Soul-man Steve Brookstein's chosen songs for tonight are...

1.	(I Get) The Sweetest Feeling	[Jackie Wilson]
2.	If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time	[R Kelly]

Singing in front of a baying X Factor audience should be childs-play for Steve because during the week he was able to entertain the most demanding of audiences... the children of Bentworth Primary School!

Shouldn't that sentence have been the other way around? Oh well it all made for an amusing intro!

What didn't make for a good intro tonight though was the deafening noise of the audience. It was so loud Steve couldn't hear the music!

This can't have been the sweetest feeling for him up there on stage. It is more of a 'rabbit in the headlights' moment for Steve who signals what the problem is by pointing to his ear. A split second later it seems his hearing is restored and he is able to jump into his first number.

The song is Jackie Wilson's 'The Sweetest Feeling' and it has to be said that Steve makes an amazing recovery and sings it really well.

As mentor Simon Cowell introduces Steve's second song he reminds Kate Thronton that "it's not about me, it's about the contestants". However it is Simon who chose this song, R Kelly's "If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time".

Steve sings it competently on a vocal and technical level, but there's an intimacy about the original that Steve fails to capture completely. It is a nice performance, but not his best. It turns out that Steve wasn't entirely comfortable with this choice, but Simon "...all about the artist" Cowell persuaded him to stick with it!

The crowd seem to love it, but most of them love Steve anyway. Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh haven't always loved Steve. Do they tonight?

Kate: Well done Steve. Okay Steve, it's time for the judges verdict. Louis?

Louis: I thought Steve did a very good job tonight, and I was really glad to see him doing an uptempo song. I really enjoyed the Jackie Wilson song. I enjoyed that more than your second song, but I think you did a really good job Steve.

Steve: Thank you. (cheers)

Kate: Sharon?

Sharon: Yes, 'Sweetest Feeling', great song... really, really good song. You sang it really well. And... and I have to agree with Louis, out of the two I preferred that as a song, but your performances were really spot on. (cheers)

Steve: (nods and mouths a 'thank you')

Kate: Thank you very much Sharon. Simon?

Simon: I... you know I let Steve down a bit tonight because I pushed him on the second song and he felt uncomfortable with it, erm, and I'm not making excuses because you have to be responsible as well, but erm...

Kate: No, it was big of you to admit that!

Simon: I did, (to Steve)  but I mean you look... you sang it well but erm, I shouldn't have put you in this situation....

Steve: No, that's alright.

Simon: ...tonight. But you sang it great!

Steve: Thank you.

Simon: You sang it great. (cheers)

Kate: It sounded good in here! (more cheers) Now Steve, this is an important night. It's a very important vote.

Steve: Mmmm.

Kate: Do you see yourself getting through the night and being here next Saturday for the semi-finals?

Steve: (cheers) It's gonna be tough now, it's gonna be tough, it's gonna be tough. I erm...

Kate: The lines are open.

Steve: Yeah!

Kate: Anything you want to say to the voting public?

Steve: I...I kind of think that a lot of people have been voting for me and I've done quite well up until now. But now I... it wasn't my best performance, for 'me', you know... because I wanna do my best, because people don't like... they don't have to vote, they don't have to spend that money on me and they have done... and I don't want to let them down... and I say that and err...

Kate: (interrupts) Well let's see how the voting goes Steve.

Steve: (responds to someone shouting in the crowd with a thumbs up) Thank you!

Kate: So for now let's say a big thank you to Simon and to Steve!