The dream is over for Croydon singer Ashley McKenzie after he was booted off The X Factor on Saturday night.

Following a lacklustre rendition of Abba's The Winner Takes It All, Ashley was shown the door by judges Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh.

Previously a favourite on the television talent show, Ashley failed to hit the right note on a night when many of the acts struggled.

A support campaign was launched in Croydon with many shops and businesses displaying posters that called on people to vote for the hotly-tipped 20-year-old former Topman shop assistant.

Ashley, who was mentored by Simon Cowell, was joined in the final showdown by Sharon Osbourne's Robert Allen - meaning the eviction decision was down to Louis.

The Irishman told Ashley his performance lacked conviction and passion. "I saved you last week," Louis said on Saturday, "and on the strength of that I think I was right.

"But I still feel you've an awful lot more to give. It was like there was no conviction or passion."

Sharon blamed Ashley's poor performance on fellow judge Simon Cowell, claiming he had done a disservice to Ashley with his song choice.

She added: "It was not your fault, it was your mentor's fault. You are not good in lower register and the majority of that song is in lower register."

Ashley's eviction left Cowell fuming. He refused to appear on The Xtra Factor, a sister series for the show, and called Louis "spiteful".

But Ashley remained calm and told host Kate Thornton: "I'm fine, I've been privileged to have gone through this experience."

He also accused Louis of deliberately getting rid of "the strongest competition".

Ashley, a member for the Mckenzie boxing family, was the first of Simon's finalists to be voted off.

He had told Ashley after his first performance that he had star quality: "Compared to a lot of the performances we had it was absolutely fantastic.

"You lost your confidence and you've got to get it back. But you have a presence, a star quality, and that's what this show is about."

After the show Ashley told Ben Shephard, host of The Xtra Factor, he was "honoured to have taken part in the show."