Scouse talent impressed the X Factor judges so much that all three Merseyside boys were sent through to the judges' houses stage of the competition after passing nerve-wracking Bootcamp auditions.
Our lads will make up three of the eight male acts heading to Los Angeles, while Liverpool girl band The Estrelles, who reached Bootcamp last year, went one stage further this time round as they also got the nod to join the remaining groups on a Greek island.
The Estrelles, plus Craig Colton, James Michael and
Marcus Collins all impressed the judges enough
when they performed individually in front on an
audience of 5,000 at Wembley Arena to each win one
of the last 32 places.
Gary Barlow got his wish as it was revealed that he
would be mentoring the boys and now Craig, Michael
and Marcus will be going to LA to perform for the Take
That star.
There was a twist this year as on the contestants'
arrival at Bootcamp it was announced that some of
the people who made it through would be sent home
before they got a chance to perform there.
Sunday night's show saw James Michael from
Widnes perform Rod Stewart’s 'The First Cut is The
Deepest', and hairdresser Marcus Collins sing Seal’s
'Kissed By a Rose' to win their place in the next round.
Craig from Kirkby, who had to wait until the last boy's name was called out to see if he had surivived the cut, sang Damien Rice’s 'Cannonball', and the chuffed Scouser said after his performance: "I just made Wembley Arena stand."
Kelly Rowland will mentor the girls in Miami, Tulisa is taking the groups to Greece, and Louis Walsh is taking the mature contestants to Barcelona to perform for him.
Red-headed Liverpudlian Gemma McDowall made it through to boot camp but that was where her X Factor journey came to an end.
Stay tuned in the coming weeks to find out how all of the Liverpool acts get on in the competition, and to see if the X Factor will find its first ever Scouse winner, after Anfield's Rebecca Ferguson finished as runner-up last year.
By Helen Dodd, Website Editor
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Singers James Michael, Marcus Collins and Craig Colton booked their place in the judge's house