Review: X Factor 2009 Live Finals Week 2

Week 2 of X Factor series 6 was Diva Week. This is never an easy week for the fellas, as for most of them, diva doesn't come naturally. Whitney Houston was their mentor and the musical guest for this week's live show, and a good few of the acts sang her songs. Most of them sang them better than she's able to sing these days too (although none of them would've matched Whitney in her prime - drugs have a lot to answer for!)



Lucie Jones opened the show with her take on Whitney classic 'How Will I Know', showing that she can do upbeat as well as the slower songs. While she wasn't fantastic, she was more than capable, showing her strength across the board. As each week goes on, Lucie just gets better and more polished. She's still my favourite for eventual winner.

Second on was the pelvic masterclass that was Olly Murs. Olly gave the best performance of all on Saturday night, and was first called out in Sunday's results show. He deserved to be, as he performed a stunning version of Tina Turner's 'A Fool in Love'. That dancing was guaranteed to send the girls wild. It even gave me a palpitation or two. I could never get away with trousers like that!

Miss Frank were without their mentor Louis Walsh this week (due to Stephen Gately's funeral). This made things more difficult for them, and they didn't have the same impact as before. They did a pedestrian version of 'All the Man that I Need', leading to a clever but snide remark from Simon that it took 3 years for Girls Aloud to gel!

Rachel Adedeji hasn't improved at all since the first live final. She didn't fall, and that alone is an achievement for her! She sang 'If I Were A Boy' by current queen bee diva Beyonce, but was as ordinary as ever. Once again, her hair was the only thing that stood out; this week making her look like Grace Jones.

Housewives favourite, and permanently smiley Joe McElderry took on Whitney too, singing 'Where Do Broken Hearts Go'. He was decent enough, thus winning over more fans. Plus he's very humble, so that'll help his case. When Rachel was interviewed on the Xtra Factor afterwards, she just seemed like a spoiled child. Joe, on the other hand, seems like a really nice guy. He should go far too.

Simon pulled off a coup for Danyl Johnson, allowing him to sing a new Whitney song (thus probably getting him some extra mentoring along the way). He wasn't as good as last week, and I don't think he'll actually get much better. He has probably peaked, but for now, he still remains the favourite. Doesn't seem as likeable as some of the other contestants either.

Sixteen year-old cutie Lloyd Daniels sang previous winner Leona Lewis's massive hit 'Bleeding Love', but was scuppered by the arrangement. Once again, Cheryl showed poor judgement, cementing her place as the worst judge in the competition. Even Louis is better, and I can't stand Louis. Dannii, you see, hasn't ability herself, so she knows how to sell, and what song suits what artist. Cheryl is only a novice, but she'll get better. As will Lloyd. His looks will keep him in for another while yet.



One of the highlights of the evening was John and Edward. They took on their idol Britney Spears's 'Oops... I Did It Again', and massacred it in style. Their singing and dancing was all kinds of awful, but with this song, and their outfits, I'm now starting to see why people like them. It was hilarious. Like everything that makes the auditions funny rolled into one double act. Priceless. Glad they stayed in. A note to Cheryl regarding her comment about them at the end of Sunday night's show: they're still in it because Louis makes the correct song choices. He knows his acts strengths and weaknesses.

Rikki Loney was another of Cheryl's acts, and while he had a better song, he had a terrible night. His vocals were all over the place. Perhaps it didn't suit him at all. He sang 'Respect' by Aretha Franklin (but written by Otis Redding). Diva week didn't suit him as well as musical heroes in the first week, but now we won't have the chance to see his return to form. Alas. Rachel should be gone.

The man of the hair, Jamie Archer, sang 'Hurt' by Christina Aguilera, and he is another act whom I think has reached their peak. He's good, but he seems to do the same routine every week, regardless of the song. You'd know he was a pub performer all along. He'll do well in the competition, but I hope he doesn't win. Plus, I'd be afraid I'd get the nits from him.

Last up was Paul Whitehouse's Perry Stacey Solomon, who sang Etta James's 'At Last' (originally by the Glen Miller Orchestra, and more recently covered by Beyonce). Her version was pretty good, and I know she's very popular already. It's her off-stage persona that ruins it for me though. She's be great if it wasn't for that. I expect if you threw a yarn of wool in her direction, she'd run after it.



Sunday night's live results show opened with 'Queen of the Night' by Whitney Houston, and it was hard to see anyone who stood out - it's a damn repetitive tune. Whitney herself sang (sort of) on the programme, performing new single 'Million Dollar Bill'. She only seemed to sing parts of it, and when talking to Dermot after, struggled to compose herself. Her dress almost opened during the song, which would've given us a glimpse of Titney, but as that never happened, and her singing wasn't up to scratch, it was all a bit Shitney.



Overshadowing Whitney's performance was Cheryl Cole's will-she-mime story, which seemed to run all week. In the end, she chose not to mime (she didn't really have a choice, unlike Alexandra who mimed last weekend). She was all the better for it. Although she was far from great, she improved as the song ('Fight For This Love') went on, and gave a worthy performance. Although she was dressed up as M. Bison from Street Fighter.

The bottom two this week was made up of Rachel (once more) and Rikki. I had predicted this before the show, but had hoped Rachel would be the one sent home. However, after the two girls voted to keep their own acts, Simon made the very wrong choice to send Rikki home. Rachel won't bring anything next week, and will probably face the chop third time of asking. At least there was a chance that Rikki might have returned to form. Rachel can't, the only good thing she's good at is falling.

I can't wait until Saturday already. Next week is Big Band week with Michael Bublé set to mentor and perform, and Westlife to give the first ever live performance of new single 'What About Now'. See you Saturday...