A BURLESQUE singer from East Lancashire has bowed out of BBC’s The Voice after an emotional head-to-head battle.

Celebrity judge Will.i.am was so torn he even had to take a toilet break as Earby showgirl Kiki deVille came face-to-face with James Byron.

Each performed excerpts from the Patti Smith Group’s hit Because The Night as part of the Saturday night show’s battle round.

Their mentor told the audience the pair were ‘some of the best people on my team’ and struggled to come to a final decision.

Kiki, 40, had even decided Will.i.am could perform in his own ‘boy-lesque’ show as an alter-ego, ‘Will-debeest’.

But the judge picked Brighton-based James, 24, whose influences include Janis Joplin and Amy Winehouse.

Kiki made an emotional plea to fellow Aussie Kylie Minogue to allow her to remain on the show as her ‘steal’ candidate but the former Neighbours star declined.

Before departing Kiki said: “Can I just say - this will not be the last you see of me.”