Sussex X Factor hopefuls audition at the Amex (From The Argus)

Sussex X Factor hopefuls audition at the Amex

4:45pm Monday 14th May 2012 in News By Anna Roberts, Crime reporter

Crowds of people lined up to prove they were X-tra special.

The X Factor travelling tour bus rolled into the American Express Community Stadium, where a crowd of about 100 people were lining up to prove their singing credentials.

Among the hopefuls who got through was Jarrad Partridge, 18, who lives near Chichester.

Jarrad has a tag preventing him from leaving the house at certain times, which he received in court.

He wanted to attend auditions in London but because of his tag was unable to – he would not have got home on time.

He said: “I love singing and I am always singing.

“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and got in with the wrong crowd but now I want to change.”

One person who did not get through – because she was two months too young – was Hayley Mitchell.

Varndean School pupil Hayley, |from Whitehawk, sang an Adele |song.

Hayley turned 16 in April but applicants had to celebrate their landmark birthday by February to be allowed through.

Her stepfather Steve Jackson said: “She is really good, a great singer, and she has been through a lot.”

Hayley added: “I am a bit nervous but I am really looking forward to it.”

Cardinal Newman pupil Olivia Hawkins, 16, from Hove, sang Jessie J’s Price Tag. She is always singing in school assemblies and said: “I love to sing.”

Mac Parker, 17, from Eastbourne, has attended three X Factor auditions already but has yet to achieve his dream.

The Sussex Downs Park student was turned away again yesterday.

He said: “I know it is a bit clichéd but I want to be a star.

“I was turned down last year and I went to London this year but didn’t get an audition as it was so busy.”

If Daniel Packham’s singing aspirations fail then he has another career. The 24-year-old, from Crawley, is a geophysicist.

Daniel, who could not decide whether to sing Adele or Maroon 5, said: “I just thought I would come along. I’ve sung in the theatre in front of thousands so I am not nervous.”

Event manager Sam Leighton Clay, from Brighton Marina, said: “I want a platform to sing. I need a platform.

“I’m 20 now. You get to that age where you need something. You get frustrated.”