Rikki Loney Blames Cheryl

Tuesday 20th October 2009 - 13:00:37

'X Factor' loser Rikki Loney blames Cheryl Cole for his exit from the show.

Rikki - who was voted off the ITV talent programme on Sunday (18.10.09) - said his mentor was so nervous ahead of her own solo performance that Rikki and the other two acts in her Boys category, Lloyd Daniels and Joseph McElderry, had to calm her down.

He said: "She was really, really nervous. She kept saying, 'I can't believe how nervous I am' and we kept reassuring her.

"She said she couldn't believe we were telling her it would be OK - like we were being her mentor!"

She was really, really nervous. She kept saying, 'I can't believe how nervous I am' and we kept reassuring her.She said she couldn't believe we were telling her it would be OK - like we were being her mentor!

Rikki also admitted he should have followed the advice of guest mentor Whitney Houston and dropped original song choice, Aretha Franklin's 'Respect', to sing her hit 'My Love is Your Love'.

He added to The Sun newspaper: "I should have listened to Whitney. They advised me to change.

"I'd have liked to, but there just wasn't any time. It was literally 24 hours before the performance.

"I knew 'Respect' was a massive risk. It didn't pay off."

Although the Scottish singer was praised by Cheryl and fellow panellist Danni Minogue for his performance on Saturday (17.10.09), head judge Simon Cowell scathingly told him he had progressed "from being a pub singer to a wedding singer".

Rikki later found himself in the bottom two acts and lost out in the sing off to Rachel Adejedi after his rendition of Westlife's 'Flying Without Wings' failed to impress.