‘The X Factor’ final review: Ben Haenow, Fleur East, Andrea Faustini fight for votes

Tonight, the moment of truth began for the final contestants on this season of “The X Factor.” Ben Haenow, Fleur East, and Andrea Faustini took the stage, but not before a heck of a lot of filler. It was over 20 minutes from the start of the show to when we had the first real performance of substance for the voting public.

Before we get going on the performances, a quick update: Mel B is not at the show tonight, as she is ill. Tulisa is filling in for her as a judge.

Ben Haenow, “Demons” – A very good start of the show. This is a good song, and while we would have liked to have seen more of a band up on the stage, there is no debating from us that Ben really came out and performed this well.

Andrea Faustini, “Feeling Good” – Not exactly the most original song choice in the whole world, was it? Still, we don’t think that this takes completely away from it being a very good vocal. There’s no doubt in our mind that Andrea has a career ahead of him, but it may not be as the winner of this show.

Fleur East, “Can’t Hold Us” – This is why at this point, Fleur deserves to win this competition. She is energetic, can sing, can rap, and can dance! Basically, she can do anything and everything on the stage.

Ben and Ed Sheeran, “Thinking Out Loud” – Ed’s explanation for coming on was pretty hilarious: Ben’s performance got him back up to #1 earlier this season, so he thought it was appropriate to come back and sing it with him.

Andrea and Ella Henderson, “Ghost” – This was pretty awesome. For one, Andrea got to sing an upbeat song for the change, and he did it with someone who is very familiar with this competition. Just fun from start to finish.

Fleur and Labrinth, “Beneath Your Beautiful” – Labrinth is such a fun guy, it’s pretty easy to be thrilled with him coming back on the show for this performance. This was the final performace of the night, and we’re going to shift now to the results.

What did you think about the performances tonight? Share with a comment, and head over here to get some more news related to this show! Also, sign up to get some further TV updates on all we cover courtesy of our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ITV.)