BIG BAND WEEK

Welcoming back Louis to the judges table following the tragic death of Boyzone singer, Stephen Gately, tonight’s episode was one of the most anticipated nights of the X Factor – Big Band Night.

Michael Buble was mentoring the contestants, with Olly up first to sing Howard Greenfield and Jack Keller’s “Bewitched”.  Big band week suited Olly well as he sang with a cheeky glint in his eye, crooning the audience wth two female dancers.

It was also a week where a number of sources made references tothe Olly Murs buldge during his performace … anyway, make of it what you will!  Perhaps the producers will let Olly off with a pair of looser fitting trousers at some point, but until then, we have a sneaking suspicion that the team at X Factor will keep him wrapped up tight!

Back to the performance.  It was a confident performace from Olly and he was firmly in his comfort zone giving one of his best performances so far on the finals.  Louis liked that he didn’t pick something predictable and Danni said it was “one classy big band performance”.  Rounding things off, Simon commented that, “to make Big Band work, you’ve got to have style, charisma and confidence and you scored on all three, congratulations”.

Next contestant to leave – Miss Frank

DIVA WEEK

This week’s theme was ‘Diva Week’.  In to mentor the contestants with a Masterclass was none other than Whitney Houston and legendary music mogul, Clive Davis.

Singing Ike and Tina Turner’s “Fool in Love”, Olly smashed it up and received a standing ovation for his performance in which he performed the trademark ‘Olly Shuffle’!

Some of the judges comments:

Cheryl “I have to say Olly, that was the best performance you’ve done … that shouldn’t have worked, but you absolutely smashed it”

Simon – “This was the person we fell in love with … and this is why all the contestants want to be mentored by me”

ROBBIE WEEK

This week the X Factor finalists were mentored by none other that Mr Robbie Williams!

Olly performed one of Rob’s greatest hits, “She’s the one”.  In rehearsals, Olly and Robbie hit it off well with Robbie saying he’d like to be Olly’s mate.

The judges gave Olly some great critiques with Simon commenting that Olly reminded him of Robbie, and that he has a humility and charm about him.

Having successfully made it through the X Factor Bootcamp stage, Olly went on to see if he could cut it and make the X Factor finals as one of Simon’s lucky trio.

Feeling the pressure, an understandably nervous Olly performed his version of Leon Russell’s “A Song For You”.

With Simon and Sinitta judging who to take forward, Sinitta thought it was a hard song to sing, but you couldn’t help notice that she had a soft spot for Olly.  Simon went on to say, “I really like him, but it just shows you what the nerves can do to somebody”.

Olly makes it through the Bootcamp stage!

Along with the other successful candidates, Olly joins Simon Cowell’s group in the over 25′s.  Joining Olly are Jamie “Afro” Archer, Treyc Cohen, Danyl Johnson, Nicole Lawrence and former Popstars the Rivals winner and ex One True Voice singer, Daniel Pearce.

The other judges and groups:

Cheryl Cole - The Boys
Ethan Boroian, Lloyd Daniels, Daniel Fox, Duane Lamonte, Rikki Loney and Joe McElderry

Danni Minogue – The Girls
Rachel Adedeji, Nicole Jackson, Lucie Jones, Stacey McClean, Despina Pilavitaz and Stacey Solomon

Louis Walsh – The Groups
De Tour, John and Edward, Kandy Rain, Miss Frank, Project A and Tru Colourz

At bootcamp, Olly plumped for Elton John’s “Your Song”.

Showing a little more restraint than on his blistering audition, Olly still managed to put in a good performance which the audience loved.  The judges were slightly more critical this time around with Simon commenting, “You know what’s frustrating, he was one of those guys who could have taken a risk, and instead he took the safe option.”

Hoping he’d done enough, Olly could only wait to see what would happen.

25 year old Olly from Witham, Essex was the final act up for the night on episode 4 of the X Factor audition shows.  The Essex geezer who worked in an office advising people how to save money on their energy bills is just like any other bloke in his 20’s.  He likes going out and having a good time, socialising with mates, playing football … and singing.

Olly’s stage presence was clear from the outset, with his cheeky persona and confidence casting a smile across the faces of Cheryl and Danni before he even opened his mouth!  When Louis asked him what his dream was, Olly’s response to the X Factor judges was a simple “to be a pop star, be famous, and sell records and be an international superstar.”

Once the bassline of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” kicked in and Olly started singing, one by one the judges faces lit up, with Cheryl saying “Wow” the minute he started dropping some of his trademark moves.  Olly had everyone in the audience cheering and standing on their feet clapping as he tore up the place with his soulful rendition.

There could only be one decision …

Cheryl – “You’ve got some soul in your voice haven’t ya Olly” … “a natural born entertainer”
Simon – “Olly I’ve got to tell you, I really really like you, er and you know what, you’re very, very, very cool” … “This is the easiest yes I’ve ever given”
Danni – “You have the whole package” … “Hear everyone in the room, 2000 yes’s!”
Louis – “You’ve got 4 yes’s”

Nice one Olly!