X Factor hopefuls trick and treat judges with mixed bag on fright night

The X Factor spooked viewers with a fright night theme for Halloween - but contestants were hoping for screams of delight rather than horror.

ITV's singing contest saw the remaining acts bring out their scariest performances, with the show's finale proving so emotional for Emily Middlemas that she collapsed in tears as her song drew to a close.

Middlemas, 18, gave her take on Radiohead's Creep, but was crying by the time she finished, explaining: "I put everything into that performance and I just completely broke down.

"That song is just so powerful."

Her mentor and head judge Simon Cowell told her: "This is one of those performances genuinely I see very rarely and I think this is going to define your career tonight."

Also praised by Cowell for offering treats rather than tricks tonight were novelty rapper Honey G who performed Will Smith's Men In Black, and Finnish vocalist Saara Aalto who sang Lady Gaga's Bad Romance.

He told Honey G: "This is the biggest turn around I've ever seen on any artist.

"You started off with everyone hating you, including me, but this was like the Honey G concert.

"After tonight, G stands for the greatest."

Cowell's comments to Aalto were: "Your voice is dynamite. I loved you, I thought it was fantastic."

Also performing were group 5 After Midnight with Michael Jackson's Thriller, Gifty Louise with I'm In Love With A Monster by Fifth Harmony, competition favourite Matt Terry singing Nina Simone's I Put A Spell On You, Middlemas's boyfriend Ryan Lawrie who sang The Backstreet Boys' Everybody, teen singer Sam Lavery belting out Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse Of The Heart, and girl group Four Of Diamonds who took on Ghost by Ella Henderson.

Judge Nicole Scherzinger got a shock when one of her former protege Rylan Clark frightened her by jumping out from behind her chair in a black PVC catsuit, ahead of his hosting gig on spin-off show The Xtra Factor.

The results of the public vote will be revealed on Sunday night on ITV at 8pm when one act will leave the competition, and viewers will also see performances from Bruno Mars as well as last year's winner Louisa Johnson.