Dermot returns to present the first of the live finals and reveals there is a twist this year. Each of the judges has to select one act they have rejected at the judges houses stage of the competition and give them a second change as the final twelve becomes the final sixteen. The finalists perform live for the first time. After each act has performed the judges give their verdicts on what they have heard. Most of the acts manage to give a good first performance. At the end of the show the phone lines are opened for tonight's public vote and Dermot announces that two acts will be eliminated from the competition tomorrow.
Each X Factor judge is in charge of a different section of singers on the show. The judges do not know what section of the competition they will be in charge of until the audition process has finished. Each judge then has to pick four acts to take forward to the live section of the show. Each week the two acts with the lowest amount of public votes have to sing again in a final showdown after which the judges decide who should be eliminated. Once there are only five acts left remaining it becomes left to the public to decide who should go.