Cowell brands Jedward 'action men' after double whammy

Controversial pop twins Jedward will find out tonight if they will survive another week on 'X Factor' after their latest performance on the show.

Talent guru Simon Cowell admitted that John and Edward Grimes had “converted a lot of people” – despite comparing them to the less successful half of Wham!

The spiky-haired teenagers sang a medley of Wham!’s 'I’m Your Man and Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)' on a George Michael theme night on the ITV show.

Afterwards Cowell told the Irish 18-year-olds: “I don’t think it was George (Michael) and Andrew (Ridgeley), it was Andrew and Andrew.”

The pair have been criticised for an alleged lack of singing talent by one section of the viewing public.

Cowell said fellow judge Louis Walsh was giving them too much to do.

“He’s turned you into his version of Action Man dolls, where every week you’re giving them this crazy choreography,” he said.

But he added: “What I would say is, you’ve converted a lot of people, guys, because you are just relentless, you’re like this unstoppable machine at the moment.”

Another judge, singer Cheryl Cole, told them: “You should be really proud of yourselves.”

Cowell was heavily criticised two weeks ago for missing the chance to kick the twins off the show. He let the public vote make the final decision and the youngsters survived.

The judges gave Joseph McElderry a standing ovation after he sang Elton John’s 'Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me'. And Cowell told the young singer: “That was your best performance so far.”

The contestants will find out tonight who will be the latest to be booted off the show and who will get to perform live next weekend.

The other remaining finalists are Lloyd Daniels, Stacey Solomon, Danyl Johnson and Olly Murs, who performed a variety of George Michael favourites, fast and slow.

Host Dermot O’Leary said Michael had called the show and sent his best wishes to all the contestants.