Anton Stephans has officially shaken up the Over 25s category on ‘The X Factor’ following his spell-binding audition.
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The 45-year-old performer and backing singer wowed judges Simon Cowell, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, Rita Ora and Nick Grimshaw on Sunday (6 September) episode of the ITV talent show.
The singer - who has previously provided backing vocals for the likes of Tina Turner - initially raised eyebrows as he brought his dog Honey along to the try outs, and for a moment, we thought he’d turned up to audition for the wrong show and fancied their chances as the next Ashley and Pudsey.
Anton Stephans auditioned with his dog, Honey
However, the mood soon changed when he began to sing his rousing rendition of Jennifer Hudson’s ‘I Am Changing’.
The performance left the panel captivated, with Simon commenting: “The reason we never put an age limit on this show was so that we could find people like you. I genuinely mean that.
“There’s no question you have the likeability factor,” he added.
Elsewhere on the show, other impressive auditions came from school teacher Tonatha Raihan, who got saucy with a version of Beyonce’s ‘Work It Out’.
“You must be the coolest school teacher in the world,” a smiling Simon said.
Farmer Hannah Marie Kilminster also impressed as she auditioned with Queen’s ‘Somebody To Love’, prompting Simon to say she’d “shaken the competition up”.
But will the acts all have what it takes to make it through the gruelling Bootcamp rounds?
‘The X Factor’ continues next Saturday (12 September) at 8pm on ITV.