Welp, last week on The X Factor Celebrity was so bad, on my podcast I said a sentence I never thought I’d say: “I liked The Masked Singer better than The X Factor this week.” And I wasn’t the only one disappointed – the ratings were significantly down from last year’s ratings, which were already way down. I think we can already say that this experiment was a failure.

Unfortunately, it’s too late for a normal season this year now. And we still have 7 weeks to go of this one. So here’s hoping that at least one, just one of tonight’s 6 acts delivers so I have something to get invested in for the next 7 weeks.

We open the episode with a recap of last week’s show. I’m surprised the producers wanted to remind us of it, it was so awful.

Olivia Olson: She’s an actress who was in Love Actually and apparently sang a Christmas song in it. She quit acting a while ago. She now does a lot of voice over work. She was off key in the Khalid song, and Simon tells her to sing something else as he thinks she’s better than that. Her performance of Come Together, on the other hand, was better than anyone last week. Not perfect by any stretch. But miles better than the others. Louis liked it. Nicole says she needs to work on stage presence. Simon says she let loose at the end, tells her not to be like everybody else, says “good for you.”

Jonny Labey: He’s an actor best known for playing someone on Eastenders who died. He’s kinda cute. He’s excited to be himself. His dad was in a big band, so that’s why he decided to do a big band version of Feel It Still by Portugal The Man. I liked the arrangement a lot but I didn’t like his voice. Still, for originality alone, better than all but Max & Harvey last week. Simon embarrasses someone – David Foster, who worked on Michael Buble’s last album. David does a duet with Jonny of Feeling Good. Louis liked it, could see him in Vegas. Simon says good for him for taking a chance.

Megan McKenna: She’s a ringer – had a record deal. She’s 26 and did a few reality shows, including The Only Way Is Essex. She sings an original song she wrote a few years ago called “Everything But You”. And frankly, this performance is better than all of last week’s put together. She just made everyone else look like an amateur – which, to be fair, they are. The song is pretty good, she’s got a good voice — not stellar, but good enough. Until the end of the episode, I thought she’d be the best one this season. Standing ovation from the audience. Nicole thanks her for being vulnerable and brave, and says she has a gorgeous voice. Louis liked it, was impressed she wrote the song herself. Howie says she’s beautiful inside and out. Simon says she made their job even more difficult and congratulates her. Max & Harvey say “our mom’s not going to vote for us anymore, she’s going to vote for her.”

Ricki Lake: And now, back to karaoke hell. Ricki Lake is an American talk show host. She was also on The Masked Singer in the US earlier this year. The audience stands for her before she even sings. She performs a song about losing her husband. I hate to say it, but I thought this performance of “Us” by James Bay was awful. Compared to the performance that came before it, it’s even more awful. She screws up the lyrics at one point. Louis likes it. Nicole says she sang it earnestly with all her heart, she told a story, thanks her. Simon tells her that it was great, Ricki tells him she’ll get better. She is mad at herself for messing up the lyrics.

V5: They are 5 social media influencers from Latin America – that’s a thing now apparently. I say this as someone who works on social media for a living – being a social media influencer does not mean you are a celebrity. They met 7 days ago. Wow. Their performance of “Juice” by Lizzo was fine, I guess, but nothing special. Parts verged on being awful, parts verged on actually being decent. I mean, they had good chemistry for knowing each other for 7 days. Nicole loves that song, says it was so good. Louis liked it, says the world needs a new girlband. Simon sees great chemistry and that they know where they want to go, thanks them.

Victoria Ekanoye: She’s been an actress for 12 years. Her mom is excited that she’s on the show. This is what she’s wanted since she was a little girl. She sings House of The Rising Sun because it lets her tell a story. This was a great performance period, not just a great performance compared to the others. Excellent control over her voice. She totally stole the show. If you watch only one performance, this is the one. Randy says great vocals girl, you killed it. Simon says he saw Dallas Austin’s goosebumps from where he sat, he says she was the best of the night. Louis liked it, loved every bit of it, every note. Nicole loves her presence, this is her chance and she took it. Simon thought it was stunning, just a glimpse of what she’s got, great performance. An audience member comments that since she’s an actress she sold the song.

After the judges deliberate, they reveal the 12 acts through to live shows and the 3 acts who get eliminated.

Simon Cowell and the Groups:

Max and Harvey
V5
Try Star
Love Islanders

Louis Walsh and the Unders:

Johnny Labey
Kevin McHale
Olivia Olson
Megan McKenna

Nicole Scherzinger and the Overs:

Martin Bashir
Ricki Lake
Victoria Ekanoye
Vinnie Jones – Vinnie didn’t audition because his wife died right before the filming started. Simon invited him in an epilogue segment to compete anyway as a part of the top 12.

Eliminated: