Reinventing herself as a glamorous diva, Monica Michael sang a saucy rendition of Crazy in Love during Saturday night’s live X Factor show.
The Greek Cypriot youth worker won the backing of the crowd with the Beyoncé track which reminded me of Bey’s remix of the song for 50 Shades of Grey, but failed to impress Simon Cowell who said everything he had loved about her – gritty and authentic – had been stripped away.
“Monica, honest to God, seriously, I hope the public forget this tonight, because everything which I loved about you which was kind of real and gritty and authentic and just you… they turned you into this.
“You can’t allow this to happen. You’ve got to always remain you, and what you did last week was incredible. That was reinvention. This was just an okay version of a Beyoncé song.”
The head judge even laid into Monica’s mentor Rita Ora, accusing her of putting more effort into the other Girls in her category.
Rita defended her act, pointing out that taking on a Beyoncé song is “kind of hardcore.”
“The fact that you held yourself with elegance and poise… Congratulations. You should be proud of that.”
Taking to her social media sites, Monica wrote, “Thank you for the love and support. Simon was right about the dress and heels. I’m a hip hop soulful girl. I know who I am. It’s now down to the public to keep me in. Every single vote counts and I know I can rely on you guys to get me through. “You get 5 free votes if you download the xfactor app. The numbers have changed this week so dial carefully if you are voting by phone. Love you guys thank you once again xx.”
The relief on Monica’s face was plain to see as she was saved in Sunday night’s show, without the need for the sing off.
Be sure to watch Monica’s next performance on the X Factor this Saturday evening at 8pm, on ITV1. And don’t forget to support our girl by picking up the phone and voting for her!!!