Tuesday 1 October 2013

X Factor hopefuls jet to Antigua, St Tropez, New York and LA as they battle it out at the nail-biting Judges' Houses stage

The final hurdle! X Factor hopefuls jet to Antigua, St Tropez, New York and LA as they battle it out at the nail-biting Judges' Houses stage

PUBLISHED: 16:29, 1 October 2013 | UPDATED: 16:59, 1 October 2013

It's the final nail-biting stage of The X Factor, which could see contestants' dreams come true or left in tatters.

And this weekend's shows will see the four panellists - Nicole Scherzinger, Gary Barlow, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh - jet off to a series of exotic locations with their respective groups in tow.

Not only will the aspiring pop icons have the pleasure of being flown to a swanky destination for their final audition, but the stakes will be even higher with their individual mentors joined by a host of famous faces.

Luxurious destination: Nicole Scherzinger's Girls have potentially the most glamorous location of the four Judges' Houses, with the remaining six female acts being whisked off to Antigua to battle it out

R&B royalty: The Girls will all battle it out not only for the former Pussycat Dolls singer, but also R&B legend, Mary J Blige

Nicole's Girls have potentially the most glamorous location of the four, with the remaining six female acts being whisked off to the Caribbean island of Antigua to battle it out.

Abi Alton, Tamera Foster, Hannah Barrett, Jade Richards, Relley Clarke and Melanie McCabe will all battle it out not only for the former Pussycat Dolls singer, but also R&B legend, Mary J Blige.

The star will help Nicole deliberate on her final decision and whittle the six contestants down to a final three, who will make it through to the Live Finals stage of the show.

One shot: Sharon Osbourne's Over 25s category, (L-R) Zoe Devlin, Joseph Whelan, Lorna Simpson, Shelley Smith and Sam Bailey, will jet off to the music manager's home in Los Angeles

Seeing Angels? The group will be put through their paces by Robbie Williams, who will assist Sharon in finding three contestants to send through to the final 12 of this year's competition

Changing sides: Robbie has helped Gary Barlow at this stage in previous years, but has switched allegiances this time around to help Sharon

Sharon Osbourne's six remaining acts in her Over 25s category will also nip across the Atlantic for the Judges' Houses stage, but this time to the music manager's home in Los Angeles.

Andrea Magee, Shelley Smith, Sam Bailey, Zoe Devlin, Joseph Whelan and Lorna Simpson will be put through their paces by Robbie Williams, who will assist Sharon in finding three contestants to send through to the final 12 of this year's competition.

Back across the east coast of America, Gary Barlow and the Groups will be heading off to explore the sights and sounds of New York City.

Big city life! Gary Barlow and the Groups - Rough Copy, Kingsland Road, Code 4, New Girl Band, Brick City and Xyra - will be heading off to explore the sights and sounds of New York City

In the hotseat! Gary will be assisted by X Factor alumni and former Xtra Factor host, Olly Murs, in New York City

Taking a break: The groups appeared to be waiting anxiously as they waited for Gary and Olly to deliver their verdicts

Seeing the sights: Brick City seemed to take some time out from their auditions for a spot of sight-seeing

Here come the boys! Kingsland looked like their were having fun as they hopped on board the Staten Island Ferry

Rough Copy, Kingsland Road, Code 4, New Girl Band, Brick City and Xyra will perform in front of the Take That heartthrob and X Factor alumni Olly Murs in the hope of landing a place in the final stage of the ITV1 talent show.

But unfortunately, two of the groups were forced to leave members behind at home, with Rough Copy forced to compete without Kazeem Ajobe due to visa issues.

Elsewhere, Code 4's Mark Wyman has a police record, meaning he is unable to travel to America, and had no choice but to leave fellow band members Jordan Lee, Ryan Nembhard and Jermaine Donegal to continue as a trio.

Soaking up the sun: Ryan Mathie, Sam Callahan, Giles Potter, Nicholas McDonald, Paul Akister and Luke Friend will battle it out in the Boys' category in St Tropez

Four heads are better than one: Not content with just having one celebrity pal help him out, Louis roped in Sinitta - the best friend of show boss Simon Cowell - as well as Westlife hunk Shane Filan and All Saints star Nicole Appleton to aide him

A spokesperson for The X Factor told the Daily Mirror: 'Unfortunately due to problems in getting a visa Mark was unable to travel to Judges' Houses in America, meaning that he ended up having to leave the band to carry on in the competition as a three piece.'

Meanwhile, Louis Walsh's Boys category will no doubt have been thrilled that the music manager decided to ditch his usual Irish retreat in favour of a swanky pad in the South of France for this year's competition.

Luke Friend, Giles Potter, Nicholas McDonald, Paul Akister, Ryan Mathie and Sam Callahan were whisked off to St Tropez to perform in front of not just Louis, but a panel of four.

Caribbean getaway: The girls certainly seemed thrilled at their swanky Judges' Houses destination

Fight for survival: Hannah Barrett and Jade Richards battled it out in the hope of landing a place in the final six

Fight for survival: Hannah Barrett and Jade Richards battled it out in the hope of landing a place in the final three

Talented: Tamera Foster has been praised for her abilities throughout the competition, but has struggled with her nerves

Here come the girls! Relley Clarke and Abi Alton both reached the nail-biting penultimate stage of the competition

One last chance: Melanie McCabe has tried out for the competition on numerous other occasions, and admitted this is her last hope for The X Factor

Picturesque: Abi got behind a keyboard as she performed against the stunning Caribbean backdrop

Not content with just having one celebrity pal help him out, Louis roped in Sinitta - the best friend of show boss Simon Cowell - as well as Westlife hunk Shane Filan and All Saints star Nicole Appleton to aide him in deliberating over his final three.

This year's X Factor saw the Boot Camp stage feature a cruel new twist.

For the first time in the show's history, the singers had to battle it out on stage in a ‘musical chairs’ style section, which saw performers face the threat of being ousted by a better singer or group.

Jumping for joy! Sharon's groups looked utterly ecstatic to be in Los Angeles at the music manager's lavish Beverly Hills home

Unbelievable: The Over 25s looked positively aghast as they struggled to settle into their new surroundings

Giving their all: Zoe Devlin and Shelley Smith have both caught the judges' eyes throughout the competition

Musically minded: Andrea Magee brought her flute along in a bid to impress Sharon and Robbie

Doting dad: Joseph Whelan is trying for a second shot of fame after failing to make it through on last year's series

Moment to shine: Prison officer and mum-of-two Sam Bailey received a standing ovation during her second audition

Working it: Lorna Simpson seemed to be putting her heart and soul into her performance for Sharon and Robbie

Angry fans took to Twitter to slam the new format, comparing the duelling round to The Hunger Games, a novel and film which televises 12 children battling to the death for viewers' entertainment.

Fan Kenny Doughty wrote on Twitter: 'X Factor is turning into Hunger Games. It's like pulling wings off flies. Cruel Process. Poor kids.'

@elizabethhmae wrote: 'X factor makes me so MAD. Next we'll genuinely be having the Hunger Games for real, people seem to do anything for money and entertainment.'

And Josh Lawlor added: 'Is this x factor or the hunger games bc i really cant tell????'

The Big Apple! Brick City seemed to be having fun exploring Times Square as they soaked up the sights and sounds of New York City

Unusual venue: Kingsland performed for Gary and Olly on a rooftop as they attempted to win a place in the Live Finals of the competition

Energetic trio! Code 4 put on an energetic display, despite having to lose a member of the group because he was unable to obtain a visa to travel to America

A dream come true? Rough Copy put their all into their performance as they attempted to win over the judges

Girl power! Miss Dynamix already looked as if they were styled like a bona fide girlband as they took to the roof for their make or break performance

Moment to shine: Xyra appeared to be enjoying the New York weather as they took a breather before their performance

Concrete jungle: Brick City looked professional as they performed in front of Olly and Gary

Gem Sutherland also voiced her concerns on the show, writing: 'X factor is cruel. It's like hunger games. Giving someone a seat then taking it away. How far will X factor go to get ratings.'

Despite viewers' anger, the ITV show still managed to attract an average audience of 9.5 million viewers over the weekend, with a peak of 10.9 million on Sunday evening.

The X Factor returns to screens on Saturday evening when contestants will battle it out at the Judges' Houses stage of the competition.

Makes a change from Dublin! The boys were no doubt thrilled that Louis switched his usual Judges' Houses destination of Ireland for sunny St Tropez in the South of France