Is this the most brutal X Factor bootcamp ever? Nearly half of contestants axed by judges before even singing

By SARAH BULL

Brutal: The X Factor contestants at the bootcamp stage of the competition wait to hear who has made it through

Every year on The X Factor, the acts are faced with the prospect of more and more twists included to make the programme more watchable for viewers.

But now, as the ITV talent show enters the latest stage of the competition, it seems this year's bootcamp could be the most brutal ever - with half of the contestants axed before even singing for the judges again.

The night before the 186 acts were due to take to the stage to perform for judges Gary Barlow, Tulisa Contostavlos, Kelly Rowland and Louis Walsh, the panel once again looked over tapes of the contestants' first auditions and made the decision to send nearly 40 of the hopeful acts home.


Emotional: The contestants, including Sophie and Mischa (right), were left stunned when the judges decided to send nearly half of them home before they had even sung again


Difficult decisions: Louis Walsh called this year's bootcamp the most brutal in history as he, Tulisa Contostavlos, Kelly Rowland and Gary Barlow tried to decide who to put through

Discussing the decision, Gary said: 'We have seen hundreds of people; I think there are some people that don’t deserve to be here. It’s time to get serious.

'We saw hundreds of people and now we have the measure of where the best are and where the worst are. I think we need to get rid of a lot of people.'

Tulisa added: 'Looking back, when you’re on the panel and you’ve got all these people on that stage, you kind of get lost in the moment…yes they are a great person, they’ve got a great voice, but great isn’t good enough, these people have to be stars, they have to be amazing.'


Belting it out: Frankie and Beccy are just two of the contestants given the chance to perform once more for the judges


Meshing well? The remaining contestants were divided into 30 separate groups for their next audition

Kelly said: 'I just want to make sure that we get the best people.'
And Louis concluded: 'This is going to be the toughest most brutal bootcamp in X Factor history.'

The next day, the judges split the acts into four specific groups.

Kelly told the hopefuls: 'Last night while you guys were out enjoying yourselves, we decided to take a look back at your auditions, we reviewed them all on tape, there are some incredibly talented people standing before us, the bar is set extremely high this year.


Excited: Essex girl duo 2 Shoes had looked excited as they made their way in to bootcamp

And Tulisa added: 'There is definitely something there that is why we put you through to this stage in the first place, and when we compared you to other people in the category, they were a lot stronger.'

However, Curtis contended: 'It’s not the end. You’ve told me exactly how it is and that’s what I wanted to know.

'He didn’t even have to come out, he had a word with me, he told me what to do so now I am going to come back next year.'


The underdogs: Goldie and David make their way into the bootcamp process


Heartthrobs: Frankie Cocozza, seen here with another dashing young fellow, is one of the favourites to make it through


Hug it out: But are Kitty Brucknell's tears of joy or of sorrow after being thrown out?

Talking about the group challenge, Frankie said: 'We are all just getting on with it, we have all chosen our parts and I think we have chosen it quite well.'

But which of the contestants impressed the judges enough to make it through to the next stage of the competition, Judges' Houses, and which will be going home?

The X Factor is on ITV1 tonight at 8pm and Sunday night at 7.30pm.


No idea what's in store: The contestants had no idea what was waiting for them as they headed in to bootcamp


source: dailymail