The X Factor: drama on Queen night!

The X Factor: drama on Queen night!
The X Factor: drama on Queen night!

The seven remaining acts in X Factor have faced a challenging week as they tackled a selection of classic Queen hits. And once again many of them divided the judges - while the likes of Olly, Danyl and Stacey Solomon wowed the panel, others didn't fare quite so well. Jamie Archer, for example, found himself on rocky ground after opening the show with his rendition of Radio Ga Ga. "I think you're totally out of your depth," Louis told him, "You're an ordinary singer with a small voice and big hair." Dannii, meanwhile, said the song did not really test his vocal ability. But there was better news for Lloyd Daniels, and his performance of Crazy Little Thing Called Love - with several of the judges saying it was his best song yet. "You've arrived!" Dannii said, although Simon wasn't so sure, comparing the teenager to "a puppy taking part in the Grand National." Olly, meanwhile, soldiered on despite his broken hand, with Louis describing his energetic performance of Don't Stop Me Now as "electrifying" - and Joe McElderry also had a good night with his rendition of Somebody To Love, backed by a choir. "I think the song slightly overwhelmed you," Simon said, "but having said that I think you'll be as safe as houses this week." Mentor Cheryl, on the other hand, said he was "absolutely fantastic". And then all eyes were on John and Edward, after they controversially escaped elimination on last week's results show. This week the pair tackled the chart-topper Under Pressure, complete with rap from the Vanilla Ice hit Ice Ice Baby, which used the track as a sample. Dannii questioned the relevancy of the Vanilla Ice rap but Louis defended the pair. "They were great!" he said. Even Simon had some words of praise for the twins, who received a rapturous reception from the crowd. "I can't judge you in the real world any more, I have to judge you in Jedward land," he said, "so from there I would probably say it was your best performance." The final two performances of the evening - from Stacey Solomon and Danyl Johnson - both wowed the judges. Stacey's powerhouse rendition of Who Wants To Live Forever impressed Simon so much he said it was "by a mile, the best performance of the night", while he called Danyl's version of We Are The Champions "outstanding". And Dannii followed suit. "That was your best performance in the live shows," she said. There was more drama when Simon Cowell spoke out over last week's decision to save John and Edward from the chop. "I know I upset a lot of people but I would never ever use this position to play tactics or mess with a person's life," he said. "I've thrown out my own contestants before." "I took the decision because I didn't feel strongly about either performance and I didn't feel what was going to happen. But I trust the public." The results will be revealed on Sunday evening.

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.