The Six Chair Challenge came to an end on The X Factor 2018 tonight with the reveal of Louis Tomlinson’s top six Boys, and Robbie Williams cutting down the Groups.
Episode eleven picked up where last week left off, with Louis booting out one unlucky hopeful to give Brendan Murray his safe seat.
The Boys’ round then ended with a dramatic sing-off as another reject refused to go down without a fight.
Robbie Williams also gave out his own Golden X as the Groups finally got to compete for a place at Judges’ Houses.
Viewers finally got to see the debut of not two, not three, but four manufactured bands, made up of soloists who didn’t quite cut it on their own.
Catch up with all the latest results in our rundown here…
Louis Tomlinson and the Boys
Brendan Murray (Golden X, replaced Corey Sean) – Last Sunday’s show ended with Brendan getting the Golden X – but those dastardly producers left us waiting an entire week to find out who he’d replace. Louis eventually decided to bid farewell to Corey to free up a safe seat for the former Hometown member.
Thomas Pound (Seat, replaced Ollie Swain) – Thomas thrilled the audience at the auditions by performing as both himself, and alter ego Lady Frieda Wilde. For Six Chair, he turned up in full drag promising “a surprise for Louis” that he’d “never seen before”. Belting out ‘This Is Me’ from The Greatest Showman, he suddenly whipped off his big red cloak and wig to reveal he was wearing a suit underneath. “I like people who are unique, have guts, put on a show. I would tune in to see you any day of the week,” said Simon. Apparently Louis would too, as he swiftly gave Ollie’s place to Thomas.
J-Sol (Seat, replaced Nathan Grisdale) – Louis was left tearful at the auditions when J-Sol performed an original song he wrote the year his mother died. Spurred on by the incredible reaction to his touching track, J turned up to Six Chair feeling like “a new person”, pledging to put a smile on the crowd’s faces with the James Brown classic ‘I Got You (I Feel Good)’. “I think it’s amazing that you broke me down in the first audition, and I was smiling from ear to ear in the second,” noted Ayda. “I think you really understand the power of music,” remarked Louis, who gave him a seat at Nathan’s expense.
Dalton Andre Harris (Seat, replaced Thomas Pound) – After an agonising wait, Dalton was the last of the Boys to take to the stage, commenting: “Everything is on the line for me today.” The Jamaican singer pulled out an X Factor classic, Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’, and it won him a standing ovation from the arena. “I’ve got five words for you Dalton: seat, seat, seat, seat, seat,” beamed Robbie. Louis obliged, and just as he was getting comfortable, Thomas was turfed out for Dalton.
Sing-Off (Thomas replaced Tommy Ludford) – While Louis may have thought his job was done, Thomas snatched the mic from Dalton and asserted: “I can promise you I am not leaving this arena tonight without a seat. Absolutely no way.” Picking his head up out his hands, Louis decided to put Thomas and J-Sol head-to-head in a sing-off. The former reprised his audition track, Tina Turner’s ‘Simply The Best’, while the latter performed Eric Benet’s ‘Sometimes I Cry’. Thomas was so desperate to succeed that he did the splits – and accidentally ripped his trousers open in the process.
In another shock result, Louis decided to keep both of them – but to do that, he had to drop someone else, and that meant it was the end of the road for Tommy. The guitarist at least saw the move coming, predicting: “Right at the end, I’m gonna go.”
Therefore, the final six Boys are Anthony Russell, Armstrong Martins, Brendan Murray, Dalton Andre Harris, J-Sol and Thomas Pound.
Robbie Williams and the Groups
LMA Choir (Seat) – With the other three categories locked down, it was finally time for Robbie and the Groups to go through the Six Chair Challenge drama. First up were the LMA Choir, who claim their close ‘family’-like bond gives them an advantage over their rivals. They showed off their huge voices with Sam Cooke’s ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’. “I think your energy, enthusiasm and positivity would make a huge difference to this show,” comented Simon. Robbie had no hesitation offering them his first chair.
The Squirrels (Seat) – Drag duo The Squirrels did their best to show they’re not just “here for show”, but “here to go all the way” by performing Ike and Tina Turner’s ‘River Deep, Mountain High’. “I’m gonna be honest, I think there is a seat waiting for you… in the taxi to take you home,” quipped an unimpressed Simon. However, Robbie felt they had a place on stage, complimenting them for “giving the most energy today”.
ATTY (Seat) – Family group ATTY aimed to “connect with the audience and sing from our guts” with their acapella cover of Stormzy’s ‘Blinded By Your Grace’. They failed to connect with Simon, who reacted: “For some reason, that didn’t do it for me.” Robbie gave them a chair regardless, simply stating: “I’m good!”
Tre Amici (Seat) – Tre Amici’s X Factor journey got off to a rocky start at the auditions when Simon asked member Leroy to sing alone, but he refused to proceed without his two best pals. We didn’t get to hear what the Syco boss made of their performance of ‘Senza Catene’ at Six Chair, but Louis commented: “Across the board, vocally, it’s undeniable.” Robbie proceeded to offer them his fourth spot.
Harry & Danny (Seat) – This duo brought out their guitars to cover ‘Slow Hands’ by Louis’ One Direction bandmate Niall Horan – but this time the criticism came from Robbie himself. “I think your song choices are wrong,” he said. “I think you’ve got a lot to give, and I’m gonna give you a chair, because of who I think you two guys can become.”
Lost Tiger (Seat) – Identical twins Alfie and Zac, a.k.a. Lost Tiger, were ecstatic to have Robbie as a mentor, explaining: “We really wanna work with him and learn from his entertainment skills.” Robbie was apparently just as happy to have them as an act, giving them his final empty chair. “I’m liking the craft, I’m liking the personality, I’m liking the set-up,” he remarked.
Sweet Sense (Seat, replaced The Squirrels) – With the clash for chairs well and truly on, it was time for girlband Sweet Sense to make their debut. The five-piece was formed from soloists Billie, Charlie, Ellie, Gaia and Kezia. Despite having only been together for a short time, Kezia claimed: “I feel like we work really well together, the connection is so good.” Their performance of ‘Uptown Funk’ was met with roaring applause, as Ayda said: “Well done girls, you brought so much energy.” Eager to keep their “magic” in the competition, Robbie gave the girls The Squirrels’ seat.
The Hewitts (Seat, replaced Harry & Danny) – Hailing from Robbie’s hometown of Stoke-on-Trent, The Hewitts are a couple who say performing together is like “being on stage with your soulmate”. Following their performancce Michael Bublé’s version of ‘Feeling Good’, Robbie suggested they “could connect with the wider audience” and sent Harry and Danny packing to give them a chair.
A STAR (Golden X, replaced Tre Amici) – Aaliyah and Acacia entered the contest as soloists, but the judges instantly spotted the opportunity to combine their singing and rapping and put them through as a duo. The teenagers, now going by the name A STAR, promised: “Some of you might think, they’re young, they won’t be able to handle it. Trust us, we’re ready.” They launched in to a cover of Montell Jordan’s ‘This Is How We Do It’, but it was soon interrupted by Robbie, who claimed: “Girls, that was an eight. I believe you’ve got a ten in you.”
The ‘Rock DJ’ superstar asked them to repeat their audition performance, Jessie J and Nicki Minaj’s ‘Bang Bang’, and they were rewarded with a bold statement from Simon. “This is the first group, genuinely, where if you walked in to my record label, I would sign you on the spot,” he claimed. Wandering around in front of the judges’ desk, Robbie asked the girls’ mums to come over – and then told them to hit the Golden X button, sending their daughters straight to Judges’ Houses.
Delivering his verdict, Robbie concluded that he wouldn’t know “what to do” with Tre Amici, and eliminated them to give A STAR their safe seat.
Misunderstood (Seat, replaced The Hewitts) – Jeff and Stefan’s ‘Juicy Fruit’ brought the house down at their audition, so it was a no-brainer for them to bring another original track. ‘Ghetto Style’ is about “the underappreciated, ghetto fabulous women of the world”, and it went down an absolute treat with the audience, who were up dancing throughout. “Best reaction of the day,” observed host Dermot O’Leary. “You guys come on and you lift the room,” noted Simon. “These lads are absolutely incredible, best thing I’ve seen in the competition so far,” grinned Robbie, who let go of the Hewitts to free up a chair for them.
Vibe 5 (Seat, replaced Lost Tiger) – The tricky task of following that went to Vibe 5, another act put together from failed soloists. The boyband, featuring Blaize, Elliot, Jack, Jon and Kieran, had only two days to prepare their performance of Justin Timberlake’s hit ‘Can’t Stop The Feeling’ – and for Louis, the feeling didn’t quite start. “I did feel a sprinkle of magic, but I’m not sure it was enough,” he pondered. Although Robbie admitted it was a “mess” he sympathised, saying his band Take That were also a mess after two days. He took the gamble and swapped out Lost Tiger so Vibe 5 could hang around.
Panda & Burgandy (Seat, replaced ATTY) – Last to compete were Panda and Burgandy, who were almost out after Ayda rejected them from the Overs. Not wanting to see them leave, Robbie offered them a last-minute transfer to his category as a group. “They don’t want to mess with this girl power,” teased Panda, ahead of their take on Tina Turner’s ‘Proud Mary’, which the crowd gave a standing ovation. “If Robbie doesn’t take you, you’re coming back with me and I’m having a seventh chair,” joked Ayda. Denying his wife the opportunity, he chose to replace ATTY with Panda and Burgandy.
Therefore, Robbie’s final six groups are Vibe 5, LMA Choir, Sweet Sense, Panda and Burgandy, A Star and Misunderstood.
With the opening rounds over and the six chairs going back in to storage for another year, it’s now time for the top 24 to go global.
Judges’ Houses kicks off tomorrow night at 8.00pm on ITV, when the first acts to make this year’s X Factor live shows will be revealed.
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