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A Gran Stand Finish

X Scots Hopeful Needs Our Votes Tonight To Make Final Jean Vows To Conquer Fear Of Flying To See Her Leon Win X Factor

BRAVE granny Jean Wotherspoon is ready to conquer her fear of flying to cheer Leon Jackson on to X Factor victory.

Jean, 61, has never been on a plane but if 18-year-old Leon makes it through tonight's semi-final, she will be jetting to London to support him next weekend.
Up to now, she has had to be happy watching him on a big screen with friends and supporters at his old school, Whitburn Academy in West Lothian.

Jean said: "I know I'll have to get on aplane to watch Leon in the final.

"I'm trying not to think too much about it as I've been scared of heights all my life.

"But I'm just going to bite the bullet and try to be as brave as possible for Leon's sake."

Leon's mum Wendy Jackson, 40, a medical receptionist, said: "My mum has always been terrified of flying so it's really brave of her to say she's going to fly down to the final if Leon makes it.

"She's been going along to the school to watch the show on a big screen since the final started and loves the atmosphere.

"But it would be a tremendous boost for Leon if he makes the final and his Granny Jean is there."

There are four acts left from the 150,000 who originally applied - Leon, Rhydian Roberts, Niki Evans and brother and sister duo Same Difference.

One will be eliminated tonight, leaving three to fight it out next weekend for the chance to win a £1million record contact and release a single in time for Christmas.

Granny Jean says she is convinced her talented grandson is heading for the finals after some stunning performances .

She said: "I've said all along that I think he'll win.

"I remember him telling me he was going in for it and I told him he'd win the whole show as he's got the lot.

"He's my grandson and obviously I'm biased but I think Leon has grown in confidence, has got a great voice and looks like a pop star.

"What he's done is remarkable given that he was never interested in singing as a boy.

"This only came about after he started going to karaoke at the Chicago Rock Cafe in Livingston and his friends told him he had a good voice."

If Leon gets through to the final, he'll come back to Scotland onMonday for a special homecoming thank-you performance.

He will visit mum Wendy at their home in Whitburn as well as going to his old school to catch up.

In the evening, he will be doing a gig at Livingston's Designer Outlet shopping centre.

He said last night: "To be able to go back to Scotland and thank all the fans back home for voting will be an amazing honour.

"To have my mum there will be the icing on the cake because she is the reason why I am doing this."

Granny Jean says her boy is well worth the viewing public's votes, although she thinks all the contestants who are left have proved they can sing.

And she revealed she sees Niki as the biggest threat to Leon being crowned champion.

She said: "All the contestants have shown their singing talent by getting this far. "I think Niki is a great singer and a threat to Leon but I don't think Rhydian will win. He's more of an opera singer and I think he's already peaked, whereas Leon has grown stronger every week and has more to give.

"My grandson is a lovely boy and is very down-to-earth. He's tried to take everything in his stride but obviously he was a bit nervous at the start.

"I don't think the show will change him one bit."

Tonight the contestants are all once again singing two songs and the theme is Judges' and Contestants' Choices.

Leon will be singing The Very Thought Of You and How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You).

The show will include a masterclass by Canadian crooner Michael Buble.

Like Celine Dion, who gave a masterclass earlier in the series, Michael was bowled over by Leon, who he said was a superstar in waiting.

While all the final four acts got to do their masterclass on the stage at Wembley Arena in front of Michael, Leon was then invited by him to sing later that night during his gig at the venue in front of 12,000 people.

Mentor Dannii Minogue was there to see Leon, who got a standing ovation from the Wembley crowd, singing Michael's tune Home, alongside his hero.

An emotional Dannii said: "I was so incredibly proud of him. It was like a dream come true for him and I was welling with pride.

"It felt like I was watching my own child up there."

It seems bookies' favourite Rhydian, also mentored by Dannii, is feeling the heat.
Sharon Osbourne was the first to suggest Leon was the dark horse of the competition and could cause an upset.

Now Welshman Rhydian is worried and reckons the Scot could become the Leon King of The X Factor.

Rhydian's two songs this week are Bridge Over Troubled Water and You'll Never Walk Alone.

He said: "Coming third or fourth is not good enough. I want to be in that final two and I really don't want to be beaten by Leon."

Niki will sing Songbird and One Moment In Time while Same Difference will sing Never

Had A Dream Come True and Chain Reaction.

The brother and sister group are favourites to be booted off the show tonight.

But bookies Ladbrokes say all the money this week has been on Leon to be kicked out.

Judges Simon Cowell and LouisWalsh bullied him and claimed he was too nervous but he proved them wrong. Now, the teenage Scot needs the backing of the whole nation to go the whole way.

This week, he showed in front of 12,000 people at Wembley that he has what it takes to be The X Factor winner.

And the only way for Scots to get behind him and prove the bookies wrong is to get on the phones to vote to keep him in the competition.

Source: Daily Record