X FACTOR star Grace Davies closed in on her quest to win the show by qualifying for the semi-finals.
The Ribble Valley singer-songwriter received the most votes of all the acts on Sunday’s show with her own song Hesitate and progressed to the semi-finals next week.
She was praised for her ‘brilliant’ performance by judges who said she was ‘in for an amazing career’.
The 20-year-old said she battled off illness this week to perform.
Grace said: “I definitely feel like I’ve got back to me.
“I had a bit of snot and a bit of a cold but I got through it and I’m happy with that.
“I’ve come on here and been myself and got this far and that means the absolute world to me and I want to carry on.”
She also competed against Saturday night champions Rak-Su in an attempt to be named the week’s ‘prize fighter’ and win a special prize, but came up short in the public vote.
The former warehouse worker from Langho was criticised on social media last week for not singing a George Michael original as part of the tribute show to the late singer.
However judges said she was back to her best after her performance on the show which had a ‘crazy in love’ theme.
Simon Cowell said: “Grace we’ve got you back again after the last two weeks, that was great.
“You’ve got confidence to do your own material and it stood up against other well-known songs.
“Something has changed in a week, it’s like you’ve got your confidence back.”
Louis Walsh echoed the praise and said Grace was in for a bright future after the show.
He said: “It’s like watching a seasoned performer. You’re going to have an amazing career after this.”
Nicole Scherzinger said the performance was ‘relevant’ to current music. She said: “I really like the song, it’s like a song that would be on the radio right now.
Mentor Sharon Osbourne, who gave her a standing ovation, said: “That song Hesitate, it’s a brilliant song, brilliant.
“I think all the judges have said what I want to say.”
Grace remains one of the favourites to win the show ahead of next week’s semi finals.
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