Rock music was the theme of Saturday's X Factor as the seven remaining acts made their bid for a place in next weekend's semi-final. This week was one of the most challenging ones yet for the performers as they each had to perform two songs - with varied results. And some of the more controversial finalists fared better than in recent weeks, particularly Wagner, who ditched his usual wacky antics for a version of Radiohead's Creep that opened the show. "I have to say that's the best you've sung in the whole competition and I think it's because you connected with the lyrics," Dannii Minogue told him. His mentor Louis Walsh was angered by the remarks, appearing to think Dannii was calling Wagner a 'creep' - however Simon saved the day with some positive comments. "For you," he said, "that was very good." However the 54-year-old failed to maintain the momentum when he performed Robert Palmer's Addicted To Love in the second half of the show - with his usual backing dancers returning to the stage. Dannii and Simon were less impressed this time, although Cheryl Cole added, "I get the feeling this is the week that you enjoyed it the most." Meanwhile Cher Lloyd bounced back from narrowly escaping elimination last weekend with a duo of electrifying performances, tackling Avril Lavigne's Girlfriend in the first half of the show and the Aerosmith classic Walk This Way in the second. "From the disaster of last week to undoubtedly your best performance so far," Simon said of her first song. "It didn't sound karaoke, you put your own stamp on it. By any standards you were right on the money." And Dannii agreed. "This was my favourite performance of yours," she said. "It made me think I want to go to your concerts." Mary Byrne also found herself back on form in the first half, winning warm praise for her version of U2's All I Want Is You - although she was on rockier ground when she sang the Pretenders hit Brass In Pocket in the second half. Dannii compared it to "karaoke" while the others were unsure about Mary's attempt at dancing - but Louis pleaded with viewers to keep the Dubliner in the competition. "I know how much this means to you," he said. Rebecca Ferguson, meanwhile, impressed the judges with another U2 song, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. "Bono would love that version," Louis Walsh told her. "We are looking for a recording artist and you have the most distinctive voice in the competition." Simon however admitted he could see her nerves, and described the performance as "a little bit stiff" - but there was no disguising his enthusiasm for her second song, a soulful version of the Rolling Stones hit Satisfaction. "That was genuinely one of my favourite songs so far," he admitted. "It was incredible." One Direction also did well, picking up praise for their rendition of Bryan Adams' Summer of '69 - but their second song choice, Joe Cocker's You Are So Beautiful, ruffled a few feathers among the judges when Louis questioned whether or not it was a rock song. "Joe Cocker was a rock singer," Simon pointed out. "So go and do your homework Louis." The five-piece wowed the other judges with Dannii describing the performance as "stunning". And the panel also gave the thumbs up to Matt Cardle and Katie Waissel - the former delivering two contrasting performances - singing I Love Rock n'Roll surrounded by a troupe of dancers, and performing 60s hit Nights In White Satin alone on stage with a guitar. Simon described his first performance as "terrific" while Cheryl couldn't get enough of his second. "That for me was my favourite performance of yours ever." Katie, meanwhile, sang the Kings Of Leon chart-topper Sex On Fire, and followed it up later with REM's Everybody Hurts. Simon praised her first song choice, alluding to recent allegations in the press about her grandmother being a prostitute. "Only you Katie, after the week you've had, could come out and sing Sex On Fire. Genius," he told the 24-year-old. However he wasn't so keen on her emotional rendition of Everybody Hurts. "That song does not work within the time period," he said. "It was chopped up, it needs to be longer." The others, however, disagreed, with Cheryl praising Katie for a "believable" performance. The results will be revealed on Sunday evening's show, when a double elimination will see the remaining seven acts whittled down to the top five.
