Teenager Freddy Parker has narrowly made it through the first week of X Factor's live public vote by securing the new Lifeline.

The former Kent schoolboy was lined up to be part of the tense TV sing-off to stay in the competition which has made household names for the likes of Leona Lewis, One Direction, Little Mix and Fleur East.

But he was spared the ordeal at the eleventh hour when host Dermot O'Leary announced he was through thanks to the Lifeline which opened up the phone lines once more after the initial eight acts went through.

Eighteen-year-old Freddy, from Ashford, sang a piano-accompanied version of Killing Me Softly which was a hit originally for Roberta Flack and covered by The Fugees.

Former Sutton Valence pupil Freddy's performance divided the judges, with Simon Cowell saying he should not have stood up half way during the performance, labelling it 'bonkers'.

But Freddy, who changed song selection at the last minute after advice from mentor Nicole Scherzinger, said he felt it was the right thing to do.

He had previously impressed the former Pussy Cat Doll singer and judge Nicole and her guest Calvin Harris with a rendition of Ellie Goulding's Love Me Like You Do.

Freddy, who confessed to The Sun that he had been convicted of drink driving, was put on vocal rest ahead of ITV's first live show which was broadcast last night.

He had told The Sun online that he had been struggling to keep up with the gruelling schedule the show requires and how it could affect his future on the programme.

He was not part of the first acts voted through on tonight's show, sharing the bottom three positions with Bratavio and Saara Aalto.

A sing-off saw Louis Walsh's boy band Bratavio the first to be knocked out after their song for survival, The Only Way is Up by Yazz, failed to impress the judges who voted three to one to ditch the duo.