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THE BIG AUDITION

JADE: For some reason my audition in 2011 felt totally different to any of the ones I’d done before. I kept thinking in my head, ‘It’s third time lucky,’ and I knew that if I didn’t get through this time that was it, I wouldn’t try again. It’s horrible when you get knocked back and there’s only so many times you can go in for something and keep getting turned away.

I was terrified about being told no in the very first round. If I fell at the first hurdle it would mean I was worse than I had been the previous couple of times I’d tried out.

Every other year I’d gone along trying to impress the judges and thought too much about what I was going to wear and sing, so I decided to totally be myself. I was wearing giraffe-patterned trousers and a little waistcoat and I probably looked a bit weird, but I didn’t care!

Thankfully all of the judges said they liked me. Louis remembered me from before, and Tulisa said I must have had a lot of determination to keep coming back again. I sang an acoustic version of The Beatles’ ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’, and Gary said he really liked it – and my voice and what I’d done with the track. I was so relieved. Kelly said she liked my voice but didn’t think I was confident enough and that I should be in a girl group. I automatically pulled a face, then I remember Kelly saying, ‘Hey, what’s wrong with being in a girl band?’ I thought she meant like a Kandy Rain-type band with sexy outfits – I would have hated doing that!

In the end I got four yes’s and I should have been happy, but I kept thinking about what Kelly had said and wondered if she was right.

I was so happy I’d got through to Bootcamp again, but because that’s where I’d been sent home before I felt wary and scared about going.

JESY: When I arrived for my first audition, which is one of the ones you do before you get to see the judges, there was literally a sea of people. I thought there was no way in hell I was getting through. I even asked my mum, Jan, if we could go home, but she was so encouraging. She believes that if you don’t try, you don’t get anywhere. She’s always wanted me to be happy doing what I want to do.

I always like to be a bit different and a bit eccentric with what I wear, and I knew I had to stand out, so I wore some army combat shorts, stripy socks, Mickey Mouse trainers and a Donald Duck top.

I didn’t want to sing something like Adele, because I knew everyone else would be doing that, so I chose a track called ‘Bust Your Windows’ by a lady called Jazmine Sullivan. I’ve got quite a soulful voice, so the song really suited me.

I was terrified doing that audition, because you have to go into a little booth with one person and sing to them. They’re so close up to you and it’s really embarrassing. You can hear all the other people auditioning around you too, which is so off-putting. I’d been told that they only give out a certain number of golden tickets – which guarantees your entry into the next round – so when three of the people ahead of me got golden tickets I calmed down a bit because I thought they’d probably given them all out anyway.

I walked in and told the guy in the booth my name and started singing. I could see him tapping his foot, then I beat boxed, and I think that’s why I got through – because it was different from what other girls had done. He handed me a golden ticket and I was in total shock. The guy told me to prepare some more songs for my main audition but to wear the same thing.

I had to be up at 6am to get to my main audition with the judges. My friends Shane and Solitaire and my mum were with me for support. I was third on stage out of everyone at the London dates, and I was terrified to the point where I was shaking and could hardly breathe. I couldn’t bear the thought of the audience booing me or something. That would have been awful.

In the end it was all such a blur. I didn’t see anyone in the audience, so it felt like it was just me and the judges in the room. After I sang I wanted to cry, because I knew it had gone wrong. Gary Barlow really didn’t get me at all, and I remember being gutted. To me he seemed to be the Simon Cowell of the panel – the one that everyone wants to impress. He said he didn’t like the audition and didn’t think I had any potential whatsoever, and at that point I wanted the ground to swallow me up. I was mortified that everyone would see that bit when it was on telly.

Tulisa and Louis both said I had a lot of potential, and Kelly said she could see me in a girl group. Even that left me feeling really disheartened though because I thought it meant I wasn’t good enough to do it on my own.

I came off with three yes’s, but because Gary hadn’t given me a thumbs up I still burst into tears. Dermot was hugging me backstage and asking if they were happy tears, but they weren’t. I was absolutely gutted that he’d said no.

When I got home I became adamant that I wasn’t going to go to Bootcamp because there was no point. My mum was desperately trying to convince me that I’d be okay, but I wasn’t interested. In the end she told me I had nothing to lose, and I realised she was right. It would have been a massive opportunity missed.

LEIGH-ANNE: When the time came for me to go to my audition I was so nervous. I went along with a friend of mine called Jane, who was also trying out. We both got through the first round but then she didn’t get any further and I was convinced I would go the same way. I couldn’t believe it when I made it all the way to see the main judges.

When the time finally came to face Gary, Tulisa, Kelly and Louis I’d just got back from a holiday in Ibiza. I’d been partying quite a lot, so my voice was suffering a bit. I was also really tired, and I felt cross with myself that I wasn’t up to scratch.

I was wearing shorts, a vest top, socks and braces, and I was standing on stage looking out at the audience thinking, ‘I’m never going to get through this.’ I felt like I was watching the whole thing on TV. It was so weird. The first song I sang was Rihanna’s ‘Only Girl in the World’, and then I sang the Gershwin song ‘Summertime’, which I’d heard sung by Ella Fitzgerald. I was so pleased that I got to sing two songs, because I think if I’d been judged on just one track I wouldn’t have made it. Thankfully the feedback was really good. Gary said a star had been born, Louis said I had a lot of potential, Tulisa said I reminded her of a little Rihanna, and Kelly said she could see me in a girl band. That was what Jerome had told me. I couldn’t believe I was hearing it again!

I got four yes’s and I was like, ‘Come on, this is going to happen for me!’ I knew if I got past that point I could go all the way.

PERRIE: I remember being in bed at 4am one morning and my mum came and started nudging me to wake me up. I’m not a morning person so I wasn’t happy! She told me that the Newcastle auditions had been cancelled so we’d have to travel to Glasgow there and then. I had to prepare a song to sing and find an outfit in next to no time.

I was so nervous that I nearly backed out, but my mum said, ‘I’ve never asked you to do anything for me, but I want you to try and do this.’ I really didn’t want to go, and I only agreed because I didn’t want to let her down – and I said I wasn’t going to tell anyone I was going.

I was wearing a little hippy dress and a headband and I felt like I must be sticking out like a sore thumb because everyone else was looking really cool, or wearing fancy-dress costumes to try and get noticed. I thought I looked too normal stood next to Superman!

In the end I got given a golden ticket after my first audition, which meant that I was through to the next round. That’s when I thought there could be something in it after all!

Eventually I made it all the way through the initial three auditions, and then I had to wait to find out if I was going to sing in front of the judges. I was so happy, but so, so terrified.

When I got a call from The X Factor inviting me to audition for the judges I wanted to jump up and down and scream. I was shopping at the time with a friend of mine and I told her I’d got a call about a job interview. I still didn’t want people to know I was auditioning, in case I didn’t make it.

It was the best feeling being able to go home and tell my mum that I’d got through. She was so excited for me, and I was very happy – she’d promised to buy me an iPhone if I did well. It was a big incentive for me, because my phone was absolutely rubbish.

My family and I travelled all the way to Glasgow once again for the main audition, and everyone in the waiting room was singing dead loudly while they waited for their turn and seemed really confident.

I felt like I didn’t deserve to be there. I was so timid and shy, and I was getting interviewed constantly. I was literally shaking, and I turned to my dad and said I didn’t think I could go through with it. He turned round and said, ‘Look, even I’d be nervous if I had to do those interviews. You’re not used to doing them, but you know you can sing, so being on stage will be the easy part. Get up there and show them what you can do.’ That totally stuck in my head.

Just as I was about to go out to perform I heard the X Factor theme music belting out and I thought I was going to be sick. Dermot was chatting to me and being really sweet, which made me feel calmer, but I was still feeling breathless.

When I was standing at the side of the stage waiting to go on, I saw the judges and it didn’t feel like it was real. One of the researchers told us that the judges had given out loads of no’s and wanted to see something special, so I walked out with a big smile on my face and waved to try and make an impression.

I sang ‘You Oughta Know’ by Alanis Morissette, and Tulisa stopped me pretty quickly. She and Louis didn’t really like me, but Kelly said I’d blown the roof off the place, and Gary also liked me a lot. Tulisa said she wasn’t blown away by me, and I was thinking that I was going to be sent home.

I sang Beyonce’s ‘Ave Maria’ a cappella, and just before I hit a high note Kelly Rowland threw her pen in the air, and it hit Tulisa on the head! Everyone started arguing about me again and Kelly was whacking the table. Even though Louis and Tulisa weren’t totally sure about me, I got four yes’s in the end, and I ran off screaming and crying.

My family and I went and stayed in a hotel and had a nice dinner and it was so good. It was the best way to celebrate and one of the happiest moments of my life.

Jesy getting ready for The Brits