Recap of 'X Factor' Semi Final Results Show

Last night's "X Factor" semi final finally showed us some excellent performances! The decision of who should make it through to sing another week is harder to call now, and with an all important place in the final at stake, everyone really raised their game.

Before the business end of the show, the "X Factor" stage was graced by some of the biggest musical acts in the world! The first guest star performance came from the 2008 "X Factor" winner Alexandra Burke. That girl has come a long way since then - having sold over four million singles and had a number one album. She performed her new single, "The Silence" and proved exactly why she is a winner. She kind of put this year's finalists to shame!

Next up were the cast of Glee. They were introduced by a special message from Sue Sylvester and Will Schuester. I may have actually let out a squeal at the sight of Cory Monteith and Mark Salling live on stage! The vibe they gave off was phenomenal - it absolutely leapt out of the screen and was by far the best X Factor guest performance ever. That is how live singing should be done.

Black Eyed Peas were the final guests to perform. While they always put on a great show, it is not cool to ruin an iconic song like "I've Had The Time Of My Life". Fergie was rather out of tune which sort of killed the whole thing - but at least she was singing live which many of the guest performers have failed to do this year!

The results seemed a little bit of an anti climax after so much brilliance in the first half. However, seeing the looks of terror on the faces of the contestants brought everyone back to reality. The first act to make it through to the final was One Direction, followed by Rebecca Ferguson and finally Matt Cardle. This left Cher Lloyd and Mary Byrne in the bottom two.

Mary Byrne sang "This Is A Man's World" by James Brown, a song she sang in an earlier round of the show. She sang like it was her last time on stage, and she looked really relaxed considering the pressure. She made an effort to really make it a memorable performance - and it definitely was.

Cher Lloyd chose "Everytime" by Britney Spears for her survival song. Cher was in tears before she even started singing which made it a little harder for her to control her voice. All in all, it sort of added to the emotion of the lyrics and towards the end she really got into her stride.

Louis Walsh was the first judge to vote and chose to send Mary through to the final. Dannii Minogue chose to send through Cher Lloyd, Cheryl Cole also chose to send Cher through also. The final decision was down to Simon Cowell and he had a great chance to screw Cheryl Cole over by taking the vote to deadlock. But he instead chose to send Cher through and Mary out of the competition.

So, the 2010 "X Factor" finalists are: One Direction, Matt Cardle, Rebecca Ferguson and Cher Lloyd. The prize really could be taken by any one of them this year - it will be interesting to see how they cope in the lead up to the big night!