Chapter 31 - The Live Shows (Part 3)

Finn woke up late the next day and went downstairs for breakfast. Dalton was already there, and Finn walked over to him. Ella and Gracie also joined them. Now that they were the only soloists of their gender left, they mainly spent time together in their free time. After breakfast, Dalton and Finn went to Louis' recording studio and Ella and Gracie went to Nicole's. Finn and Dalton spent the whole day deciding on what song they wanted to perform. It was starting to get nerve-wracking. Every time they chose a song, they knew that it could cause the end of their run for the X Factor title. Finn finally decided on a song by one of the most famous British artists of all time. Fortunately, he had drawn first position again. Ella was second, Dalton was sixth and Gracie was last. Finn walked onto the stage, his guitar in hand, and prepared to start his song.

*Sings Hometown Glory by Adele - James Arthur X Factor Version*

Finn was happy with his overall performance. He had sang his absolute heart out, and the judges knew that. They gave him a standing ovation for his performance. Now was the time for feedback.

"Finn! It's great to have somebody like you on the X Factor because you bring great musicality to the show. You bring such professionalism to every performance, and I think you're a great interpreter of every song. I know all of the audience love you. You haven't been in the bottom 2 yet, and I hope it stays that way." Nicole said.

Tulisa was next. "Finn, guitar in hand, putting your own special spin on things, I've never seen anyone like you before. I remember watching this show two years ago, before I became a judge, and wishing and hoping that an act as talented and incredible as you came onto the show. But you know, now the time is right, and here you are! I'm so happy to be on the panel while you're here."

"Finn, Adele is such an amazing, brilliant artist and nobody should ever cover her songs. Except for you. That was just brilliant. And it's very interesting. We're halfway through the competition and were a work in progress, except for you. You're ready right now to record. You're ready to step on stage right now and perform for a sold-out concert. Your talent is absolutely incredible. Well done. Louis, over to you."

"Like Simon said, you took the legendary Adele and you swagged it, and you freaked it. You are the future of music and are why we are here, my boy. You take real singer-songwriters, real melodies, real passion, and you combine them with your own interpretation. You are world-class."

"Thank you," Finn said and he stepped off stage. Now to watch the other performances, he thought. When he walked backstage, he was incredibly surprised at what he saw. Ella was sitting on a stool, taking to one of the producers, tears running down her face. Finn walked over to them.

"Is everything OK?" he asked.

"No," the producer responded. "Ella's song had an instrumental accompaniment and her accompanist was just in a car accident. His arm is broken so he can't back her up. Ella has to either try singing acapella or drop out of the competition."

"Well, hold on," Finn replied. "I remember listening to you practise in the hotel last night. The guy was meant to play guitar, right?"

"Yeah, why?" Ella asked.

"I can step in for him if you want." Ella's eyes widened.

"You would do that? I mean, we're meant to be competing! You could sabotage my performance."

"First of all, I'm not the kind of person who would do that. Second of all, it wouldn't be a fair fight if you didn't do all you could to make it to the next round. Third, and most importantly, I'm your only option."

Ella nodded. "OK, thank you so much. Do you remember the chords of the song?"

"Yup, I got you." Finn replied and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. She smiled faintly back at him. Suddenly, her name was announced so both of them walked on stage. Two stools were already laid out for them. The judges were extremely surprised to see Finn, but didn't say anything as they knew what the situation was. Finn began to pluck his guitar and Ella began singing. All she could do was sing her hardest and hope for the best.

*Sings Written in the Stars by Tinie Tempah - Cover by Ella Henderson*

At the end of the song, the crowd had gone wild. The song sounded so much better with Finn as accompanist than when the X Factor man had. Ella smiled wide at the end of the song. She received glowing feedback from the judges and they both walked offstage together. As soon as they had gotten backstage, Ella grabbed Finn and pulled him into a long hug.

"Finn, thank you so much. You were better than any accompanist I've ever had. You should be my accompanist for every performance."

"Well, slow down. We are still competing. I might be a nice guy, but I'm not Mother Teresa."

She laughed and hugged him again. She was practically bursting with joy. In a matter of hours, she had gone from the favourite to win, to the favourite to lose, back to the favourite to win. It had been a rollercoaster of a day. Dalton and Gracie walked up to them.

"What happened, you guys? Why was Finn on the stage twice?"

They quickly recounted the story, and then Dalton and Gracie had to go to the green room. Finn and Ella took their seats to watch the rest of the performances. Dalton and Gracie did a pretty good job. It was admittedly less good than Ella and Finn's but still a great job. By the end of the weekend, all four of them were safe from elimination. It was one of the groups that were eliminated, and they decided to go out for dinner that night to celebrate that they were all still in the competition. They went to a 24/7 diner. They ordered their food and then Gracie and Ella went to the ladies' room. Once they were inside, Gracie turned to her friend.

"You have a crush on Finn, don't you?"

"I don't! I've only known him for a few weeks. You have a crush on him!" she shouted defensively.

"You just proved my point."

"OK, fine. He's such a nice, funny, interesting guy and he's amazing at music. And he's reeeeeally hot. But I'm not going to do anything about it."

"Why?" Gracie asked, confused.

"He's clearly a mess about his last relationship. He was dating her for 3 years while he was in the Navy. She cheated on him while he was away. But he's clearly not over her. The best I could do for both of us is to let him either get back together with her, or wait until he's truly over her."

"If you say so. But, just saying, you two would be great for each other. You haven't dated someone in ages. And Finn's a great guy. He's 23 (just like you), you've got loads of similar interests. If he does become truly over his ex, you should go for it." Gracie and Ella were childhood friends so knew a lot about each other.

"I think I will, thanks Gracie," Ella smiled at her friend. They both left the bathroom and went back to their table, where the boys were waiting. They received the next theme: Guilty Pleasures. Finn already knew exactly what song he wanted to sing. It didn't involve any accompanists: just him and his guitar. It was a pretty safe choice, but he wanted to try and make it his own. He spent the next week working himself to the bone for the performance. Unfortunately, Gracie caught a bad strain of the flu so had to drop out of the competition, leaving just 6 competitors in competition - soon to be 5 at the end of the round. Because he was more than halfway through the competition, he was given another 4 tickets for the competition. Kurt, Santana, Carole and Burt were using the first four, Taylor got her own free ticket as a celebrity, so he gave the 4 tickets to Mr. and Mrs. Shuester, Dirty and Clint. They all came out to New York to support him. They had been watching every one of his performances online, and were excited to see him perform live. Finn was starting to get used to the format of the competition. Perform, Theme reveal, Practise, Perform was pretty much it. He walked onto the stage, less nervous than he had been all competition. He began to sing.

*Sings Can't Take My Eyes Off You by Fankie Valli - James Arthur X Factor Version*

By the end of the song, the audience were clapping along and cheering. The judges were even getting into it. Now it was time for the feedback.

"Finn! Every week you come out, and you pick a brilliant song and you do it the Finn Hudson way. The song was a bit safe, but I love what you did with it. The audience reaction says it all. You're definitely going to get a record deal. You're a ready-made artist so no matter what happens in the competition, I guarantee that you will get a record deal because you deserve it." The audience roared with approval.

"What's amazing about you, Finn, is that even though it was Guilty Pleasures week, that was one of your coolest, credible performances. You've done it again. You do it every week. You walk in. Impress the hell out of all of us. And walk out."

"Finn, I probably shouldn't say this as the mentor for the U28s, but I want you to win this competition, I really do. I just think you're brilliant. I really do. I love your music, I love your interpretation, I love the way you're embarrassed at all the praise your getting right now." Finn didn't realise that his face was blushing red. "I love everything about you."

"Thank you," Finn responded.

"Finn, as cheesy as it is man, when you sing, we can't take our eyes off of you. You're mesmerising. This week, you did a real live acoustic version. You stripped everything away. It was just you and your guitar. You are so inspiring."

The four judges had spoken, so Finn walked off stage. He was the final performer, so the audience was given 30 minutes to vote. After the time was up, the 6 competitors stood in the middle of the stage, with their mentors. The host was given the final results by one of the producers and his eyes widened for a second. That's when Finn knew something was wrong.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," the host said. "As you know, four out of the six competitors will be safe from elimination. The other two, however, will go to a final showdown. They'll each sing one song, and it will be up to the judges to vote on who advances. If there isn't a majority vote, and it is 2-2, then the singer with the higher number of public votes from before will advance. Anyways, without further ado, your two Final Showdown competitors are… Finn Hudson and Ella Henderson!"

The audience gasped. The two strongest competitors were going head to head. Their mentors both looked furious. However, there was nothing they could do. Finn and Ella were giving 15 minutes to prepare, before they had to sing. Ella sang a flawless version of If You're Not the One. Finn started to get nervous. He was up against the favourite to win the competition. He had a 50 percent chance of being eliminated. Even though there was a good chance that he might get a recording contract even if he didn't win the X Factor, he still really wanted to win. After all, the prize was a million dollars and a contract with Sony Music - the biggest record label in the world. After Ella had finished singing, he clapped politely and walked on stage.

*Sings Fallin by Alicia Keys - James Arthur X Factor Cover*

Yet again, his cover was completely stripped and was just him playing guitar as an accompanist. He honestly had no idea if he was going to advance or not. It would completely be up to the judges. After he finished singing, Ella walked on stage alongside him and they gave each other a quick hug. They both looked equally worried. They stood hand-in-hand on center stage, waiting for the judges' deliberation. Tulisa went first.

"Can I just say, this is exactly what I was talking about when I said that people are voting for the wrong people. These two singers in front of me should be finalists. This is ridiculous! This is absolutely ridiculous!" The crowd roared their approval. "And it's because people at home are not voting for the person they want to save. They are assuming that Finn and Ella are going to be safe from elimination, but they are not. My decision is obvious. The person I am sending home is Finn, even though I love you to death, I have to back my own mentee. And I should not have had to make that decision tonight, at all. This is appalling!" She started shouting. She, along with the other judges and the audience, were extremely annoyed.

Finn could hear his family and friends booing and part of the audience joined in. Finn couldn't smile though. He was too nervous. There was a large chance that he would be going home. He needed a miracle.

"Louis, over to you next," the host said.

"No matter what happens today, it will be a great tragedy as you two are some of the most talented people to ever grace this stage. You both are meant for the stars, but I have to choose someone, and I have to stick with my boy. The person I'm sending home is Ella."

Finn let out a small sigh of relief, but he noticed Ella getting more nervous. She gripped his hand tighter, her nails almost puncturing his skin.

"One apiece. Nicole, coming to you next." the host said, feeling the tension in both of the competitors.

"I'm in shock. I thought these two were sure finalists. Seeing the two mentors so upset, they are broken-hearted. And they have the right to be. Cause they don't want to lose anyone. But we have to send somebody home, it's going to be so hard. But I guess, the act I'm sending home is Finn."

Finn's heart dropped. One more vote for him and he would be out. He had gotten so close, yet so far away. He needed another vote, and more public votes if he wanted to qualify for the next round. It was highly unlikely.

"And finally, Simon. Here's the situation. If you opt to send Finn home, he goes home. But if you opt to send Ella home, we go to a deadlock. The name of the act you're sending home please."

"Well, it's serious. People at home, you should be voting for the best singers every week. That's what this is, it's a singing competition. I always knew it was going to come to this. We've got to put the staging and entertainment behind us tonight, and just focus on the vocals. And these two have the best vocals I've heard in a long time. But I guess, if I had to send someone home, it would be Ella. Sorry honey."

Finn couldn't believe it. It was a deadlock. They were neck and neck. It was all down to the public. But he was still really nervous. His heart pounded like a bass drum in his chest.

"So," the host said. "We're at a deadlock, so we will revert to the earlier public vote. Whichever of you have more votes, will advance to the next round."

A producer walked on stage and gave the host an envelope. The host read it and nodded.

"Ella, Finn, who will be advancing to the next round? And who will be leaving tonight? The name of the act going home is…"

The arena went completely silent. You could hear a pin drop in the arena. Someone shouted "I LOVE YOU FINN!" but everyone ignored them.

"Ella. Congratulations, Finn. You advance to round 8."

Finn was overwhelmed. He had actually made it to the next round. But Ella didn't. She gave him a long hug. She had started to cry quietly. Finn gave Louis a hug as well, as they walked off-stage. Dalton walked over and gave them both a hug. Ella had started to cry a bit more now. She had travelled all the way from England for the competition, and now she had been eliminated. Finn was furious. He didn't want to be too overconfident, but him and Ella had done a much better job than most of the other acts. But he couldn't dwell on it for too long. His family and friends all came backstage and gave him a hug. They were all as nervous as him to hear the result. Thankfully, Ella was not a sore loser. She congratulated him and Dalton for making it through and told him that she was staying until after the final. Finn had to already start thinking about the next round. For the new few rounds of the show, all of the performers had to perform two songs, rather than one. The theme for the first song was ABBA, and the theme for the second was Motown. Finn could already tell that the difficulty level had been raised considerably. All of the finalists in the competition - both eliminated and still safe - had to perform a group number before the start of each round. It was a lot of work to do in one week. There was clearly no more free time in Finn's schedule.

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