Many Eurovision stars have had their big break on The X Factor, but it’s less common for it to happen the other way around. Irish singer Joseph McCaul – who along with his sister Donna represented Ireland in 2005 – has successfully auditioned in front of the judges on The X Factor UK.
Back in 2005, the teenage Joe McCaul and his older sister Donna were the pop duo Donna & Joe. Their song “Love?” didn’t make it out of the semi-final in Ukraine, placing 14th with 53 points.
But Joe hasn’t given up. Now using his full name Joseph, the 27-year-old took a chance with The X Factor. At the judges’ audition he first sang Sam Cooke’s soul classic “A Change Is Gonna Come”, but was stopped by judge Simon Cowell who said Joseph was “a great singer but a horrible performer”.
However, Simon gave Joseph a second chance, and was more impressed by the Irish singer’s a cappella version of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody”.
Joseph was put through to the Boot Camp round where he will have to impress the judges again. Can he do a reverse Jedward and go from representing Ireland at Eurovision to making the live shows of The X Factor UK?
This won’t be the first time Joseph has had a crack at The X Factor. Back in 2012, he also made it to the Boot Camp round but was eliminated.
Joe’s sister also made a recent attempt at a TV talent show comeback. Back in February Donna McCaul was accepted to the blind auditions phase of The Voice USA. However, she did not progress any further and her audition was not broadcast. But Donna has kept busy with music, releasing the song “Twisted Fairytale”.
Ireland 2005 was really bad…. never want to listen to it again……
Joe made it to the next round…
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#MarioVision I hope that I am also on your ‘nice’ list as I am regularly defending you from people like Barovision.
@Mario – you don’t need to explain yourself. I just saw it from another angle and that’s all there is to it. You didn’t offend or hurt me…come on! We say what’s on our mind. No drama.
“I keep referring to”…what an overstatement on your part. You sure know how to twist things. What a shame. I stand behind every word I said.
@Erin It has absolutely nothing to do with his looks (which of course, you keep referring to) Your telling people to stop criticizing him, then you talk about how he isn’t hot enough, slight double standard on your behalf They participated in Eurovision, they weren’t successful, Donna went to the Voice, wasnt successful, her audition was actually cut from tv, she participated in the Irish national final a year or two ago, again, was not successful. Now Joe participated in XFactor and his performance was so bad that he even got a second chance to do it again, where he… Read more »
@Mario, Joe is only 27 and he’s still young to explore how far he can go. I admit he has a few things going against him (like the fact he doesn’t have a high f***able factor…or that he doesn’t seem to get his mojo yet), but not everyone is born with a silver spoon. Take Susan Boyle for example…look how messed up she was (and probably still is), and yet she took a chance against all odds and it paid off for her in the end. P.S You don’t need to answer me if you wanna stay on the safe… Read more »
Anyone who’s been involved with the ESC for better or worse and is making an appearance on a high-rated popular show seen not only in the UK but in many other countries around the world deserves a mention. Why is Ruth Lorenzo or Edurne different than Jo? Is it because they’re ‘hot’ and he’s not? Is it because he is willing to put his reputation on the line in front of millions of viewers even if he may not have what it takes yet? How can we tell anyone not to pursue his dream if he’s willing to face the… Read more »
Donna and Joe really need to accept that they are not destined for stardom, its becoming ridiculous now.
X Factor, anywhere, is completely fixed.