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Tamera Foster  was eliminated last week, leaving Nicole without an act in her category. Just four acts remain with one of them set to fall at the final hurdle. So who will miss out on the final? One of Louis' boys, Luke Friend and Nicholas McDonald, Sharon's Over Sam Bailey or Gary's group Rough Copy?

Recap and videos after the JUMP...

Round 1 - Beyoncé

Luke Friend

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'Best Thing I Never Had' by Beyoncé - 8.5/10 - Bit of a weird song choice for Luke if you ask me. It's not the best Beyonce song by a long distance and I don't really like it as a choice for Luke. However, I do admit that his arrangement is actually quite good and I love his tone on the song. It's not his best performance, all three of last week's songs were better but it's a decent start for Luke and I definitely want to see him in the final, although I don't think he'll get there without landing in the sing-off.


Nicholas McDonald

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'Halo' by Beyoncé - 5/10 - What are with these poor song choices for the boys? This is another really strange pick for Nicholas, Beyoncé is a tough singer to do justice to in the first place but this song has a massive range, something which I don't think Nicholas has the ability to interpret. And I'm right, he really struggles with the song choice, his vocals are very weak, his voice cracks several times and I'm pretty sure he misses out words at points in the song. One of the high notes is actually quite uncomfortable to watch. I feel sorry for Nicholas, I'm not his biggest fan, I don't think he has much star quality but he does have a decent voice and the song choice was really over-ambitious for him. It just didn't do him justice. 


Sam Bailey

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'If I Were A Boy' by Beyoncé - 10/10 - All credit to Sam, I expected her to be really old-fashioned and cabaret when she was first announced as part of the Top 12 but she has been a lot more versatile than I first thought. This is just faultless really, her voice is massive, she's easily one of the most capable vocalists the show has had and she also has the ability to reign her voice in which is always good. What I often find with divas is that they concentrate on belting out the big notes and totally forget that they're supposed to be connecting with the song and this is something I don't find with Sam at all thankfully. She's really good at connecting with the song and shows great vulnerability in the song. I'm really confident now that Sam will powerhouse her way to the final now and I can't see anyone but her winning.


Rough Copy


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'Survivor' by Destiny's Child - 7/10 - Rough Copy are taking on a Destiny's Child classic this week and putting their own spin on it. Fair play to the guys, they do take risks and they do have something charismatic about them. The vocals aren't bad, there are a few flat notes but nothing major. The only problem I find with the performance is something that Louis and Sharon pick up on, there's way too much going on during the performance. Rather than stand there and sing, they're running around during the performance, it's alright to perform on stage, in fact that's what they're supposed to do but for me it's too much and just distracts from the actual performance. They kind of remind me of kids who have been given too many sweets, it's just a little bit too much and makes the performance look tacky. 


Round 2 - Elton John

Nicholas McDonald


'Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me' by Elton John & George Michael - 8/10 - This is so much better than the first song. It's a predictable song choice, I definitely expected him to sing this when I saw the theme but that's not necessarily a bad thing as I do think it suits him to a tee. Vocally, this is probably the best Nicholas has sounded in the competition which is interesting coming straight after the weakest performance Nicholas has given. It's probably not the most unique performance, his vocals don't sound any different to any of the other 500 people who have covered this song but it's a much better performance than Halo. I will say that I think this performance is made look better when it's compared to the first performance because of the contrast but there's no denying that it was a good performance. 


Luke Friend

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'Something About The Way (You Look Tonight)' by Elton John - 7.5/10 - Louis' song choices have been beyond dreadful tonight but hey what's new? The theme probably wasn't the easiest but I do quite like this song even if it's a bit dull. Luke's tone is great and I do love the edginess he gives this song but it's a fairly boring performance, mainly due to the fact that I find the song very pedestrian. Luke has a great voice but the song is dull so he can't really do very much to lift it up.


Rough Copy


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'Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word' by Elton John - 6/10 - They start off really well, individually they sound great and I must admit that I love the song choice for them. They sound great until they try to harmonize and it all begins to fall apart. The problem is I don't feel like they can really sing together brilliantly so when they do it, it detracts from the rest of the performance. They are, at the end of the day a group so harmonies are pivotal and if they're poor as I find Rough Copy's harmonies to be then it doesn't measure up. The middle guy's individual vocal near the end if quite off key and their final harmony is quite poor too. 


Sam Bailey

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'Candle In The Wind' by Elton John - 7.5/10 - I love this song, it's a great ballad but I really don't think it was the best choice. Sam is a belter with a massive range, this song is far better suited to someone who can convey subtlety, Rebecca Ferguson for example gave an amazing performance of this in Series 7. I'm not saying that her performance is bad but I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as her first performance. I like Sam's voice and she did a good job but I don't think her tone is soulful enough to carry it and it sounded quite dated. She'll still be in the final and probably win.


Rankings

Round 1:

1. Sam Bailey
2. Luke Friend
3. Rough Copy
4. Nicholas McDonald

Round 2:

1.Nicholas McDonald
2. Sam Bailey
3. Luke Friend
4. Rough Copy

Bottom Two Prediction:

Rough Copy
Luke Friend

Elimination Prediction:

Rough Copy

 Results
Bottom Two:

Luke Friend
Rough Copy

Luke Friend - 'Somewhere Only We Know' by Keane/Lily Allen -  Although Luke appeals to be most as an artist, I have to admit that this isn't his best performance. He seems to start off in the wrong key and it doesn't really get much better although I do love the passion he puts through in his performance. The vocals are shaky, it's probably the weakest vocal performance he has given, certainly his weakest sing-off. That said, I still want him to make the final.


Rough Copy - 'End Of The Road' by Boyz II Men - Dated, overplayed song choice check. Poor vocals check. Sadly this does absolutely nothing for me, their harmonies are once again flat as a pancake. I don't know why they have been so inconsistent, they've had some superb weeks and then they've had some really dodgy weeks. They weren't great last night but admittedly way better than they have been in the past. They're definitely emotional but I don't feel the same passion from them that I felt from Luke's sing-off, they don't seem to have that same drive or fight that Luke does.


 Louis unsurprisingly sends Luke Friend through to the final and Gary sends Rough Copy through to the final. Nicole has been a big fan of Rough Copy from the start so it's no surprise when she opts to send Rough Copy through to the final. Sharon struggles and isn't sure what to do but suggests that she doesn't approve of there being a sing-off in the semi-final. She puts it in the hands of the public, sending Luke Friend through therefore going to deadlock. The act with the most votes who is going through to the final is....Luke Friend!

 Eliminated:

Rough Copy
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