X FACTOR’S SECOND LIVE HAS A VERDICT: VERONICA LEAVES

X Factor 2026’s second Live aired on Thursday 29 October on Sky Uno and NOW. The night ended with a verdict: Veronica left the competition after facing Lenanie in the sing-off. MEEK was the special guest.

The second Live verdict

Lenanie and Veronica reached the final sing-off. Jake La Furia chose Lenanie; Irama, Paola Iezzi and Francesco Gabbani chose Veronica. With three votes, Veronica left X Factor. This is the result in Sky’s official recap.

MEEK joins the second Live

Sky’s official photo recap confirms MEEK as the night’s special guest. It does not document a complete set list, so this article keeps only the verified fact of her appearance.

For the contestants, meanwhile, the work begins again: rehearsals, choices and the moment when a song has to reach the audience. We can support a favourite without turning the evening into a contest in harsh judgment. Behind a voice are practice, expectations and people learning how to inhabit a stage.

Voting and the rehearsal video

Voting for the second Live is closed. For future shows, use only the programme’s official voting channels and follow its opening and closing announcements. The official Daily 9 lets you revisit rehearsals for the 29 October show.

Where we left off: the first Live on 22 October

The lights come on, the music starts and this time nobody can put off the moment of truth. X Factor Italy 2026 enters its Live shows with a night that immediately changes the picture: Alice Fregoso leaves, Teo Bok returns and Marco Mengoni takes the stage as a guest. The first live broadcast on 22 October, hosted by Giorgia, already gives us plenty to talk about.

Francesco Gabbani, Irama, Paola Iezzi and Jake La Furia sit at the judges’ table. From now on, their choices must also face the audience’s verdict. For the singers, it’s a huge step: rehearsals are over, voting is open and the song they have prepared for days has to reach someone right now.

Alice says goodbye, but her journey stays open

The first elimination is Alice Fregoso, an eighteen-year-old from Genoa on Gabbani’s team. In the sing-off she faces Veronica, mentored by Jake La Furia. Veronica performs Barbara Pravi’s Voilà; Alice chooses Carla Morrison’s Disfruto and finishes her performance despite a technical problem.

Gabbani votes to eliminate Veronica. The other three judges choose Alice: the verdict comes without a Tilt. Alice therefore leaves after the very first Live show. These are the competition facts that become headlines and comments the next morning. For the person singing, though, everything does not end with the episode.

Learning a song, finding your own way to interpret it, putting yourself before people who can reject you: a talent show makes public work that usually stays hidden. We can debate a musical choice, even dislike it, while remembering how much taking that step demands. A difficult evening deserves a thoughtful comment; a young woman deserves respect.

This second chance is called Teo Bok

Giorgia had awarded her Škoda X Passes to Teo Bok and Timothée Bonnardel, giving them another opportunity after the Last Calls. Viewers choose Teo: he returns to Gabbani’s team on the same night that it loses Alice. Two journeys cross at the very moment of the verdict.

Teo performs Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now; Timothée brings the soul of Otis Redding’s (Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay. The wildcard vote adds another emotion to the Live: for someone, a door that seemed closed opens again. Now the coming weeks’ work will have to turn that opportunity into something real.

Mengoni brings his songs into the competition

Marco Mengoni opens the evening with a set including Cambia un uomo, Luce and John Lennon’s Jealous Guy. He returns later with Giornate perse. For a few minutes, the battle between teams gives way to listening: a voice, a song’s words and the way a singer inhabits them before an audience.

It’s also a lovely place from which to watch the contestants. Before asking who will reach the final, we can ask who has something to tell us. Which interpretation do we want to hear again? Whose tone would we recognise without a name on the screen? Sometimes that is where support begins.

Two rounds, then the moment nobody wants

The first Live features two rounds of covers. The lowest-voted acts in each round enter the sing-off, where the judges decide who leaves. If their votes split two against two, Tilt begins: the decision returns to viewers in a new voting session.

Knowing the format makes the evening easier to follow without confusing its stages. A low audience vote in a round leads to the sing-off; the later verdict depends on the judges or Tilt. In Alice’s case, three judges agree on her name.

Want to support a voice? Here’s how

The official rules allow voting through the X Factor website, the app on compatible devices and the interactive services on Sky Q and Sky Glass. Voting itself is free; your provider’s usual connection charges may still apply. Methods and limits are those announced for each individual session.

It helps to arrange access before the show and follow the opening and closing announcements. Voting sessions are not always available: the rules also allow votes outside the live broadcast when announced. A social-media comment, however enthusiastic, does not replace a vote through the specified channels.

When to catch up and what to watch for

The Lives air on Thursdays at 9:15 p.m. Italian time on Sky Uno and stream on NOW. Sky also lists on-demand viewing and Sky Go, plus subsequent free-to-air broadcasts on TV8 on Tuesdays and Cielo on Wednesdays. Each service’s access conditions apply.

When you catch up, give yourself the pleasure of listening before reading every review. A performance can surprise you even when you already know the result. And perhaps the voice that stays with you will belong to someone few people are discussing: a good reason to press play again.

In rehearsals for the second Live

The official Daily 9 follows the contestants preparing for the second Live. Watch the video on Sky.