CHAPTER 128
After Finn's performance, there was a short break to give the contestants time to prepare for their mystery duets. Finn was singing with Buble, Ella was singing with Beyonce and Christopher was singing with Adam Lambert.
During the short break, they had the first guest performance of the final.
"Ladies and Gentlemen… welcome back to the X Factor. We are live and lines for the three finalists are open. One of them will become this year's champion. But one will be leaving the competition tonight and it's your choice who. All right, this has been some series. We've seen, in no particular order, controversy, conflict, walk outs, shocks, tears, lap dances and Rylan. But right now, we're going to hear a woman who has been through very similar to these competitors, winning American Idol and then became a world-wide success story. It's the brilliant Ms. Kelly Clarkson.
Grew up in a small town
And when the rain would fall down
I'd just stare out my window
Dreaming of what could be
And if I'd end up happy
I would pray (I would pray)
Trying hard to reach out
But when I tried to speak out
Felt like no one could hear me
Wanted to belong here
But something felt so wrong here
So I prayed I could break away
I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly
I'll do what it takes 'til I touch the sky
And I'll make a wish
Take a chance
Make a change
And breakaway
Out of the darkness and into the sun
But I won't forget all the ones that I love
I'll take a risk
Take a chance
Make a change
And breakaway
Wanna feel the warm breeze
Sleep under a palm tree
Feel the rush of the ocean
Get on board a fast train
Travel on a jet plane far away
And breakaway
I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly
I'll do what it takes 'til I touch the sky
And I'll make a wish
Take a chance
Make a change
And breakaway
Out of the darkness and into the sun
I won't forget all the ones that I love
I gotta take a risk
Take a chance
Make a change
And breakaway
Buildings with a hundred floors
Swinging 'round revolving doors
Maybe I don't know where they'll take me
But gotta keep moving on, moving on
Fly away, breakaway
I'll spread my wings
And I'll learn how to fly
Though it's not easy to tell you goodbye
I gotta take a risk
Take a chance
Make a change
And breakaway
Out of the darkness and into the sun
But I won't forget the place I come from
I gotta take a risk
Take a chance
Make a change
And breakaway, breakaway, breakaway
As she sang, a slideshow of clips and pictures of the 12 acts from the very beginning of the show up to that point played on the screen. It was bittersweet to watch as there were so many amazing memories up on the screen but it was sad to think that it was all going to end in roughly 24 hours. That's when Finn realised. Although the competition had been the most stressful experience of his life, damn it if it wasn't the best 10 weeks of his life!
"Ladies and Gentlemen… with Breakaway from her greatest hits album. The only and only Kelly Clarkson!"
Kelly Clarkson walked off stage and finally, it was time for the duets. Ella would be going first, Christopher second, and Finn closing out the show.
"Ladies and Gentlemen… welcome back to the X Factor! We are right down to the wire but it's not over yet. Who will get there? That's decided entirely by you. All right, here we go. The second half of the show begins. It's Finn vs Christopher vs Ella. First up is the only girl left in the competition. Ladies and Gentlemen… Ella Henderson and her celebrity duet partner, Beyonce!"
And I am telling you
I'm not going
You're the best man I'll ever know
There's no way I can ever go
No, no, there's no way
No, no, no, no way I'm living without you
I'm not living without you
I don't wanna be free
I'm staying
I'm staying
And you, and you
You're gonna love me
You're gonna love me
And I am telling you
I'm not going
Even though the rough times are showing
There's just no way, there's no way
We're part of the same place
We're part of the same time
We both share the same blood
We both have the same mind
And time and time, we've had so much to share and
No, no, no, no, no, no way
I'm not waking up tomorrow morning and finding that there's nobody there
Darling there's no way
No, no, no, no way I'm living without you
I'm not living without you
You see there's just no way, there's no way
Please don't go away from me
Stay with me stay with me
Stay, stay and hold me
Stay, stay and hold me
Please stay and hold me, Mr. Man,
Try it mister, try it mister
I know, I know, I know you can
Tear down the mountain
Yell, scream and shout you can say what you want
I'm not walking out
Stop all the rivers, push, strike and kill
I'm not gonna leave you
There's no way I will
And I am telling you
I'm not going
You're the best man I'll ever know
There's no way I could ever, ever go
No, no, no, there's no way
No, no, no, no way I'm living without you
Oh, I'm not living without you,
Not living without you
I don't wanna be free
I'm staying, I'm staying
And you, and you, and you
You're gonna love me
You're gonna love me, yes you are, yes you are
Love me, love me, love me, love
You're gonna love me
Wow! Jesus Christ that was amazing! In Finn's opinion, that was definitely her performance of the series and quite possibly, the performance of her lifetime.
"Wow, Ella, you've done it again. Both performances tonight and the whole crowd is with you. What was it like singing up there with Beyonce?" Dermott asked her.
"It was just incredible. It was absolutely amazing. I couldn't believe it when I heard that she volunteered to sing with me. This is just the highlight of the series for me." She replied.
"There's a long night ahead of us but if Ella's your X Factor winner, remember to vote for her. Ladies and Gentlemen… give it up for the stunning Ms. Ella Henderson!"
Ella walked off stage to the cheers and screams from the audience. At this point, Finn felt like she was a little bit ahead of him and he needed to absolutely nail his duet with Buble to level with her. However, it wasn't his time to perform: it was Chris's.
"Ladies and Gentlemen… next to duet is Christopher and a certain Mr. Adam Levine!" Dermott exclaimed.
Christopher was singing one of Gary's - his mentor's - songs: Rule the World by Take That.
Adam:
You light, the skies up above me
A star, so bright you blind me
Christopher:
Don't close your eyes
Both:
Don't fade away
Don't fade away
Yeah you and me we can ride on a star
If you stay with me girl, we can rule the world
Yeah you and me we can light up the sky
If you stay by my side, we can rule the world.
Adam:
All the stars are coming out tonight
They're lighting up the sky tonight
For you
For you
Christopher:
All the stars are coming out tonight
They're lighting up the sky tonight
For you
For you,
Both:
Yeah you and me we can ride on a star
If you stay with me girl, we can rule the world
Yeah you and me we can light up the sky
If you stay by my side, we can rule the world.
All the stars are coming out tonight
They're lighting up the sky tonight
For you
For you
All the stars are coming out tonight
They're lighting up the sky tonight
For you
For you
All the stars are coming out tonight
They're lighting up the sky tonight
For you
For you
All the stars are coming out tonight
They're lighting up the sky tonight
For you
For you
It was actually a really good performance by the two. Their harmonies were on point.
"Wow, Maloney, what was that like for you?" Dermott asked as he stood next to them.
"It was an honor." Christopher replied. "He's been my idol since I was really young. And to sing with him was absolutely incredible."
"Man, I'd love to sing with Adam Levine!" Dermott exclaimed. "That's like the best thing ever! All right, if you want Christopher to be the winner, remember to call in and vote for him. Ladies and Gentlemen… give it up for Christopher Maloney!"
Christopher walked off stage and it was finally time for Finn's performance.
"Ladies and Gentlemen… the final act for tonight is our hard up lad from Ohio. Give it up for Finn Hudson!"
Dressed in a very formal tuxedo like he was James Bond, Finn walked on stage and over to the stairs at the far side of the side. There was a blackout at this point so Finn could get into the position and once he was, a spotlight shone solely on him and illuminated him in the darkness. The crowd all screamed and cheered when they saw him. Finn took a deep breath and began singing the intro acapella.
Finn:
Birds flying high
You know how I feel
Sun in the sky
You know how I feel
Breeze driftin' on by
You know how I feel
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good
At this point, the lights in the arena came on and Finn walked down the stairs and into the center of the stage.
I'm feeling good
Fish in the sea
You know how I feel
River running free
You know how I feel
Blossom on a tree
You know how I feel
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good
"Ladies and Gentlemen… introducing the coolest, most chill guy I've ever met… Michael Buble!
Buble:
Dragonfly out in the sun
You know what I mean,
Don't you know?
Butterflies all havin' fun
You know what I mean
Sleep in peace when day is done
That's what I mean
And this old world
Is a new world
And a bold world
For me
For me
Both:
Stars when you shine
You know how I feel
Scent of the pine
You know how I feel
Oh freedom is mine
And I know how I feel
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good
I'm feeling good
I feel so good
I feel so good
"Finn Hudson!" Louis exclaimed. "Every week, you've brought something new to the competition. I love what you did with that song. You're a ready made artist. You're original, you're real, you're honest. And you've earned this. You're amazing!"
"Finn…" Tulisa said. "I know I've said it about a million times throughout the live shows about how you're an artist and how you take iconic songs and you make them your own. Only you can take classic, untouchable numbers and make them even better and you have done that again tonight. This is why you deserve to be in that final tomorrow. You are an artist."
"Finn, it's interesting right now because you'll go off, you'll get your label, you'll be developed. You don't need any of that. You're ready right now to get out there, record, play world tours and I can tell you right now, I'm ready to buy your album right away. You know, when I first saw what you were singing and who you were singing with, I was like really? It's so far from what you normally sing and it's an untouchable song, but you came out and you absolutely nailed it." Gary said.
"Finn…" Nicole said. "Watching you up there, I felt like I was seeing the future. Like next year, these kinds of arenas are where you're going to be performing at. I'm humbled and I feel so blessed to have been able to work with you and create songs with you and all I can say is that when you're inevitably up for those Grammys in a couple of years, remember where you started. Remember this competition and when you're singing career finally comes to a close or you are taking a hiatus, I would love nothing more than to see you be one of the 4 judges on the panel and work with the new, up and coming auditionees because honestly, working with you has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Thank you."
"Finn…" Dermott said. "Is this quite surreal for you? Coming from a small town in Ohio, standing here must be an incredible feeling, huh?"
"Yeah, very much so. It feels like that first week on the X Factor, you know? Performing in front of millions of people, it's not the norm to say the least. It's pretty crazy."
"It's good crazy though, right?"
"Absolutely it is. It's a dream. That's really the only way I can describe it."
"Good for you, man." Dermott said then turned to face the cameras. "If Finn Hudson is your X Factor winner, remember to call in and vote. All of our contestants are done performing for the night. You all have a little more time to vote before lines close as we have two guest performers up next, but be sure to vote quickly as the clock is ticking. Ladies and Gentlemen, give it up for Finn Hudson!"