X Factor losers defend Louis

X Factor rejects Girlband have defended their mentor Louis Walsh, despite claims from fellow judge Cheryl Cole that he had "lost his girlband mojo". The foursome lost out in the public vote to Spanish-born Ruth Lorenzo, after coming in the bottom two and being forced to sing a survival song for the second consecutive week. But asked whether they blamed Walsh's lack of experience with girlbands, Layla Manoochehri, 22, said: "We've had a perfect relationship with Louis, he has been absolutely wonderful. He has been texting us all the time, giving us so much advice." In the Michael Jackson-themed live show, the group - friends from Bristol and Birmingham, Tita and Jay Lau, 19 and 17, Marisa Billitteri, 19 and Manoochehri - performed ballad Heal The World, with six female backing singers and petals falling on stage. The performance was branded "gimmicky" by judge Simon Cowell, but the girls said they agreed with Walsh's song choice and reined in the production. Manoochehri, a songwriter who has co-written for Lisa Stansfield, said: "They actually wanted to give us a little child's choir with them holding gerbils and hamsters and we said 'no' because that's the image we wanted to get rid of." Last week, Girlband went head-to-head in a sing-off with Walsh's other girl group, Bad Lashes, who later claimed he had spent more time with boyband JLS. In the lead-up to Girlband's performance last night, Cole, whose group Girls Aloud was originally managed by Walsh, said: "Louis has never been great with girl groups. I think he's lost his mojo with them." Manoochehri said: "Bad Lashes must have had a different relationship with him. As soon as we got through from the judge's houses, he texted us every day, saying 'make sure you're rehearsing, you haven't been together very long, so make sure you get tighter as a group', he's been fantastic with us."

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ITN | October 21, 2008

Tags:. .asked. .public. .lost. .forced. .wonderful