Jay James sings '500 Miles' on The X Factor UK 2014 (VIDEO)

Jay James sang '500 Miles' on The X Factor UK 2014 Live Show 2 on October 18, 2014.

Pre-performance: Jay loved every single second of last week's show, and Simon feels they absolutely got it right with Jay in the first live show. However, this week, he's ripping a well-known song to shreds and delivering it in his own style. Simon says the track is a killer, and that when it first starts, no one is going to know what it is. But Simon loves that about this arrangement.

Nick's Thoughts: Is it weird that I knew what song this was from the first word? It's "500 Miles" by The Proclaimers, but delivered with Jay's trademark affectations -- and it works! I mean, it toes the line of being a different song completely, but it's just similar enough to feel like a new interpretation and not two different songs that just happen to have the same lyrics. It's my favorite Jay performance of the season so far, and one of the best performances of the night. He earns a standing ovation from Mel B and Simon.

Judges: Louis thought it was brilliant, and compares Jay to a young Simon Cowell, for some reason. Mel B says his performance was absolutely killer. Cheryl thought Jay sang the song beautifully, but couldn't decide whether the arrangement was genius or just odd. She ultimately sides with "odd," although Simon feels it was "genius". He feels Jay is taking risks, and not singing karaoke versions of songs. He's gobsmacked that Cheryl didn't like it, but she reiterates that she sang it beautifully. She says Simon is only sticking up for Jay because he's one of his acts, although Simon denies this. He thanks Jay for his performance, and praises him again. Dermot interviews Cheryl about whether it was the song choice or what, but this simply leads to another argument between the judges, as Cheryl and Simon are once again at each other's throats. Jay simply reiterates that he had a good time, bypassing all the drama at the judges' table. Smart move.

But what do you think of Jay James? Watch the performance video below: