How to watch X Factor UK from outside the UK?
You can watch X Factor live, online. ITV streams the show through the ITV Player. However, ITV blocks viewers from outside of the UK. To get around that, you need to use VPN connection. If Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is your preferred browser, install Hola extension and set them to UK server. Then open the ITV Player, make a free account and pick the right channel. The player will ask you for a ZIP code. Find an active UK ZIP code HERE. Make sure you have the cookies enabled. You can also try to find a working ITV stream on MyiPlayer.com, TVPC.com or FilmON.com.
The X Factor airs tonight at 7:30pm GMT (8:30pm CET, 2:30pm EST, 11:30am PST) on ITV 1 (100min).
For the first time this season, the contestants of all 4 categories are performing on the same night. We are down to only 6 acts.
A guy on a motorbike drives Dermot into the studio. The judges are already seated. James Arthur is tonight’s musical guest. One act is leaving tonight.
The Cutkelvins – Nothing Like You (The Cutkelvins)
They are flying the flag for Scotland. They went back home this week. Their late father also wrote original songs and we see them listening to some of his work. They are doing another original tonight.
One of the brothers starts the song for a change. Like last week, the brothers soon leave their DJ booths and join their little sister on the main stage. Their vocals aren’t that great and I’m not sure how much of an impression this song will make on viewers. Standing ovation from the judges.
Louis says it’s gets better every week for them. He says the song sounds like a hit single and asks Scotland to vote for them. Sharon says their risk paid off and says doing original music gives them a new energy. Nicole is impressed with them and days she is finally starting to understand the puzzle. Simon says their original song was better this week than last week and asks the viewers all over Britain to vote for them.
Matt Linnen – Gimme Shelter (The Rolling Stones)
He is from Southend, Essex. In his VT we see him hanging out with his sister by the sea. He says this song is one of his favorites. His son that lives in Spain came to see him in London for his birthday.
Matt has a band and back vocalists on stage. The song was heavily re-arranged and modernized. This is the Imagine Dragons’ kind of rock, I think – rock blended with modern beats. Personally I’m just not feeling it, I think most of the rock edge that the original has was taken out by this cover.
Louis thinks Matt could have picked a much better song. He later says this is a Rag’N’Bone version of The Rolling Stones song. Sharon says he sang really well tonight and says his vocals have been improving through the live shows. Simon loved the song and calls him ballsy. Nicole asks everyone to vote for Matt.
Grace Davies – Life on Mars? (David Bowie)
Grace gets a phone call from her mother. Her VT is also calling for hometown support. She used to perform this song back home on a truck stage in a middle of a field, but now she is doing it on the big X Factor stage.
Grace is playing the piano tonight and there is no other backing track. She turned the song into a simple piano ballad. I like the arrangement, but I think Grace’s vocals were less than great.
Grace gets a standing ovation from Sharon. Simon says this is one of his favorite songs. He says she took the song where other people don’t take it. He this it was a polarizing performance and says she deserves to advance. Nicole loved the performance because it was understated and simple. Louis says she deserves to be in the final. Sharon calls the performance understated and calls her a class act.
Rak-Su – Flowers (Sweet Female Attitude)
Rak-Su went back to their hometown. We see some footage from the time when they first started as a group.
I’ve never heard of the song they are covering tonight and I’ve never heard of the band, either. Apparently Sweet Female Attitude are a UK garage duo and this song is their one and only hit. It made it to #2 in the UK singles chart in April 2000.
It’s a standard Rak-Su performance with beatboxing, singing and rapping. They sound really, really good tonight. Are they even live? Towards the end a big crowd joins them on stage.
Louis says they are exciting every week. He praises their vocals and energy. He didn’t like the song choice. Sharon says the enthusiastic response from the audience says it all. She also thinks their original songs are the best, but says it was a great performance. Nicole calls the performance vibrant, trippy and cool. Simon calls the performance original and says they are doing what they are passionate about. He calls Rak-Su a game changers, because they do their own thing every week.
Lloyd Macey – Don’t Let The Sun Go Down on Me (Elton John)
Louis says Lloyd woke up this morning sick and will be performing against his doctor’s wishes. He also went back home this week to South Wales. He started singing in the primary school.
The song was nicely rearranged for Lloyd. Nothing drastic, but nice. We can see and hear that he is REALLY struggling tonight. His voice sounds lower than usual. He gets a standing ovation from all 4 judges.
Simon calls the song choice ‘great’. He praises everything about the performance and calls him a fighter. Nicole says this is her favorite performance from Lloyd so far. Sharon calls the performance great and praises his vocal tone. Louis calls Lloyd ‘a brilliant artist’.
Kevin Davy White – Come Together (The Beatles)
He moved to London from Paris. He loves the British culture. He is bringing out his electric guitar again. As long as he doesn’t have a group of half naked dancers on stage (like Matt Cardle years ago), he will be fine.
Kevin is tonight performing on a big platform and with his electric guitar he looks like a real rockstar. I don’t understand why they put him on this big platform – it totally separates him from the backing band and the audience. Plus the light effects from the platform really aren’t easy on the eyes.
Louis says Kevin picked one of the best songs ever and wants him in the final. Sharon calls him a showman and says he loves how Kevin changes it up every week. Simon says the performance was like being at Kevin’s concert. Nicole says Kevin turned the studio into a stadium and says he belongs in the final. Kevin tells us his family came from France to watch the show live tonight.
The voting is now open and it’s going to last 15 minutes. Dermot recites the voting instructions. Recap.
No prizefight tonight. But, the final 6 will be going on the Arena tour.
We are back from the break and Dermot says there are only 2% between the bottom 2.
Dermot asks the judges who are their favorites apart from the acts from their own categories. They name Kevin, Rak-Su and Lloyd.
Next, X Factor UK season 9 winner James Arthur is performing his new single ‘Naked’. It’s the lead single from his third studio album. James Arthur is the miracle of all these singing shows – a winner who had a complete meltdown and lost his record deal, but managed to make a comeback and get his record deal back with the label that dropped him just a few years earlier. Nicole Scherzinger joins James and Dermot on stage after the performance and says James Arthur sold 8 million records worldwide.
https://youtu.be/mYSaA9HJK_o
The voting is now over. Results after the break.
It’s time for the results. Judges bring their acts on stage.
Safe:
Grace Davies
Kevin Davy White
Rak-Su
Lloyd Macey
The Cutkelvins
Going home:
Matt Linnen
Not surprising, it was between him and The Cutkelvins, I believe.
Tomorrow, TOP 5 will be performing again and 2 acts will be leaving. Ed Sheeran will be tomorrow night’s musical guest.
