Louis Walsh has decided to send through three all-male bands to the live X Factor rounds, which means that the shows won't feature any female groups.
The X Factor judge, who returned to the panel for the current series after a year-long break, dismissed Four of Diamonds and urban female trio Skarl3t in favour of three-piece 5AM and male duos, The Brooks and Ottavio and Bradley.
No boyband has ever triumphed in the show's 12-year history, with girlband Little Mix being the only group to have taken home the X Factor crown in 2011.
Little Mix are the only group to have won The X Factor
The judges' houses stage of the series took place on Saturday's show, which saw the girls travel to Simon Cowell's house in Malibu, while Walsh's groups headed to Ibiza.
Ottavio and Bradley made a splash during Saturday's tense programme, with Ottavio pushing his bandmate into the pool following their performance of Christina Aguilera's Candyman, which left Walsh in hysterics.
The pair were described as a "very big risk" by their straight-talking mentor as he told them they had qualified for the next round of the competition.
Walsh added: "I may regret this decision, I probably will," before the pair ran towards presenter Dermot O'Leary screaming and fell to the floor.
Walsh "may regret" his decision to send through Ottavio and Bradley
Three-piece 5AM's throwback to R. Kelly's R&B classic She's Got That Vibe was enough for them to be included in the final three, but wildcard Yes Lad, dubbed "corny" by Alesha Dixon, were sent home. Walsh also sent home couple Tom and Laura.
5AM impressed with a performance of the R&B classic She's Got That Vibe
The Brooks, who reached the judges' houses in 2014 before being sent home, will be joined in the live shows by fellow return contestants Gifty Louise and Emily Middlemas, who were sent through by Cowell.
Walsh puts through two-piece boyband The Brooks
Cowell wrestled with his choices on the show, saying he wanted to send five of his seven acts into the final.
"I made the show up, there's no rules", he told Spice Girls Emma Bunton and Mel B.
Cowell eventually opted to send home 18-year-old Soheila Clifford, as well as Caitlyn Vanbeck after she momentarily forgot her lyrics during the judges' houses performance.
Cowell sent home 18-year-old Soheila Clifford
In a surprise twist Cowell chose to send through 17-year-old Samantha Lavery for the live finals despite initially stopping her performance because he said she was wearing too much make-up.
Cowell, who is mentoring the girls' category for the first time, told Lavery to "peel away the mask" before adding "maybe you should come back".
Cowell controversially told Samantha Lavery to "peel away the mask" of her makeup
He was criticised for the comments by Emma Bunton and Mel B, who were helping him decide on his final three.
Bunton told him the youngster was "allowed to experiment" with Mel B adding: "That's what kids do."
Lavery returned at the end of the show, with Cowell calling her performance of Ed Sheeran's Make It Rain "powerful".
He also sent through Louise, who performed Kungs' This Girl, and Middlemas, following her performance of Elle King's Ex's and Oh's, but sent home 16-year-old Olivia Garcia and Kayleigh Marie Morgan.
The X Factor continues on Sunday at 7.30pm.
