The bigger the better!24 Oct 09

This week’s show was all about the swing factor. Our contestants donned their glad rags and embraced their inner crooner as they were joined by a full on 35 piece orchestra to belt out some classic big band tunes. So who soared like Sinatra and whose jazz hands left a lot to be desired?

First to the stage was Olly Murs joined by two demure dancers. Clad in his now trademark tight trousers, braces and bowtie the Essex charmer wiggled his way through Bewitched without a hint of nerves and opened the show with the skill of a rat pack professional. And it certainly seemed like the slick songster had cast a spell on our panel.

“You’ve got to have style, you’ve got to have charisma and you’ve got to have confidence. You score on all three.” gushed Simon after the other judges had sung his praises.

A tough act to follow and it was young Lloyd Daniels who had this tricky task. Apparently much more comfortable with the song selection this week, the heartthrob sang his way through Sinatra’s Fly Me to the Moon with a new air of confidence. Not satisfied with just flaunting his vocal talents the 16-year-old went on to promote his athletic abilities with a full on back flip, which received mixed reviews from the panel.

“When you’re good you’re very good,” conceded Simon before adding: “ Having said that, doing a back flip when singing Fly Me to the Moon is like eating a sandwich whilst you’re swimming.” Indeed!

Another Sinatra number followed with a sleek looking Miss Frank reproducing their first ever performance together with the classic That’s Life. The girls added their unique edge to the song with some soulful singing and a rap from Graziella, who focused her attention on a certain media mogul who needed some convincing after his comments last week… and it seemed to do the trick!

“Back in the race!” Was Danni’s first response, followed by a complete turnaround from the hard to please Simon: “This is the first time in the live show when I’ve started to believe in you as a group. You look fantastic… I can now see some chemistry.”

Next up and back to prove herself after another week in the bottom two was a glamorous looking Rachel Adedeji with the upbeat number Proud Mary. Surrounded by a bevy of dances the Londoner gave it some Tina Turner attitude and certainly proved that she has what it takes to get a crowd and the judges going: “Give Rachel a chance … she deserve to be on that stage!” cried Louis.

From one crowd pleaser to another, Jamie Archer was the next act to be sandwiched between the big band and, with his usual swagger, the Afro sporting songster belted out Angel of Harlem with gusto. But it wasn’t enough to win Louis over: “That was like a karaoke version of a U2 song."

The first part of the show had blasted off with a bang… Could the remaining acts prove their performance is big enough for big band week?