I was shocked to see tonight’s X Factor elimination show come down to Hayley Teal and Luke and Joel. Hayley wasn’t a great surprise after turning in a lacklustre performance of a middle-of-the-road song, but I thought Luke and Joel were last night’s stand out.
I really didn’t want to see either of them go; Luke and Joel have been growing on me, and Hayley has always been one of my favourites. But ultimately someone had to leave us, and that someone was Hayley.
I truly feel Hayley was a victim of Natalie’s mentorship, which is sad. Her most disappointing performances came when she was forced into unnatural choreography with mainstream pop songs containing artificial lyrics. When she had something great, she shone. I hope we see her finding some of those great songs now that she’s out of the reality TV show machine.