Sharon Osbourne joins Cowell (l) and Walsh on the panel of judges

Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh each chose to save their own act on Saturday, forcing fellow judge Sharon Osbourne to make the final decision.

"It seems it's not based on talent this year," said 4Tune star Mike Hannides "It's based on the judges."

"It feels like a personal vendetta," added fellow musician Phil Kemish.

"I felt it was personal rather than about our performance," said Anthony Hannides, one of four members of the Southampton boy band.

The show sees hopefuls, handpicked by the trio of judges, battling it out for the top prize of a recording contract.

Simon Cowell now has just two acts left in the competition compared to four each for Walsh and Osbourne.

It is the second time boy band 4Tune have entered X Factor

Steve Brookstein won the first series, coached to success by Cowell.

The 36-year-old picked up a �1m deal with Cowell's BMG label when he was crowned the winner in a live final in December 2004.

His debut single Against All Odds went to number one in the charts, as did his debut album, Heart & Soul.

However, he failed to capitalise on his early success and was dropped by his record label after eight months.

'Mr Nasty'

Record executive Cowell became a household name, famous for his sharp put-downs and nasty jibes, on the ITV reality show Pop Idol and its US successor, American Idol.

Louis Walsh currently manages boy band Westlife and solo star Ronan Keating. Previous success stories include Boyzone, B*Witched and Samantha Mumba.

Nearly 75,000 hopefuls entered the second series of The X-Factor, which is produced by Cowell's TV production company Syco.