The Top 4 Perform

Cheryl's dress is what gets all the attention at the start. Once we remember this is a singing competition and have got over Dermot''s well-rehearsed dance at the start and the fact that Peter Dickson introduced him as Santa's Little Helper, Fleur opens the show.

Fleur East

All I Want For Christmas by Mariah CareyThis is a classic, of course, and she gets every note right and performs well too. She is pretty accomplished and the only thing about that was that it was just a bit ordinary. Mel was expecting it to be 'cooler' which is a fair point but she decided to play it very straight and did look good in the tight red leather outfit. I do believe she deserves to be in the final and hope the public votes to see that happen. In many ways she is the most accomplished performer by a long way and someone you feel could be completely relied upon to deliver on a show or in the studio. Whilst she does have a 'modern' repertoire I am yet to be convinced that she would be a chart success for long. So much would depend on who write for her and whether she gets to be a little wild.

Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars & Mark Ronson

Even Simon hadn't heard this song before so that makes me feel better. Obviously it is one that someone reckons suits her and will achieve this crucial vote for her. She had a change, apparently, from All About The Bass, at the last moment. This, Simon says, is what she would be all about in the real world. Wow. That was impressive. She could have been an established guest act with a new release. Not something I would rush out and buy but I can well see that making the charts easily. That surely has to see her through to the final. She can dance and act and is totally reliable. Well done. Simon puts that in his Top 3 best ever X Factor performances. That single performance really ought to put someone out tomorrow. The thing is, though; you never can tell. Some weeks the public do weird things or the maths just don't work for a particular act. Are there enough people who both support Fleur's material and vote on X Factor? 

Lauren Platt

Stay Another Day by East 17/Girls Aloud

Lauren could easily have been a Girls Aloud girl so she should do well with this. It is one of those awkward start songs and those few seconds are wasted. The low register does not suit her voice at all. The main chorus section works well and she tries hard to make the most of the sections that match her voice. I wasn't impressed, though, with that song choice for her. It didn't work after all. That may not have helped her so, at the moment, she is going to have to hope someone else is less popular and that her second song is something special. That was a bit disappointing.

Story Of My Life by One Direction

Nice song. She needs this to be very very good. It was quite good but not stunning. She was accurate but the low register doesn't give us the kick that we get from the middle bits. She had a go at making 'a moment' but I do feel, unfortunately, that she will be lucky to get through. Will she get the public votes? She needs more than Fleur or Ben or Andrea. It is still possible.

Ben Haenow

Please Come Home For Christmas by The Eagles

Slightly cheating, with two Christmas linked singles. Alexandra Burke made Christmas No.1 with it. Anyway, it's a game and Simon knows how to win! This is a simple affair. Ben does his raspy thing, looks pretty good and even has a choir in a sleigh on stage. Quite a nice job done. Sugary and not what I would expect to see him do but that'll be popular I am sure. Lightweight but probably all that he needed to do.

He gets a really nice compliment from Cheryl. A warm and cuddly programme tonight.

Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen

You just know that Ben will make a super job of this. For a moment at the start I did wonder and it may not be my favourite version of it but that was pretty good. It was a bit of a risk. His story about his mum and general 'niceness' should carry him through. It won't be his performances that get him through this week when compared with the others. He is still the bookies' favourite to win at the time of writing - just ahead of Fleur. 

Andrea Faustini

O Holy Night by Mariah Carey

Oh holy sh*t. This was quite painfully tinny to listen too and not easy to watch. Very wobbly and he might have been better singing in his own language too. The judges were very good to him. I didn't get it at all but I suppose I will have to accept that all those people in the audience and, indeed, many of you readers here, love this guy and will be voting for him.

Will it be enough? I guess he and Lauren are very firmly in the bottom two after round 1.

Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus

I am sort of dreading this. It is a superb song. What on Earth is he wearing? This was actually one of his best performances in my book. The song suited him, strangely enough. That was pretty good and that may have sealed Lauren's fate. There is a chance that there won't be enough Italian votes and that Ben gets the girls' votes and the grannies just don't like anything to do with Miley Cyrus. Mel is begging people to vote but I think it was Fleur who deserved the real plaudits tonight.

It is pretty open. Fleur would win on songs and Lauren might do well on that too. Both girls match what we expect from X Factor. Fleur may have frightened off some voters with that dancing so it's not that easy to choose between them as I feel there are more natural Lauren voters there. Of the boys, Andrea didn't do badly but didn't do that well either. he just wasn't quite as annoying this week. Ben was a little weak but was very appealing. So they sort of end fairly evenly too. It could be anyone that goes. Fleur or Ben would be a shock. Rule them out and it's between Lauren and Andrea. Another passionate and effective performance by Lauren would be needed to make it 2-2 and I couldn't predict which gets the lowest. I fear it would be Lauren. I can't imagine her being 1st or 2nd and so, by definition, she is up against someone and likely to go.

Anything else will be a surprise. Or a shock.

I so hope Andrea does just the song, not the video...

Tonight's song list:

Andrea Faustini

O Holy Night by Mariah Carey
Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus

Oh boy! Or I should say Oh Girl. Whilst the Christmas Song could go down well, I can already see the enormous gnashers biting the other side of the telly screen for the Miley Cyrus hit. Please, please, don't put him nude on some big ball, though, guys.

I am not at all sure these will keep him in. But the granny vote might.

Lauren Platt

Stay Another Day by East 17/Girls Aloud
Story Of My Life by One Direction

After Sunday's remarkable performance, when we finally saw just how capable Lauren can be, and there was genuine emotion that we all felt, I wonder whether she will now get back into the race. She is the bookies' favourite to go by a long way but I still have my doubts and hope she puts on as good a performance as Sunday's. Both songs suit her well and should encourage people to see her as a potential little star.

Ben Haenow

Please Come Home For Christmas by The Eagles
Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen

I really have doubts about the Christmas song and how many more versions of the otherwise wonderful Hallelujah do we have to hear? He is favourite to win but I am wondering whether his luck might run out tonight? He ought to stay and would win a sing-off against Andrea but against the girls? I am not at all sure.

Fleur East

All I Want For Christmas by Mariah Carey
Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars & Mark Ronson

Well, everything depends on yet another lesser known track but the writers are very cool and maybe I will recognise it when she starts. You have to admire this lady. Every week she has taken a risk and so far it has worked well for her. In fact, she has also been favourite to win, changing places almost by the hour with Ben. If she drops in the votes and has to sing off against anyone, she should win and stay. I would not want to see Fleur v Lauren, though.

Sunday is a long way off. let's see how they do tonight before any more by way of prediction!

Lauren makes the Final Four finally finding her voice

The sing-off was between Lauren and Stereo Kicks. After several less than brilliant performances recently, probably due to quite a serious throat infection, Lauren might have been the likely one to go but she absolutely brought out something special on Sunday evening. After a bit of a wobbly start she found not just her way and the right notes but showed real passion and that was one great song for her.

It was enough to win over Simon, necessary after Mel had voted to keep Stereo Kicks, which I hadn't expected her to do. They'd been good on the Saturday show but didn't shine in this sing-off at all. So it was down to Simon to save her and he did, thank goodness. We need her to beat Andrea next week and then she has a serious chance if someone can pick good songs and Fleur makes a mistake.

The Not Yet Famous Five

With two songs each tonight each of the remaining five contestants has a chance really to show what they can do. The public, in the shape of visitors to the X Factor web site that is, have chosen one and a current recording artist has chosen the other. Having said that, I should imagine that the production team and judges will have a bit to say too.

Ben gets a song chosen by One Direction. Nice for him to have support of the current No. 1 band and he also, of course, has Simon Cowell. Come Together is the first track for him. A very weird and slightly dodgy set but a good performance and plenty of raspy stuff from Ben. A likeable chap and he didn't do anything wrong but I am not so sure he did that much that was exceptional either. The judges are really complimentary! I was pleased with the way he looked and performed but just feel there was something missing. The song itself actually doesn't go anywhere so it would be unreasonable to expect him to improve on a Beatles number but eh didn't let them down either.

Little Mix, another big X Factor success (they won in 2011), chose Clarity, not a track that I immediately recognise for Lauren. It looks and sounds like an Ariana Grande type number. I understand that it was a track by Zepp featuring Foxes. Nice and current but it was far from perfect. I still see her making it through to the last four. She is also the more likely to succeed in a Ben v Lauren final which is what, at the moment, I am predicting. That is definitely not what the bookies are predicting, though, with Fleur as a very, very clear favourite. So, logically, they also have Lauren as a similarly short odds favourite to go tomorrow.

Tulisa is someone ITV are allowed to mention again by the seems of it and she has chosen their track. Bruno Mars Just The Way You Are is a nice track that should please everyone watching. A fabulous song, really well-written. It works well for them and they put on the sort of show that makes you think that they might just steal this thing after all. If they were to do that consistently then they ought to make the final themselves. Mel disagreed and thought they'd not done well. Cheryl too criticised the way they stood and sang. Simon didn't think it worked well and reckoned a last-minute switch in routine didn't help. So much for what I thought then.

So Fleur is the new predicted winner. Emile Sande chooses a song. Fall In Love by Tina Turner is not a song she knew. Or me. I hope Emile knew what she was doing. I didn't like it much, nor the white trousers, and I didn't find it a natural performance either. However, it was accurate and more or less faultless, just a bit unexceptional. Louis loved it. Neither Mel nor Cheryl were that enthusiastic but they did recognise that she was very competent. Simon says it can't be her that goes home tomorrow.

Andrea gets Alexandra Burke's vote. That was quite surprising. Sam Smith chooses a song for him. He didn't have much to do to survive against Stevi last week but would have a tougher job against any of the others. The song is a Sia number Chandelier that even Sam says is hard to sing. I guess that that means if he does it well then that will keep him in. I found too many painful sounding and looking efforts to reach notes that were not familiar or natural for this fellow. If he'd written the song then maybe he'd have got it but I didn't think a great deal of that. I am also not at all sure that the production matched the sense of the track either. Someone missed the point. Simon says Round One to Ben.

Viewers' choices now. Lauren has a really nice modern track. At last, one that those likely to vote for her will enjoy and they need to vote too to ensure she doesn't go home as predicted. She's slowed it right down and I am hoping for the rhythm to kick in. Will it? Or will she just carry on with the nice ballad approach? That works but it isn't as satisfying as it might have been. A good job but will that keep her in? If she stays then who goes? Simon thinks that may have saved her.

Ben gets Ed Sheeran's very cool number, one of the best songs of the year. Quite easy to sing but he also needs to get the message across. Just rasping away won't work. He needs to be gentle and starts well. He continues well too with a really nice and controlled performance that must, surely, send him flying through. Nice job, Ben.

Stereo Kicks get Run. It's quite a classic and can sound fabulous. It was a good effort but I just felt there were too many and it slowed it and muffled it a bit. The main lead, Diva Kicks, was excellent and maybe should have been left to carry them all through, which I do believe he could have done. This requirement to try and feature each of their voices doesn't work for me but that pleased Mel. Cheryl was politely impressed but was secretly thinking that she'd want them up against Andrea in the bottom two. I must have missed Louis' and Simon's comments.

Luckily, Fleur knows her song. She also ditched the white trousers. A very good performance. I don't feel the song was one we'll want to dive onto YouTube to play again although she did do it justice. She certainly deserves to get through and the bookies reckon she has to be there. I would have thought she could be at risk this week but I guess I am in the minority on that one. I want to see her make it through, for sure, and Simon has it right in that she genuinely wants to be there and to sing. Nice, I still think she's at risk but hope she makes it.

Andrea closes the show. I'm actually not looking forward to watching him chew and wail his way through the huge classic and would much prefer Mariah Carey to watch. He's a nice enough chap. He decides, or someone decided, to do some of this in Italian which could well help him. Almost anyone can make this song sound impressive has it has an anthemic quality and there can be a big choir and lots of sweeping instruments in the background to make sure it sounds good. So it wasn't surprising that he gets a good reaction but if you listen carefully it wasn't that great and he certainly doesn't sound like someone I would rush out to buy. I think he could go if he's up against anyone except Lauren or Stereo Kicks. If it's one of them and the judges go to deadlock then he could well get through. Of course, he may well not be in the bottom two this week. In that case it really is anyone's guess.

All I can say is that it won't be Ben.

Saturday Night's All Right.

Here's the track list for tonight at the remaining 7 acts fight it out to find the Top 5. Yes, 5, as two acts go this week.

I got the Bottom Two correct last week but really did think Jay would have performed better and dismissed Stevi on Judges' votes. My calculations had Mel voting Stevi off as she'd been pretty down on him. Louis has always been a Jay supporter and, of course, Cheryl had dumped Stevi on Simon in the first place so would probably have to save him. Simon would vote for Jay to stay so that would see Stevi go home at last. However, mel changed her mind and that took it to the public vote which Stevi won. So he's still standing,..

Surely not for another week though?

Andrea Faustini - I Have Nothing

It's a powerful ballad, not often performed on the show. I can imagine it going down well with the grannies. He was weak last week and didn't sing well or in a way that I would imagine record producers would be rubbing their hands with glee at - the prospect of sales of that type of thing being comparatively insignificant. I can see him redeeming himself somewhat although I still fear he'll be wailing. Not as much as Jahwene did but enough to be annoying.

Lauren Platt - How Will I Know?

Not the best of choices. It could work if she slows it down and puts on her best voice but an average job won't work. I reckon she'll be saved come what may, though. She has 'finalist' stamped all over her contract papers now.

Only The Young - Something About The Way You Look Tonight

Nice song but it sounds like the boys will get the lead again. The girls are better. I love this group and really would like them to stay in this competition. This could be the first 'normal' track they've got to do so it is very much a make or break performance for them.

Stereo Kicks - Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me

Not sure about this one. Pretty iconic song. They've not been getting massive votes so far but do have some appeal as we're slowly getting to know some of the characters. More so than Only The Young, actually, whose names I would struggle to recall and there are only half as many. I don't know what to predict for these guys. I feel the end is coming.

Ben Haenow - I Will Always Love You

Well, talking of iconic numbers, this is the one. Quite a brave choice and he is not someone I would have identified with the Dolly Parton original or the Whitney hit. His voice is pretty gravelly and he's got a rock edge so goodness only knows what Simon has planned for him with this. Whatever it is, though, as second favourite to win with the bookies you'll get 66-1 if you want to bet on him going tonight!

Fleur East - I'm Every Woman

So far she hasn't had one simple track to perform. They've all been tricky or very modern and a bit difficult. Once more she attempts something that you would really only expect Chaka Khan to do. In fact, I can't think of anyone else doing this at all. So she is either mad or very determined to be confident and make us sit up and take notice. I have always thought that she's a contestant who could just go any week, however well or not so well she performs. Maybe now she is beginning to show that there is a route for her through to a final. If she gets this right she'll be there.

Stevi Ritchie - I'm Still Standing

He sure is and, once again, Simon has picked probably the best possible track for him to do. He'll put his heart and soul into this and make a crap job of singing and look dreadful on the stage and we'll all wonder how his eyes have that strange shape that is a bit alien and whether he ever closes his mouth and he really should be the one to depart on Saturday night with the lowest votes. It was fairly encouraging to see that he got fewer votes last week than all the others he's up against this week and that he hasn't been pulling in vast numbers like Baloney did. It's time he went. He has to be one of the two so if he makes it off the bottom of the pile due to a poor job by one of the groups, whoever he's up against on Sunday must surely find more favour with Mel this time.