Cowell criticises Hylton's song choice

Simon Cowell has claimed that Rachel Hylton's song choice let her down on The X Factor last night.

The mother-of-five was in the bottom two for the second time after performing Amy Winehouse's 'You Know I'm No Good' in the show's Best of British round. She had previously won praise from the judges after singing her version of the track in her original audition.

Hylton was eventually saved by the panel following the final showdown, which saw her competing against Daniel Evans.

"There was no doubt in my mind which one of the two I wanted to keep because, at the end of the day, it's a talent competition," Cowell explained later on The Xtra Factor. "Rachel was always one of my favourite contestants. I'm glad that she's got her confidence back.

"I think it was the song she sang that put her in the bottom two tonight, not her herself. I don't think it's a good Amy song. There's better ones. Obviously I was going to keep her."

Speaking later, Hylton insisted that there would be no repeat of her previous reaction to being in the bottom two, which saw her criticising the performance of mentor Dannii Minogue.

"I'm fine. I know I had a bad few weeks previously but I'm one of those people who gets what I call delayed shock," she said. "Sometimes I just need time to work things out in my head. If I left today I would have been happy. It's all good, it's a competition. Well done to everyone."