Sheyi Omatayo’s audition on The X Factor UK 2012 started with a confident and friendly demeanor as he interacted with the host, mentioning his job at Nando’s and even claiming a past interaction with Pixie Lott. He exuded a lot of self-belief and excitement for the opportunity, which was evident in his enthusiastic pre-audition comments. The judges, however, seemed to find his personality quite amusing even before he began to sing, with smiles and laughter shared amongst them.
When Sheyi began to sing “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong, his unique and rather unexpected vocal style immediately surprised the judges. His voice was deep and raspy, quite different from the original song, and this led to visible reactions of disbelief and suppressed laughter from both the audience and the judging panel. While he clearly put a lot of energy and emotion into his performance, it was evident that his singing was not meeting the traditional standards of the competition.
Ultimately, the judges, including Nicole Scherzinger and Gary Barlow, delivered their verdicts, explaining that while they appreciated his personality and entertaining presence, his singing was not suitable for the competition. Nicole described his voice as a “split personality” and Gary bluntly stated it was “terrible”. Despite the clear rejections, Sheyi maintained his positive attitude throughout, even joking with the judges, but unfortunately, he did not advance in the competition.
