X Factor dream is over

A singing barmaid from Staffordshire had her hopes of winning television's X Factor dashed after becoming the first contestant to be kicked off during the live shows.

Kimberley Southwick, whose parents run the The Fox Inn in Dosthill, Tamworth, opened Saturday night's first live show on ITV1 by belting out the Weather Girls' hit It's Raining Men dressed in a bright pink dress with a large lipstick-shaped belt.

Sharon Osbourne shocked viewers by walking out and refusing to take part in the final vote after two of her three acts, including Kimberley, found themselves in the bottom two of the show.

A spokesman for the X Factor said: "She was very upset last night. All we can say at this stage is that we're hoping she'll be back for next week." Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh then voted to send Kimberley home.

Kimberley said of Sharon: "I understand why she's so upset but I would have liked her to have held my hand a bit longer, and stayed on stage with us."

Kimberley's performance got the thumbs-up from judges but viewers' votes saw her go down to the final two against fellow under-25s contestant Alisha Bennett who sang Gabrielle's Dreams.

Simon Cowell described Kimberley as possibly X Factor's most annoying contestant.

She raised a laugh on Saturday as she said "here we go" as he prepared to pass comment on her performance, which he described as "karaoke on a big budget". Louis Walsh said: "You bring the fun factor to X Factor, absolutely amazing. You aren't the best singer in the world but who cares. I love it." Dannii Minogue said: "You have a fantastic voice. Where you are going to stumble is where you overdo it because you are so explosive."