X Factor reject Lucie Jones has backed Stacey Solomon to win the talent contest.

Jones, 18, performed in front of hundreds of fans in her home town of Cardiff after she was knocked out of the competition on Sunday.

Judge Simon Cowell refused to make a call between her and twins John and Edward and put it to the public vote to see who should stay.

Before performing four songs today in front of her cheering supporters, Jones defended Cowell's decision to take the vote to "deadlock", even though it meant she was kicked out of the running.

She said: "I don't really think it was a cop-out. He made the valid point he didn't think either John and Edward or I could win so if he had picked me over the others it would have been for the wrong reason."

ITV and broadcasting regulator Ofcom have received thousands of complaints about Cowell's decision to back "Jedward" but Jones said the public reaction was "bizarre".

She added: "I'm in the middle of it, it's all going on around me but it doesn't really get to me.

"I'm just watching it and it's quite funny, it seems quite surreal."

She denied Cowell had allowed her to get the chop to strengthen the chances of his own acts, Danyl Johnson, Olly Murs and Jamie Archer.

Jones said: "At the end of the day, whoever wins signs to him and is his act so he makes the money. Whoever wins, he wins."

Despite this, she said she would give Cowell the boot if the tables were turned and she was allowed to vote off one of the judges.

"I just like the other three more than him," she said.

Now she's out of the running, Jones says she is backing Stacey Solomon, the only contestant remaining in the under-25 girls category, mentored by Dannii Minogue.

She said: "I think Stacey will win, I want her to win. I shared a room with her and we got really close. I could speak to her about anything."

The student said she would also miss fellow Welsh contestant Lloyd Daniels, but denied rumours of a romance between the pair.

"I'm going to miss Lloyd. If there was anything wrong he was the one I would speak to but there's nothing going on between us," she said.

She added the highlight of the competition was her relationship with her mentor Minogue and said she was the judge she most wanted feedback from.

"I always wanted to hear from Dannii," the teenager said. "She's the best mentor, the most hands-on. She really got to know us and that's why it worked so well.

"She really wanted us to be comfortable with everything, rather than look the best. If the shoes looked good but weren't comfortable she would take them off us."

She added her dream would be to collaborate with singer Michael Buble, who mentored the contestants during "Big Band Week".

Jones said: "I would love to work with him again, he's an amazing vocalist and an incredible performer."