The X-Factor 2010 - The semi-final showdown

BY JASON WRIGHT

Just five acts were now left in the running for X-Factor glory, supermarket worker Mary Byrne, teenager Cher Lloyd, single mother Rebecca Ferguson, boyband One Direction and DIY handyman Matt Cardle.  Now all five acts were in the crucial semi-final and by the end of last weekend, four would be in this year’s grand final and one would be heading home with their dreams destroyed.

UPBEAT: Rebecca Ferguson wowed the judges

As with past semi-finals, two songs were required from each act to get through.  First each act performed a ‘Club Classic’, which basically meant a popular song at nightclubs/discos and a song handpicked by them as one they believe would get them into the final.  First to go was Rebecca singing ‘Show Me Love’.  Despite having wowed previously, something she has lacked before is performing an upbeat song, finally this was her chance and she didn’t disappoint. Then as expected, she went back to her ballad roots for the second song, ‘Amazing Grace’ was so captivating and heartfelt, many have said this would be a two-way fight for the win but don’t count her out yet.

UNDERWHELMING: Mary didn't do enough to stay in

Next up was Mary, first with ‘Never Can Say Goodbye’ which again seemed to be underwhelming though upbeat songs are not her thing.  Her second performance again returned to her specialist area with ‘The Way We Were’, a poignant choice as it was her late mother’s favourite song and so understandably made her very emotional.  Nevertheless, her performances were solid if unspectacular and still left her with every chance of reaching the final.

BELOW-PAR: But Matt did enough to make the final

In the week’s build-up, Matt’s participation had been in severe doubt, suffering from severe laryngitis and then tonsillitis.  Yet although having hardly had any rehearsal time, just hours before the live show, he took the brave decision to sing.  His first song ‘You Got the Love’ was certainly not his best for the well-documented reasons but still giving the best he could.  The same could be said for his second performance, ‘She’s Always a Woman.’  Simon Cowell didn’t agree, stating it was his worst performance. Nevertheless, his huge fanbase and previous form should still carry him through.

CONFIDENT: Cher stuck to her usual routine

Matt may have been under huge pressure, but Cher was feeling it even more.  Although her performances had been strong of late, over the last few weeks, she had alienated the public for some strange reason and was going into the semi perhaps as the clear-cut favourite to get the axe.  In this situation, there was only one thing to do; she had call upon her specialist route of rapping.  Both of her performance of ‘Nothin’ on You’ and ‘Love the Way You Lie’ easily showed examples of the format, which has been so much criticised but something she had to do to stay in.  Dannii Minogue thought she had to perform a ballad but at the end of the day it was Cher’s choice and now her fate was with the public.

GAMBLE: One Direction took risks that paid off

One Direction had also been heavily affected.  Their mentor Simon had been struck down with man flu throughout the week so Cheryl Cole kindly stepped in to oversee their rehearsals. Also, Zain had missed many rehearsals, as he was back in Bradford, following the tragic death of his grandfather.  The group’s first performance was perhaps the best of round one, taking a huge risk performing Rihanna’s ‘Only Girl In The World’ which had only been a couple of weeks old but it totally worked.  Then they followed it up with ‘Chasing Cars’ which again, was totally spot-on.

Continuing the trend of series firsts, another two were made in the Sunday results show. Firstly, the first ever four-way X Factor final and secondly, the first semi-final sing-off.  The latter came at the surprise to the public as this had been unannounced until then.  However ITV had later said, it was planned weeks ahead, they just clumsily didn’t re-write the script.

Firstly, as before, the three acts with the most votes went through. They were One Direction, keeping Simon in the competition, Rebecca, ensuring the already-known fact that Cheryl would make the final again and Matt, sealing a double whammy of delight for Dannii, as just 24 hours earlier, her former protégé, Stacey Solomon won this year’s series of I’m A Celebrity.

SHOWDOWN: Cher and Mary await their fate

That left Cher and Mary, the two acts most at risk of leaving in the sing-off.  Both of them literally gave the performance of their lives and it left the judges with a difficult decision.  Louis Walsh went first to vote and as expected, chose to keep his last act Mary.  Dannii opted to send Cher through, along with mentor Cheryl which left Simon having to decide who got the last place in the final.  After several minutes of mulling whether to send Cher to the final or revert the decision back to the public vote, he save Cher, no surprise as he had continually backed her throughout.

This left the public up in arms, as they obviously wanted Mary to go through and it meant the Louis was out of the competition before the final YET AGAIN, making it now just one appearance in the past five finals for him, a sobering statistic.  Personally, it doesn’t feel right to have a semi-final sing-off but that was the decision after all.  What they need to do next time is give the public a prior warning of this rather than just leave this to minutes before it was going to take place.

STANDING: The final four, who are you backing?

But nevertheless, it is a still a strong line-up for this weekend’s big finale.  Cher Lloyd, Matt Cardle, One Direction and Rebecca Ferguson, and by late Sunday night, one of them will have won The X-Factor 2010 and become the nation’s next big music sensation.

The final starts this Saturday at 7pm on ITV1 and ITV1 HD, with a two-part report to follow next week. Britain, Who Are You Backing?