Putting the X Factor contestants on the spot in the third live show has shown some weaknesses. Big Band night may have been kinder if it was later in the series. Coming so early, it took just about everyone way out of their comfort zone. Sinatra, swing and Las Vegas are hard acts to follow, and unfortunately Scott had to start with one of the biggest songs, That's Life. He failed to rise to the occasion as his voice is good but nowhere near great.

Daniel also lacks a great voice but his version of Lady Is A Tramp was about emotion rather than power, and he sparkled. Who knows if his lights will shine for show four's theme - disco!

What a surprise next, though. Laura has such a rich voice, with so much colour and power, she blew the previous two off the stage. Her God Bless The Child was uplifting and fantastic. Louis said Laura's version was better than Diana Ross, and even Simon was overwhelmed. Not so great was Eoghan, and he pranced as if in an audition for Oliver. He may be pretty but his voice is weak, he often goes out of tune and has about as much vocal appeal as a cuddly puppy. So lots of people will still vote for him.

Cuddly of a much different sort followed as Ruth presented a cleavage-rich rendition of Summertime, a red-dress femme-fatale with lungs to raise the roof. A couple of moments of strain dropped the score from a perfect 5 to a near-miss 4.5 on our scale. Alexandra, meanwhile, went all hokey on Candyman and was okay but definitely not great. It was only a little better than competent karaoke. But the judges loved it - strange.

Similar to Scott's problems. Austin had to try to bring some talent to the classic Mack The Knife and the kindest thing to say is his dancing was good. The vocals were bland and, at times, desperate. His father said "it was alright" and maybe many a true word is said in jest. As for JLS, am afraid I don't get them. No great individual voice and they are down at about level 3 as far as vocal groups go. Ain't That A Kick In The Head needs personality and character, and JLS have little of either. Simon agrees their vocals are just not good enough. And, as Simon says, it is a singing competition, not a dancing competition.

And then along comes Diana with her own wicked smile and husky, whispy, unique voice. Diana singing Smile was like death by chocolate - every layer was sweet, delicious and leaving me wanting more and more. On the other hand, Rachel is yet to really impress. She is another one who is good but not great, although that still may be to do with song choice. Her soulful voice worked well on Feeling Good, with plenty of growls and high notes throughout. Definitely her best so far, but there is still a tendency to shout rather then sing.

However, no great surprise when Scott failed in the sing-off. Here's our chart for X Factor Live Show 3: