The X Factor - The One That Got Away...

There's always plenty to talk about where The X Factor is concerned but not since Laura White's elimination has there been this big of a deal to chat about on a Monday morning. I was so gutted for this man last night that I found it hard to watch the rest of the show and be happy for the other contestants who were going through to the live shows. In my opinion, Daniel Pearce was robbed!

What was Simon thinking?
Anyone who knows me will know that I'm a huge Simon Cowell fan. The man could do no wrong as far as I was concerned… until last night's show. I was heartbroken when Simon decided to send the former boyband star packing with a weak excuse about wanting to give people a first chance, rather than a second chance. Problem is Simon, the public love to give people a second chance. We love to see someone overcoming the odds, being brave enough to put himself out there for judgement a second time round and… coming out victorious. Without the last part of the story we're left cheated, as we were last night.

Simon must have had his reasons for sending Daniel home (maybe he didn't see him winning the show, maybe he couldn't imagine him as a commercial success) but, I have to say, this time I think Simon got it wrong (it pains me to say it because I think that, even when he's mean, he usually calls it right). And if it's about the winning then Simon may well have thrown away one of his best chances (and lost a few fans - I was watching with my friend last night and when Daniel was eliminated she just said: "That's it, I'm not watching X Factor anymore"… I felt strongly too but my addiction won't let me stop watching it!).

The Overs and Simon
Apart from that, in the boys category I had been keeping my fingers crossed for Jamie 'Afro' Archer and was thrilled that Simon decided to put him through. He's a crowd-pleaser… he even had Simon singing along at the audition stages and that doesn't happen very often. I was also chuffed for Olly. He's different. He's fun and I think people will really get behind his brand of entertainment. As for Danyl, well I suppose it's clear at this stage which Daniel I was hoping would go through. I was a little surprised to see Danyl Johnson make the grade after Simon giving out about him being too confident but I suppose after saying that he gave the best first audition that he had ever seen on the show then Simon felt like he had to follow through on that and give him a shot at the live shows. And whatever you feel about his confidence levels, you have to concede that he can sing.

The Girls and Dannii
Aw, how much do we love Stacey Solomon? She is going to be the character of this year's series. I love that she doesn't know how good she is, that she second-guesses all of her statements and that she says exactly what she's thinking, even if it's not the most proper answer. She's just real and I think people will like that. I was also thrilled for Lucie Jones. I've loved her voice from the beginning and I think that she could be a real star for Dannii this year. And you couldn't fault the inclusion of Rachel Adedeji either. It took me a little while to warm to her because she seemed all about the theatrics the first few weeks but I think she'll work really hard to come up with something new every week.

The Boys and Cheryl
Yet again, good, good choices by Cheryl. Those are exactly the three I would have picked in that category (not that I'm expert or anything, but they seemed to be the ones who had most potential to become popstars). Cheryl did have tough choices to make though. All of those boys were great performers and brought something different to the competition, but in the end you have to go with the ones that you see doing well in the show I suppose. I did feel for both Cheryl and Daniel when she had that moment of doubt. Fair play to her for stopping and taking a minute to be sure.

I think Rikki will be massively popular with the right songs, styling and choreography… basically, if he's allowed to keep doing what he's doing. He's got a natural coolness about him that you can't fake with fancy moves and swanky threads. I was also praying that lovely Lloyd would get through. You could see definite potential in him from the beginning. He just needs someone to guide him along and I think Cheryl will be brilliant at that. As for Joe, well, how could you not like him? He's sweet and unassuming and then just blows you away with this huge voice. He'll be great in the live environment if he can keep his nerves in check.

The Groups and Louis
I think Louis may have the most difficult job of all the judges this year. I know he seems to like working with groups but he's going to have his work cut out getting the audience to support them I think. With John and Edward, I think Louis felt like he should be patriotic and give them a shot. But like he so often says himself, I don't think they're ready for the fame game yet. Or more to the point, they are too much about the fame game to give the music game a fair run this time. Their Britney and Christina comments seemed to prove that they are very keen for a slice of celebrity action, but I suppose they are only teenagers so we'll let that go and wait to see what they can do to prove their critics wrong next week.

Next to Kandy Rain and unfortunately I think Louis might have been right when he turned to Ronan Keating and said that he didn't think that girls would vote for them, and that could be a problem if they want to survive the first few tough weeks and get to have a shot at proving themselves in a few genres. As for Miss Frank, well I think Louis might be on to a winner here. They're cool, funky and give off a great energy when they're performing. I just hope that Louis can choose the right songs for them now.

Linda McGee

Get to know The X Factor contestants in our Finalists' Photo Gallery here.

Who is your favourite performer at this stage of the competition? Share your thoughts below.