Stevi Ritchie sings 'Never Gonna Give You Up' on The X Factor UK 2014 (VIDEO)

Stevi Ritchie sang 'Never Gonna Give You Up' on The X Factor UK 2014 Live Show 2 on October 18, 2014.

Pre-performance: Stevi cried backstage after learning he was safe, saying it feels great to be accepted. He was originally going to sing 'Addicted to Love', but felt it was a bit boring, so he called Simon and suggested changing the track, and was surprised to find that Simon supported him completely. During rehearsal, Simon encourages Stevi by saying the 80s is the perfect decade for him. Stevi wants to get everyone to boogie 'Stevie Style'.

Nick's Thoughts: Aaaand Stevi is rick-rolling us all, singing "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley. It's kind of a jokey performance, but it's honestly not the worst vocal in the world. Of course, the standard for this show should, in theory, be much higher than "not the worst vocal in the world." That said, I still enjoy Stevi more than some other acts in the competition, and he does offer variety. I some know people absolutely hate the novelty acts, and I don't blame them one bit. But these sorts of acts are what I love from The X Factor UK, since no other singing competition delivers acts like this and puts them in the mix with serious finalists. I have no problem with Stevi grinding onstage with beautiful women at this early stage of the competition, although this did feel like a carbon copy of last week, at least in the onstage performance.

Judges: Louis loves Stevi and calls him a "sex god," but notes that the vocal was like bad karaoke. Mel B is less positive, saying that not even the dancers could make Stevi look good. He says he couldn't keep his eyes off the dancers, much like last week. Cheryl says Stevi is pure entertainment, and one of the most genuine contestants in the competition. Simon says he shouldn't like Stevi, but he does. Stevi once again vows to sing a ballad to prove he can sing, and proposes possibly doing so if he makes it through to next week. Dermot asks Stevi if he thinks he can win, and Stevi honestly admits that he doesn't think he can. But he wants to give it his best shot. I really do like Stevi, even if I feel there are more deserving contestants than him that should have gone through. I do hope he delivers on his promise to sing a ballad though, instead of doing the Rylan Clark thing of promising and promising but never delivering until it's too late (i.e., when he's in the sing-off. Although I suppose you could argue that's the perfect time to try and prove you can sing).

But what do you think of Stevi Ritchie? Watch the performance video below: