Lionel Ritchie is guest mentor on tonight’s X Factor show, which has a Motown theme. All of the acts will be singing songs from the Motown era including Ritchie’s own songs and the likes of Marvin Gaye, the Supremes, etc.

Like the new stage set. It seems longer than previous years – probably so that the losers can be whisked off on the final night while the winner gets the limelight!

Robert Allen – All Night Long

First up in this section was Sharon Osbourne’s act Robert Allen, singing Lionel Ritchie’s All Night Long. Decked out in a silver two-piece suit and purple shirt, Robert looked fantastic, but he found it difficult to stick to his key. He broke from the stage at one point and walked around the audience which seemed to boost his confidence quite a bit, ending on a high.

The performance drew praise from all the judges. Sharon said “You did me proud.” while Simon commented that “I don’t know why, but I don’t remember you from the auditions…..That was absolutely fantastic.” In his short interview with Kate Thornton, he was obviously overcome with emotion.

My verdict: the nerves were obvious at the beginning, but he put on a solid show. Shows promise.

Eton Road – My Girl

Eton Road may have drawn the short straw with The Temptations’ My Girl. Poor song choice to start with. The camp one kicked things off wearing a bizarre low-cut top (what was that about?). Wick haircuts all round and bad suits. Louis Walsh at his worst!

Speaking of Walsh, he gushed at the band being a modern boy band. Simon voiced my thoughts completely when he commented that he didn’t like the boy band dancing and all that stuff. He quipped that they shouldn’t pay much attention to Louis Walsh “because he’s 65 years old!”

My verdict: Louis did a ‘job’ on them and made them a bland boy band, instead of taking risks with their image. Singing was bleh – didn’t do much for me!