More Pinoy acts impress X Factor UK judges

MANILA, Philippines — The 14th season of X Factor UK reeled off to an exciting start early September, with the same set of judges sitting on the panel — the first time in seven years — to mentor the next big star in the UK music arena.

Long-time judge and program creator Simon Cowell leads the line-up, with three others returning names to the panel — TV host and rock royalty Sharon Osbourne, American recording artist Nicole Scherzinger and Irish entertainment manager Louis Walsh. Meanwhile, host Dermot O’Leary returns as host-presenter for the 10th  time.

Nicole proudly nailed her second winning talent in X Factor UK, with 23-year-old Matt Terry as the ultimate big winner of the 13th edition of the British music competition. Matt sang his winning single, When Christmas Comes Around, an original song written by Ed Sheeran.

For Season 14, a huge screen was set up in the waiting room for the hopefuls, who can now monitor what’s happening in the closed room auditions with the judges. Another screen is outside the audition room for the loved ones to instantly see the fate of their contestant.

Mobile auditions started as early as May in Belfast and briskly moved to a lot of other places all over UK, including Bangor, Southhampton, Douglas, Swansea, Blackpool, Bournemouth, Bristol, Carlisle, Brighton, Truro, Newport, Wigan, Plymouth, Margate, Exeter, Thurrock and concluded in Yeoville.

Meanwhile, the judges’ auditions started in mid-June and were held in Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh, London and Surrey. On two instances, singer-rapper Alesha Dixon had to pinch-hit in the auditions.

Elyssa Villareal of Sydney

Nicole failed to show up in the Manchester auditions due to a previous commitment, while Sharon was also a no-show in the Edinburgh auditions due to a back injury. Simon nearly missed the London auditions, since he was not feeling well and arrived late.

A contestant as young as 14 years old can audition for X Factor UK. They lowered the age of contestants last year from 16 to 14. After the first round of auditions, the contestants who made it will go through the Judges’ Houses.

For the Bootcamp, taped with a live audience at the SSE Arena Wembley, Simon handled the Groups, Sharon coached Girls, Louis mentored the Boys and Nicole took charge of the Over 25 talents.

Expectedly, Filipino talents soared in the first round of auditions after only the second episode of X Factor UK. It will be remembered that the Cercado sisters — Almira, Irene, Mylene and Celina — or more popularly known as 4th Impact from Santiago, Isabela, made it to the Top 5 of X Factor UK Season 12 and has since been performing worldwide.

This season, boy group JBK rendered Sam Smith’s Lay Me Down and instantly got four nods from all judges. The JBK trio — Joshua Bulit, Brian del Rosario and Kim Lawrenz Ordonio — flew all the way from the Philippines to try their luck in the competition.

Solo Filipino talent Gaga Lord, based in the UK, crooned Shirley Bassey’s Diamonds Are Forever and was also a hit with all four judges. Teenager Elyssa Villareal came all the way from Sydney, Australia to audition. She sang Fleur East’s hit song, Sax, and easily advanced to the next round. The latter was also a successful graduate of the show.

The winner of X Factor UK Season 14 will bag a recording contract with Simon Cowell’s Syco Music label. The show airs every Sunday morning on RTL-CBS Entertainment Channel.