The X Factor 2017 reached its penultimate auditions round tonight, and here we’ve got all the results for acts including Spencer Sutherland, Matt Linnen and Alisah Bonaobra.
The show went back to Thorpe Park for its latest episode, which host Dermot O’Leary introduced while riding a terrifying rollercoaster.
Meanwhile, Simon Cowell took fellow judges Nicole Scherzinger, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh on a tour of the theme park – and ended up crashing their buggy in to a security barrier!
It wasn’t all fun and games for the contestants, with many receiving mixed feedback and failing to achieve the dream ‘4 yeses’.
However, there was a blast from the past for Louis when one of his acquaintances from this year’s Eurovision Song Contest took advantage of his advice to give the ITV talent contest a shot.
Catch up with our recap below…
Spencer Sutherland (4 yeses) – For his first ever trip abroad, LA-based Spencer chose to come to this side of the pond and attempt The X Factor, because “it’s better than any show we have in America”. It didn’t go as well as he hoped, with Simon claiming he has “picked up some really corny habits” and that he looked like he was trying to “audition for one of Louis’s boybands”. Meanwhile, Sharon reckoned he was “wasting his voice trying to be someone else”. Despite those comments, he left with four yeses.
ITG (3 yeses, 1 no) – Brothers Alex and Leon are from a musical family, hence their group name (ITG stands for ‘In The Genetics’). They regularly sing at a Yarmouth hotel, as do their mum and nan. Unfortunately, the judges seemed to check out of their performance of Ed Sheeran’s ‘Don’t’. Louis thought they “didn’t really show off” their voices, and Simon claimed they don’t know “where [they] should be going”. The media mogul gave them a no, but the other judges saw enough potential to back them.
Matt Linnen (4 yeses) – Having been involved in music and played with bands while working his day job as a plasterer, Matt decided to take the plunge and show off his chops on national TV with a guitar version of Ray LaMontagne’s ‘Trouble’. Again there was a mixed response, with Simon noting that the show’s had “so many singers” like him and suggested he needed to write his own material to differentiate himself. Nicole praised the “texture and tone” of his voice, and Louis said he’s “talented”.
Scarlett Lee (3 yeses, 1 no) – X Factor superfan Scarlett’s audition was twelve years in the making, and she even brought along pictures of the judges that she drew aged seven. Her vocals didn’t make as good an impression, with Simon interrupting her first performance due to her “weird ad-libs”. Even after her second song, Andra Day’s ‘Rise Up’, he wasn’t convinced, saying: “There’s parts of your voice I literally couldn’t bear.”
He decided to “take a leap of faith” and said yes, joining Louis and Nicole, the latter of whom predicted Scarlett could be “a force to be reckoned with”.
Rai-Elle (4 yeses) – Aged just 16, Rai-Elle hopes The X Factor could turn her daydreams about singing in to a reality. She surprised the judges with a confident performance of Awolnation’s ‘Sail’ – and even the hopefuls in the holding room thought she had “so much attitude”. “I love the way that you worked us all, great eye contact, great voice,” commented Sharon, with Simon adding that she’s “very professional”. Nicole called her “fearless”, but claimed she may not be ready for the competition yet.
Brad Howard (3 yeses, 1 no) – Model Brad turned on the charm to win over Nicole, who is “half the reason” he watches the show. His ploy worked, as with two yesses and one no, it was down to her to cast the deciding vote – and she said yes. The ex-Pussycat Doll described his voice as “beautiful”, while Sharon said it was “delicate”.
Peter Warwick – Peter, meanwhile, was out to impress Sharon, and even baked a sponge cake as a present for her. She thought his rendition of Meghan Trainor’s ‘All About That Bass’ was “so entertaining”, but Louis was offended that there wasn’t any baked goods for him to enjoy!
Afro-Swag – Simon then got some love from duo Kingsley and Adasnoop, who gave him a traditional African gift that they used to ‘knight’ him. However, he wasn’t quite as positive about their audition. “The image, the dancing is better than the singing,” he admitted, but added: “I think people are gonna like you.”
Slavko (3 yeses) – Slavko represented Montenegro in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, but failed to reach the final. He did manage to befriend Louis, who advised him to come to the UK and audition for The X Factor. The 31-year-old danced and repeatedly whipped his lengthy ponytail to Beyoncé’s ‘End Of Time’, making Sharon “perspire” (her word). “You’re so different to anybody we’ve seen, you’re a proper showman,” commented Louis. A perplexed Simon was too “overcome” to give a definitive vote, but the other judges guaranteed Slavko’s place at Bootcamp.
Alisah Bonaobra (4 yeses) – The latest contestant on this year’s X Factor to come from the Philippines, Alisa boldly believes her talent to be “world class” – and Simon was eager for her performance, saying: “I always think a lot of the people from where you’re from are amazing singers.” Thankfully, her take on Beyoncé’s ‘Listen’ seemed to live up to that hype. “You’re this tiny little thing with this voice given from God, blowing everybody away,” commented Nicole.
The X Factor continues tomorrow night at 8.00pm on ITV with the last auditions of the series.