‘Shocker’ sing-off sees Middlemas eliminated

Emily Middlemas has been voted off the X Factor, leaving Matt Terry, Saara Aalto and 5 After Midnight to battle it out in next week’s finale.

The 18-year-old was given the boot after losing out in a surprising sing-off with Terry.

After learning her fate, she said: “I’m so proud of myself to actually get to the semi-final, this year has been amazing and I’m just so lucky to be part of it.”

The sing-off, described as a “shocker” by host Dermot O’Leary because neither acts have been in the bottom two before, saw Terry perform Hurt by Christina Aguilera and Middlemas appear barefoot to sing Wings by Birdy.

O’Leary revealed this week had seen the biggest vote of the series so far, with more than two million votes cast.

Judges Sharon Osbourne, Louis Walsh and Terry’s mentor Nicole Scherzinger all voted to save Terry, while only Middlemas’s mentor Simon Cowell wanted to keep her in the show.

Cowell said: “The three do deserve to be there, but I’m gutted for Emily to get this close. It’s all about what you do with your life now and using this properly.”

The show opened with all the semifinalists performing Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas?, before Sweden’s Got Talent winner Zara Larsson performed her singles I Would Like and Lush Life.

Later in the show, Lady Gaga performed her new single Million Reasons on a platform, clutching a cowboy hat and dressed in a black jacket.

Throughout the show, the names of the finalists were daubed on battle buses the hopefuls will travel round the country in over the next week as they bid to drum up votes.

All the finalists will also perform homecoming gigs, with Aalto returning to her native Finland for a gig in Helsinki today.

Terry will be appearing in Bromley on Wednesday, while boyband 5 After Midnight will hope to draw a crowd in Leicester tomorrow.

Emily is out.