, it's a very emotional week this week so vocal cracks can be forgiven. This week ONLY. Terrible song though.

TEAM SIMON
3. Melanie Amarro - The World's Greatest (R. Kelly)
Dedicated to God.
I have no problem with people thanking God, but when it's a case of Him being responsible for all the good and none of the bad, I find it all very ungrateful to all those people who have actually been there. LOVE her Virgin Islands accent though. The performance was good, though not spectacular. But then it's not really a song that lends itself to vocal gymnastics.

TEAM LA
4. Chris Rene - Let It Be (The Beatles)/Young Homie
Dedicated to his rehab councillor.
There's something rough and raw about Chris's voice that I really like. It was interesting to hear him strip back the rapping, but not the hip hop, and mashing it up with an original song worked well.

TEAM PAULA ABDUL
5. Lakoda Rayne - You Belong With Me (Taylor Swift)
Dedicated to their dad/ boyfriend/ dad/ grandmother.
Oh dear. Somehow their voices were dreadful, not only in harmony, but also individually. I don't know what the judges are hearing.

TEAM NICOLE SCHERZINGER
6. Leroy Bell - Angel (Sarah McLachlan)
Dedicated to his (late) mother.
Easily the best performance tonight. Love that he didn't go for the vocal gymnastics, and just sang the song in the way that just made sense to him at the time.

TEAM LA
7. Astro - Show Me What You Got (Jay-Z)
Dedicated to his fans. And hip hop.
Shouty and unmelodic. "Bloggers, they hate me." Yep.

TEAM SIMON
8. Drew - Skyscraper (Demi Lovato)
I'm noticing a theme this week, and it's not making me thankful. Lots of struggling on the lower register, particularly the first half of songs. It sounded like it was a nice song, but not the way she sang it. Using "sang" very loosely. LA Reid really is a fucking retard. Does he not know how old (young) Demi Lovato is?

TEAM NICOLE
9. Josh Krajick - Wild Horses (The Rolling Stones)
Dedicated to his daughter.
The theme continues, but at least Josh hit the bigger notes. One of his strongest performances for a while, if a little bit dull.

RESULTS SHOW
Top 9 - P!nk medley
Little Mix (circa E.T.) appear to have made a guest appearance as backing dancers. The vocals sounded live his week. I certainly hope they were.

First to be eliminated, based entirely on viewer votes, is Lakoda Rayne. TEAM PAULA ABDUL is no more.

Remaining bottom two:
TEAM LA
Marcus Canty - You Lost Me (Christina Aguilera)
A much more decent vocal performance, he certainly fits into the modern musical scene.

TEAM NICOLE
Leroy Bell - Don't Let Me Down (The Beatles)
Possibly outdoing his previous performance, Leroy was confident and pitch-perfect. But, inexplicably, hasn't been connecting with the judges.

LA sends home Leroy.
Nicole sends home Marcus.
Paula sends home Leroy.
Simon sends home Marcus.
Deadlock: The American public sends home Leroy.

Gutted.

The X Factor UK 2011 - Live Show 7 - Movies

No more Team Louis Walsh! Boo-yah!

TEAM GARY BARLOW
1. Craig Colton - Licence To Kill (Gladys Knight, Licence To Kill)
I love that song, and he still bored me rigid. I can't put my finger on what he's doing wrong, though.

TEAM KELLY ROWLAND
2. Janet Devlin - Kiss Me (Sixpence None The Richer, She's All That)
Probably the most perfect song choice of the season so far. Fitted her voice perfectly, avoiding the usual assault on all things aural.

TEAM KELLY
3. Amelia Lily - Think (Aretha Franklin, The Blues Brothers)
A pretty good performance for week 3. Unfortunately, it's week 7 for everyone else. Her vocals were ok, but the arrangement was a bit weak. Some songs you don't attempt, this is one of them.

TEAM KELLY
4. Misha B - (Whitney Houston, The Bodyguard)
Now that Kitty's not around to bully, it's time to bring out Misha's sob story. This one involves adoption. They clearly want us to talk about that for votes, so let's ignore the singing. Shame it's this week they chose.

TEAM TULISA
5. Little Mix - Don't Let Go (Love) (En Vogue, Set It Off)
After week upon week of Kelly comparing Little Mix to En Vogue, Tulisa finally caves in and gives them one of their songs. It turns out Kelly was right, as this was hands-down Little Mix's best performance so far.

TEAM GARY
6. Marcus Collins - Higher (Jackie Wilson, Ghostbusters II)
An awesome, faithful rendition of a fabulous song. Just please stop him talking. Especially to the finger-wagging air-horn. (See last year).

RESULTS
Bottom two:
TEAM GARY
Craig Colton - Will You Love Me Tomorrow? (The Shirelles)
One of his strongest vocals, but still same old, same old.

TEAM KELLY
Amelia Lily - You and I (Lady Gaga)
I hate that song, but it was an amazing vocal, in a different league to Craig. It bordered on shouty, but not as much as Gary made out.

Gary sends home Amelia.
Kelly sends home Craig.
Tulisa sends home Amelia.
Louis sends home Craig.

DEADLOCK:
The public sends home Craig.
Phew.

The X Factor USA - Live Show 3 - Rock Week

TEAM NICOLE SCHERZINGER
1. Leroy Bell - We've Got Tonight (Bob Seger)
A pretty near-perfect vocal. I still hear Michael Bolton, but at least Leroy has better hair. It is true that he lacks a bit of an oomph when it comes to stage presence (or, if you will, The X Factor), but he hasn't outstayed his welcome yet.

TEAM SIMON COWELL
2. Rachel Crow - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (The Rolling Stones)
It's rock week, right? So why take a rock song and turn it into a hand-clappy Motown-esque affair? Rachel has the voice to potentially get into the meat of a rock song, so this was disappointing. A huge step down from last week.

TEAM L.A. REID
3. Chris Rene - No Woman, No Cry (Bob Marley & The Wailers)
A fusion of reggae and hip-hop does not a rock song make, but L.A. put up a decent argument. I'll give Chris his dues, though, his singing voice frequently surprises me (in a good way) and it did again tonight.

TEAM NICOLE
4. Stacy Francis - It's All Coming Back To Me Now (Meat Loaf)
Despite being a Jim Steinman song that was eventually recorded by Meat Loaf, this is, let's face it, a Celine Dion song. And the comparisons were not kind to Stacy. But to deny she did a decent job on her own merits would be churlish.

TEAM SIMON
5. Melanie Amaro - Everybody Hurts (R.E.M.)
The ballad queen does it again, putting a soulful gospel twist on a rock ballad. It was surprisingly lifeless for Melanie, but girl got pipes.

TEAM NICOLE
6. Josh Krajick - The Pretender (Foo Fighters)
This should be his week. And, he certainly rocked out. I actually prefer his more soulful side, although I do love this song.

TEAM L.A.
7. Astro - I'll Be Missing You (Puff Daddy)
I'm assuming the interpolation of The Police's "Every Breath You Take" is what makes this rock. He raps better than Puff Daddy, I'll give him that. "I miss you, Hip Hop"??? WTF? That's like saying "I miss you, snow" in Antartica.

TEAM PAULA ABDUL
8. Lakoda Rayne - Go Your Own Way (Fleetwood Mac)
The girls have great individual voices, and they've called a fair cop as the backing vocalists have been brought on-stage to help out with the harmonies. It didn't really help, but it was enjoyably competent. They are usually better than this.

TEAM SIMON
9. Drew - With or Without You (U2)
More of the same from Drew, but this suited her voice amazingly well. I'm not a fan, but she was great this week.

TEAM L.A.
10. Marcus Canty - Piece of My Heart (Janis Joplin)
Re: his church choir, "I'm kind of like their role model"...? Even if it's true, it's a little arrogant to say, no? This featured some truly bizarre choreography (did someone say check for oil?) His vocals were adequate, but I can't say he rocked it.

RESULTS SHOW
Top 10 - We Will Rock You
I always assumed these bits were lip-synched, but Leroy's "oops I missed my line" fuck-up proved this to be untrue. Interesting...

Bottom two:
TEAM NICOLE
Stacy Francis - Amazing Grace
Whatever. I almost want her out for choosing that song. Fortunately for her, she's up against...

TEAM L.A.
Astro - Never Can Say Goodbye (The Jackson 5)
The arrogant little turd thought he'd done enough to not have to perform, but did anyway. Oh, joy to my eardrums. Mostly "uh uh"s, though he did throw in a nice rap about the judges. Hopefully it's cost him his place.

L.A. almost sends Astro, his own act, home for acting like a quitter, but sends home Stacy.
Nicole sends home Astro. He looks MASSIVELY pissed off.
Paula, shockingly, sends home Stacy.
Simon castigates Astro, then sends home Stacy. Ridiculous.

The X Factor UK 2011 - Live Show 6 - Queen/Lady Gaga

TEAM LOUIS WALSH
1. Kitty Brucknell - Don't Stop Me Now (Queen)
Spoiler alert, she was stopped. Don't really know what to say about Kitty. Don't like her, don't dislike her. She was alright I suppose. Next...

TEAM GARY BARLOW
2. Craig Colton - Paparazzi (Lady Gaga)
Craig is filling Sophie's void of sucking the life out of songs. Hooray. He's not letting the melody bother him, either. Arse. Absolutely terrible.

TEAM TULISA
3. LittleMix - Radio Gaga/Telephone (Queen/Lady Gaga)
The natural segue from Radio Gaga is surely Bad Romance with the romama-gaga bit? Oh well. They were quite good. For them.

TEAM KELLY ROWLAND
4. Janet Devlin - Somebody To Love (Queen)
Apparently, some people out there actually like the sound coming out of this girl's mouth. Honestly. I know!

TEAM GARY
5. Marcus - Another One Bites The Dust (Queen)
I've never liked that song, but Marcus did the anti-Sophie and put life into a lifeless song. Hope the title's not an omen! :-S

TEAM KELLY
6. Misha B - Born This Way (Lady Gaga)
Misha, of course, dispelled those bully rumours by letting Kitty sing "Born This Way", as she'd been dying to do... Oh, wait. No she didn't. Misha goes military again. Awesome tune. Somehow, she didn't sing it very well. Massive disappointment.

TEAM KELLY
7. Amelia Lily - The Show Must Go On (Queen)
Frankie's gone, so Amelia's back! And did rather well. The public had a chance to vote on the four acts ejected week one, as they'd never previously faced the public vote. Amelia won. Already, she sticks out like a sore thumb this year; A great singer who knows how to perform a ballad.

RESULTS SHOW

Kitty & Misha B ended up in the bottom two.

TEAM LOUIS
Kitty Brucknell - Somewhere Over The Rainbow (Judy Garland/pretty much everybody)
She delivered a decent vocal, an obvious plea for sympathy and votes. Can't deny she fought for her place.

TEAM KELLY
Misha B - Who You Are (Jessie J)
Superb. Damnit.

Kitty went home, but not before singing the chorus of "Born This Way". Misha is dead to me. At least Kitty got a teary hug from Gaga.
But Louish Wals (sic) has no acts left! Get in!!!!

The X Factor USA - Live Show 3 - Movie Week

TEAM NICOLE SCHERZINGER
1. Stacy Francis - Queen of the Night (Whitney Houston, The Bodyguard)
One of the biggest voices in the competition sounded a bit lost in this. Definitely in too high a key for her, and her movement on-stage lacked the funky diva sassiness it required. Hugely disappointing, but not terrible.

TEAM LA REID
2. Marcus Canty - I'm Going Down (Rose Royce, Car Wash)
An odd song choice that I didn't think suited him at all. It was alright, but the singing-"oh yeah oh yeah oh yeah"-while-backup-actually-sings-the-song thing just leaves me cold.

TEAM SIMON COWELL
3. Drew - Fix You (Coldplay, You, Me & Dupree)
OK. This week I kind of got it. The song suited her awkward voice rather nicely. LA Reid proves once more he's Louis Walsh by bringing out the rule book. It's Gummo-gate all over again.

TEAM NICOLE
4. Leroy Bell - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (U2, Runaway Bride)
Another bad fit of voice and song, but his Michael Bolton-esque soulful vocals still stood out, even if they didn't soar as they should.

TEAM PAULA ABDUL
5. Lakoda Rayne - Somebody Like You (Keith Urban, How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days)
At times, they sounded great- but some of the harmonies were a bit off. This is totally within their comfort zone, and I have to say I prefer them when they do their country spin on a more mainstream pop song. This was all a bit Dixie Chicks. Nothing wrong with that, but since we already have the Dixie Chicks, why do we need Lakoda Rayne?

TEAM LA
6. Astro - Lose Yourself (Eminem, 8 Mile)
Proving once and for all he's 100% rapper and 0% singer, he's undeniably talented given he rewrites every "song"(?) he performs. America's Got Talent? Certainly. The X Factor? Certainly not.

TEAM SIMON
7. Melanie Amaro - Man in the Mirror (Michael Jackson, This Is It)
Interesting how lyrics are changed if it might sound like you're being romantic towards someone of the same sex, but it's perfectly fine for Melanie to look in the mirror and see a man? Okay. That aside, it wasn't quite the phenomenal performance it should have been. It's movie week, give her "Listen" again. Her vocals were brilliant, but LA was right, there was nothing inventive about it.

TEAM PAULA
8. The Stereo Hoggzz - Ain't No Other Man (Christina Aguilera, Get Smart)
I quite liked the styling, visually it worked very nicely. Audibly, was patchy at best. Not run-behind-the-sofa bad, but nothing that would make me buy an album. Wow, LA Reid really IS Louis Walsh. "I don't know that song"... WTF?

TEAM NICOLE
9. Josh Krajick - With A Little Help From My Friends (The Beatles/Joe Cocker, Across The Universe)
Exactly what I (and everybody) expected it to be. In both good and bad ways.

TEAM LA
Chris Rene - Gangsta's Paradise/Pastime Paradise (Coolio & LV/Stevie Wonder, Dangerous Minds)
Like Astro, he wrote his own rap around Coolio's, and, like Marcus, opted for the ooh yeahs, rather than the melody (though not as often). However, he hit the right notes, rapped with sincerity, and showed Astro up for the little boy he is.

TEAM SIMON
Rachel Crow - I'd Rather Go Blind (Etta James/Beyoncé, Cadillac Records)
I'll be honest, I'd written this performance off before it had even started. What a mistake-a to make-a. That. Was. Phenomenal. Wow.

RESULTS SHOW

Rather shockingly, Paula's acts make up the bottom two once more, namely Lakoda Rayne and The Stereo Hoggzz. It was fascinating how all acts were big smiles for the first few names, and then every expression gradually turned to absolute horror as they remained on stage. Poor Paula. She was a nightmare on American Idol, but has been surprisingly tolerable on here.

TEAM PAULA
Lakoda Rayne - No Air (Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown)
This is Lakoda Rayne at their best- i.e. taking a pop/RnB song and making it country. Unfortunately, the bottom two scenario caused many of them to over-sing and the harmonies turned from bad to hellish.

The Stereo Hoggzz - You Are Not Alone (Michael Jackson)
Possibly their strongest vocal performance so far, their harmonies were tight, the soloists were excellent, and the ad libs were well-judged. Surprisingly good. I was hoping Lakoda Rayne would go through before the sing-off, now I'm not so sure.

LA Reid sends home The Stereo Hoggzz.
Nicole Scherzinger sends home The Stereo Hoggzz.
Paula Abdul refuses to vote, then, as her abstention would have sent The Stereo Hoggzz home, sends home Lakoda Rayne.
Simon Cowell sends home The Stereo Hoggzz.

The Stereo Hoggzz go home. It'll be interesting to see a different judge's act in the bottom two next week, even if it is alongside one of Paula's.

The X Factor UK 2011 - Live Show 5 - Dance Anthems

TEAM LOUIS WALSH
1. Johnny Robinson - Hung Up/You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) (Madonna/Dead or Alive)
As big a Madonna fan as I am, this started off bordering on Johnny-back-to-the-novelty. However, once he got into the second song, Johnny's vocals really came out to play, and they genuinely sounded amazing on the big notes. Shame about the little ones that made up the majority.

TEAM KELLY ROWLAND
2. Janet Devlin - I Want You Back (The Jackson Five)
There was something about the terrified-but-jolly look on Janet's face that I actually found rather charming. Her voice was weak (shock horror) but overall her performance was a vast improvement on last week's. So just "poor", then.

TEAM GARY BARLOW
3. Craig Colton - Heaven (Bryan Adams/DJ Sammy)
How do you get a yawnsville balladeer to sing a dance anthem? Easy. Choose a ballad that became a dance anthem- and get him to do both versions. Have his cake and eat it too, as it were. And something tells me this isn't Craig's first cake. Naturally, he sounded better during the ballad bits, but that dancing... Wow! Did not see that coming. Dad at a wedding or what? Is it safe to come out from behind the sofa now?

TEAM TULISA
4. The Risk - A Night To Remember (Shalamar)
This is the vocal performance I've been waiting for from The Risk. Their solos were each perfect and the harmonies fell into place nicely. I really don't know what Gary Barlow is hearing, but I don't understand how anybody could hear that without hearing a huge improvement on their past cacophonies.

TEAM GARY
5. Marcus Collins - Reet Petite (Jackie Wilson)
Well, nobody can say they saw that song choice coming. Once again, Marcus delivered superb vocals with a natural stage presence and convincing choreography. Best performance of the series so far. Oh bugger, Gary just stole my line.

TEAM LOUIS
6. Kitty Brucknell - Like A Prayer (Madonna)
Just as I'm feeling defensive about Kitty, she enters hallowed territory. Whilst wearing Krystle Carrington shoulder pads. It didn't quite have the impact it should have- but she did a decent job vocally, I guess, and was respectful to the spirit of the original.

TEAM GARY
7. Frankie Cock - I Gotta Feeling (The Black Eyed Peas)
"I don't know why people are voting for me". Me neither, Frankie. Me, neither. He amazingly took a rather shouty, tuneless song and somehow made it even more tuneless. It may be the ultimate feel-good tune, but it's going to take more than that to get votes. Though I got a feeling Louis's rant might actually work in Frankie's favour. Sorry.

TEAM KELLY
8. Misha B - Proud Mary (Ike & Tina Turner)
Inspired song choice. Looking more like Chaka Khan than Tina, Misha looked like she was having fun for the first time. Glad to see her ditch the urban side for once too, and managed to avoid the potential karaoke/ cabaret/ copycat potential in that song. Ace.

TEAM TULISA
9. Little Mix - Don't Stop The Music (Rihanna)
See the above review of The Risk. Switch that, reverse it. Oh dear. Please stop the music.

RESULTS SHOW
It's a double eviction. The bottom three are revealed to be:

TEAM TULISA - The Risk
TEAM LOUIS - Kitty, Johnny

The Risk have the fewest votes, and are automatically eliminated. Ridiculous.

Johnny Robinson - Unchained Melody (The Righteous Brothers)
Despite an obviously under-rehearsed edit that caused him to go a bit wrong, Johnny's voice sounded incredible. An interesting song choice, given Louis's constant harassing of Simon Cowell for giving his acts this song.

Kitty Brucknell - Beautiful Disaster (Kelly Clarkson)
Opting for Kelly's live acoustic version, rather than the uptempo original, it was a brave choice given that it was never a UK single. Her voice was as good as ever.

Absurdly, they go to Louis first. He eliminates Johnny.
Tulisa eliminates Johnny.
Kelly eliminates Johnny.
Gary would have sent home Johnny.

So we say a fond farewell to Johnny, the "character" of 2011. Nobody could have foreseen he'd make it this far, but at least he eventually got to sing before he left, and left on a high...

...Or is it? The news has broken that Frankie has been kicked out of the show (hurrah!) for "breaking the golden rule" (allegedly it was his alleged boasting about allegedly snorting cocaine. Allegedly.) Anyway, it's unclear what this means for the remaining acts, but Johnny's return is a possibility. Watch this space...

The X Factor USA - Live Show 2

TEAM PAULA ABDUL
1. The Stereo Hogzz - Rhythm Nation (Janet Jackson)
Another strong visual performance that captured the spirit of the original- and good to see this song revived, as relevant as ever. The vocals weren't amazing, but it's not that kind of song.

TEAM L.A. REID
2. Chris Rene - Superstar (The Carpenters)
A bit of an odd choice, likely inspired by American Idol winner Ruben Studdard's RnB version, although an added rap upped the urban ante. Unfortunately, it just did not work at all, and the vocals were far from great. Nope, not for me.

TEAM NICOLE SCHERZINGER
3. Leroy Bell - I'm Already There (Lonestar)
Leroy is so much better than this song. His amazing voice sounded quite bland in this song, which is ridiculous.

TEAM SIMON COWELL
4. Rachel Crow - Walking on Sunshine/You're My Sunshine (Katrina & The Waves/Gamu)
I cannot believe the bear-faced cheek of Simon Cowell, taking Gamu's audition version from the UK show last year and passing it off as his own invention. That said, it was a cutesy enough song for her cutesy enough personality. But I still can't abide her.

TEAM PAULA
5. Lakoda Rayne - Landslide (Stevie Nicks)
This showed the limitations of their lower registers, and was quite badly off-key at times. It wasn't wholly unpleasant, yet seemed to lack any of the emotion from a very emotional song.

TEAM NICOLE
6. Josh Krajick - Jar of Hearts (Christina Perri)
Another poor song choice tonight, completely out of Josh's range and comfort zone. The lower register was a real struggle. At least they didn't go for Craig Coulton's ridiculous key change.

TEAM SIMON
7. Melanie Amaro - Desperado (The Eagles)
When you're singing a ballad, acapella, what you really want is people in the audience cheering and screaming over you. It's only respectful. The song soon launched into a hideously bland RnB beat that made you wish she'd kept it acapella, but her vocals, as always, were flawless.

TEAM L.A.
8. Astro - Hip Hop Hooray/Get Ur Freak On (Naughty By Nature/Missy Elliot)
Fair play to the kid, he got flow. Writing his own rap, he did it well I guess. But I don't get it, or what he's doing in this competition.

TEAM PAULA
9. Intensity - Kids of America/Party Rock Anthem (Kim Wilde/LMFAO)
Considering they have 10 members, Intensity produce a surprisingly thin vocal sound. The production mash-up worked, partially, but they really need to do something a bit more interesting with the vocal arrangements.

TEAM SIMON
10. Drew - Just A Dream (Nelly)
She looked completely uncomfortable. The song went nowhere but she did a decent job vocally, even though I still don't like the tone of her voice.

TEAM L.A.
11. Marcus Canty - Nothin' On You/Every Little Step (B.O.B./Bobby Brown)
In trying to "make the song his own", Marcus's ad libs were not the most pleasant to listen to, but he has a professionalism that should see him through for a while.

TEAM NICOLE
12. Stacy Francis - Up To The Mountain (Patty Griffin)
A beautiful, soulful rendition with perfect vocals. If a little screechy and dull.

RESULTS SHOW
The Stereo Hogzz and Intensity are announced as the bottom two, both acts from TEAM PAULA.

Stereo Hogzz - Emotions (The Bee Gees/Destiny's Child)
Proof that harmonising doesn't always work, Stereo Hogzz undo all their good work with a dull, tuneless version of the ballad.

Intensity - My Life Would Suck Without You (Kelly Clarkson)
In a clear nod to Simon, they get the girl he singled out for praise last week to sing lead vocals. But only the first verse, as the guy on the second verse wasn't quite as strong, so she was brought back for verse 3. Overall, pretty underwhelming.

The judges decide:
Simon sends home Stereo Hogzz
Paula sends home Intensity
Nicole sends home Intensity
L.A. sends home Intensity

Paula should definitely have been the last to vote. If Intensity had gone through, that'd have been aaaawkwaaaard...