Louis asked Michelle whether she thinks she's good enough to win the show, Michelle replies "Definitely, I reckon I am or else I wouldn't come back and waste your time".

She sings well and has clearly improved a lot since her X Factor 1 audition when she famously sobbed her heart out after Simon and Louis wouldn't put her through.

Vocal coach Yvie is impressed and enthuses to Louis "She had passion, she gave all... she took risks, you know, they didn't always work but she took the risks because she knew she had to just give everything she had, and I like that."

Easygoing Shayne says he's happy he's made it this far but he'll "be gutted" if he doesn't get through. He does a great job on stage and must be feeling hopeful.

Before getting up to sing 16-year-old Trevor Hodgson ponders on the significance of the moment,

"Waiting the whole day for it, and now that it's here you can't quite believe it... that you're stood outside the doorway where your life could basically change...so... it's mad!"

The situation may be mad, but his singing in anything but. He impresses yet again with a beautifully controlled vocal.

Little livewire James Bellamy looked unusually worried before receiving Louis' verdict yesterday. "I'm really ecstatic that I got through to today, it's such a good feeling" beams James, that happy grin filling up his face again.

Watching him sing the Jackson 5 song he looks like he could easily have been one of the band. Louis isn't totally bowled over though, and remarks to his team "We have Trevor and we have James, both of them are very similar. Trevor can deliver on the Saturday night... I'll be worried about James!"

Nicholas, 17, is somewhat fortunate to be in this group because "End Of The Road" is the song he impressed the panel with at his first audition. Before singing he says that he's feeling focussed, "I'm just saying to myself 'this is what you have to do, go in there and just do it'" His vocal is still a little rough around the edges but there's a sincerity about his delivery which is really appealing.

16-year-old Alexandra is feeling positive before singing "If I get picked this is going to change my life, obviously. I just want to do it and show him that I'm young and I've got what it takes."

She takes her confidence with her onto the stage and delivers a powerful vocal.

End Of The Road does cause problems for a few boot campers though. Some of them we can't recognise due to lack of coverage on earlier shows, however Daniel Bywater stands out with his striking David Beckham-esque look. Unfortunately Daniel puts one in his own net this time when he gets forgets the lyric.

Richard Peachey has been singing in Welsh clubs since he was 12, but yesterday he froze after messing the first couple of lines of his Bee Gees number .

Louis somehow seems to know that Richard was up late last night. Richard tells Louis he was up because "I know I made such a big mistake yesterday, you know I wanted to try and prove that I'm not useless".

However tonight's screening of The Xtra Factor programme suggests he may have stayed up late for a bit of canoodling (use your imagination!) with a Boot Camper of the opposite sex! Whatever the reason, his late night doesn't help him at all and for the second time in a row he loses the lyric at the beginning of the song.

The 17-year-old's disappointment is obvious...
"Sorry... am I allowed to walk. I'm totally lost now. I really am."
Louis tells him "the problem is, we've given you so many chances".
"I know, I'm sorry" replies Richard with head bowed.

He is convinced he's blown his moment to shine and is a bit tearful later, as he explains "the shock of it for me is it's like somebody who runs marathons getting up and not being able to walk you know. Nobody here can try any harder than what I have. Nobody at all. (Points to his eyes) Sorry."

It's hard not to feel for him, even if it looks as though he hasn't helped himself. At just 17 it's a hard lesson to take, but at least he's got youth on his side. Hopefully he'll come next year a bit stronger and a bit wiser!

Earlier this year Philip, who is from Larne in Northern Ireland, was the overall winner of the Elvis competition on UTV's "The Kelly Show". He sounds very comfortable singing this number which Elvis helped turn into a classic.

Daniel believes he was born to stand out. It's going to be hard to stand out vocally today though, with the standard so high in Louis' final 21. We are shown a snippet of Daniel closing out his number. It sounds good and Daniel is looking pretty emotional, like he's given it everything he's got.

Chenai is also feeling emotional, even before she sings. It seems that ever since she was so messily rejected at last year's Boot Camp she's been totally focussed on making amends this time around...

"You've got to work towards it... everything you do. It's all about The X Factor... Hopefully I'll get my break."

But still she wonders... "what happens if my break never happens?"

Up onstage Chenai uses her emotional state to positive effect; it's another impressive vocal.

Faye Sawyer calls it an excellent performance, although puzzlingly vocal coach Yvie complains that Chenai "didn't communicate".

Louis calls the boot campers up on stage one by one to hear their fate. The verdicts are screened with Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up" playing in the background.
(Golly! What a coincidence! Louis' band Westlife are releasing 'You Raise Me Up' as a single later this month!!)

But just before all their hope drains away, they each hear the magic words "You are in my final 7" and either jump for joy or cry with joy.

It's an emotional time for contestants, judges and let's not forget we 'the viewers' alike.

Louis' talented final 7 look like this...