Bloody keen to make 'X Factor' cut

Matt Sainsbury hopes for the taste of success as he queues outside Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin yesterday for his turn in the X Factor  auditions. Photo by Linda RObertson.
Matt Sainsbury hopes for the taste of success as he queues outside Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin yesterday for his turn in the X Factor auditions. Photo by Linda RObertson.
Matt Sainsbury will spit tacks - and maybe even some blood - if he doesn't get through the first round of auditions for next year's The X Factor.

The 20-year-old Dunedin kitchen hand regularly sings in heavy metal and death metal bands, and often coughs up blood from singing too much.

He has an enlarged heart, and his doctors have told him if he keeps doing it, it could kill him.

''The music takes hold - I sing what I feel and I push myself to the limits.

''I won't sing a song if I don't believe what it says.

''Doctors tell me it's dangerous, `don't do it', but I don't care. I love it. That's music.''

While he loves the screaming and grunting associated with death metal singing, he was a varied artist, and could also sing tunes by Michael Buble, Led Zeppelin, Justin Timberlake and Pantera, he said.

He hoped his audition would take him from kitchen hand to the career of his dreams - a rock superstar.

He was just one of about 300 people who auditioned at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin yesterday, all with the same ambition, and prepared to do almost anything in front of judges Melanie Blatt (All Saints co-founder) and Stan Walker (Kiwi singer-songwriter), for their shot at stardom.

For many of them, it was the end of the road.

But a selected few were given a ''maybe'' card, which means they will be contacted by the show's producers at a later date to let them know if they have been selected for the next round - televised auditions.

Blatt and Walker will be joined by two more judges, who are still to be announced.

Add a Comment

 

Advertisement