'I promised I would never lie... but you were awful last week': X Factor judge Gary Barlow turns brutally honest with his act Frankie Cocozza

By Emily Sheridan

Last updated at 11:16 PM on 22nd October 2011

Since replacing Simon Cowell in the head judge's seat, Gary Barlow has quickly gained a reputation as the honest 'Mr Nasty' of the competition.

But tonight, the Take That singer admitted he had 'lied' on last week's show when he praised his act Frankie Cocozza, who narrowly avoided leaving the show after ending up in the bottom two.

After the 18-year-old performed Primal Scream's Get Your Rocks Of, Barlow decided to come clean over his praise of the Brighton-native the previous week.

Barlow said: 'When I decided to sit in this seat, there was one thing I promised myself I would never do, and that was lie and I lied for you last weekend and I said your performance was good and it wasn’t…it was awful. You deserved to be in the bottom two last week.

Being honest: X Factor judge Gary Barlow (left) told his act Frankie Cocozza his performance the previous week had been 'awful'

'Coming back tonight, to me, that was a comeback. Not an incredible comeback, but a comeback to who you should be. I think you did pretty well tonight.'

Cocozza's performance bizarrely started backstage with a black and white camera following him backstage.

In his VT prior to his performance, he boasted about going out and 'pulling lots of girls', to the concern of Barlow, who warned him to stop partying and focus on his practise.

Rowland admitted she was 'worried about how seriously he was taking the competition'.

Rocking out: The 18-year-old performed Primal Scream's Get Your Rocks Off, which was received fairly well by the judges

After his performance, Walsh said: 'It was a great entrance, I think the song choice suited you and this should be your comfort zone. Because you are a rocker. Something worries me, I think you’re a little bit over confident.'

Liverpudlian hairdresser Marcus Collins, 23, was the first to perform, taking on Lenny Kravitz's 1993 hit Are You Gonna Go My Way.

Walsh told him: 'What a brilliant opener. You're so out of your comfort zone doing rock. If I was marking you out of 10 would it be 10.'

Kicking off the show: Liverpudlian hairdresser Marcus Collins was the first to perform tonight with Lenny Kravitz's Are You Gonna Go My Way

Tulisa admitted she was surprised given his quieter rehearsal earlier that day: 'Why did I have a feeling you were holding back in rehearsal... But tonight you blew me away. The choreography wasn't too much. You were wild.'

Rowland was equally appreciative: 'This week you came out here and made the stage ours. I've been worried about you in the past but tonight you took control of the stage.'

First from Rowland's Girls group to sing was Northern Ireland's Janet Devlin, 16.

The teen performed a lower tempo version of Guns N' Roses 1988 rock anthem Sweet Child O' Mine.

Big hair, big voice: Janet Devlin sang Guns N' Roses 1988 rock anthem Sweet Child O' Mine

But Tulisa wasn't sure the song was rockier enough: 'That is a massive rock song, but it didn't feel very rocky. Not to say it wasn't very good, but it wasn't rocky. I didn't get that rocky edge from you.'

Predictably, her mentor Rowland disagreed: 'I am so proud. You delivered a rock song. You killed it baby, killed it.'

But Barlow also liked it: 'Janet was simply beautiful and gorgeous. Well done. I really like to see you moving around.'

I didn't get that rock vibe: Tulisa told Janet she didn't think the teenager gave the song a rock edge

The first of Walsh's Over 25s to perform was Sami Brookes who sang Cher classic If I Could Turn Back Time.

After being dubbed a cruise ship singer by Barlow the previous week, Sami failed to impress the Take That singer again.

He said: 'That was totally boring...

Barlow was then booed by the audience and angrily announced 'someone is swearing at me down here'.

'Totally boring': Barlow didn't hold back when it come to critiquing Sami Brookes' rendition of Cher's Turn Back Time

He told Sami: 'We're here to find someone who's gonna sell albums, singles, CDs, downloads. After that performance you're gonna be none of the above.'

Her mentor Walsh angrily defended Sami against Barlow's charges: 'This girl was literally getting sick two hours ago. She pulled it out of the bag. That was a powerful performance...'

To which Barlow interjected: 'Not with my ears.'

Tulisa was heard saying: 'That's really patronising...' before host Dermot O'Leary started interviewing Sami on stage.

Begging for votes: Sami defended her singing after it was compared to karaoke

Sami went on to beg viewers for votes: 'I didn't particular want to do the song. I did my best.

'Look, I know its a recession, I know its nearly Christmas, but if you (the public) could spend a £1 and vote for me I would be eternally grateful.'

When asked what she thought of Barlow's comments, she replied: 'I love Gary, he knows what he's talking about. That could be never karaoke, sorry Gary.'

Barlow insisted he thought Sami had a 'great voice', but 'its about seeing the potential to become a superstar... You know Louis, he takes bad acts and makes them even worse.'

Is that really rock? Girl group Rhythmix performed a rock version of Ke$ha's Tik Tok

Another act to cause a rift between the judges was Tulisa's girl group Rhythmix who performed a rock version of Ke$ha's Tik Tok, with a few choruses from Salt N' Pepa's Push It

All three judges told Tulisa the song wasn't rock, although she protested: 'It's rock week, not rock song week. If you didn't know it was Ke$ha and you heard it tonight it would be commercial rock.'

Rowland told the four-piece: 'You really sound great together. I think the look needs pulling together. I really want you guys to be the girls better than the last female group that was here.

It's not rock: Walsh told Tulisa she had bent the rules when it came to choosing a song for Rhytmix

Tension: Rowland told Tulisa she should take back her comment about Janet not being rocky after giving her own group a Ke$ha song

Turning to Tulisa, Rowland said: 'You should take back your comment about that (Janet's song) not being rocky, because that wasn't rock... It's Ke$ha pop!'

Barlow agreed: 'Very nice performance. Tulisa I don't think you've understood the rock theme. It means taking a rock track, that wasn't a rock track.'

Fortunately the next to perform, Sophie Habibis, managed to get the judges back on the same page with her cover of Bon Jovi's 1986 track Livin' On A Prayer.

Tulisa said: 'If you're gonna turn any rock song into a ballad, then that totally rocks. I think you're great and I love your personality.'

'Emotional connection': Barlow praised Sophie Habibis's performance of Bon Jovi's 1986 track Livin' On A Prayer

While Walsh liked her performance, he accused Rowland of not spending as much time with Habibis as her other acts Devlin and Misha B.

He said: 'So much better than last week. You made that song your own. You've got a lot of competition with the other girls. I'd like Kelly to work with Sophie more.'

Rowland hit back: 'What does Louis know? You're amazing.'

Barlow, who had told Habibis she needed to find her 'spark' last week, told her: 'At last you're making an emotional connection with your songs, that was great.'

One for Noel Gallagher: Liverpudlian Craig Colton sang Oasis' 2002 song Stop Crying Your Heart Out

Liverpudlian Craig Colton, 22, was next up and his performance of Oasis track Stop Crying Your Heart Out also managed to get Tulisa at odds with the judges over the genre boundaries.

She said: 'You have the most amazing voice and you have the star quality and that was an amazing performance.

'But I have to go back to it again, I think I’ve got the wrong end of the stick when they said rock week, because I thought it was about the energy and the vibe and the guitars and I felt like that song was turned into a ballad and it was an amazing ballad but it didn’t feel like a rock song.'

'Wrong end of the stick': Tulisa admitted she had misunderstood the Rock Week theme and thought Colton's performance sounded like a ballad

However, Rowland disagreed: 'That was definitely a rock song. You've got to respect the song's roots. I feel like you're back in your zone. So proud of you, great performance tonight.'

Harmony was restored to the panel when Kitty Brucknell performed Paul McCartney and Wings' Live And Let Die.

She started off on the piano, before moving over to a microphone stand.

Tulisa declared: 'THAT was rock, that was what you call rock. I can never find anything bad to say about you. You're an amazing artist, you're an amazing performer. I think you're a lot softer than people think, let down the barrier.'

Fiery: Kitty Brucknell proved her critics wrong with a storming performance of Paul McCartney and Wings' Live And Let Die

'Creative, innovative': Brucknell's rock chick performance impressed Barlow

Barlow said: 'Kitty I can start to see where you’re going with this and I’m in all the way. In fact you are the only contestant who is trying to say something through their music. You’re creative, innovative. I’m here…ready!

Like the rest of Tulisa's acts tonight, The Risk performed a rock version of a song from a different genre - Gnarls Barkley's 2006 song Crazy.

But all the judges agreed while it was good, it wasn't as good as previous weeks because bandmember Ashley J Baptiste, 22, has laryngitis.

Tough week: The Risk performed well, but not as good as previous weeks due to Ashley J Baptiste (left) suffering from laryngitis

But was it rock? Tulisa's only remaining boy band The Risk performed Gnarls' Barkley's Crazy

Walsh said: 'Its not exactly hard rock. I love the way the four of you sing. Charlie, you are my favourite singer. You don't look very happy. It wasn't as good as last week.'

Barlow added: 'You totally pulled it off. There's a great work ethic in this band that a lot of the other contestants could learn from.'

After receiving negative criticism from Barlow the previous two weeks, Johnny Robinson's rendition of The Darkness song I Believe In A Thing Called Love managed to win him over.

High drama: Johnny Robinson perfotrmed The Darkness song I Believe In A Thing Called Love

Barlow said: 'Johnny I really enjoyed that. There's only you that could sing that song tonight. Amazing... I'm just very interested, where did you get your suit from Argos?'

Fortunately Robinson was ready with a comeback: 'No, it was from your wardrobe!'

Rowland gave him a mixed response: 'I must admit, you really do rock. You're such my guilty pleasure. I'm not sure if you'll sell records, but I love to watch you and I have a good time.'

'I found it in your wardrobe, Gary': Robinson was quick off the mark when Barlow accused him of buying his silver jacket from Argos

Good comeback: Barlow burst into laughter at Johnny's witty comeback

Last to perform was Misha B with a powerful version of Prince's Purple Rain.

However when it came to critiquing her performance, it was all about backstage tension between Misha and other contestants that became the talking point.

Walsh told her: 'You've got a very unique voice. You've a very confident performer, I hope you're not too overconfident.'

Tulisa's remarks contained a warning: 'When it comes to talent you are way up there. You are definitely a star of the show.

Controversy: Misha looked lost for words when Walsh and Tulisa accused her of coming across as a 'bully' to other contestants

'I do have one negative, you're very competitive, I've seen a different side of you backstage.

'You being so feisty can come across as mean by other contestants. Take that energy and leave the war behind. I think you'll be amazing, just put aside the attitude.'

Barlow tried to bring the focus back to the performance: 'I don't care what goes on backstage. We should be getting involved in that. I'm loo0kng for an artist, someone to sell albums, and there she is there.'

Rowland vehemently defended Misha: 'You brought it clean and clear and on fire tonight. I'm so proud of you. (Turning to Walsh) I think some of your categories should get some more confidence.'

Walsh then interjected: 'One of my contestants has complained about Misha bullying her backstage.'

The X Factor results show is on ITV1 at 8pm on Sunday night.