Contestants fail to impress at Simon's judges' houses


October 4, 2014

The X Factor's judges' houses continued on Saturday night with Mel B and Emma Bunton judging the boy's category in Mexico.

First to perform was Danny Dearden who belted out Kelly Clarkson's Beautiful Disaster and wowed the judges.

Mel B and Emma whittled the acts down to three

"People like me don't normally get a chance like this," he said following his performance. Next up was Jordan Morris who opted to sing a heartfelt rendition of One Republic's Apologise. "Remember we've both got rings on our fingers," joked Mel as her and Emma were smitten with the singer.

Next to the mic was Jake Quickenden who had previously got to Nicole Scherzinger's judges’ houses in 2012.

Jack Quickenden impressed the judges

The nervous signer opted to sing The Police's Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic. "That was nice," said Mel as Emma expressed her concern for the strength of his nerves.

Paul Akister returned this year after being sent home from Louis' judge’s houses last year, hoping to impress Mel and Emma.

"I couldn't believe that Louis got rid of you," revealed Emma before the performance.

His emotional performance of Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water went down well with the judges but Mel was worried that his mild personality concerned her.

Paul Akister's performance impressed Mel and Emma

That evening the Spice Girls deliberated with the acts to send to the live finals. In the end, her decision came down to sending Andrea Faustini, Paul Akister and Jack Quickenden to the live shows. With the final three of the boys decided, the X Factor flew over to Los Angeles to catch up with Simon Cowell and the Over 25s.

Simon was joined by Sinitta who walked up to the contestants wearing a bizarre headdress and a 'hairkini'.

The auditions began with Stevie Ritchie who decided to sing an enthusiastic version of The Monkee's I’m A Believer.

Stevie Ritchie's performance confused Simon and Sinitta

"What was that?" said Simon, confused with the singer's 'bad' performance.

Next hoping to impress the judges was Robert Pattinson's sister, Lizzy. However, despite her best efforts, she was branded 'dull' by Simon and Sinitta.

The disappointing performances continued as Helen Fulthorpe nervously performed in front of the judges, but struggled with nerves and pitching issues. "She's got timing issues," whispered Simon during the mother-of-two's performance. "There must be someone really interesting surely," said Sinitta as she was concerned with the quality of the Over 25 group. Ex-Navy officer Jay James also failed to impress the judges with his heartfelt performance of R.E.M’s Everybody Hurts.

Jay James' performance disappointed the judges

"He hasn't been as good as his first audition. It was awful," said Simon, clearly disappointed. Fleur East then wowed the judges as she belted out Jessie J's Bang Bang, and even got them nodding along to her performance.

"The best by far," said Sinitta following her impressive mix of rap and vocals.

Fleur East blew the judges away with her rap and vocals

Last to perform was Ben Haenow who opted to sing The Beatles' With A Little Help From My Friends. The night took a dramatic turn as Helen Fulthorpe was seen having a panic attack before finding out whether she had got through to the live shows. Tune in on Sunday at 8pm on ITV to find out who Simon chooses and Cheryl’s judges' houses.

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