X Factor 1first episode Stephen Hunter
Simon Cowell Those who bet on X Factor note how Stephen opened the show by telling his story, we heard his daily routine involved getting up, seeing to the dogs and the chickens and then having the odd “white wine spritzer”?! To paint the picture of this contestant he’s middle aged, over weight, speaks with a camp little boy lost (as Simon put it) voice and doesn’t stop smiling. We were all thinking that we knew Stephen would be a shocking singer but his character seemed so happy we hoped the judges wouldn’t crucify him.
But there was no need to worry as Stephen’s audition had a difference! As he walked out on stage greeted by the judges it was clear to see that Simon Cowell was in a great mood and when Stephen was challenged by Simon on his age and wanting to start a career in music at this later point in life, Stephen responded with a strong answer, claiming Tina Turner was in her 40’s when she did it so why couldn’t he?
Simon seemed to be impressed and things were looking ok but we had yet to hear him sing. Stephen told the judges that his song choice was “Disco Inferno”. At this point Simon’s response of “oh” was enough said. You can already imagine this wedding dance floor classic being destroyed in a hilarious manner. To add to the humour of the audition Disco Inferno also had a long intro that Simon interrupted to ensure that Stephen was actually going to sing and not continue to dance like your dad at your 18th birthday party.
When Stephen did begin to sing we were all taken back. Stephen’s voice was jazzy and husky. If you closed your eyes and forgot what you knew about Stephen previously you could almost think he sounded sexy, almost!
The judges all appreciated that Stephen was slightly unusual but he was very loveable so when he did get round to singing and his voice wasn’t half bad, he received 4 yes’!
Stephen getting through to Boot Camp may have been partially due to his voice but with his unlikely X Factor style had Simon not have been in as good a mood I’m not sure the X Factor Odds would have backed Stephen to have made it through.
