Amelia Lily in 'meltdown' over X Factor final sets
The X Factor finalist Amelia Lily has reportedly had a last-minute 'meltdown' at mentor Kelly Rowland after the rival acts were given more elaborate props for their performances on Saturday's show. According to the Mirror girl group Little Mix will sing their opening number You Got The Love surrounded by motorbikes, while Marcus Collins will perform OutKast's Hey Ya while standing on a full-sized model of a jumbo jet. However the paper reports that Amelia will have only backing dancers for her performance of Christina Aguilera's Ain't No Other Man - with sources suggesting the teenager's lack of onstage gimmicks will leave her at a disadvantage. "Gary and Tulisa have pulled out all the stops and Little Mix and Marcus will look spectacular on stage," a source said. "It seems like Kelly Rowland wants to concentrate on Amelia's voice, but the other acts have got much more going on to entertain viewers." And an insider told The Sun, "Kelly could have secured something extravagant for Amelia but she just wants her to go out there and sing. It's a high-risk strategy as what you're looking for is a memorable performance that will make people pick up the phone." Little Mix star Perrie Edwards, meanwhile, said that the quartet had been partly responsible for the theme of their set. "We have lots of input in what we do, and we thought bombing around on the back of motorbikes would be a cool idea," she revealed. And Marcus said of his props, "The plane wasn't my idea but I'm thrilled with it."
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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.