After a surprise elimination that occurred immediately after Saturday's performances on The X Factor UK, another act was axed from the singing competition on Sunday.
Anton Stephans, a 44-year-old balladeer mentored by Simon Cowell, was eliminated after receiving the fewest public votes. Cowell is now the first of the four judges to lose all his acts.
On Saturday, Stephans made headlines after clashing with judge Nick Grimshaw. After he covered Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men's collaboration One Sweet Day, Grimshaw told him, "I don't know if you're the kind of artist who I'd want to listen to on the radio. It doesn't feel real for me."
A visibly riled Stephans interjected: “This is real. All of this is real. This is not an act. There’s nothing fake about me.”
After Grimshaw told Stephans he was being aggressive, the contestant shot back, “I’m not being aggressive — I just need to put you straight.”
Filipino sisters 4th Impact survived the vote and will advance to next week’s final five showdown.
“We’re not doing this for ourselves — we’re doing this for our family,” eldest sister Almira Cercado said in an interview.
The girl group posted on Twitter: “Maraming salamat po [Thank you very much].”
Joining 4th Impact in the final five are dance-pop duo Reggie ’N’ Bollie, who are also mentored by Cheryl Fernandez-Versini. Also advancing are belters Lauren Murray and Louisa Johnson, both coached by Rita Ora.
Che Chesterman, who had been the competition's front-runner for weeks, received the second-least number of audience votes, which shocked Grimshaw, his mentor. The 19-year-old former supermarket worker received a standing ovation from the panel on Saturday after his performance of The Beatles's Yesterday.
Over three million votes were cast during the weekend, a record for this season.
For next week's show, the producers are asking Twitter users to choose the contestants' songs from a shortlist. 4th Impact's choices include Rihanna's Only Girl in the World, Jackson 5's I'll Be There and Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl.
artslife@thenational.ae
