Olly, Stacey and Joe make X Factor final

It all started in front of thousands and four judges. After weeks of auditions, tears at boot camp and nine weeks of live shows we have our X Factor finalists, Stacey Soloman, Joe McElderry and Olly Murs.

The final three were decided after it was announced that Danyl Johnson had received the lowest public vote tonight. Whilst Danyl was dignified in defeat I have failed to warm to the former teacher from Reading since his brilliant first audition.

On Saturday night the four remaining acts performed two songs in the semi-final, all hoping to secure a place in next week's final. First up was Olly Murs and whilst he performed well with Can You Feel It and We Can Work It Out (maybe a little too much dancing in the second performance), I was sure he was gone.

First up on the night and with his public support apparently taking a dive Olly looked as relieved as I was shocked when Dermot read his name out first. Whilst the boy from Essex has done well to reach the final he has plenty of ground too make up on rivals Joe and Stacey if he is going to claim the big prize. Outside bet for the final but who knows, I thought he was gone tonight!

Next up on Saturday was favourite Joe McElderry. Cheryl's last act has been running away with the competition in the last few weeks, receiving the usual high praise after two more perfect vocal performances with She's Out Of My Life and Open Arms.

I know I am going to sound like a broken record but Joe is just not for me and on Saturday I realised why - every week he sounds the same. Yes he can sing but does he wow me, no! I can't see him gracing the stages for years to come as a contemporary artist but there is no denying that the boy has one good voice. He should make the final two along with Stacey but from there it is too close to call.

Third on the stage was the last remaining girl Stacey Soloman, the diva from Dagenham! After calls for her to put in more of a performance and after reading the spoilers of song choices before the Saturday night show I was slightly nervous for Stacey. The Way You Make Me Feel just didn't seem to fit with Stacey on paper and unfortunately it was the same on stage.

After watching her first performance live I was blown away by how amazing she looked and I thought she pulled off a good performance. But after watching it a second time I realised many of the judges' critical comments were correct, her vocals suffered and it was a risky choice that didn't pay off for Stacey or Dannii. But, like all good performers Stacey came back and blew me (and my ear drums!) away with a powerful rendition of Somewhere, proving what she is good at and why she deserves her place in the final.

Last up on Saturday was Danyl Johnson, who gave two more belting performances. But whilst it may seem picky, the strange video montage and polar bears on the screens that seemed more suitable for Earth Song than it did Man In The Mirror were unnecessarily distracting and Danyl didn't win me over with his second performance of I have Nothing either.

Despite missing out on a place in the final Danyl has done well to claw back support after a barrage of criticism and bad press. Based on vocals he may not have been the right act to go on the night (that would have been Olly) but I will not miss him in the final.

So we have our final three - Olly, Stacey and Joe. Harshly I admit none of them are the new Leona with worldwide stardom beckoning but each deserve a place in the final. Olly entertains, Stacey engages with the audience and Joe has the voice.

It will be one of the tightest finals yet but I will go out on a limb and say Olly will struggle against fan favourites Joe and Stacey, both of whom I believe are in with the best chance of being crowned winner. It all may come down to the secret (or maybe not so?) special guest duets!

Picture from Daily Mail