Rikki Loney Has Exit Factor

Rikki Loney has been voted off 'The X Factor'.

The Scottish pub singer faced Rachel Adedeji - who was in the bottom two last week - in the sing-off but failed to impress with his rendition of Westlife's 'Flying Without Wings' last night (18.10.09).

After their performances, Simon said: "I am not surprised... I don't think you're getting the right material."

Rikki sang Aretha Franklin's 'Respect' on Saturday's show (17.10.09), and his performance was criticised by judge Simon Cowell.

He said: "I don't think you're being advised properly at the moment."

Rachel performed Beyonce Knowles' 'If I Were A Boy' on Saturday, but struggled with some of the high notes.

She was visibly upset not to make it through, and performed U2 track 'With Or Without You' in the sing-off.

After the decision, Rikki said he was "gutted" to have been booted off, with his mentor Cheryl also upset at the decision. She told host Dermot O'Leary: "I can't believe he has gone and John and Edward have stayed."

After hearing the decision, Loney said: "I'm totally gutted but want to thank everyone for giving me this opportunity. I enjoyed every minute of it."

Rikki later implied Cheryl's song choice might have been to blame, saying 'Respect' was a tough track to perform.

Bookmakers were also left stunned by Rikki's departure, with William Hill revealing the decision has cost them around £60,000.

A spokesman said: "We were convinced that John and Edward would get the boot so were happy to take a lot of money for Rikki and that decision has cost us big time."