A girl group from the Philippines, a twerking grandmother and a dental receptionist who had skived off work are among the contestants who made the X Factor judges laugh and cry as the show’s new series kicks off tonight.
4th Power – comprising of sisters Mylene, Celina, Irene and Almira – were clearly overwhelmed as they came face-to-face with Simon Cowell, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, Rita Ora and Nick Grimshaw on stage, after flying over for the London auditions from the Philippines with their mother.
Their rendition of Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj’s Bang Bang seemed to win over the judges, with Cheryl saying: “You took Wembley’s roof off. This blew my mind.”
Rita said she was impressed by their “passion, voices and attitude”, adding: “I want to be your sister. You’re sick.”
Grandmother Susan Price, 60 from Brighton, performed 2 Unlimited’s hit No Limit, which prompted Grimmy to describe her as “Techno Susan”.
Cheryl joked: “You’re twerking up a storm.”
Lauren Murray, 25 from Essex, pulled a sickie and had not told her boss she was taking the day off to audition for The X Factor.
After getting off to the wrong note, her performance of the Jocelyn Brown track Somebody Else’s Guy won a compliment from Simon, who said: “I didn’t just like it, I loved it. You are absolutely bloody fantastic.”
Other aspiring singers hoping to make it through to the next round of the ITV show include “on-off couple” Cyprian and Ruth, who performed as Man And Woman, 17-year-old Essex student Louisa Johnson and teacher Dani Clay.
There were shocks for the show’s new host Olly Murs, when his friend Jon Goodey auditioned, as well as for Cheryl, who met a contender vying to be “the male version of Cheryl”.
Rita found herself dancing – and flirting – with 21-year-old waiter Mason Noise, who serenaded her with his version of Justin Timberlake’s hit Senorita.
The first episode of The X Factor’s 12th series airs at 8pm tonight.
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