Liverpudlian Christopher Maloney is through to the next live show of the X Factor as he still manages to divide the judges’ opinions and he broke down after revealing his hurt at press criticism.
Maloney, who has suffered a wave of negative media coverage about his ‘diva’ reputation and accusations that he was faking his early auditions nerves, admitted that he has found it difficult to cope.
Saturday’s theme was ‘Number Ones’ which saw Maloney perform Eric Carmen’s ‘All By Myself’.
Despite being branded as “cheesy” in previous weeks, the judges were quick to praise the 34-year-old’s performance. Full of feeling, the rendition saw Maloney get emotional as he shed tears at the end of the song.
As Nicole Scherzinger noticed Maloney was visibly upset she asked: “Why are you crying? Is it because you felt like you put everything into that song?”
When the Liverpudlian agreed she added: “Well, that’s what it’s all about. You did an amazing job.”
Louis Walsh also commended his effort by saying: “It was a really big song to pick and you hit all the high notes, absolutely.” However, he quickly highlighted how he thinks that he is not an act that will “sell records internationally”.
Tulisa continued the congratulatory comments when it came to his performance, saying: “For the first time ever I loved the song choice and loved your vocals. It was a brilliant performance. The only issue, for me, is that it’s five weeks too late.”
In defence of his act, mentor Gary Barlow said: “You know that you are delivering to your public that are voting for you every week. Other than anything else, you sing it incredibly well every week, you are so consistent.”
Although Maloney was saved during the results show fellow Over 28s act Kye Sones lost out in the sing-off against Rylan Clark.