Over indulging? A heavier looking Kim Kardashian appears to be ready to bust out of her skin tight jeans today in New York City
In the last few weeks Kim Kardashian has been partying a lot, attending seven different celebrations to mark her milestone 30th birthday.
So perhaps that explains why her famously curvy figure appears to be expanding. New pictures of Kardashian in skin tight jeans out and about in New York show she may have indulged in a few too many slices of cake.
Just seven months ago, Kim looked considerably slimmer in a picture taken March 16 at New York Fashion Week
Even though she was fashionably dressed from head-to-toe in black jeans and boots, the tabloid magnet appears to have outgrown her trousers, which are pulling at the seams.
Pictures taken of her in March at New York Fashion week showed her with a much slimmer body in a figure-hugging one-shoulder mini dress.
Kim, who at 5ft 2in claimed to be a U.S. size 2 just a few months ago, has famously battled her weight for years. Perhaps too many milkshakes and birthday cake are the latest reason for her weight gain.
Another calorie-laden mean? Kim her sister Kourtney Kardashian after grabbing some warm apple cider and pie from a restaurant in New York City Friday
In July, the headline grabbing Kardashian sister preached about the benefits of exercise, healthy eating, and weight-loss supplements, telling Life and Style she lost ten pounds, through a combination of exercise, healthy eating, and weight-loss supplements.
'Before, all I’d have for breakfast was a Grande Soy Chai Latte,' Kim said adding she eats either oatmeal or eggs, turkey bacon and fruit.
She told the magazine she eats protein at every meal to fill up and makes sure not to deprive herself.
'If I feel like a milk shake, I have one,' said Kim.
And she's true to her word. Yesterday she was spotted indulging in a slice of apple pie and a glass of warm cider, with slender sister Kourtney.
Natural curves: Heidi Klum refused to bow to pressure to lose weight, making her breakthrough when she modelled for Victoria's Secret in the late 1990s
Supermodel Heidi Klum has revealed how as a young model she refused to bow to pressure to lose her famous curves or cut her hair.
The 37-year-old German beauty instead stuck to her guns, sensing that her natural figure would win out in the end.
'People were trying to squeeze me into boxes saying 'Oh, you're too happy, maybe we'll cut your hair really short, maybe you'll lose some weight to be thinner',' she told Access Hollywood.
'And I was like no, my hair is the way it is and my body is fine and I would just go with what I believed in.'
Klum, who is married to British singer Seal and a mum-of-four, began her career after winning a beauty contest at the age of 18.
After moving to the U.S. in her early 20s, her career began slowly: ' I did a lot of catalogues in beginning and went to so many castings and tried tried, tried, for many years.'
Mother-of-four Heidi, seen with husband Seal, is now a successful supermodel
But her huge success at her very first Victoria's Secret runway show made her career. 'I loved all of it, doing Victoria's Secret, doing shows with all those models,' she said.
'It was Naomi Campbell, Tyra, Letitia Casta, Karen Mulder - you name it they all did it.
It was amazing to be surrounded by all these woman that I wanted to be.
'Then you get a title and get to be put in the New York Post and it was all happening.'
'You learn lessons in how to treat people, and sometimes you learn them too late,' says Taylor
Precocious musical talent, model good looks, multimillionaire status – 20-year-old country-pop star Taylor Swift leads a charmed life. But, as she tells Louette Harding, it’s the rejection and heartbreak she pours into her songs that have driven her to succeed…
Earlier this year, Taylor Swift used some of the estimated $50 million she earned by the age of 20 to buy herself
a three-bedroom condominium in Nashville, and over the months she has put her stamp on it. ‘There is this fish pond like a moat around the central fireplace,’ she says. ‘The chimney rises to the ceiling like a tower and on one side of it is a spiral staircase going to a landing/conservatory in the shape of a birdcage.
I sit in there all the time – it’s so fun.’ As a little girl, did she like fairy tales by any chance? ‘I was in love with the idea of fairy tales. My bedroom has a balcony that overlooks the living area, Juliet-style,’ she adds. ‘Pretty shameless.’
The brazen girliness is but one aspect of this talented singer-songwriter whose country-pop second album was 2009’s bestseller in the US, and who already has three Grammys on display in that quirky living room. (There’s a fourth, but she gave it to her mum.) Her songs are heavily autobiographical, which adds a gossip-column frisson to the fun of decoding them. On her latest album, Speak Now, one track is about ‘running into a guy I used to be in a relationship with at an awards show’. (OK, I’m thinking – the subject of the song must be Joe Jonas of the pop-rock band the Jonas Brothers, or Taylor Lautner, the actor who plays the werewolf hunk in the Twilight vampire movies.)
‘He was sitting a few feet away from me. There was this horrible awkward silent fight going on between us, not even glancing in the other person’s direction.’ So you never got to be friends? ‘No, that song is about a relationship that ended pretty badly.’
(Must be Joe Jonas, then, who ended their relationship in a 27-second phone call, whereas Taylor S and Taylor L – Taylor Squared as the US press dubbed them when they dated – are now supposed to be friends.) Taylor Swift’s music has that effect, taking you back to the idiocies and idealism of youth with a sigh and a chuckle.
We are talking in a private members’ club in Nashville, the set for our photographs. In person, Taylor has the striking otherness of a supermodel: 5ft 11in, thin as a filament, with feline eyes which she has a bit of a complex about, thinking them too small, although in practice their imperfection saves her from mere prettiness. Already she is an old hand at interviews and has a few standard answers she rattles off, though she lacks the guile to disguise what she is doing. She is diligent and polite and bears the unmistakable reserve of the bullied child, wearing courtesy like an elegant armour. At least that’s how it seems to me, as the mother of a bullied daughter. When I mention this, Taylor’s guard drops like a curtain and there’s a sudden flash of raw affinity.
She is the sheltered product of doting parents, Scott, a stockbroker, and Andrea, who gave up her own high-flying career in financial marketing to raise Taylor and her younger brother Austin at their 15-acre hobby farm in Pennsylvania. Taylor remembers her early childhood as running free with tangled hair, riding horses. There were no close neighbours so theirs was a pretty self-contained family unit, with Andrea’s
opera-singer mother providing the thrill of showiness. It was this grandmother who got Taylor hooked on singing and performing, so that she became a regular in children’s musical theatre shows and competitions. But when the family moved to a suburban neighbourhood, life changed from idyllic to ‘trying to fit in’.
Aged 12, her efforts came crashing down. She thinks her peers found her ‘weird’. I suspect that they were jealous of her growing success at local festivals when they had her patronisingly tagged as the tall, thin, pale kid who was no good at sports.
One night, soon after she’d sung the national anthem at a professional basketball game, she rang round her friends to see if anyone wanted to hang out with her at the local mall. ‘That memory is one of those painful ones you’ll never fully get over,’ she says, emotionally. ‘At that point I’d been shunned from the group for whatever reason and I was still trying desperately to be included. That evening, I called them up and they each said no and Mom said, “You know what? You want to go to the mall, let’s go together.” And we ran into this entire group of girls who had told me they were busy that night. In situations like that my mum has known exactly the right time to run away. There are situations where you have to encourage someone to be tough and there are times when you should just run. So we got in the car and we drove to the mall that’s an hour and a half away but is a better mall.’
She says this with a small deprecatory laugh. ‘And we showed them in our own tiny way. We had a great time.’ And you wrote a song about it? ‘I did.’ ‘The Best Day’ reduced me to tears; Taylor is touched when I mention this – apparently it has the same effect on her own mother.
‘Any time I feel heartbreak, I say to myself, “I can write a song about this”’
‘In school, I dealt with a bunch of different kinds of being alone,’ Taylor continues. ‘There’s being alone because no one talks to you. There’s feeling alone when you walk up to a table at lunch and you’re not welcome to sit down. There’s standing on a stage at a local festival with your acoustic guitar that’s as big as you and some kid from your grade screams obscenities at you. It’s school. It’s what everyone goes through at some point. And the only thing that got me through really tough days was writing songs about it. I would sit there on those lonely days and say, “It’s OK, because I can write a song about this later.” I’ve carried that mantra with me since: any time I feel pain, rejection, heartbreak, I subliminally say to myself, “I can write a song about this and then it will feel better.”’
She says when she wrote her first song, aged 12 – a kid who loved writing poetry mucking about with three chords on a guitar – she knew instantly, ‘This was all I wanted in life. There wasn’t going to be a back-up plan.’ When I ask her what she wants in the medium-term, she says a stable relationship and to write books or songs, even if she is no longer recording them herself. And she suffers from the true writer’s ambivalence and detachment. ‘Sometimes in situations where life is happening to me, I’m looking for the metaphor and I’m wondering how to express my feelings in a chorus,’ she admits.
She was only 14 when Sony/ATV Music Publishing in Nashville signed her as a staff writer. Her parents, who had nightly endured her nagging about moving to the country-music capital, then agreed to relocate, yanking an ever-tolerant Austin out of his school too. For a while Taylor co-wrote in her publishers’ offices after school (where her experience was less unhappy this time), then she spent her final year ‘home-schooled’ (in reality studying in the back of cars) while she completed a radio tour. In 2006, her eponymous debut album was released on the independent label Big Machine Records, whose founder Scott Borchetta was prepared to take a risk on her. It went quadruple platinum.
‘I’d been shunned by my peer group and was desperate to be included’ The follow-up album, Fearless, was even more successful. As a teetotal girl who shuns scandal she was condescendingly dubbed the ‘anti-Britney’. Speak Now is pitched at an older listener, but she is not about to lead her younger fans astray. During our photo shoot, as she reclined in a gothic dress slit to the thigh, her PR Paula whispered, ‘Too much leg!’ and Taylor immediately pulled the skirt closed.
But she’s more than just a transient teeny phenomenon. She is an alchemical combination. As well as the pleasing voice, the nice image, the songwriting brilliance, she is also an astonishingly intuitive businesswoman. She has created a Taylor Nation (an affiliation of fans’ websites) and her website encourages them to ‘pre-sell’ her new album online, with the promise of a meeting with their idol-princess for the most successful. It’s marketing that’s finely tuned to the youthful enthusiasms of the core of her fanbase. She has a management team of four, including her mother, who convene weekly to discuss the way ahead, but Taylor has the final say and many of the ideas are hers. ‘I don’t know if I would feel right handing decisions to other people and living with the consequences. Taking responsibility for your career is important if you want it to go in the direction you have in your mind,’ she says. There are Taylor backpacks, dolls, T-shirts, greetings cards. Her schedule to launch Speak Now involves crisscrossing the Atlantic and features all the big-hitting US television shows including Today and the Late Show with David Letterman.
She feels she can only offer a boyfriend ‘what’s left over’, after giving ‘heart and soul on stage every night’. She admits she has only had three real relationships. She dated Jonas in 2008 and the breakup inspired her hit ‘Forever and Always’, to which he retorted with a song called ‘Paranoid’, like an adolescent revenge battle conducted through iTunes. A year later, she teamed up with Taylor Lautner on screen and off when she made Valentine’s Day, a brief and not entirely successful foray into acting. Rumour has it that the track ‘Back to December’ on the new album is a song of apology for dumping him. She says to me, ‘In relationships, you learn lessons in how to treat people, and sometimes you learn them too late. If you’re me, you go over in your head a million times what you would have done differently. This is a song expressing regret. Sometimes every voice in your head is screaming, “You need to apologise. This was not handled well. You hurt somebody.”’ So has the subject heard the song yet? ‘No.’ So you don’t know how he’ll react? ‘I don’t,’ she says in a small voice.
She senses my amusement that so many tracks have been written about so few Romeos. Just three relationships? (The third was with an anonymous schoolboy.) ‘I wasn’t factoring in the almost-relationships, and they’re almost more inspiring,’ she adds, wryly self-knowing. ‘Almost-relationships are very important to the writing process.’ This switch from girl to adult is an endearing trait: ‘I love not really knowing if I’m a grown-up,’ she says winningly.
Taylor in New Orleans performing at the opening game of the American football season in September
We carry on with the song-inspiration game by talking about the title track on Speak Now. ‘One of my friends was talking about how her ex was marrying another girl and how she was heartbroken over it. I said, “Are you going to speak now?” You know, speak now or for ever hold your peace; burst into the church. I then went home and had this terrible dream about an ex-boyfriend getting married and I woke up and immediately wrote my game plan should it become reality.’ She is laughing. I do not think Jonas or Lautner need to worry that she is truly going to interrupt a future wedding service. So is she single? ‘Yes. I’m not a mopy single girl. I wake up in the morning and think, “What do I need to do today?” and at no point do I think, “I need to find a boyfriend.”’ It’s a nicely acerbic comment and one prickling with the tension between naivety and independence.
Actually, the very mechanism behind her writing is a struggle towards maturity. She says, ‘For me, writing songs is a way of justifying things that happen in my life and making it seem as if they happened for a reason – if only to teach me something. If I can write a song then it almost becomes this golden-framed memory. It not only helps me understand why we feel pain, it makes me celebrate it afterwards.’
She says she would not be so driven if she hadn’t felt the need to scream ‘I’ll show you all!’ at the six girls who decided to reject her. ‘There are two ways you can go with it. You can let it destroy you…or you can use it as fuel to drive you: to dream bigger, work harder. I wasn’t invited to parties and I look back now and I’m so thankful that I was at home, playing the guitar until my fingers bled.’
What about the girls involved? Have they ever been in touch? She nods. ‘I don’t think they even remember what happened. And when I see them sitting in line at my meet-and-greets wearing my T-shirts, I’m not going to walk up to them and say, “How could you do that?” Because look at how life has gone. They were there for a reason, and I’m happy about it.’
Taylor’s new album Speak Now is out now on Mercury Records
It's a wrap: A blooming Penelope Cruz looked effortlessly chic as she arrived at Heathrow to catch a flight to Madrid earlier today. Although the actress did look a little over-dressed considering the unusually mild temperatures for the time of year
Penelope Cruz looked every inch a Hollywood starlet earlier today as she strode through Heathrow airport to catch her flight to Madrid.
The smiling 36-year-old actress, who's six months pregnant with her first child with husband Javier Bardem, dressed in sober black for her airport photo-call but looked effortlessly chic nonetheless.
But perhaps the fur hat was a little excessive, considering the unseasonably warm temperatures the UK has been enjoying this week.
It looked as though the actress has been indulging in a spot of shopping whilst in the capital as well, if her pile of massive suitcases is anything to judge by.
Penelope has been in London to shoot scenes for the next installment of the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise, On Stranger Tides.
The star was accompanied at the airport by her equally stylish sister Monica. As sister Penelope's baby bump has grown, producers on the film decided to enlist the help of her younger sibling who is the spitting image of her.
According to reports, whilst Penelope will be in all of the close-up shots, Monica will star in the long-distance scenes as the wardrobe department has struggled to hide her pregnancy.
Been shopping? It looks like Penelope may have enjoyed a spot of shopping in London if her stack of suitcases are anything to judge by
Spot the difference: Penelope pregnancy has cause some problems on the set of the new Pirate of the Caribbean film so younger sister Monica was drafted in to shoot some of the long distance scenes
Too close for comfort: Johnny Depp with Angelina Jolie in The Tourist
Featuring Angelina Jolie in a naked embrace with Johnny Depp, it was expected to be the steamy highlight of new crime thriller The Tourist.
But it appears that Depp’s long-time girlfriend Vanessa Paradis has won a battle to axe the sexually explicit scene, in which the A-list pair were to writhe together in a shower.
French singer Paradis, 37, who has two children by the actor, was so distressed over the script’s passionate theme that she begged Depp to pull out of the project, according to a Hollywood source.
‘She put pressure on Johnny and finally he said he wanted the shower scene out,’ the source told The Mail on Sunday. ‘He told the producers it cheapened the movie and I am assured that his wishes are being honoured.’
According to a copy of the script leaked to New York celebrity magazine Life & Style, Depp, 47, plays American tourist Frank Taylor who seduces Interpol agent Cara Mason, played by Jolie, 35.
The script says that after walking into the shower, Taylor ‘lifts Cara against the glass, clutching at her slithery body, kissing her frantically.
Explicit: Vanessa Paradis was so distressed about the film's scene, she pleaded with Depp to pull out of the project
‘Cara later turns abruptly to Frank and presses her body against his. He’s taken by surprise but willingly responds. . . wrapping his arms around her.’
After learning of the scene, Paradis ‘wanted him right out of the production’, the source said.
'Angelina comes with a reputation. She stole Brad Pitt from Jennifer Aniston when they were shooting Mr & Mrs Smith together.’
Co-stars: Angelina and Johnny in a romantic scene from The Tourist
Depp, who has lived with Paradis for 12 years, resisted her pleas. ‘But he gave in over the shower scene,’ the insider said.
‘It would have been highly embarrassing for Vanessa. When Angelina learned he wanted it out, she wanted Johnny to reconsider, but he got his way.’
A spokesman for Depp did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for producers Sony Pictures said: ‘I have not heard that the scene was cut. I will have to look into it.’
The Tourist is due for release in America next month.
Action film: The movie was filmed on location in Paris and Venice
Prank: Emma is determined to find out who was behind the fake pictures
A new topless picture of Harry Potter star Emma Watson has been doing the rounds at her American university.
The 20-year-old actress – Hermione in the film series – is said to be appalled that the snap, apparently of her with a towel around her waist standing by a hot tub, has been emailed between students at the prestigious Brown University.
‘Emma is trying to seek out the source so she can put a stop to it,’ says a friend. ‘She says the picture has been faked.’
Emma’s spokesman said: ‘There have been a number of nude fakes over the past two months. Emma has seen them and finds them tiresome. People should know better.’
Meanwhile Watson revealed she is all grown up - by declaring: 'It's time I got more naughty.'
In an interview following the filming of her final scenes, she revealed how she will be making the most of being a single girl.
She told The Sun: 'I wished I'd done more naughty things.Three months ago I cut my hair and at that moment I felt I became a woman. I'm ready to start taking risks.
Final scenes: Emma with Harry Potter co-stars in the final film
'I've been in love once in my life, but it was complicated. I can't tell you who it was because it wouldn't be fair to any others. But I can say I've never had my heart broken.
'I like men with quick wit, good conversation and a great sense of humour. I love banter. I want a man to like me for me - I want him to be authentic.
'But men don't really ask me out. And I don't get marriage proposals any more either. It's not happening there!
'At the moment I'm just happy to be single. I want to live life to the full. But I'm more grown up and confident now. I'm ready to take more risks. I feel less girlish than ever.'
Simon Cowell... or Harry Potter? The X Factor judge revealed his glasses on The X Factor last night
Since the X Factor started, there has been a lot of attention on what judges Cheryl Cole and Dannii Minogue are wearing.
But on last night's show, the style wars went out the window when a shot of music mogul Simon Cowell reminiscent of those worn by boy wizard Harry Potter was shown.
It's the first time the 51-year-old judge, who is notoriously vain about his appearance, has ever been seen wearing any eyewear other than sunglasses.
pitting image: The likeness between Cowell and Harry Potter, aka Daniel Radcliffe, is uncanny
And fans flocked to Twitter in their thousands commenting on the rimless round pair Cowell had chosen in the VT before his remaining act One Direction's performance.
One person wrote on Twitter: 'When Simon Cowell wears his glasses, he looks like an ageing Harry Potter.'
While another added: 'Simon Cowell in glasses looks like a 50-year-old Harry Potter...'
Someone tweeted: 'Simon cowell and harry potter separated at birth :) Loved thoses glasses lol'
But one fan said it was probably the fact that Cowell had forgotten to take the glasses off that viewers ever got to see them, adding: 'I bet you anything you will never see Simon Cowell wearing glasses again!'
Head-over-heels: Katie's affair with Philipp began in February 2009 when she was filming in Vienna
X Factor contestant Katie Waissel was ‘heartbroken’ when her boyfriend backed out of marrying her in a ‘quickie’ Las Vegas ceremony.
The controversial 24-year-old singer whisked TV producer Philipp Schwinger to the city’s Little White Wedding Chapel in July 2009 after a whirlwind romance.
But at the last minute, the 29-year-old Austrian had second thoughts.
‘You don’t often see true love but they were the real deal. For Katie, it was a natural progression to get married. She loves being in the moment. It was Philipp who was the voice of reason.
‘She lives in a world where anything is possible. Philipp lives in a different world and her free-spirit attitude definitely brushed up against his strict Austrian upbringing.
‘She was devastated. I watched her have her heart broken.’
Katie was picked from among 200 hopefuls to star in the online series. Under the name Katie Vogel, or Katie V, she was followed as she jetted off to America to work with music-industry insiders. The series, filmed over seven months last year, starts with Katie saying: ‘Everyone has a story, a dream, a song to sing. This is mine.’
Katie, who had fallen for him on the set of an internet reality series, Green Eyed World, was traumatised, according to the programme’s director, Tony Valenzuela.
‘Katie is a sweet and sensitive girl and I don’t know how many more knock-backs she can take,’ the 38-year-old said last night. ‘She fell head-over-heels in love with Philipp and he was in love with her too.
‘The affair began in February 2009 when we were filming in Vienna. She met Philipp’s parents in their huge house on a lake. Philipp was constantly in a state of admiration for this girl who could create songs out of nowhere.
'Real deal': Katie with Philipp Schwinger with whom she shared a whirlwind romance
The hair-salon receptionist from Harewood, Hertfordshire, has since become one the most unpopular X Factor contestants ever.
She has courted controversy since she was selected for the live finals instead of Gamu Nhengu, despite fluffing her audition at the Judges’ House stage.
Shortly afterwards, reports of a romance with fellow X Factor contestant Matt Cardle emerged but there was no truth to them, with some even believing Katie was the source.
She has also been accused of attention-seeking and has reportedly struggled to bond with fellow contestants. Last week, she was second to bottom in the public voting, ahead of girl band Belle Amie, who were sent home.
Actress Kristen Quintrall, who worked with her on Green Eyed World, has claimed that Katie seduced Philipp to get her role on the series. But Mr Valenzuela said: ‘Contrary to those stories, it was me who cast her. Philipp had very little to do with my decision. There was no casting couch.’
He said that Katie impulsively proposed to Philipp after noticing a sign for Las Vegas as they were driving through the Californian desert on a shoot for the series.
‘We headed out for Joshua Tree in the desert where we were going to write songs,’ the director said. ‘We were halfway there when Katie suddenly says, “Let’s go to Vegas instead!’’ ’ Philipp initially was taken with the idea, Mr Valenzuela said, and when they arrived in Las Vegas that night, he escorted her to the Little White Wedding Chapel.
Devastated: Katie 'lived in the moment' while Philipp was the voice of reason
Shortly afterwards, however, the executive insisted they inform their families of their intentions.
‘I think reality stepped in after they both called their parents but it was definitely much more on Philipp’s side,’ said Mr Valenzuela, confiding that Philipp informed Katie that they had been too hasty.
‘It was after midnight and we were all so tired. The three of us went back to Katie’s hotel room and just sat and talked about relationships and love. It was very sad. Katie just goes for it and maybe that was scary for Philipp.’
Katie attempted to resume the relationship but it was a ‘struggle,’ Mr Valenzuela said, and the romance petered out.
As well as appearing in Green Eyed World, sponsored by Sprite, Katie had a deal with a small US record company. That was reportedly cancelled to prevent her from being disqualified from The X Factor.
It has also been claimed that, during the filming of Green Eyed World, the singer began negotiations with a division of one of America’s largest labels, Interscope. Ms Quintrall said: ‘Just before she was due to sign that deal, she threw a temper tantrum.
‘They walked away from it.
‘Tony Valenzuela was furious because she’d just destroyed the series finale.’ But Mr Valenzuela said: ‘There was no major record label involved.
It was a show about a girl’s experience of trying to make it – not about a girl who had made it.
‘I thought it was cool that she went back afterwards and worked in the hair salon.’ Mr Schwinger did not respond to a request for comment.
When asked about Katie’s relationship with Mr Schwinger, an X Factor spokeswoman said they would not be making a comment.
Emotional: Matt Cardle's performance of The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face brought the house down
It's been the girls who have been impressing the judges the most so far on The X Factor. But tonight it was the turn of painter and decorator Matt Cardle, who brought the house down with his performance of The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.
The 27-year-old received a standing ovation from all four judges, and left his mentor Dannii Minogue in tears with his incredibly moving performance.
Teary-eyed: Matt's mentor Danni Minogue and judge Cheryl Cole were left teary-eyed after the performance
Standing ovation: All four judges were on their feet when Matt finished his performance
Afterwards, Cheryl said: 'That absolutely blew me away, that was amazing. I felt every single word that you said. It was spine-tingling. I get why you're a favourite. It was beautiful, absolutely beautiful.'
Simon added: 'That was completely and utterly stunning, just stunning. You know what, I was thinking tonight I like this group of contestants because I like the general attitude that you knew you didn't get it right last week, you picked yourself back up, you didn't blame anybody and you came back out here.'
Louis concurred: 'Another outstanding performance. The standard is so high tonight but I think you have absolutely stolen the show. With you it's all about the voice. I think you're the person that everyone has to beat in this competition.'
Powerful: Matt put his heart and soul into his performance and it definitely showed
Thrilled: Dannii remained standing as host Dermot O'Leary came on to the stage to congratulate Matt
And once she had recovered from the performance, Dannii said: 'You not only had the audience on their feet but all four judges. It was a perfect performance. I wish everyone at home knew the story about why you sang that song.'
Struggling to contain himself after his emotional performance, Matt told host Dermot O'Leary: 'I'm feeling a bit weak. Last week was a real struggle and I just wanted to come out and do my best. I feel so lucky.'
The show was opened by Cher Lloyd, who last week closed the show with an incredible performance of Shakespears Sister's Stay.
Style wars: But who won this week? Dannii, in an elegant gold shift dress, or Cheryl, in a black mini
Young and fresh, or elegant and refined? The judges have very different ideas of style
It was always going to be difficult for the 17-year-old to follow what Simon labelled 'the performance of the series', but Cher gave it a shot by bringing her own mix of soulful vocals and rapping ability to the stage.
But the judges weren't entirely convinced with her performance. Simon said: 'After last week, I'm a little bit disappointed and I'll tell you why. Last week was 100 per cent original, it was different.
Going back to basics: Cher Lloyd couldn't top last week's performances but tried her hardest
Pretty in pink: The 17-year-old performed Alicia Keys' Empire State Of Mind
'This was a little bit copycat, I'm not blaming you. All I'm saying is that in the standard of the competition this year, to make the finals you have to be more original and therefore I think your mentor got a little bit lazy tonight.'
Dannii added: 'Cher you look so fresh tonight and that song was something that could have written for you. I really loved it. It's really hard to top that performance you did last week, but I liked it.'
But despite Simon's comments, Cheryl insisted she had found the 'perfect balance' with the song.
However, when host Dermot O'Leary questioned Simon about his opinion, the music mogul insisted he was just trying to help Cher, adding: 'I say it because im trying to help her becasue to make the final this year it's the hardest it's every going to be.'
Not so good: Mary Byrne failed to get the response of previous weeks with her shaky performance
And Cher replied: 'I appreciate that, i really go. You have got to have something else to back you up.'
Up next was Mary Byrne, who has so far wowed both the viewers and the judges with her performances in past live shows.
But again, she struggled to maintain the level she had previously achieved, and didn't do too well with her performance of Faith Hill's There You'll Be.
However, despite her shaky start to the song, Mary still got a huge round of applause from the audience following her performance.
Drama queen: Katie Waissel had a video of herself playing as she performed No Doubt's Don't Speak
Rock chick: Katie looked chic in an all-black outfit with a leotard and black leather trousers
Dannii told her: 'We are down to the top 10 and you see what it means to every contestant in this competition. I think tonight you didn't feel as though you were inside the song. But people absolutely love you and you give everyone strength.
'You have to understand the really important thing is that the only one who can win this for you is you. I want to see your strength back.'
And Cheryl agreed with Dannii's comments, adding: 'You seemed very emotional tonight and not really yourself but I hope you're here next week.'
But Louis said he was determined for Mary to make it to the final of the show, adding: 'You are a real person, you've got real talent and you're living your dream. I want you in the final and I'll do whatever I can do to get you there.'
Playing with fire: Aiden Grimshaw performed Sinead O'Connor's Nothing Compares 2 U
Asked by Dermot why she was feeling so nervous, Mary replied: 'I don't know, I haven't been in the zone at all this week and I've been feeling quite low and lonely for my daughter.
'I'm very nervous and I don't know why, I honestly don't know why.' Next up was Katie Waissel, who performed No Doubt's Don't Speak.
After ending up in the bottom two last week alongside Belle Amie, Katie admitted she was nervous about taking to the stage. But she managed to pull it together for her performance.
Afterwards, Louis said: 'Katie, you're a fighter and to succeed in the music business you have to be tough. That was a brilliant performance, and I would like people to give you a chance and judge it on your vocals.'
Energetic: Paije performed a mash-up of Outkast's Hey Ya and I'm A Believer
And Katie showed her fighting spirit when she contested Simon after he told her 'the vocals went off in the middle, it looked like you were struggling.'
Katie replied: 'I felt I had the time of my life out there.'
To which Simon said: 'Parts of the performance were amazing. I also like the fact that you're not a whinger. You've had a couple of tough weeks and you have come back battling.'
Cheryl added: 'You are eccentric, you are a drama queen but it's all part of what I love about you.'
Aiden Grimshaw was next to take to the stage, and after his poor performance of Michael Jackson's Thriller last week, he was determined to get back on his feet.
But, while some people thought he may have left his intensity at home after the judges urged him to do a 'happy, lively' song, Aiden stuck to what he knew, and performed Nothing Compares 2 U, the song made famous by Sinead O'Connor.
After the performance, Louis told Aiden: 'You're one of the most consistent performers on the show.I think you are the perfect pop star - the image, the focus. And I like the fact you're intense. intense is good.'
Moving: Rebecca Ferguson struggled to contain her emotions as she sang Make You Feel My Love
And Simon added: 'What people don't know is that that song was only put in last night - you had 24 hours to learn it. And taking everything into account, I thought that was absolutely brilliant.'
Even Cheryl, who had been one of Aiden's most vocal critics, admitted: 'I now accept the fact you are an intense performer and I can't fault your singing.'
Aiden's mentor Dannii added: 'I think we kept the essence of you and took all the notes on board. I love the fact you are getting praise tonight. Well done.'
Another of Dannii's boys, Paije Richardson, was next to perform with a unique mash-up of I'm A Believer and Outkast's Hey Ya.
Following his performance, Cheryl told Paije: 'You absolutely made my night. Great song choice, amazing twist. My favourite performance of yours so far.'
Simon added: 'I loved the whole Austin Powers vibe, I liked the two songs. It was without question your best performance of the series so far.
Elvis with a funny foreign accent: Wagner maintained his previous standard of high energy performances
Unique: He performed Viva Las Vegas and The Wonder Of You, both by the King Elvis Presley
'I think you came out here to entertain, you really put on a show. I'm really really happy with you tonight.'
But Louis caused controversy when he called Paije a 'little Lenny Henry'.
He said: 'Week five and you’re getting better. You seem to be having more fun I like that we’re starting to see your personality. You’re like a little Lenny Henry.'
But Paije didn't seem to mind, telling Dermot: 'I'm just so excited right now. This is what I want to do and I'm just enjoying it to the max.'
Rebecca Ferguson, one of the favourites to win the show, was up next, singing Adele's Make You Feel My Love.
And, apart from Matt's performance, Rebecca's rendition went down the best with the judges.
Louis said: 'For the people that say there's no talent on X Factor, I hope they're watching tonight. you stand out, you are very special. I love everything about you.'
Breathtaking: Dannii said Treyc Cohen had some of her sparkle back as she performed
The little girl with a big voice: Treyc performed Aerosmith's Don't Wanna Miss A Thing
Dannii added: 'An amazing performance, you sang that with such soul. I feel something when I watch you perform - it's gorgeous.'
And Rebecca's mentor Cheryl added: 'My heart was pounding, my stomach was churning and the nation is willing you on. You've got something really special and it's an absolutely pleasure to be working with you.'
One of the most controversial contestants on the show, Wagner, was next to perform. After taking on the musical legend that was Elvis Presley, the Brazilian singer decided to mix up Viva Las Vegas and The Wonder Of You.
Before taking to the stage, Wagner said: 'Elvis is back with a moustache and a funny foreign accent!'
But Wagner, who has a Facebook campaign backing him to win, didn't impress the judges with his out of tune, out of time rendition - although Simon did admit he had been won over by the unique performance.
Having fun: Simon's last remaining act One Direction performed The Kids In America
What a show! The boys were joined by cheerleaders, and all wore similar outfits
He said: 'When you go to a funfair and you go on the big dipper it's something you like but shouldn't like and I've kind of got to that place with you now. I'm actually concerned that I actually liked the performance!'
And Wagner's mentor Louis said: 'The second song was really good - I think it proves to your critics that you can sing. Wagner, you have a cult following and I want them to lift their phones now.'
After his performance, Wagner told the judges: 'To the judges I just want to say I thank you so much for being here, I love you. And if I sometimes sing out of time or out of tune, I'm only human.'
Treyc Cohen was up next, with a stunning performance of Aerosmith's Don't Wanna Miss A Thing.
Following her song, Louis said: 'You're looking really great tonight. No matter what song you're given you always come out and give it 100 per cent.'
What do you think? The judges were stunned by how high the standard was on the show
But Simon added: 'I can't fault that vocal. You are a great singer. Having said that, it's like, if you have a lion, you want it to bite you, not lick you.
'And that's what you're missing at the moment, that killer instinct and that belief that you can win. You've got to get that.'
It was up to Simon's one last act, One Direction, to close the show with a lively performance of The Kids Of America.
After the performance, which came complete with hundreds of cheerleaders and matching outfits, Louis said: 'You could be the next big band. I loved everythign about the performance. But I have to get my rule book out, this song was not even a hit in America. You cheated, Simon.'
But Simon insisted: 'When you came out it was like sunshine on a beautiful day and then Louis the thunder cloud comes along!'
Cheryl added: 'That absolutely cheered me up and brightened up my night. You are a great kids, nice kids!'
The X Factor is on ITV1 tomorrow night at 8pm, when Shayne Ward and Kylie Minogue will be performing.
Did you get lost on the way to the changing rooms? Kara Tointon shows off her Strictly-honed figure in white lingerie and stockings as she perches on a theatre chair in a new photoshoot for FHM magazine
She's been near the top of the leader board on Strictly Come Dancing since the show started five weeks ago.
And it looks like actress Kara Tointon is just as hot to trot off screen as she is on as she shows off her stunning figure in a new photoshoot.
The ex-EastEnders actress, 27, showcased her Strictly-honed figure in a series of sexy lingerie as she posed for men's magazine FHM.
Earlier this year, she ended up at 66 in the magazine's annual poll to find the top 100 Sexiest Women in the World.
But after peeling off in this latest shoot, it would be no surprise to see Kara leaping up the charts next year.
Tointon and her Russian partner Artem Chigvintsev have been wowing the judges on a weekly basis since the new series of Strictly began, frequently coming in second or third place on the leader board.
Top of the leader board: Kara has been impressing the Strictly Come Dancing judges with her dancing skills
Last week they came second with a high score of 37 for their Paso Doble to The Phantom Of The Opera theme.
After weeks of rumours, Kara revealed on Loose Women a fortnight ago that she had the hots for her Russian tutor, 28, and had even introduced him to her parents.
She said: 'I have been pretty lucky there I must say...if he asked me out, and we were getting on as well as we are getting on now, I might think about it and say, maybe yes.
'I don’t know, who knows? Well I am single, we’ll see... I took him home, he’s so lovely and that Russian accent is beautiful.'
The full interview and more pictures appear in FHM, out now
And Kara said she has already got the blessing of her mother, who was entirely charmed by the dancer.
The brunette has been single since splitting up from former EastEnders co-star Joe Swash in May.
In the accompanying interview with the FHM magazine, Kara said she doesn't plan for relationships to happen - they just do.
She said: 'I’m not someone who initially fancies someone, things happen when you just click, you can’t plan for that. I have a trust issue so I have to be comfortable with a man before I start dating them and if there’s no spark, there’s no point.
'Of course being able to dance is an attractive trait in a man but it’s not essential, although saying that if someone came up to me and did the caterpillar I would be impressed. Any man that can do that is cool with me.'
• The full interview and more pictures appear in FHM, out now. For extra behind- the-scenes footage of the shoot, go to fhm.com
Chemistry: Kara and Artem Chigvintsev dancing the Paso Doble last weekend
Over indulging? A heavier looking Kim Kardashian appears to be ready to bust out of her skin tight jeans today in New York City
Just seven months ago, Kim looked considerably slimmer in a picture taken March 16 at New York Fashion Week
Another calorie-laden mean? Kim her sister Kourtney Kardashian after grabbing some warm apple cider and pie from a restaurant in New York City Friday
