After the X Factor's stressful Six-Chair Challenge, the first 12 contestants have officially made it through to the next round where they will perform at the judge's houses.
Simon Cowell, who is mentoring the girls this year, chose Caitlin Vanbeck, Emily Middlemass, Gifty Louise, Kayleigh Marie Morgan, Olivia Garcia and Soheila Clifford to go through to the next round, while Nicole Scherzinger, who is mentoring the boys, selected Christian Burrows, Freddy Parker, James Hughes, Matt Terry, Nate Simpson and Niall Sexton.
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© Photo: ITVSimon and Nicole chose their contestants
The episode had a mixed reception from viewers, particularly when fan favourites Matt and Christian were forced to compete against each other for one spot, although both of them ended up going through to the next round. One fan tweeted: "TOO EMOTIONAL SEND HELP #SixChairChallenge #XFactor," accompanied by a gif of the two, while another wrote: "WHAT IS GOING ON?! These two are the best boys, why are they having to pick between them two."
The show's presenter Dermot O'Leary had previously described the segment as "cruel," telling The Sun: "I've always been a fan, even though I've said the Six-Chair Challenge is cruel.
© Photo: ITVNicole chose which boys would go through
"When I've been put in a corner and somebody asked me, 'If you were Simon and the ratings went down, what would you do?' And I said, 'Well, I'd rest it'. Other than that, I've been nothing but positive about it as I'm a fan. I always have been."
Viewers seemed to agree with Dermot, as one tweeted: "#sixchairchallenge is brutal on the #XFactor2016 I think it's so cruel to the contestants. Surely there's a better way!"
© Photo: BBCSimon was in charge of the girls category
"Gosh this is like The Hunger Games - Very cruel," another added.
Sunday night's show will see Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne select their six favourite acts from 'the groups' and 'over 25' categories. Among the contestants is Irina Dedyuk, who will try to win over Sharon Osbourne with a rendition of Mamma Knows Best by Jessie J.
