-Paije insists he will 'keep moving with it' after shock exit from X Factor
-Says he wants Rebecca to win, but calls Cher 'a great talent'
'Not too upset': Paije Richardson appeared on ITV's Daybreak today and said he was coping well with his X Factor exit
Paije Richardson has spoken about his shock exit from the X Factor last night, insisting he's 'not too upset' over the judges' decision to save Cher Lloyd over him.
Appearing on Daybreak this morning, Paije said he hadn't expected to be in the bottom two, but always prepared himself for the worst.
He said: 'I’m not too upset. Obviously it hurts a little bit to be out, but it’s the nature of the show and you’ve just got to keep moving with it.'
Shock exit: While Paije's departure came as a shock to viewers, he insisted Cher Lloyd 'deserved' her place
'It’s sort of like the come-down now - you get yourself used to doing things again for yourself. And I just feel incredibly lucky to get as far as I’ve got because I’ve already been kicked out, then I got back in and now I’m here just relaxing.'
Paije, 20, also said he has no hard feelings towards Cher, who narrowly escaped eviction from the show herself.
He said: 'She’s a great talent and she deserves her place. I’m proud of her and I hope she does well.'
Dignified exit: Paije and Cher were both seen leaving the X Factor studios last night after the shock eviction
As well as believing in his former fellow contestant Cher, Paije revealed he is backing Rebecca Ferguson to win.
He added: 'I think Rebecca should win it. I think she really deserves it and it would be amazing for her to win.
'She’s so humble, she believes in herself 100 per cent, and she is such a lovely person. You can't fault her for anything. As I say, she is so polite and she is so nice, there’s nothing bad I can say about her.'
Bottom two: Paije Richardson was sent home on the X Factor tonight after facing the sing-off with Cher Lloyd, the first time either of the contestants had been in the bottom two
High emotions: Cher and Paije both looked mortified to be in the bottom two
Paije also took the opportunity to defend Wagner, who has found himself at the centre of controversy after calling judge Cheryl Cole 'a girl from a council estate who got lucky'.
He said: 'I do feel a little bit sorry for Wagner because people are blaming him for being in there, he doesn’t vote himself in there. But he is trying his best and it’s his dream as much as it’s mine or anyone else’s.'
And this isn't the end for Paije, who insisted he has no intention of giving up on his dream.
He said: 'I'm going to keep trying my best and doing whatever comes around and work, work, work until I achieve what I want.'
Singing their hearts out: Both were praised for their sing-off songs, but Cher managed to get the support of the judges with just Dannii voting to save her act Paije
Tough call: Cheryl and Simon both voted to save Cher along with Louis, sealing Paije's fate in the contest
Last night, Paije faced a tense sing-off with Cher Lloyd with both looking mortified at coming in the bottom two for the first time in the series.
X Factor fans seemingly turned on Cole by relegating her star act Cher to the sing-off while Wagner Carrilho - who Cheryl picked a fight with on Saturday's show - went sailing through again.
His on-stage argument with Cole came after he unwittingly told an undercover reporter: 'Cheryl has never spoken to me but that's ok. She's just a girl from a council estate who got lucky when someone gave her a job in showbusiness.'
Cheryl then laid into him, saying she was 'very proud' of her roots - while Wagner told her not to believe what she read in the press before launching a charm offensive.
Who to choose: Louis struggled to make a call, saying both acts were 'incredible' before finally voting to send hom Paije
Last night all four judges said it was unfair that Cher and Paije were in the bottom two, with Dannii seething that it was 'outrageous' in a blatant dig at Wagner.
Simon and Louis all backed Cheryl's act Cher in the end though, with Dannii being the only judge to vote for her act Paije to stay.
Making his decision, Simon said: 'I'm going to go with the person who I've continually supported. Neither of you should have been in the bottom by the way.'
Pressed by host Dermot O'Leary, he continued: 'The person I'm going to send home is Paije.'
Shock: Katie was the first act to be told she was safe and looked incredibly shocked upon hearing her name, seen right launching into a hug with Rebecca Ferguson
Delighted: Cher watches on as Katie is embraced by mentor Cheryl Cole
Survivor: Wagner looked over the moon as he was told he was not facing the sing-off and reached out to his shocked mentor Louis and gave him a kiss
Cheryl was next to be asked and said: 'This is absolutely the worst part. I absolutely hate this part. But I'm going to send home Paije.'
Dannii then said: 'This is just outrageous that either of you are there.
'I will always support my own act and Paije you did the most unbelievable performance this week and you deserve this.'
It was then left to Louis to cast the deciding vote. 'Both acts were incredible in the sing-off. I've always believed in Paije from day one,' he said.
'But in the sing-off, Cher, you were just incredible... but I'm finding it hard to pick between them.'
Battle of the dresses: Dannii Minogue wore a tiered black dress with a white trim while Cheryl donned a Grecian-style number
Here they come: The X Factor judges emerge on to the stage at the start of the programme, from left Dannii, Louis, Cheryl and Simon
Eventually after Dermot pushed him for a decision, Louis chose to send home Paije, sealing his fate.
Paije performed the Sam Brown hit Stop in his bid to stay in the competition while Cher performed arguably her strongest performance of the season once again - Stay by Shakespears Sister.
Wagner - who locked horns with Cheryl last night over comments he made about her being from a council estate - cheered as he was given the all clear.
And Katie, who last night performed The Beatles hit Help, looked shocked as she was told first by host Dermot that she was safe for another week.
He's back: Former X Factor finalist Olly Murs returned to the stage to perform his new single Thinking Of Me
Let me entertain you: The former call centre worker donned a shirt, jeans and braces as he strutted his stuff before the judges
Simon mouthed the words 'wow' as the 24-year-old hugged her mentor Cheryl.
But there was plenty of eye-rolling - particularly from Dannii Minogue and Cheryl - when they learnt 54-year-old Wagner had made it through at the expense of their two acts, Paije and Cher.
It will come as a welcome relief for Katie though, who has found herself in the bottom two on three occasions now.
There were also more revelations in yesterday's newspapers about the controversial contestant, this time regarding her grandmother who was exposed as a high class escort.
According to the People, Katie's 81-year-old maternal grandmother Sheila Vogel charges up to £250 per hour for sex through a website called Vintage Vamps.
Tonight's show also saw last year's X Factor finalist Olly Murs perform his new single Thinking Of Me
High praise: The star received a standing ovation from the judges following his performance
The former call centre worker from Essex returned to the stage to perform the track fresh from his appearance at the T4 Stars of 2010 Awards show in London earlier in the day.
Olly, 26, dressed in jeans, shirt and braces for his performance and brought the house down, receiving a standing ovation from the judges.
Speaking to Dermot afterwards, Olly said: 'It's great to be back. It's great to be back in front of the judges again. Thank you so much to my mentor Simon.'
Asked who he thought was going to win by O'Leary, Olly struggled to name an act before blurting out 'One Direction' - Cowell's only remaining act in the show.
Ensemble: The final X Factor 16 were reunited to perform their cover of David Bowie’s 1977 classic Heroes for the Help The Heroes charity
Applause: They were joined by a group of servicemen and servicewomen who have benefited from the charity and the judges gave them a standing ovation after the song
This year's final 16 X Factor contestants also assembled en mass to perform their single together, a cover of David Bowie’s 1977 classic Heroes for the Help The Heroes charity.
They were joined by twenty servicemen and servicewomen who have been helped by the charity, including Lance Corporal Matthew Wilson, who lost is leg when he stepped on a bomb while on patrol in the Afghan province of Helmand last summer.
In a tragic twist of fate his father - Lance Corporal Steven Wilson - was killed by an IRA bomb in 1989, aged just 23 and six months, the same age as Matthew when he suffered his horrific injury.
JAN MOIR: A pantomime, but who's the real villain?
And it came to pass that after the seventh live show, there were seven. Lucky for some, but not for Paije Richardson, who was finally booted off the X Factor last night.
It had to happen. Paije was one of those middle-ranking contestants who cling on week after week and hope no one notices they’re still there. Little Lenny Henry, Little Marvin Gaye, little difference did it make in the end. Cheryl’s mini-me Cher, fragile but always the more commercial – and always a judges’ favourite – won out in the end.
It all added to the strange and brittle mood of a curious X Factor weekend. For a start, no one actually had the X Factor. Like a rafter of turkeys who have suddenly felt the keen wind of Christmas flapping at their wattles, most of the acts were off form, out of sorts, nervous and spooked.
With the possible exception of Mary Byrne and Katie Waissel, the performances on Saturday were nearly all personal worsts. Matt the Hat was not at his Best in a Vest.
Usually dependable Rebecca Ferguson stumbled bleakly through her song, like a poor little match girl adrift in a blizzard of notes. Perhaps we should be grateful for one small mercy; Cher didn’t rap.
Over on the panel, the judges only added to the brackish mood. Increasingly Simon & Co behave like pantomime villains performing in an end-of-the-pier Saturday afternoon matinee. Oh no they don’t. Oh yes, they so do.
Take Cheryl. One minute she is all dimples and Minnie Mouse charm, cute as can be in one of her ‘edgy’ dresses that is part cutlery drawer, part Munchkin army armour. See her giggle as she tells Matt that ‘it is so nice to see the cheeky chappie coming out in you coz it sez so here in this script on my lap I keep looking at’.
Then the next minute she is on the rampage, attacking Wagner for supposedly disobliging remarks he made about her in a newspaper interview. It sounded petty on both sides, even if Wagner was spirited and predictably emollient in his own defence. However, Wag, a word of advice. Saying, ‘I didn’t know that guy was a journalist’, is not a good way to vindicate yourself about being misquoted.
More importantly, Cheryl knows how it works. This is showbusiness. A business in which she is a professional and he is a rank amateur. How many times in her pop career can Cheryl Cole have been told – and also told the acts that she mentors – not to believe everything they read in the more febrile corners of the showbiz newspapers?
Before she clambers aboard her moral high horse, perhaps she might consider the hypocritical incongruity of her criticising Wagner for singing off tune in a live television performance when she has to rely on miming and autotune herself. We saw a different side of Cheryl on Saturday night – and it wasn’t nice.
On with the show. It was Beatles week on the X Factor, a handy coincidence given that the Fab Four’s back catalogue was released on iTunes this week. Fancy! Do you ever get the feeling that we humble viewers are the mugs who fund a game of Pass the Cash amongst a group of ageing millionaires? That is quite possibly because we do.
And finally, it wouldn’t be the X Factor if everyone wasn’t, once more, searching for the Real Me.
‘You have shown the person you really are,’ said Simon to Cher. ‘To me, Paije, you were just you,’ said Cheryl. ‘This is Mary as Mary should be,’ said Mary, talking about herself in the first person like a proper global superstar.
Cheryl agreed with the sentiment. ‘The beauty of you is that you sing with such experience because you have lived a life,’ she told the Irish singer. Cheryl could say the same thing to Wagner, too, couldn’t she? But she won’t.
Oh yes, she will. Oh no, she won’t.
Source:Dailymail