There was only one singer who had all the judges on their feet on Saturday night’s show and that was Andrea Faustini.
The remaining nine acts had to sing a song by either Queen or Michael Jackson.
Andrea took on Queen’s “Somebody to Love” and moved his mentor, Mel B, to tears.
“You have the extra-special superstardom,” Mel told Andrea. “You make me cry. You touch everyone.”
“Yes, you’re Italian, but the whole of Britain loves you,” said Cheryl.
“You are a brilliant, brilliant singer,” Simon Cowell added.
“That was my favourite performance of the whole series,” Louis Walsh said to Andrea.
But running a very close second on the night was Fleur East, who sang Michael Jackson’s “Will You Be There”.
“You just continue to surprise me,” Simon told Fleur. “You get better and better and better.”
Seventeen-year-old Lauren Plattt also pleased the judges with her performance of “I’ll Be There”.
“You sing like you’ve been performing your whole life,” Mel told her.
It was a good night, too, for Only The Young, who sang “Blame It On The Boogie”.
“There’s a gap in the market for a group like you,” Simon told them. “I think you’re popping.”
The other remaining group in the contest, eight-piece Stereo Kicks, almost became nine when someone from the audience joined them on stage as they sang “You Are Not Alone”.
To the group’s credit, they didn’t miss a beat.
“Good for you,” Simon told them. “These things happen on live TV.”
Ben Haenow got a mixed reaction from the judges for his performance of “Man In The Mirror”, some of which he sang a cappella.
“I think your vocals were exposed,” Mel told Ben.
“I don’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing but good for you for giving it a try,” Cheryl said.
Ben’s mentor, Simon, saw it differently, though: “I believe this is the moment we’re seeing a star being a born,” he told Ben.
You can find out what the public believe on The X Factor results show, Sunday, November 9, 8.00pm
