By After two weeks of a dramatic Country House boot camp, it's a goodbye to nice patio heaters and a hello to Wembley Arena - as the contestants take on the famously, completely and utterly brutal Six Chair Challenge. First up, it's the girls, and with such an exceptionally strong category we expect Rita will need to make some tough decisions.
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Join us from 7pm as we bring you all the action live as it happens. In the meantime, why not read about the strop Simon threw after finding out his category was the Overs?
We're excited to see the judges being assigned their categories this evening, but we doubt it can possibly beat 2009, when Dannii Minogue revealed she had the girls category and Rachel Adedeji fell over.
20:59And that's it! We're all done with the girls and Six Chair Challenge for tonight. As always, thank you for joining us. We've had loads of fun, but in a word it's been 'tense'. We're back on Sunday October 11 at 7pm for yet more Six Chair fun and games! See you then!
20:57So that's our final girls category - Kiera, Louisa, Monica 'Earrings' Michael, Lauren, Chloe and Havva! Undoubtedly a really strong category, and we imagine probably the strongest in the competition, but Havva is our personal favourite. We're looking forward to seeing more of them during the Judges' Houses.
20:56The judges love it - Nick comments that Lauren has the full package, and Cheryl thinks the vocal is great. Simon thought at one point she might be losing it, but really likes her as a contestant. Rita makes the decision to give Lauren a seat, and swaps her for... Lucy, who has only just got one. Absolutely brutal.
20:51Lauren the Dental Receptionist is going to sing 'Say You Love Me' by Jessie Ware, which is an interesting choice. Kiera's facial expression when hearing Lauren sing is an absolute picture. Kiera does NOT want to lose that seat. Lauren sounds very good, and we really like her as a contestant.
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20:49Finally, we have Lauren the Dental Receptionist, who's 25. Now, we have some thoughts. From a personal perspective, we are happy to see 25-year-olds in the Girls' category as the worst thing about turning 25 this year was the realisation that if we went on The X Factor we'd be an Over. However, we do wonder why the Overs age limit seems to be higher this year. The Girls' category is so strong that this Six Chair Challenge has been absolutely brutal, whereas the Overs category is apparently so lacklustre that Simon threw a massive strop at receiving it. If artists like Lauren, Lucy, Sharon Rose and Monica 'Earrings' Michael - all over 25 - were in the Overs category, wouldn't it make most sense both ways round?
20:47Next up we have Sophie Plumb. She's a full time mum to a very cute baby. She sings 'Turning Tables' by Adele, and we think it's very good, but it's arguable as to whether it's as good as the other six left. This is such a strong category. Rita likes Sophie, she has drive and has worked hard, but ultimately says no. It's very unpopular with the crowd.
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20:37The judges give Lucy great feedback. Simon is honest - he'd written Lucy off before this, but she blew the roof off. Rita comments that she feels Lucy can sometimes be a bit repetitive. We completely agree with Rita's comments, and we think she is a great judge who really Gets It. She gives honest feedback, but is always patient and never cruel. She also sticks to her guns against the crowd, which we always appreciate in a judge. Rita ultimately decides to give Lucy a seat. She swaps out Sharon Rose, and we are very disappointed as we had loved Sharon's audition. There's a big hug, Sharon walks off with a wave and holds it strong.
20:33Next up we have Lucy Duffield, who works at Boots. Lucy is going to sing 'Natural Woman' by Aretha Franklin, a song that always reminds us of Latrice Royale from RuPaul's Drag Race. A lot of X Factor contestants could learn from Latrice Royale. Lucy sings really well. The girls are so good! We have no idea what Rita is going to do.
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20:30Next up we have Kellie Mai singing 'Because the Night' by Patti Smith. It doesn't sound great. She FORGETS THE LYRICS (come on Kelli!) but at least has the decency to sing "la la la la, I forgot my words" which is what we personally always do when singing along to the radio. The performance is booed. Simon comments that "it was like you had fallen out for a tent drunk, and went for a walk". Sadly, we feel this is probably accurate. She doesn't get a seat, but she takes it well.
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20:28.......and we're back. Who is Kiera going to be swapped with? Chloe from the market is sure it's going to be her, but she is swapped for Karen. Karen is extremely upset and tells Rita "I worked so hard" through tears. It's horrible to watch.
20:25This is a GENIUS APPROACH.
Rita should ask herself "which of them can convincingly pull off a performance of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun?" when allocating seats.
— m ♡ r k (@howvery_) October 4, 2015
20:22Agreed. UNPOPULAR OPINION alert but 'Million Dollar Bill' is our favourite Whitney song.
Why does nobody ever audition with Million Dollar Bill instead?
— Joe (@JoePassmore) October 4, 2015
What to Read Next
20:21There's a standing ovation and the judges love it. Simon knows what she is going through and found the performance very emotional. Rita decides to swap her, but who for....? THERE'S AN AD BREAK. DON'T DO THIS TO US X FACTOR.
20:16Next up we have Kiera Weathers, who is singing 'I Will Always Love You', which her mum always used to sing to her. She is singing the song to thank her mum, who has been watching her X Factor journey all the way. She is as expected, completely amazing, but it is pretty indistinguishable from Whitney's version.
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20:13We're back with the chairs. Poor Havva feels really guilty. This is what makes the Six Chair Challenge so brutal - it's not Havva's fault that she is better than another contestant! This audience are completely brutal.
20:12The British Gas advert makes no sense. Penguins live in the cold anyway, they would have no interest in a fixed boiler.
20:07The judges like her. Simon comments, quite validly, that she can't compete with some of the bigger singers, but X Factor is looking for a recording artist and there's no one else quite like her in this category.
Havva is given a seat. After another agonising couple of minutes, Rita decides to swap out Charli. It's horrible to watch and Charli is very upset. There are lots of boos and Rita's decision is very unpopular. Perhaps most heartbreakingly of all, as Charli stands with her family the crowd chant "BRING HER BACK!" but Rita sticks to her guns. We admire her resilience under the pressure of that absolutely brutal studio audience.
20:02Next up is 21-year-old Havva in Enfield. She works in a shop, and customers are always commenting that she's singing when she's working (yes, that must be quite annoying). Lauren the Dental Receptionist comments before Havva comes on that Havva isn't great under pressure - and we're inclined to trust her as someone who works in a dentist is probably extremely familiar with the varying levels of stress. Havva sings 'No Diggity'. It's probably the most interesting performance we've seen this evening and we love it. Actually, we think Havva is probably our favourite, horrendous ripped jeans or not.
19:56Amazing.
For the Six Chair Challenge, I'd sing I Really Like You. Simon would say that he doesn't like me, he really really really really likes me
— Hoops (Oh My) (@itsmatthooper) October 4, 2015
19:54Of course, Louisa has a standing ovation, and the judges all thought it was incredible. The crowd are chanting "SWAP SWAP SWAP SWAP SWAP" and the tension is palpable. This bit is always so brutal. Ultimately, she swaps with Chloe, the dance teacher. Chloe handles it with grace but it's very difficult to watch. We feel very sorry for her.
19:51Louisa's up next, singing 'And I Am Telling You', also from Dreamgirls. A good week for Jennifer Hudson. To be honest, we feel this is a little bit of a tired song choice, but Louisa completely KNOCKS IT OUT OF THE PARK vocally. The only thing we are disappointed to see is that Louisa has a huge smile plastered across her face throughout a break-up song that goes beyond 'sad' into 'desperate'. Louisa is still very young, so fair enough, she probably doesn't Get It, but we quite like it when our popstars Get the songs they sing. But being able to Get a song like that is something that she can (and unfortunately for her, probably will) learn as she gets older, so clearly she deserves a seat.
19:48Next up we have 17 year old Charli. She sings 'Love You I Do' by Jennifer Hudson (it's in Dreamgirls). She sounds good but we aren't quite sure about the performance itself - she is quite visibly nervous. She gets good feedback from the judges though, and gets herself a seat. There are now NO SEATS LEFT. We have a feeling that this is when the BLOODBATH COMMENCES.
19:39Chloe sings an a capella version of 'Amazing Grace'. It's very good, but the vibrato (look! We know musical words!) is giving us Jesy from Little Mix vibes. It goes down well with the judges; Nick didn't remember her but now he'd never forget her again. Simon loved it and felt it possibly should earn her a place at the final! Rita comments that Chloe's stage presence worries her, but decides to give her a seat.
19:35Next up we have Chloe who works on the market. Chloe comments tearfully in her opening VT that her Grandad was a big influence. Her Nan says that her Grandad always said she'd be on the stage. Now, we know how some viewers of X Factor feel about sob stories. We knew how WE felt about sob stories, until we grew a little older, and we found out for ourselves how it feels to lose someone and then have that grief shape you as a person and help you focus on your dreams and talents. And we know people all over social media will be slagging off Chloe right now, but we wanted to say that we hate that it's become a bit of a taboo to talk about your grief as people assume that you are using it for your own gain. And that now, we're really willing for Chloe's performance to be amazing.
19:33Next up we have Sharon Rose. We don't think we've seen much of her before, but she has amazing hair, and an even more amazing outfit. She sings 'Let It Go' by James Bay and has a lovely voice. It's an emotional performance and we love it, it's so unexpected! Nick comments he has goosebumps, and Cheryl says it's her best audition to date. Simon tells her he'll be honest, he hadn't remembered her, and he doesn't think she could win. Rita gives her a seat! Sharon turns to Simon as she takes her chair and says "you will NOT forget me again, I promise you" in a vaguely menacing fashion. We wonder if the next day Simon woke up next to a horse head.
19:27An interesting take on Monica's rejection from the Six Chair Challenge last year (had you heard that, by the way? Monica didn't make it through the Six Chair Challenge last year? Such new information! We know right!)
Cheryl didn't put her thru bc that Olly Murs song stopped Girls Aloud from going to #1
— Pumpkinhead (@oneofthosefaces) October 4, 2015
19:25So now we have Monica 'Earrings' Michael. In case you hadn't already picked up on the four thousand times it's already been mentioned in this series, last year she only got as far as the Six Chair Challenge. She feels that last year she wasn't ready, but going home and not getting a chair this year scares her. She sings 'What is Love' from Empire. Previously, to be honest, we've never been huge Monica fans, but we think this is the best Monica performance we've seen so far and her voice sounds great. The judges all love it. Simon comments that he didn't think she was great... he thought it was fantastic! and we roll our eyes so far backwards we're now extremely familiar with our own cerebral cortex. Of course, Monica gets a seat.
19:19Next up we have Chloe Baker, a 21-year-old dance teacher from Liverpool. She performs 'You've Got The Love' (the proper dance version, not the more X Factor friendly Florence version). We like her voice and it's a very interesting performance. We kind of feel like we're already at her concert. Rita decides that Chloe has sass and presence, and gives her a seat.
19:16It's time for Karen, who is 23 and from Stevenage. She sings 'I'd Rather Go Blind'. We love her voice, and it's a great performance!
The judges all love it too, and Karen gets the very first seat.
The judges all love it too, and Karen gets the very first seat.
19:13First up is Katie Coleman, who is 21 and from Darlington. She has moved to London to pursue her music career, and feels like there is nothing else she can do rather than this. Her song choice is 'The Voice Within' by Christina Aguilera (great to see a fresh, new X Factor song choice, really breaking the mould). She does okay, but we're not blown over. The judges feel similarly, with Nick commenting that her previous auditions had been better and Cheryl able to sense her nerves. Simon lives up to his evil beard and makes a clumsy and rude analogy: "if it was me I would give you a chair...at home." Nice. Rita comments her vocals weren't as good as previous auditions. Katie gets emotional and it's uncomfortable watching. Rita decides not to give her a seat. She comforts Katie by saying "it doesn't mean it's over", and Evil Simon undermines her by stating "well you've just said no, so it is". It's all very awkward viewing.
19:07Nick is mentoring the boys, and Cheryl is thrilled to get the groups. Simon can still barely hide his disdain over it all. But it's time to begin with the actual drama - tonight the girls will do the Six Chair Challenge!
19:06Simon discovers he is mentoring the Overs and throws a huge strop with everyone watching. Poor Bupsi looks upset. We do not like seeing Bupsi unhappy. His behaviour was all very rude and unprofessional if you ask us. The evil facial hair theory remains intact.
19:06Rita discovers she is mentoring the girls, and looks absolutely thrilled. The girls are also excited. We would be quite happy too, as we think Rita is a really good judge, actually.
19:04The show begins with the announcement of which judge mentors which category. One contestant comments "Nick knows everything when it comes to music", a statement we find extremely sobering.
19:03Cheryl's jumpsuit is absolutely incredible.
19:02And we've kicked off! The Six Chair Challenge is back. 64 contestants must become 24. There's some dramatic editing. SIMON HAS FACIAL HAIR. One contestant refers to it as "one of the scariest moments of my life". Looking back on the scariest moments of OUR lives, we can only assume that contestant has never found a family of baby mice in their kitchen.
18:56FIVE MINUTES TO GO. Kettle on now. As the Six Chair Challenge requires some calmed nerves, we'd recommend a nice camomile tea.
18:47Of course, one of the things we are most excited about this evening is a closer look at Simon Cowell's facial hair. It was briefly teased last week, and we're interested to see how it might affect his critique and attitude. We wonder if it will be like Community, when Abed with a beard becomes Evil Abed. (Incredible).
18:42All these Irish accents on the rugby are making us feel very nostalgic for Louis Walsh. See, if this was X Factor, he would be on this interview panel.
18:38Did we just see an advert for Game of War starring MARIAH CAREY? What's next, Dolly Parton for Call of Duty? Incredible. We're really happy that we live in a world where the kind of people that might purchase war-themed video games would presumably be interested in Mariah Carey's endorsement.
18:35Hi everyone! The Six Chair Challenge kicks off in around half an hour - you'd better start thinking about getting ready and on the sofa. Hopefully, unlike the contestants this evening, you won't have to worry about anyone kicking you off of it. In the meantime, why not keep yourself busy with some spoilers about tonight's episode?
Want to be on The X Factor, but without Simon Cowell grimacing at you? The Bopheads app gives you the chance to appear in that funny bit in the ad breaks, all thanks to those clever people at TalkTalk. Simply download here.
