'That was the performance of the series!': James Arthur wows the judges on X Factor semi-finals with first ballad
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It was their last chance to show the public why they deserve to be in the final of X Factor 2012, so naturally Saturday night's live show was a nerve-wracking experience for all the contestants.
But despite being visibly emotional, James Arthur managed to close the semi-finals on a high with his rendition of The Power Of Love.
The 24-year-old singer chose the bold song, his first ballad of the series, in his last bid to convince the voting audience he should be in the finals, and he certainly won over the judges.
Visibly nervous: The singer got emotional when asked by Dermot how much he wanted to win the competition
Transcending: James Arthur's last performance thrilled the studio audience as well as the judges
James closed the show with his song and was clearly the studio audience's favourite as he received a standing ovation and a chorus of cheers following his heartfelt performance.
The judges were impressed as well, with Gary Barlow even calling it 'the performance of the series'.
'You are a great singer, but it's much more that that. You make people emote, you bring out emotions,' the head judge praised.
'I know all over the country people will have stopped what they were doing to watch that performance.'
'Amazing': Gary told James he hopes to see him in the final after his two successful performances during the semi-finals
'The performance of the series': Louis, Tulisa, Gary and Nicole were all impressed with James's rendition of The Power Of Love
Tulisa agreed with Gary and went on to say she was proud to be a part of the show and to have watched him perform.
'I feel so proud to be a part of this show while you are on it,' she said. 'This is everything I wanted to see when I was watching at home a few years ago.'
And James's mentor Nicole was desperate for the audience to vote for the singer after his showstopping performance.
'This is why I came to the UK,' the former Pussycat Doll said. 'Great Britain come on, if he isn't in the final then what am I doing here?'
She continued: 'That was genius, epic, bellisimo, transcending ...'
Just James: The star opted to focus on his vocals and left his guitar backstage for his two performances on Saturday
Sibling love: James showed a softer side to him when he dedicated his first song to his siblings
James himself got clearly emotional after belting out the love song that has made its way back into the charts thanks to the John Lewis Christmas ad.
Looking tense as he heard the judges praises, he told Dermot afterwards: 'I've never wanted anything more in my life.'
'Thank you judges, you've hit me right here,' he said, while clutching his chest.
Earlier in the evening, the blonde haired heartthrob belted out One Love by U2 in another emotional ode to his siblings.
Sibling love: James showed a softer side to him when he dedicated his first song to his siblings
The first song was also met with a loud applause and praise from the judges.
And James opened up about his struggles during a chat with Nicole as well, saying that being on the X Factor helped him feel happy again.
'This really has saved my life. I was so unhappy before, just busking on the street and recording songs nobody would ever hear.
'Now I feel like I'm on the brink of an amazing opportunity.'
'You've hit me right here': James was touched by the judges high praise
Meanwhile, Jahmene Douglas also had a great night as he received high praise for both of his performances.
The 21-year-old former Asda worker dedicated his first performance to his late brother, Daniel, who committed suicide.
The singer told Nicole he tried to sing Whitney Houston's classic I Look To You during his brother's funeral, but only got half-way before breaking down.
He told his mentor that singing the entire song during the X Factor semi-final would be a victory, after which an emotional Nicole broke down into tears.
Survivor: Jahmene tried to control his emotions as he tackled I Look To You in honour of his late brother
'Jahmazing!': The judges were impressed with both of Jahmene's performances
And the star managed to impress the other judges as well.
Gary said: 'Never mind coming out on stage ever Saturday in front of millions of viewers, but when you do a song like that with so much meaning, it must have taken a tremendous amount of courage Congratulations.'
During his second song, At Last by Etta James, Jahmene took the audience and the judges back to his first audition, when he also belted out the hit.
Louis called the performance: 'Jahmazing', after which Gary joked: 'Louis, did you really just say that? Ok, that was Jahmazing!'
Her boy: Jahmene's mentor had a hard time keeping her emotions under control and broke down as she listened to the song
Hugging it out: Before hitting the stage, Nicole gives 'her little angel' a pep talk
And Christopher Maloney at first seemed to get a U-turn from the judges after singing Josh Groban's famous ballad You Raise Me Up, which he dedicated to his Nan.
After getting criticised in previous shows, all four judges now were unanimous in their praise, with Tulisa commenting on his vocal strength.
Louis said he could hear the West End calling him after belting out the famously high-noted song.
'You're in the semi-final, you've done enough. You're going to bring out an album,' the Irishman said.
'When I close my eyes I hear you on the West End. I can imagine Andrew Lloyd Webber calling you. You're going to change your life and your nan's life as well.'
U-turn? Christopher Maloney received good criticism from the judges following his rendition of the famous Josh Groban hit
He raised them up: The Scouse singer was happy when he finally got some words of support from the judges
However, the praise didn't last long, as Christopher's second song of the evening wasn't as well received.
Singing Michael Buble's I Just Haven't Met You Yet, the Scouse singer wanted to prove he could do current and uptempo numbers as well, but the judges didn't agree.
Blaming Gary for giving him a wrong song to sing, Nicole said: 'It is the semi-finals and I don't think that was your strongest performance. It's not your fault, you did the best job you could've done with that song.'
He's not Michael Buble: Christopher's second song didn't wow as much as the first
Andrew Lloyd Webber is calling: Louis was adamant the singer would be more at home on the West End
Jamie Hamblett, George Shelley, Josh Cuthbert and Jaymi Hensley of Union J also had a great week as they tackled Labrinth hit Beneath Your Beautiful before taking on ballad Already There by Lonestar.
While their first song was praised by all four mentors, the second fell a little flat according to Tulisa and Gary.
Gary commented: 'It was a nice performance, good vocals, but it's extremely safe. It was a repeat from the first performance. I worry that you're not going to get enough votes, and we can't save you anymore.'
Safe bet: The visibly nervous lads of Union J were told by Tulisa their second song was a bit too safe for her liking
'Boys, I loved it!': Luckily, Nicole was a fan of the lads and even praised Louis for his good work with the band
However, Nicole was in Union J's corner as she exclaimed: 'Boys, I loved it! When I first saw ya'll to now you've grown so much.'
Turning to Louis to compliment him, she said in her usual quirky way: I take my lashes off to you. You're the bomdigity mentor, you really are the fifth member of Union J.'
Louis added: 'They're the only act in the competition that create hysteria everywhere they go. JLS started here, One Direction started here. You could be the next big boy band!'
'The next big boyband': Unsurprisingly, Louis Walsh was a fan of the band's performance and predicted a great future for them
Two ballads: Union J sang Beneath Your Beautiful and Already There during the semi-finals
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2241623/X-Factor-2012-James-Arthur-wows-judges-X-Factor-semi-finals.html#ixzz2Dsfdj5P9
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