Cavan eyes on x factor star

All local eyes will be firmly tuned in to X Factor this weekend when one hopeful, with Cavan links, hopes to impress the judges and seal his place in the next round and a chance of becoming the next big thing in the music industry.

Jamie Benkert from Northampton broke with tradition in the auditions when he sang an original song called 'Dance All Night' for the judges, which Simon Cowell stopped quickly.

But then asked to sing his second choice - a hybrid of Drake's 'Hold On We're Going Home' and Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars' 'Uptown Funk', he got a resounding pass through to the Bootcamp stages, despite repeated inferences that the 24-year-old healthcare assistant was a doppelgänger to singing star and 2015 X Factor host, Olly Murs.

Waiting in the wings, and first to congratulate her son when he left the stage was mum Aggie (nee McEntee), a native of Cavan Town.

Speaking to The Anglo-Celt, Jamie told The Anglo-Celt: “I've got lots of cousins and even a few friends in and about Cavan. Its fantastic knowing I've support there too and I just want to do everyone proud.

“I sad Simon didn't give me that yes, but he set a challenge to me when he said I was like Olly (Murs). I want to show him I'm Jamie Benkert. That’s why when bootcamp comes around, people might see a different side to me,” he added.

See next week's newspaper for full interview...