Back in January, a friend of mine, Claire Molinari, informed me that she was going to audition for X Factor Paphos, so I thought it would be a good idea to go along for support. After the audition stage, we realised there were three other contestants from the Polis area.

I then decide to follow the competition and write an article for all you locals. I interviewed Claire and various other people throughout the whole competition. The competition was organised to be a charity fund raiser for St. Michael’s Hospice, and various businesses sponsored the event by donating 1000euros.

This was divided into €500 for the winner, €200 for second place, €100 for third and €200 to go to the charity. Also, throughout the competition, collections were made and given to St. Michael’s Hospice. The venue for the entire event was Ben’s Bar on Tomb Of The Kings Road, Paphos. By the 25th February the auditions were over and it was down to the final 11 contestants . The elimination process began - after ironing out organisational problems.

There was a new host , Rick, and four judges. Sauce, a musician, Lesline, a Rock FM DJ, Max The Hat, a musician, and Steve, also a musician. Each week the judges gave the contestants a different music genre, plus a choice of their own songs to sing. The genres each week were Lennon and McCartney, Country and Western, Blues Brothers and 70’s Disco. The judges then commented on each of the contestants’ songs and performances. They made clear that this was not a Karaoke competition and that they were looking for an overall stage presence as well as vocal ability. I asked Claire what it was like to be in the competition as opposed to just watching it.

Here are Claire’s thought on the whole event: “I didn’t think the venue was the appropriate place as the stage was small and in one corner of the bar. As the weeks went on, the audience grew, which was great, however there was not enough seating for everyone.

I thought that what the judges said they wanted from the contestants was great, as it showed all round performances, however I don’t think they stuck to this decision in the end. As the weeks went by I thoroughly enjoyed myself more and more and I put lots of effort into my research and rehearsals of each song.

When I first entered I didn’t have any expectations and so I was extremely happy to be one of the three winners. I was overwhelmed with all the people who supported me throughout the whole competition. Thank you so much to everyone!’ On the final night it was down to four contestants, three of which were from the Polis area. The winner of the competition was David Muldoon, second place went to Darren Hayes, third to Claire Molinari.

The week after the final there was a presentation evening and the contestants were awarded with their certificates and cheques. Big thanks to everyone who supported this event and donated to the charity. This was such a success that Claire will be organising a similar event in the Polis area. WATCH THIS SPACE!