Singing star proves to be a hit with X Factor judges

Singer Karen Kennedy during the Bootcamp stage of the ITV1 talent show The X Factor. Pic: Tom Dymond/Syco/Thames/ITV/PA Wire.

Karen Kennedy, 42, appeared on ITV singing contest The X Factor and wowed the judges, including Simon Cowell, to make it through to the boot camp stage.

Viewers saw Karen, from Peterlee, perform in front of a crowd of 4,000 at Wembley Arena as her singing skills were put to the test.

Singing Aretha Franklin’s Natural Woman, Karen impressed all concerned to win her place in the next round of the competition.

Karen said: “It was really exciting to finally have my performance on TV.

“The producers of the show called me on Friday to tell me that I’d be on this weekend.

“It was surreal.

“I’m just a girl from Peterlee who has been singing for 27 years, and I’ve finally got to this point where I can show what I can do.

“To be on the TV was a dream come true.”

However, Karen was not able to watch her audition as it was aired, as she was performing with her band Gravity in a gig in Sheffield.

She added: “That was a shame, but work is work so it can’t be helped.”

Karen impressed judges Cowell, Louis Walsh, Nicole Scherzinger and Sharon Osbourne with her performance as they awarded her a place in boot camp.

She put all of her almost three decades of singing experience to good use, after she started singing in clubs at the age of just 15.

She added: “I waited all my life for an opportunity like this to come along.

“The judges were really, really nice to me, and I was over the moon to get through.

“The audition that was shown took place in London, and I was there for what was an amazing week.

“The whole experience was fantastic and I met some brilliant characters.

“Everyone who works on the show is amazing.”

Karen performed on stage at this year’s Peterlee show, while at Wembley, she was watched by 4,000 people.

On that, she added: “It was an incredible experience to perform in front of so many people.”

Karen also revealed that initially, she performed the song Chains by Tina Arena.

While Cowell could see her potential, he wanted her to try a different song, and so she selected Natural Woman.

She added: “Simon was brilliant with me and said some lovely things about my performance.

“It was an amazing experience to perform in front of the judges and get their approval to go through to the next round.”