X Factor judge Gary Barlow left finalist Sam Callahan somewhat shocked on Saturday night when he refused to pass comment on his performance.
The teenager,who had been given a rough ride by the Take That singer on the previous week's show, attempted to
impress him this on this weekend's big band show with his rendition of Ain't That A Kick In The Head.
But while the other judges praised his efforts, Gary remained oddly impartial.
"You look like you had a great time up there, well done," he said. "I have to respect you for getting up there."
The others appeared a little more keen, with Louis Walsh telling him: "You are like a little Fred Astaire...the girls love you, you deserve to be up there!"
Saturday's show saw favourites including Tamera Foster, Hannah Barrett and Rough Copy all score thumbs up from the judges as they took to the stage accompanied by an orchestra.
The latter, who performed the standard Hit The Road Jack, proved particularly popular, with Nicole Scherzinger telling them "I am going to call it now, if you ain't in the final three of this show...." while Louis agreed, saying: "Yes, guys you have to make the final."
However it wasn't quite such a good night for Luke Friend, tipped by many as a potential dark horse to win the competition.
The tousle-haired teen gave the theme his best shot with his rendition of Van Morrison's Moondance, but left the judges distinctly underwhelmed with his efforts.
"I was disappointed with that tonight," Gary told him. "This style doesn’t suit you at all. You were ahead of the beat throughout the performance, it was uncomfortable to listen to.
However Louis once again leapt to the defence of his act, saying: "These people don’t realise that you’ve come a long way, you are a contemporary little popstar."
For the second week running there was no 'flash vote' on Saturday night's show, following the decision to replace it with a performance from Nile Rodgers last weekend.
As a result the bottom two acts who will face the sing-off will once again be revealed on Sunday night's X Factor which kicks off at 8pm.
