X Factor to cull two contestants in double elimination

The X Factor finalists on stage with host Dominic Bowden as he announced tonight's double elimination.

Two X Factor contestants will be sent packing tonight as producers announced the first double elimination of the season.

The news came at the end of last night's live show, which saw the top 9 perform songs by Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift.

Finlay Robertson opened proceedings with Taylor Swift's mega-hit Shake It Off. Controversially, she chose not to sing the repeat refrain, which left some Twitter-critics unhappy.

What is this? You're not doing Shake It Off if you're not singing Hoo Hoo Hoooo bits. #xfactornz

— Nic Sampson (@NicSampson) April 12, 2015

But the judges were impressed by the performance, although Shelton Woolright questioned whether she had the stage presence to win the competition.

He also raised some pertinent questions following Joe Irvine's performance of Sheeran's Lego House, questioning whether fans were voting for Irvine for the right reasons. "Are they going to buy your albums?" he asked.

The previous week saw Sarah Spicer and Brendon Thomas and the Vibes in the bottom two, despite a dismal performance by Irvine.

This week was an improvement for Irvine but the question remains - at what point will the public's sympathy for Irvine wane enough to admit he's just not that good?

Last night's performances confirmed Nyssa and Stevie Tonks (known affectionately as Hat Beard) as the standout contestants and most likely to face off in the final.

#Hatbeard number 1, #Nyssa 2 and #BTandtheVibes 3. Bottom 2 #Joe & #SteveBroad #xfactornz

— Mama-Taz 👼😴👩🏽‍🏫 (@Tarryntino) April 12, 2015

So Hatbeard and Nyssa will be final two. Maybe I'll come back and watch then. #xfactornz

— Christian Rika ⚡ (@CrikaRika) April 6, 2015

If @stevietonks doesn't win #xfactornz I'll eat my hat and grow a beard!

— gimmy72 (@andreamarsden) April 12, 2015

Who will go home?

Things aren't looking good for Beau Monga, Lili Bayliss or Steve Broad. All three struggled with forgotten lyrics, bung notes or just lacklustre performances.

Lili has struggled throughout the competition and the public haven't warmed to her. Twice, she's been in the bottom two, before the judges have stepped in to save her. Tonight's double elimination could prove the final death knell for her.

Steve Broad made a strong recovery after forgetting the lyrics at the start of Swift's hit Blank Space but the public pounced on yet another flub.

How can anyone mess up the lyrics to this?! It's been on repeat for months, come on Steve . #XFactorNZ

— Jenna Lynch (@JennaLynchNZ) April 12, 2015

Meanwhile, early favourite Beau Monga looks less-and-less like he wants to be on the X Factor stage. This week he performed Swift's I Knew You Were Trouble, which Mel panned for its "pop jiggery". It's a far cry from his original headline-stealing audition and you can't help but feel Beau wants people to stop voting for him.

• Tonight's live elimination show screens on TV3 at 7.30pm

- nzherald.co.nz