Lloyd leaves X factor

Welsh teenager Lloyd Daniels became the 8th act to be voted off the X factor last night, narrowly missing out on a place in next week's semi-finals.

Lloyd, 16, received the lowest number of public votes after all five acts performed a Take That and Elton John classic on Saturday night.

After the departure of Jedward last Saturday the proper singing contest could finally heat up with only 2 weeks till the final.

First on stage Saturday was Danyl Johnson. The former teacher has had a roller coaster ride of drama on the show but he seems to have finally found his feet and some public support. Danyl performed classic Take That hit 'Relight My Fire' in round one and despite showing that he doesn't just do ballads, Danyl's over the top routine managed to distract me from his vocal performance. Yes the guy can perform his socks off but he doesn't have the likeability factor that makes him the winner in my eyes.

Round 2 and Simon Cowell's act sang 'Your Song', another performance powerful belting ballad that we have come to expect from Danyl but me and my family agreed that he seems to struggle when having to sing quietly. Simon Cowell may have labelled it 'sensational' but at points it sounded painful. Like previous contestant Jamie Archer Danyl hasn't, and might not ever, recreate the magic of his first audition.

Following Danyl on stage was the baby of the competition Lloyd. The teenage heartthrob has had a lot to contend with over the last few weeks; not everyone might respect what judge Louis Walsh said but poor little Lloyd has had to deal with Louis' criticisms live every week in front of millions. I'm not saying Louis was wrong, he was actually for once spot on. Lloyd has been out of his depth from about week four and this week was no different. He struggled vocally through first song 'Million Love Songs' and despite putting in more of a performance with second song 'I'm Still Standing' Lloyd still looked lost and awkward on stage.

Next up was last week's sing-off survivor Olly Murs. After the shock of being in the bottom two last week Olly must have have been worried. With his support obviously dropping Simon Cowell took a risk giving Olly one of his first ballads in the competition with 'Love Ain't Here Anymore'. Vocally Olly pulled it off vocally but judge Dannii Minogue was right when she said 'he had lacked that sparkle in his eyes' (although the very happy lady he was singing too at the start may have disagreed with Miss Minogue).

Round 2 and Olly was back to what he does best, an up-tempo number. 'Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)' saw Olly jump around on stage with skimpily dressed women, although the constant references to a boxing match got a bit much by the end.

Whilst Olly's support has seemed to stall slightly Joe McElderry has flourished under weeks of praise and standing ovations from four very jubilant judges. The Geordie lad sang 'Could It Be Magic' and 'Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word', pouring tons of emotion into his second performance and sounding vocally perfect in both. Every week Joe has delivered, clearly the most consistent contestant still in the competition however Cheryl Cole's act just doesn't hold my attention whilst on stage.

A nice lad and brilliant musical theatre star in the making, Joe is favourite to win but may struggle against the voting fanbases of rivals Stacey and Olly (despite claims that boss Simon Cowell his backing the lad to win). If Cowell and the British public are looking for a popstar with longevity and that special appeal that will sell millions of records for years to come I don't think Joe is the guy.

The final act to perform was last girl left standing Stacey Soloman. Dagenham girl Stacey performed tricky Take That hit 'Rule The World' and Elton John ballad 'Something About The Way You Looked Tonight'. Despite belting out both hits Stacey got a slightly mixed response from the judges, Simon Cowell even harshly comparing her to a wedding singer. But, despite my continued support of Stacey and her mentor Dannii, I did agree with some of what Simon Cowell said after he second song.

Stacey fully deserves her place in the competition but the appeal of Stacey, putting her engaging and funny personality aside, was the subtle tones to her voice. Week one Stacey blew me away with her rendition of Coldplay's 'The Scientist' and Dannii needs to make sure we don't loose the softness and innocence that is so appealing about Stacey's voice. And as for the argument for why she doesn't dance - Stacey has a style, it may not be as varied as others, but it is what she does best and I don't need to see her dance for me to pick up the phone and vote.

With Stacey, Joe and Danyl through we were left with Olly and Lloyd nervously standing on stage. There was almost an inevitability about Lloyd's departure, a nice lad who was out of his depth but who showed dignity in defeat (unlike the slightly of putting and over the top reaction of Olly who ran off stage in relief when his name was called, without even a word to Lloyd).

We are now left with our four semi-finalists and arguably the four best performers/singers throughout the competition. With only one week left to impress and book a place in the final I believe Stacey has the fanbase and Joe has the voice to get them through so it might be down to Olly and Danyl to fight it out, either way, if that is the case, Simon Cowell won't be happy - and that in itself is a reason to tune in next week!

Picture from Virgin Media