Lucie Jones Sings My Funny Valentine on The X Factor

Lucie Jones gave one of her best performances so far on last night's X Factor with a sultry, smoking rendition of Rogers & Hart's classic jazz standard "My Funny Valentine".

On a night where the standard of most of the contestants was high, Lucie's performance was definitely up there with the best of them.

Wearing a long red dress and looking incredible (like a 50's femme fatale), Lucie sang the song with a maturity way beyond her eighteen years.

Which is why it was incredible to hear Simon Cowell's negative comments about Lucie's rendition of the classic.

"You sang it like an actress", he said disdainfully. Well, first of all, what's wrong with singing like an actress? Some actresses have been fantastic singers, and for a show tune like this one, surely you need to be both actress and singer?

I usually agree with Cowell's comments, but in dismissing Lucie like this, he was way off the mark. Watching the video again now I still get a shiver, particularly when Lucie hits and holds the high note towards the end of the song.

Louis Walsh for once hit the nail on the head when he said that there were no tricks, there was no dancing, it was just Lucie's voice and a great arrangement. And in Cheryl's words, it was "stunning".

Despite Cowell's misanthropy, this performance should definitely see Lucie Jones through to the next round. Still a strong contender to win the X Factor in my book.

Lucie Jones Sings Whitney Houston on the X Factor

Lucie Jones opened tonight's round of the X Factor (the second live show in the series) with an upbeat performance of Whitney Houston's "How Will I Know".

Lucie was obviously totally in awe of Whitney when she met her during rehearsals, as he said to Dermot O'Leary following her performance, it was amazing for her to meet her idol.

Lucie's performance of How Will I Know was (in my opinion) OK but not particularly fantastic. She seemed to be enjoying herself, which is a good thing, but her voice just didn't have the strength or the range that is needed for any Whitney Song.

Still, the judges were all fairly positive, although Cheryl Cole said that she still felt there was something that wasn't quite connecting. Simon Cowell seemed impressed, surprisingly.

Lucie Jones will probably be safe on this week's X Factor public vote as she seems to be a very popular contestant.

Lucie Jones Through to Next Round of X Factor

Earlier tonight, Lucie Jones sailed through to the next round of the X Factor on the public vote. So we'll be seeing Lucie again next week with the other 10 acts who also got through.

Lucie Jones – X Factor Live Show 1

A lot of expectation was resting on Lucie Jones for her first live performance on the X Factor last night. The bookies' favorite to win the competition going into the live finals, Lucie was under pressure to put on a big vocal performance.

So did she pull it off?

Choosing to sing "Footprints in the Sand" by 2007 X Factor winner Leona Lewis, Lucie was taking a big risk as she would be putting herself up for comparison with the show's most successful singer to date.

It was a good performance for the most part, but not really confident enough to make it a great performance. As X Factor judge Simon Cowell quite rightly said afterwards, Lucie struggled to hit the big, high notes towards the end of the song. It's not that she can't reach them, I'm sure she can, she just didn't really go for it.

The other judges all thought she was great though and the crowd liked her.

This was only the first of the final shows and it's unlikely Lucie Jones will be voted out in the first round. But she will need to up her game a bit and show more versatility and confidence if she wants to win the X Factor competition.

Will Lucie Jones Win the X Factor?

Will Lucie Jones win the X Factor this year? Well, according to the bookies, she's the favourite. They currently have her odds-on at 11/4 to win the competition.

Lucie Jones is an 18 year-old student from a small village called Penmaes, near Cardiff in Wales. She has just finished her A levels, works part-time in a bar and, in true Welsh tradition, is blessed with a beautiful singing voice.

First Audition

When she introduced herself to the judges at her X Factor audition and said she would be singing Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You", Simon Cowell looked concerned and asked her if she was sure she wanted to do that. It is after all a very big song that has been butchered by so many wannabe singers over the years.

But when Lucy started singing, both the judges and the audience knew immediately that she was something special. At the end of her performance, all four judges were smiling and the audience was on its feet.

Judges Comments

Louis Walsh told Lucie that she was born to sing and said that everything would change for her from this day on.

From Simon: "this is why we come to Wales". He acknowledged the fact that Lucie had picked one of the hardest songs in the world to song, but had sung it her own way and sung it really well.

Cheryl Cole, who said she loved the vulnerability of Lucie's performance, even congratulated her backstage afterwards.

Lucie is not a stranger to the stage, having performed in a lot of musical theatre in and around Cardiff. She also sings with a band at weddings and other functions.

One of her stated ambitions in life is to sing at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

Lucie Jones Naked

Now that she's through to the live finals, she may be regretting a promise she made to sing naked on the live shows if she got through to the final twelve. I reckon if she keeps that promise, you won't get to see Lucie Jones nude - she'll sing the Louise Redknapp's song "Naked" instead!

So, will Lucie Jones win the X Factor? Right now, she's the odds-on favourite and the one to beat.