Jenessa Gill, a 35-year old full-time mum from Manchester, and Neneth Lyons, 37-year old full-time mum from Chelmsford each got four yesses from the judges on The X Factor UK’s third week of auditions at Wembley Stadium in London. This follows the outstanding performance of 4th Power, the all-Filipino girl group on the first week of auditions.
Jenessa Gill, the “Catherine Zeta-Jones lookalike,” entertained the crowd with her enthusiastic rendition of Shakira’s Hips Don’t Lie. She even climbed on to Simon’s lap and gave him a kiss. She performed barefoot and gyrated seductively prompting host Olly Murs to kiddingly comment “It’s a family show!” The judges were not crazy about the singing but the crowd loved her and cheered her on; Rita Ora had actually nothing to say. Cheryl Fernandez-Versini said that she wanted to see Jenessa again.
Neneth Lyons, who used to perform in a hotel when she lived in Hong Kong, had all judges on their feet after she gave an emotional performance of Barbra Streisand’s Somewhere. Asked by Simon why she had chosen the song, she said that her father thought it sounded good. Clearly nervous as she walked onto the stage, Neneth pulled through with power during the song’s most demanding parts and was in tears when she finished her audition. Judge Nick Grimshaw said he was initially drawn by her nerves but then saw that she came alive during the performance and that she seemed like a different person. Cheryl Fernandez-Versini called her performance “spellbinding” and “stunning.” Simon Cowell said that Neneth was a brilliant singer.
Both Jenessa Gill and Neneth Lyons move forward to the Bootcamp round of the competition.
The X Factor UK airs first and exclusive on RTL CBS Entertainment HD as live via satellite on Sundays and Mondays at 10:30am with a primetime encore at 9:00pm. The weekly episodes repeat on Thursdays at 9:00pm and on Saturdays at 10:00am and 4:40pm. RTL CBS Entertainment HD is available on SKYcable channels 53(SD) and 196(HD), Destiny Cable channel 53, Dream Satellite channel 17 and Cable link channels 37(SD), 313 and 800 (HD).
