By Jody Thompson
Last updated at 6:40 PM on 3rd December 2010
- Cheryl can't save Cher this week as judges lose power in semi-final over who stays or goes
- The 17-year-old must rely on public to put her through to final
She's going into the X Factor semi-final in the strongest position with two acts left - but Cheryl Cole ensured she was fighting fit for tomorrow's show by wrapping up in a bobble hat today to ward off any chills.
The judge and mentor still has Cher Lloyd and Rebecca Ferguson in the competition - whereas the rest of the judges have just one act each.
But her 17-year-old charge Cher is convinced she'll be booted out of the show this weekend and fail to reach the final - and there will be nothing Cheryl can do to save her mini-me.
Cosy: Cheryl Cole looked snug in her outsize bobble hat as she arrives at the X Factor studios for rehearsals today
Strides ahead: Cheryl is the only judge and mentor with two acts left as the show reaches the semi-final stage tomorrow
Cher has confessed she's 'scared to death' she won't get though tomorrow's semi after death threats were sent to her home in Malvern, Worcestershire and she was booed on Sunday's results show.
It has also emerged that the fragile singer let rip at show staff after at a one-off X Factor gig in London on Wednesday.
A source told The Sun that Cher was seen 'exchanging cross words' with crew who'd turned up early to the gig to support her in the face of an apparent public backlash.
The insider said: 'Cher flipped out. She looked like she was going to burst into tears...It's getting too much.
Top knot: Cher Lloyd arrived at the X Factor studios today for rehearsals with her hair bundled on top of her head in a bun
'She can't bear the thought that her dream could be over in a few days.'
Cher said of the moment she was booed last week: 'I was mortified...I was scared to death. To have people boo was disgusting. I'm only young and sometimes I panic. That doesn't mean I'm a diva.'
As for the death threats, she refused to take them seriously, saying, 'Nobody's going to kill me, I'm protected by tough people.'
Scared: Cher is said to be convinced she's getting booted off the show this weekend
Nerves: Cher drags on a cigarette yesterday after it emerged that her mentor Cheryl can't save her this weekend as the result is purely down to the public vote
Cher said of the moment she was booed last week: 'I was mortified...I was scared to death/ To have people boo was disgusting. I'm only young and sometimes I panic. That doesn't mean I'm a diva.'
As for the death threats, she refused to take them seriously, saying, 'Nobody's going to kill me, I'm protected by tough people.'
It's also been revealed by Louis Walsh that only one person will be eliminated at the weekend, leaving four acts to battle it out in the final showdown.
He's also confirmed that the four judges will no longer have voting powers to say who gets the boot and who goes through to the final.
The semi-final results on Sunday will be a 'sudden death' purely down to the public vote - with Cher battling it out with the remaining acts, Mary Byrne, Matt Cardle, Rebecca and One Direction.
Strong contender: Rebecca Ferguson waves to the cameras as she arrives for rehearsals today
Meanwhile, it's been confirmed that tomorrow night's show will have two themes - 'club classics' and each contestant's personal choice.
Apparently, Mary will be singing the Gloria Gaynor version of Never Can Say Goodbye and the Gladys Knight version of The Way We Were.
Rebecca hasn't named her tunes, but said of her personal choice: 'It's just one of those songs that everyone knows and loves. I'm excited and I'm proud.'
One Direction meanwhile have teased: 'It's going to be the biggest moment of ours on the show.'
Sunday's results show meanwhile will feature special guest performances from the stars of Glee, Alexandra Burke and The Black Eyed Peas.
Hopeful: Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh, who both only have one act left, are hoping to make it to the final with Matt Cardle and Mary Byrne respectively
On Wednesday, Matt Cardle sparked fears for his health ahead of the semi-finals when he pulled out of a secret official gig.
The 27-year-old said: 'Everything has been feeling poorly recently. I was recording earlier and it was getting very painful, so I can't sing tonight.
'I just have to hope it gets better for the weekend. There is not much else I can do.'
However, he was pictured yesterday at Three Mills Studios in London where he was filming a music video - thought to be the one he will release in the event he wins.
All the semi-finalists have recorded one in time for the final after this weekend's shows.
Zain Malik, 17, from One Direction, also pulled out of performing on Wednesday and did not even attend, citing 'personal family reasons'.
Meanwhile, it's been confirmed that the final will take place over two days - Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th of December - but producers are so far refusing to say how the format will work, or name the eagerly-anticipated big name special guests.
A spokeswoman for the show told Mail Online: 'They're big, big names, that's all we can say right now.'
The show's a stinking fraud anyway - only preteens and people who believe WWF Wrestling is real will watch it, thinking it's a talent show and it isn't rigged any number of ways.
The British politicians and regulators are too busy drinking tea and hiding, so they can't investigate the growing number of complaints from people who see the show for what it really is - a hideous blight on the British music scene. If they weren't such cowards, they'd look into the propriety and the legality of constant rule changes, changes in the order judges are asked for their vote, no third party handling of phone calls, no third party counting of the public votes, and no accounting of the millions the public have had ripped off of them.
Maybe the British will, but the Americans won't tolerate this.
- Hari Seldon, Streeling University, Trantor, 04/12/2010 08:11
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