An unwell Kelly Rowland sends Sophie home after her two hopefuls went head-to-head

'Misha B wants this more': An unwell Kelly Rowland sends Sophie home after her two hopefuls went head-to-head

By Kirsty Mccormack

Last updated at 12:22 AM on 31st October 2011


She was described as being as 'dull as dishwater' last night and it seems that the public agreed as Sophie Habibis became the latest contestant to be voted off the X Factor tonight.

The 19-year-old former barmaid found herself up against Misha B, also 19, in the sing off but it was a no brainer as all of the judges chose to send Sophie home.

Even Kelly Rowland - who has remained in the U.S. due to being ill - was present to cast her vote.

Going home: Sophie Habibis managed to keep it together as she discovered she was the next contestant to be voted off of the X Factor tonight

Speaking over the telephone, the Destiny's Child singer certainly sounded as if she was suffering from a throat infection, but didn't let that cloud her vision.

'This is so hard because I know how bad you both want this,' she told the female hopefuls.



'But I know that one of you wants it more and I have to be completely honest. The act that I'm sending home is Sophie.'

Gutted: The 19-year-old vowed to continue 'working hard' despite no longer being in the competition

Kelly's vote confirmed Sophie's departure as both Louis Walsh and Tulisa Contostavlos chose the brunette to go before her, and when asked who he would have chosen, Gary Barlow simply answered: 'Sophie.'

At a time when they needed her most, Misha B and Sophie were left to battle it out on the stage - and they both put on a meaningful performance.

Singing Shelter, Sophie certainly gave it her all as she realised it could be her last performance of the competition.

Singing her heart out: Sophie gave it her best shot as she sang one last time but it just wasn't enough to get her votes

Strong contender: Misha B sang her own rendition of the Kings Of Leon hit Use Somebody

But following her was string singer Misha B who sang the Kings Of Leon hit, Use Somebody, in her own unique way.

The feisty hopeful got quite emotional towards the end of her performance and began crying as her and Sophie stood by host Dermot O'Leary to hear the verdict.

Viewers were probably expecting N-Dubz star Tulisa to choose Misha B to go home following their public confrontation where the singer accused the hopeful of being a bully.

Awaiting the results: The pair looked nervous as they stood in front of the panel and listened to Kelly Rowland on the phone

Finding it tough: Tulisa Contostavlos couldn't make up her mind on who to send home

But regardless of this and her 'connection' with Sophie, the 23-year-old reluctantly announced her decision.

And when Kelly confirmed the news, Misha B immediately hugged her rival as Kelly praised her.

'I just want to tell Sophie that she is remarkable and she has such an incredible voice,' she said.

Shell shocked: Sophie looked surprisingly calm as fellow contestant Misha B hugged her

'She just has to develop as an artist and I cant wait to see what the future holds for her.'

The Londoner look shell-shocked as the news still hadn't sunk in but thanked everyone for the opportunity and vowed to carry on.

'I'm going to continue working hard and prove why I shouldn't have left this competition tonight,' she said.

Earlier on in the night the remaining contestants looked extremely nervous as they awaited to hear the results of the public vote.

Kitty Brucknell was ecstatic as she realised she was the first act going through to next week's show, as were boy band The Risk who lifted their mentor, Tulisa, up in the air after hearing the announcement, and girl band, Little Mix.

We're through: Girl band Little Mix looked ecstatic to be through to the next round following their spooky performance on last night's show

Throughout the results Sophie looked worried as Kelly's contestants remained on stage with Frankie until the last minute.

Janet Devlin was the first one to breathe a sigh of relief as her name was read out, and when Frankie went through, it was Kelly's two girls who were left to endure the sing off.

But before the tense atmosphere of the showdown, the hopefuls treated the audience to a performance of Cee Lo Green's hit, Bright Lights Bigger City.

Worried: Bad boy Frankie Cocozza thought his luck had ran out when he was left standing on the stage with his mentor Gary Barlow right till the end

Marcus began the energetic performance and slowly the rest of the contestants sang their parts and were mainly dressed in black, leather and PVC.

Also performing on the live show was former X Factor star, Cher Lloyd, who performed her new single, With Your Love.

She's back: Former X Factor contestant Cher Lloyd took to the stage to sing her new single With Your Love

Wearing an odd multi-coloured outfit that looked like it would fit right in at the circus, the 18-year-old looked uneasy as she took to the stage with her female dancers.

Perhaps feeling nervous at being back on the X Factor stage for the first time since last year, the singer's performance started off shaky and afterwards Cher told Dermot: 'I cant remember the last time I had a good nights sleep but I've worked hard and I'm hoping it's paid off.'

Following in her footsteps and seeming a lot more confident was U.S. star Nicole Scherzinger who wowed the audience in a much more low-key performance.

Singing from experience: Nicole Scherzinger looked stunning in a black lace dress as she sung on tonight's show

The 33-year-old wore an off-the shoulder black lace corset dress, as she sang her heart out following her recent break-up from Lewis Hamilton.

After her performance she told Dermot: 'I'm so happy to be back and I'm going to be back here in February for my tour so please come out and see me.'

X Factor favourite: The 33-year old appeared as guest judge on the show last year and also has a permanent place on the U.S. panel

Surprisingly the only judge on the panel who predicted Sophie's sad fate tonight was Irishman, Louis.

After being asked by Dermot who he thought was dream and a nightmare, he refused to answer with just one name and said: 'Kitty and Marcus, but Sophie and Frankie were a nightmare.'

Guest judge, Alexandra Burke agreed saying that the big-haired bad boy 'just didn't do it for me' but stated that Misha B was a dream on the stage.

Also predicting tonight's shock turn was Gary who told Dermot that Kelly's absence had had an effect on the young girls.

'Kelly's acts had a tough week this week and it showed on that stage,' he said.

But outspoken judge Tulisa revealed that no one was a nightmare for her on last night's show but she admitted that she would like to see Craig Colton do 'something different.'

The Playing With Fire singer was obviously still in the Halloween spirit on tonight's show wearing an extremely long black and white dress that looked out of place compared to her usual style.

Whereas X Factor winner, Alexandra, showed off her legs in a black and green figure-hugging frock.


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