Well, it had to happen eventually. After Andy Williams failed to impress the public with his rocky rendition of 'Chasing Cars' on Saturday night, Team Minogue lost its first member. The Welsh lad cried; Dannii looked as though she'd just been told her contract wasn't going to be renewed; and Dermot channelled the mood of the nation by giving the crushed hopeful a big old hug. Two days later, how's Andy coping with the end of his X Factor journey? We gave him a call to find out.

How are you feeling today?
"A bit better than yesterday, and a lot better than Saturday night. It's been hard."

Were you surprised to be in the bottom two on Saturday?
"Not massively. In terms of publicity, I was surprised because I thought I had a good backing, but I knew as soon as I started singing on Saturday that I'd cocked it up a bit. I started off-key! If you mess up the start of a song, people are going to walk into the room and say 'What the hell is that?' That's the end of it, unless you've got a 'Nessun Dorma' finale or something."

Louis, Sharon and Simon all criticised the song choice. Were you happy singing 'Chasing Cars'?
"To be honest, I think I'd have had a greater chance if I'd sung the song better. Nobody can deny that my second performance on the results show was a lot better - if I'd sung like that first time around, I'd probably have got through. I did want that song choice though, along with Dannii, so I can't grumble about that."

Dannii seemed to struggle to pick the right song for you all through the live shows. What sort of songs do you think you should have been singing?
"I think 'This Guy's In Love', the song I sang on week three, is a decent song, but it wasn't well known enough. I think this week's song was a good choice, but the production of it could have been different. Maybe it shouldn't have been as rocky, but a bit more indie like the original. That would have suited my voice a bit better. I think if I'd had a good, old school ballad like 'Unchained Melody' or 'I Can't Make You Love Me', I'd have done really well."

Did you receive enough mentoring from Dannii throughout the series?
"Yes, big time. She's very hands on. She's by far the most hands on mentor. She really wants to win, and she's always ringing up and coming down to the studio to help out. She was an amazing mentor. I wouldn't have wanted anyone else because she genuinely cared and was devastated when I didn't get through. She said she felt absolutely s**t because she feels like she's let me down and crushed my dreams, you know."

Is Team Minogue as close-knit as it seems?
"Big time. I think it's probably even closer than people realise. It was really hard for me to say goodbye to Leon and Rhydian on Sunday morning. I really hope that Team Minogue can stay strong and not stumble in the coming weeks."

With Dannii being the only judge with three acts left in the competition, do you think it was inevitable that one of you would go on Saturday?
"Yeah. I knew that if one of us ended up in the bottom two - maybe not so much Rhydian - we'd be struggling. I knew that Louis liked me so if I'd been up against someone other than one of his acts, his vote would probably have gone in my favour. As soon as I saw I was up against Beverley, I realised I'd lost my best chance of a second vote from the judges."

Sharon wasn't massively positive about you throughout the live shows. Why do you think that was?
"She didn't give the greatest of comments this week - nobody wants to be told that they've got no balls! I just tried to take it on the chin and laugh it off really. I kind of joked around on Saturday, grabbing my crotch for her, but it didn't get shown on TV. I was more gutted that I never had good comments from Simon - he was the one person that I wanted to impress, really. I never got his acceptance and that's really heartbreaking."

Did that contribute to the emotional way you reacted on Saturday?
"Of course. There was just a lot of pressure on me because my family had been so supportive and I felt a bit like I'd let them down. It was just so horrible when I was realised it was all over."

How are you trying to bounce back from Saturday?
"I don't know. I'm just trying to move forward, really. I've just got to try my best now and hope I get back what I put in. I really don't want to go back to my previous job. I obviously love singing so much, so I really hope the right things can come back for me."

Perhaps you could do some modelling? You've just been Heat's Torso of the Week, haven't you?
"You know, it was just an honour. I've trained in the gym so much, but never really had a purpose, so it just made all of it worthwhile. I wouldn't say I enjoyed it as such, but it was definitely an awesome experience. My brother would always say: 'What you training for?', and this just shows why."

Finally, do you have a message for your fans on the DS forums?
"I just want to thank everyone so much for supporting me. I'm sorry that I let them down on Saturday, but I really hope that they'll keep on supporting me and following me in whatever I do."

The X Factor continues on Saturday at 6.40pm on ITV1.