RISING star Diana Vickers is one step closer to her dream of winning the X Factor after her first ever live performance.

Despite being terrified before stepping on stage, Louis Walsh tipped her as “the one to beat” after her unique version of U2’s With or Without You blew away the judges.

The British public appeared to agree with him and voted in their thousands to ensure she sailed through to the next round.

Although Simon Cowell called her “the musical equivalent of Marmite”, Diana unanimously impressed the judges with both her mentor Cheryl Cole and Danni Minogue describing her as “quirky, contemporary and cool”.

While Simon Cowell said people would either love her or hate her he ended up admitting: “It was fantastic”.

He said: “Diana I loved it. It’s very important you stand out in the crowd and although you took a massive risk, it worked.”

Following Saturday’s show Diana’s family celebrated with her and didn’t return to their hotel in London until 3am.

Mum Ann said: “We’re shattered but thrilled to bits. What Louis said about her being the one to beat is great news and even Simon was won over.

"When he started saying she was like Marmite, I was wondering what on earth he was going to say next.

"Then when he said he had loved it and that it was a fantastic performance - we were so chuffed.

“Diana’s going to be really hard at work all week now because the competiton is so tough.

"We just want to thank everyone so much for all their support - it makes such a difference.

"She’s got a lot of talented people to beat, but we know she can do it.”