“The X Factor Australia” continued its audition process on Monday, featuring a few notable performances from hopefuls, including a Katy Perry-country-singing travelling musician, a sibling duo battling a rare skin disease.

The first contestant of the night was Jason Heerah, 31. The drum-playing, self-proclaimed family man set the mood of the night with his rendition of Pharrell’s “Happy,” and it was indeed a happy choice for him.

The judges – Redfoo, Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Ronan Keating and Dannii Minogue – all caught the energising vibe he sent out, so he was sent to boot camp.

Then came Codi Kaye. The 17-year-old singer already has a following on social media, where she uploads her videos. Her version of Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats” amazed Redfoo so much that he told her she’s “probably the best one we’ve seen.”

James Johnston was another guitar-wielding singer who thought an instrument would give him an edge in the competition. He was right. The travelling singer surprised the judges and the audience when he chose to sing Katy Perry’s “Roar” in the audition.

Ronan compared him to Taylor Henderson, which thrilled James since he has mentioned that he idolises the season five runner-up.

It was a unanimous yes for him.

18-year-old Serenity was a standout in the group of nervous aspirants during the night. The Melbourne teen was oozing with confidence in her bright yellow blouse, even coming off a bit cocky in the beginning.

It’s apparent from the judges’ faces that they weren’t feeling Serenity at all, with Dannii even cutting her mid-song.

As Ronan said, her rapping was “fantastic,” but her singing was “weak.”

Dannii gave her another chance to prove she deserves to pass the audition, though, asking her to rap an original song that she wrote. Serenity obliged, and her second try proved to be a lot better for the judges.

“Good attitude, you need that for rapping,” Dannii noted as she said yes.

After Ronan followed with another yes, Redfoo had to disagree and give her a no, telling her he wanted to be blown away by her talent, but she failed to do that.

Nat, who first said she loved her attitude but her cockiness was off-putting, helped her pass the audition by giving her another yes.

Serenity, who visibly adapted humility after her near-rejection, thanked the judges before celebrating with her family.

Quartet Soul Cutz, composed of two friends and a father and son team, was the “Jackson Five” of the show, according to Redfoo. They delivered a soulful rendition of Earth Wind & Fire’s “September,” impressing all judges who thought they were flawless.

Next was Adrien Nookadu, who got the girls in the audience screaming. Nat called his performance “hypnotic,” while Dannii said he was an “original.”

41-year-old Rochelle wasn’t like the younger contestants in the show. The single mum of four from Cairns didn’t give the impression that she was a threat at first, but a sample of Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools” changed that.

Nat gave a brief speech about how Rochelle’s age, profession and appearance don’t matter as long as she has the talent. It’s a bit odd, though, because the registered nurse didn’t seem to be bothered by those factors in the first place. In fact, she even proudly declared the 41 is the new 20 before her audition.

It was a “yes” from all judges, which meant Rochelle is off to boot camp.

The last aired audition was from the sibling duo Sina and Soni. 21-year-old Soni suffers from Kimura’s disease, a rare and incurable skin disorder that causes his skin to swell,

“I actually want to do this for my brother,” 17-year-old Sina said, her voice cracking. “He’s gone through a really tough time. I just want people to see him and hear his talent and just not look at him because of his looks.”

It’s perhaps safe to safe that the judges gave them a unanimous “yes” not because of pity vote, but because the pair’s rendition of “True Colours” by Cyndi Lauper was truly a true crowd-pleaser.

Nat cried as she was delivering her “yes” to the brother and sister team, while Redfoo called their sound “the definition of beauty.”

“The X Factor Australia” kicked off with a strong 1.2 million viewers on Sunday night, landing them at second place at the ratings, but has suffered a drop on Monday when they finished at eighth place. The show will return on Sunday.

Watch the full episode

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Also read:
‘The X Factor Australia’ Season 6 1st Episode Recap: Tee From Last Season Returns

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