The 200,000-plus applicants have been whittled down to just 200 who will be put through their paces on tonight’s Xfactor.

By the end of Sunday’s show there will be just 24 acts remaining.

The pressure is piled on as contestants are told they have to perform in groups, with each person singing a lead vocal during the performance.

After every team has sung, judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, Dannii Minogue and Cheryl Cole tell them whether they have made it to the second day of Boot Camp.

Programme makers said a shock upset happens when three favourites do not make the final 50 as soloists. But the judges believe in them as a group and viewers will need to tune in to see if they can be persuaded.

And there are plenty of controversial decisions as the 200 – including Trinidad’s Rozelle Phillip – are whittled down to just 50 in only a few hours.

And there is uproar when 17-year-old Dublin twins John and Edward accidentally sing over the top of another act. When two out of three of their group goes through, there are tears – but who is to blame? A source said: “The boys may just manage to scrape through but have they ruined someone else’s chances in the process? It’s a tough call.”

At one point, the judges ask three solo girls who haven’t made it through to the next stage to come back as a group.