Published Friday, 21 August 2009
As if trying to impress Simon Cowell, Dannii Minogue, Louis Walsh and Cheryl Cole was not difficult enough, this time the hopefuls had the added pressure of auditioning in front of an audience of thousands.
The star of Saturday's show could well be Danyl Johnson, from Reading, who had the unenviable task of performing last, in front of a tetchy and impatient Cowell.
'Best audition'
After a nervous walk on to the stage, the 27-year-old teacher wowed the audience with a stunning performance of With A Little Help From My Friends, earning a standing ovation not only from the audience but from the judges - including Cowell - as well.
Afterwards Cowell said it was the best audition he had seen in nine years of judging talent contests.
Rather less successful were Rosita and Vaida, sisters and part-time models from Lithuania who came to the UK just to appear in the show and call themselves Dreamgirls.
Their screeching rendition of Robbie Williams' Angels had the judges wincing, and Cowell dismissed them in typically forthright style, telling them:
"I don't know what cats being squashed sounds like in Lithuania, but I now have a pretty good idea."
Next up was Stacey, a 19-year-old from Dagenham, Essex, who said she was very proud to be a single mother and wanted to do well for her young son.
Cowell and fellow judges Cheryl Cole, Louis Walsh and Dannii Minogue looked unsure as the teenager took the stage in white trainers and tiny shorts, but were all taken aback by her powerful rendition of Louis Armstrong's What A Wonderful World.
Twins
No reality talent show would be complete without a set of blazingly self-confident and slightly creepy identical twins, and 17-year-old John and Edward from Dublin are just that.
Cowell mocked them for their faux-American accents but with their spiky blond hair and blazers they impressed Walsh, who told them they "really do look like popstars".
Joe, from South Shields, who said he "stumbled across his voice" while doing karaoke, wowed the judges with a Luther Vandross number, earning a standing ovation from the crowd in Manchester.
Cole gave him an enthusiastic "why aye" and said she was proud he would be representing the North East in the competition.
Auditions were held around the country in front of crowds of around 2,000, and the live audiences gave some of the more dubious acts a surprisingly warm reception.
In London, French waiter Fouad produced a rendition of Mariah Carey's hit Vision Of Love which made Vic Reeves' club-style singing sound like Luciano Pavarotti.
Despite his weird nasal style, the crowd took Fouad to their heart and sang and danced along before giving him a standing ovation.
The new series will be beefed up with a new Sunday results show when it reaches the live stages in the mid-autumn.
The new series of The X Factor begins at 7pm on Saturday on UTV.