Last night was by far the most dramatic night of The X Factor NZ since the series began.
L.O.V.E were in the bottom two for the second week running and were joined this week by Taye Williams.
- VIDEO: Episode 12 On Demand
Williams was first up to sing for his survival, performing Cee Lo Green's 'Forget You'. He had the crowd dancing and cheering louder than at any other point during the night.
Stan Walker said he couldn't believe Williams was in the bottom two.
"He is THE man," Walker gushed.
L.O.V.E were introduced as "the cool chicks from Hamilton" by their mentor Mel Blatt.
Their performance of Savage's 'Swing' was well below anything we had seen from them before. Their energy levels were low, there was very little interaction and at one point they amazingly forgot the words!
But despite all of that, things didn't go the way the audience expected.
With Blatt and Walker both voting to save their own, the decision came down to Daniel Bedingfield and Ruby Frost.
Frost was quick to put her support behind Williams, but in a shock decision, Bedingfield voted to send him home.
For the first time X Factor went to deadlock and the results from public voting became the deciding factor. It was this that saw Williams eliminated.
The audience was in disbelief and Walker was fuming. He took to Bedingfield in anger, as did the crowd and viewers at home. Bedingfield instantly became the most vilified man in the country.
Moorhouse were in tears, as was a shocked Walker. I think everyone on that stage knew the wrong act was going home.
In Walker's words, "New Zealand got it wrong."
Williams was "gutted" too, and had a message for those unhappy with how the night had panned out.
"New Zealand needs to remember not to let the talent in this competition go to waste," he said. "Vote with your ears, not with your eyes."
I could talk about the other amazing parts of last night's show. The return of Drew Neemia and Smashproof, and the poptastic performance from Annabel Fay – but there is only one real talking point out of last night and that is the exit of Taye Williams.
If an act can survive after forgetting their words, it proves that anything can happen.
3 News
source: newshub archive
