The X-Factor - The Final

There has been a big hype between the channels to see who will be watching each show, and who will win each show. Journey South kicked off the show with Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me which they belted out, and Andy (the quietest brother) gave one of his most confident performances, and both did very well and it was loved by the audience and the judges. Andy went next with When A Man Loves A Woman which was done more upbeat and different than the original, again he wowed the audience and the judges, leaving a lot for Shayne to live up to. He did the Daniel Bedingfield song If You're Not the One and did a professional and slick job and was predictably raved about.

For the next round they all did Christmas songs and I was highly sceptical as it was all looking at getting a bit too cheesy, even for me. Journey South did Merry Christmas (War is Over) complete with kiddie chorus. Andy then did O Holy Night and is voice is most suitable for a classic, choral carol, though may not be commercially appealing. Shayne then did When A Child Is Born which was also excellent. I was almost disappointed that they all did 'sensible' Christmas songs.

They then brought on the auditonees who didn't make it, that were amongst the most memorable, to sing their unique version of My Way.

For their final number, Journey South reprised Let it Be from last week. Personally I don't think it suits their rock style and their jeans and t-shirt persona, but they scrub up well in their suits and it demonstrates their versatility. Andy then did Me and Mrs Jones which was definitely one of my favourite performances of his from the past weeks. He did it well again and showed that he did deserve to be in the final on the strength of his phenomenal vocals, even though his versatility and ability to perform contemporary numbers is questionable. Shayne then did Somewhere Over the Rainbow which was a risk to do, but he did an upbeat, jazz version and managed to demonstrate is superb vocal range. Simon said it was "not the best performance of the night, but...the best performance of the entire series". It is absolutely impossible to tell who will win the show as all three acts have done well and have a broad appeal amongst typical X Factor viewers, though Shayne is the well deserved favourite.

At the beginning of the second show it was announced that Journey South were third place and leaving the competition.

The remaining singers then performed the single That's My Goal which will be released by the winning act next week. Andy went first and did as well as he could do with such a bland ballad, Shayne probably pulled it off marginally better, as the song was more suited to his voice.

It was no real surprise (though it was dragged out as long as possible) that Shayne was the winner.