X Factor went live for the first time this series, and it was Wildcard Christopher Maloney who got to join in the fun, as the contestants sang a collection of Olympic-inspired anthems.
Last week, viewers had seen Rylan Clark fail to contain himself when he found out he'd got through the Judges' Houses stage of the competition.
This week, it was the turn of Christopher from the Overs group (Gary’s bunch) to fall to the floor in tears when he was told he'd be joining the other finalists to perform live in the competition.
He went on to sing Mariah Carey’s Hero, which verged on the cheesy, but at least his nerves didn’t show too badly this time around, an improvement after he nearly dropped the mike during the auditions.
Another first for X Factor was Lucy Spraggan, who sang her own composition, something Tulisa was obviously proud of, and something she was quick to point out when Louis accused the other judges of not taking risks.
One of the most eagerly-anticipated performances of the night was undoubtedly that of Rylan Clark, who’s had a rollercoaster week – falling to the floor in joy last week, but suffering abuse on Twitter throughout the last few days. “Nasty stuff – death threats and stuff,” he told his mentor Nicole, who told him to ignore it all, and that she believed in him.
He took to the stage in gold to sing Gold, and what he lacked in vocal ability, made up for in camp. Louis was suitably impressed, but Gary said all the other judges should be ashamed of themselves for letting Rylan get this far. Something tells me, just for entertainment value alone, producers will be praying Rylan isn’t going anywhere soon…
And all eyes were on the show’s youngest competitor, Ella Henderson, who’d previously wowed judges with her soulful rendition of Cher’s I Believe. This week, she sang Take That’s Rule The World – pitch perfection, character and guts, they were all there - and showed why she’s already instilled as this series’ favourite. Can’t see how she’s going to improve on that as the show continues.
The writer of the song, Gary Barlow, told her, “There’s nothing I hate more than someone singing my songs better than me. 16 years old… extraordinary.”
The first elimination will take place on Sunday evening.