A young Laois singer has made a real impact on a brand new version of The X Factor in the UK this week.
Music mogul Simon Cowell has tinkered with his popular ITV show this year – first releasing a celebrity version which was won by Megan McKenna a few weeks ago before now hosting a search for the next big boy or girl band.
The premise of the show is that unlike the usual Reality TV programmes that go on for weeks, this comprises of four shows over the course of this week.
Auditions to form a boy and a girl band are on this week with the live final between the two selected groups set for Sunday evening.
On Monday on Virgin Media One, a number of men and women auditioned for a place in the band in front of Cowell, Nicole Scherzinger, Lil’ Eddie, Naughty Boy, Fred Ball and Carla Williams.
And among the female singers to take part was 18-year-old Seorsia Jack, who goes under the stage name of Sia Babez.
The Portlaoise teenager appeared first on the show on Monday night where she audition in Simon’s office in front of the judges.
Singing Touch by Little Mix, the teenager got Simon Cowell’s ‘stamp of approval’ and he wasn’t the only one who was vibing with her sound.
Nicole Scherzinger commended her audition saying, ‘I loved your vocals… There’s a velvety quality to your tone.’
That put Seorsia through to the next stage of the competition which took place in front of an audience in a studio last night.
The aforementioned judges were joined by Leona Lewis and Ella Eyre where the chosen girls from the initial auditions were asked to sing again on the stage.
Nursing a bad cold, Seorsia sang ‘Never Go Back’ by Denis Llyod and then ‘Tearing Up My Heart’ by NSYNC.
Those performances impressed the judges with Ella Eyre declaring that she ‘had so much natural swag’.
Seorsia made it to the final seven who then had to go away and learn a new song which they then performed as a band in front on the judges the next day.
Following on from that, one member of the seven was sent home leaving Seorsia and six others to form the Girl Band.
X Factor: The Band will air again on Friday night where the Boy Band will be chosen. Then on Sunday, the two bands will go head to head to win a recording contract in a live final.
Seorsia, or Sia Babez, has had a creative and extraordinary life right from the the day of her birth in 2001.
Seorsia’s parents Melvin and Petrutchka Jack came from Zimbabwe to Ireland to escape the country held under the rein of Robert Mugabe.
When they got to Ireland, they named their first child Seorsia – a different spelling to the name Saoirse – meaning freedom.
We revealed back in June that she had signed a new record deal as a solo singer.
She has enjoyed significant radio play in Ireland this year since the release of her debut single, Hit My Line which was followed in October by Are You Ready.
But if she is on the winning band on Sunday evening, she may well end up becoming as successful as Niall Horan was with One Direction.
The X Factor: The Band concludes on Sunday airs on Sunday December 15 at 8pm on Virgin Media One.
SEE ALSO – Laois Sports Hall fiasco – no application was ever made
See Also: Check out all the goodies at the Laois Today store
