By Jason Wright (Entertainment Expert)
THOUSANDS had fallen by the wayside and now just three acts remained. This weekend, Little Mix, Marcus Collins and Amelia Lily competed in the 2011 X-Factor final, infront of 10,000 fans live at Wembley Arena.
After the casual, but always cringe worthy scene entrance of Dermot O’Leary, the three finalists kicked off with a group performance of Take That’s ‘Greatest Day.’ Then it was onto the real matter of impressing the public. Each act had two songs to perform on the first night of the final and the act that finished bottom of the public vote would be eliminated.
Making a lasting impression
For their first performance of the night, each act was given a song they had never previously performed before in the competition. With Wembley Arena’s bigger stage capacity, each act had the opportunity to add an extra dimension into their first song. First was Marcus, who performed Outkast’s ‘Hey Ya!’ to the backdrop of a prop plane. To say it was amazing was a bit of an understatement as he tore the roof of the building (not literally) with his cool, calm and collected approach to the song.
So, how could Little Mix match or even beat the stage display from Marcus? Simple, arrive on stage, riding four Harley Davidson bikes before blasting into a rendition of Florence + the Machine’s ‘You Got the Love.’ They have been without question the revelation of this competition, not only having ripped up the form book of girl groups on the show but shredding and burning it. The question was now, could the public believe that they really could go all the way?
Finally it was the turn of Amelia. Kelly Rowland decided to take gamble in not using extra displays, deciding just to concentrate on her performance ability. Though that might have sounded a big disadvantage, her version of ‘Ain’t No Other Man’ by Christina Aguilera was at the same level as all of her performances since her whirlwind return.
The bond between acts and mentors exposed
As with finals in the past, each act would next perform a song with a special guest. This is X-Factor though and with the new venue destination in mind, the stakes were raised massively. So for the first time in the show’s history, each act was tasked to perform with their mentors. It was a chance to see whether they really had either bonded together throughout the competition or were at each other’s throats.
First, Marcus and Gary Barlow performed Billy Joel’s classic ‘She’s Always a Woman.’ Collins announced previously he would be dedicating his performance to his mother and both he and Barlow made the song into their own unique way.
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| UNISON: Tulisa was like a fifth member of Little Mix in the duet round |
Next, it was time for Tulisa and Little Mix (or ‘Little Muffins’ as Tulisa has been referring them to as throughout much of the competition) to give a medley of the Alicia Keys songs ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ and ‘Empire State of Mind.’ This performance perhaps gave no question that this is the best partnership between act and mentor in the competition. At times, it felt like Tulisa had become the fifth member of the group.
Then Amelia and Kelly joined forces to perform Tina Turner’s ‘River Deep, Mountain High.’ As much as Amelia gave it her best as she has with any other song in this competition, the overall level performance lacked the passion and dedication that was required at this point in the final.
Only the public now could decide whether the acts had done enough to win a place in Sunday night’s decider.
The full time whistle goes for Amelia Lily…again!
The finalists weren’t of course, the only ones to take to the Wembley stage as The X-Factor promised that the final would be littered with guest stars. On Saturday, the fans were treated a special “super group” performance by JLS and One Direction, as well as cameo appearances from Leona Lewis and Michael Buble.
Finally, the voting lines were frozen and the results of the first stage of the final were in. Little Mix continued their incredible run by reaching the final two and despite going in as the underdog; Marcus’ performances were enough to sway the public vote in his favour of going through.
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| DIGNITY: Amelia was eliminated on Saturday, but achieved her target |
It meant Amelia had to deal with the prospect of elimination for the second time. However, unlike nine weeks ago, when she refused to accept what had happened, this time she was extremely gracious in defeat. She said that her ambition was only to reach the final and she achieved it with flying colours. Afterwards, she vowed that this would not be the last of her and for 17 years of age, she has an incredible voice.
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| ECSTATIC: Marcus and Little Mix celebrate their progress on Saturday |
So as Amelia departed, the dream was now just beginning for both Marcus and Little Mix. They would be back in the second stage of final on Sunday where one would win and have their lives change forever. The Great British public now had 24 hours to deliver their verdict…
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