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The X Factor’s Britney Spears Night attracted record ratings, but it was Britney, not the contestants who performed before her, who left viewers feeling that they had been sold short. An audience estimated at 12.8 million tuned in on Saturday night to see the singer, perform her new single, Womanizer. But they were less than pleased with the result.

Even though her X Factor performance was a far cry from a catastrophic outing at the MTV Video Music Awards a year ago, when she barely managed to lip-synch, Spears’s decision to mime on the programme that trains its contestants to be able to perform live angered fans.

After the Spanish-born singer Ruth Lorenzo was voted out of the show, the programme’s messageboards were flooded with complaints about Spears. “It was terrible,” wrote one viewer. “All the contestants are better than her.” Another added: “She wasn’t even trying to sing.”

Spears, who was given a standing ovation by the X Factor judges, including Simon Cowell, appeared not to know anything about the contestants on The X Factor, dodging a question from Dermot O’Leary, the show’s host, about what she thought about their performances. When asked if she had any advice for competitors, she offered the sage words: “Good luck and just keep doing it.”

Sources close to Spears said that she had mimed to concentrate on her dancing, and felt her performance was “fantastic”. One source said: “What we promised and what she wanted to deliver was a performance where she was back to her best, and that was what she did. She’s always been known for her dancing. We’re surprised at people’s reaction.”