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Last week saw more strong talent advance to the Battle Rounds with Rachael O'Connor top of the bill after an enchanting performance of 'Clown'. We're over half the way through the blind auditions now so there's still time for more exciting talent to join the coaches' teams.

Videos and recap after the JUMP....



Steven Alexander  - 'Your Game' by Will Young - 2/4 - Joins Team Kylie
Steven has a connection to the show as his aunty Max appeared in the programme last year as part of the duo 'Diva' who were in Team Tom. He says that seeing his aunty and how much she enjoyed the experience spurred him on to audition for the programme himself. Steven is a full-time restaurant manager but music is where he sees himself succeeding. The song choice is a bit of an unusual one, it's not a particularly memorable song and I'm not sure that it really shows off his voice. He can sing but he has no real star quality or originality, the performance is lacking a unique tone or killer moment, it's okay but in my opinion wasn't quite good enough for him to get through. Thankfully for Steven, Kylie and Tom don't agree as both of them turn. Despite Tom having mentored his aunty last year Steven chooses Kylie.


Fiona Kelly - 'Rule The World' by Take That - No Turn
Fiona is a horse lover, her husband works away from home so she describes her horse Bob as the second man in her life. She has quite a unique voice, she's not your typical pop or rock singer, she is in fact a classical singer and takes on an operatic rendition of this Take That song. I like her voice, it's good but I'm not sure that it's really that spectacular, she doesn't sound very different to other classical singers and I don't see the style translating well in the competition, opera singers generally don't do that well, last year being the only time I recall an opera singer making it through the blind auditions. Nobody turns, Kylie suggests that she let nerves get the better of her.


Chris Royal - 'Wake Me Up' by Avicii - 3/4 - Joins Team Ricky
Chris comes from Manchester originally, he's a family man and describes himself as being a bit of a mummy's boy but he recently moved to London in order to pursue his dreams of becoming a musician. He does a stripped back rendition of 'Wake Me Up', Will rolls his eyes when he hears the song, perhaps he's not an Avicii fan? I really like the arrangement, Chris doesn't have the best voice in the world but he sounds good, he has a bit of a Vince Kidd vibe to his voice, I think he could definitely go far in the competition with the right mentoring. Kylie, Tom and Ricky all turn for Chris but he decides that Ricky would be the best coach for him.


Nick Dixon -'Home Again' by Elton John - No Turn
Nick is a returning contestant having auditioned unsuccessfully last year, he says that he was very nervous when he auditioned but he hopes to have improved this year. I'm not overly impressed by this performance, it sounds pretty much the same as last year's blind audition, he just doesn't have the confidence to deliver a strong performance, I feel like it's a little shaky still. He doesn't help himself by picking a song that doesn't really go anywhere. I feel like song choice has let him down partially however at the same time, he's still too nervous, there are a few moments in the song where he goes out of key. Nick doesn't get through but the coaches give him a lot of feedback and he ends up handing them his business card.


Elesha Paul Moses  - 'Everything Has Changed' by Ed Sheeran feat. Taylor Swift - 1/4 - Joins Team Tom
Elesha is the second of the returning acts tonight, unlike Nick she was successful the last time she auditioned, last year when she auditioned as part of Nu-Tarna and made it into the Battle Rounds for Team Will. However, after they were knocked out by Cleo, they decided to go their seperate ways. Elesha says that she felt like she was playing a role last year and didn't get the chance to be herself, this year as a soloist, she wants to show what she's all about. For starters, gone is the blue hair. She starts the performance shakily enough, the song is very low to begin with but she struggles with the lower range, however once she moves into the upper range of the song, she finds her stride and she actually sounds very good. She has a really nice urban feel to her voice. I think she has the potential to do really well, I remember how good she was on The X Factor in Series 7 so I think she could do very well.


Lucy Winter - 'Somebody To Love' by Jefferson Airplane - No Turn
Lucy has had farther to travel than most contestants, she has flown from Cyprus to be here as she is currently based there with her husband who is in the forces and her young son. She gave up singing in Cyprus in order to look after her son so she hopes to be able to fulfill her own dreams tonight. Good choice of song and she has a nice voice, she has a really strong rock feel to her voice and I enjoyed her interpretation of the song. Great performance, I'm shocked that the coaches don't turn for her and disappointed that she doesn't make it through to the Battle Rounds.


Max Murphy - 'Electric Feel' by MGMT - 1/4 - Joins Team Ricky
Max is a professional judo player, his coaches reckon that he would be good enough to enter for the next Olympic Games so jokingly say that they hope he doesn't get through as they want to him to keep up the judo. I like his song choice and I like that he plays the guitar but the vocals aren't as strong as MGMT themselves. Yes he can sing but sadly, I feel like his vocals sound very shaky at times and I'm not particularly won over by his performance of the song. That said, he has something about him and I'm not surprised that he gets through with Ricky making a last minute turn.


Joe Keegan - 'Keep Your Head Up' by Ben Howard - 2/4 - Joins Team Kylie
Irish dancer Joe is hoping that he will be able to impress with his voice as much as he is able to impress people with his Irish dancing. He's sixteen but he doesn't want his young age to stop him from making it. He has a good voice, it's not amazing, I find his rendition of the song a bit too similar to Ben Howard's original but he has something there for definite. I'd love to see him taking on something a bit riskier, perhaps mixing up a song that isn't usually sung in an acoustic style. Kylie is the first coach to turn, followed by Ricky, he seems to be delighted that Kylie turned for him and it's no surprise that she successfully snaps him up to join her team.


James Byron - 'Cry Baby' by Janis Joplin - 1/4 - Joins Team Will
James has struggled since he was a youngster because he has always looked quite feminine. He says that people often think that he's a girl and he found it quite difficult growing up because of this. Vocally, the coaches can't actually make out whether he is a boy or a girl, he can sing but I'm not wowed. He doesn't have a strong enough voice to really nail those massive notes and I just feel like it's a good-ish vocal. The coaches are surprised when they realize that he's a guy as they were convinced that it was a female singing. Will scoops him up for his team, we'll see if James goes far in the competition. I compared it a bit too much to Melanie Masson's audition on The X Factor a few years ago as she smashed that song.


Jade Mayjean Peters - 'Sweet About Me' by Gabriella Cilmi - 4/4 - Joins Team Kylie
Jade is a waitress, she wants to give up her job and become a full-time singer, she has a very Jessica Rabbit look about her with the dress and the sultry style she performs the song in. I like her voice but I'm not blown away, it's very similar to the original and I'm shocked that four people turn, I far preferred Yinka who was shown in a montage earlier singing Grace Potter & The Nocturnals. Jade has a nice voice but it's very generic, there's nothing unique about her. The guys are all speechless when they turn around, she's very attractive in fairness, however she decides to go for girl power and chooses Kylie as her mentor. 


Femi Santiago - 'My Cherie Amour' by Stevie Wonder - 1/4 - Joins Team Will
Femi has known life when it hasn't been so kind to him having experienced being homeless. However, he is now settled down with a young son and he wants to be able to provide for his family with this performance. He does a pretty superb job of the song to be fair, I love how he hits every note, it's not the most original performance in the world and he doesn't have a very unique tone but I enjoy the song. He definitely connects with the audience which is why I believe he could do well, Will turns for him.

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