Tulisa steps in for sick Mel B on X Factor final

http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/dec/13/x-factor-mel-b-sick-tulisa-steps-in

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Tulisa Contostavlos is back on ITV this weekend, filling in for Melanie Brown on the final of The X Factor. The former Spice Girl, better known as Mel B, has been ill this week and will miss the shows at Wembley Arena tonight and tomorrow night after being advised by doctors to rest.

The act she is supporting in the competition, Italian Andrea Faustini, is up against Ben Haenow and Fleur East. The two shows will also feature performances by Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, One Direction, Meghan Trainor, Olly Murs and Demi Lovato.

Brown, 39, has been a judge on this series alongside the show’s supremo, Simon Cowell, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and show veteran Louis Walsh.

Fernandez-Versini tweeted: “Absolutely gutted Mel is not able to make it tonight after all the love and hard work she has put into getting Andrea here.”

No details have been revealed about Brown’s illness, but some reports have said she was being treated in a private hospital. She did not attend an X Factor press conference on Thursday.

Contostavlos, who was a judge for two series and has made a guest appearance this year, is making a comeback with a new single, Living Without You, after facing a trial for allegedly brokering a cocaine deal. The case collapsed earlier this year after the judge said there were “strong grounds” to believe that former News of the World reporter Mazher Mahmood had lied in the witness box.

Contostavlos appeared in the current series when she joined Walsh for the judges’ houses stage of the competition.

Fleur East is 4-11 favourite to win, according to bookmaker William Hill, after giving an impressive performance last week of the Mark Ronson track Uptown Funk. Haenow is at 11-4 and Faustini at 12-1. Cowell said on Twitter: “This is going to be the closest final ever. Expect some spectacular performances.”

The music mogul has vowed to make significant changes to the 12th series of the X Factor in 2015 after disappointing ratings this year, despite the return as judges of both Cowell and Fernandez-Versini.

If Faustini wins, he will release a cover of the late Whitney Houston’s song I Didn’t Know My Own Strength, while Haenow and East have recorded a version of the OneRepublic track Something I Need if either are victorious. Neither track made the UK top 40 on its original release. The tracks are both by artists signed to labels belonging to Sony Music, the company that signs the winning acts from the show.