Transgender singer wows X Factor judges

X FACTOR judges were moved as a transgender singer wowed the audience with an emotional performance last night.

Felix Shepherd, a songwriting student, 20, claimed four Yes votes from Simon Cowell and company with a rendition of Kodaline’s All I Want.

From Birmingham, he announced that he had been born Emily and had undergone treatment. He said that the transition had resulted in his voice dropping lower.

Shepherd, who received an ovation from the Wembley audience, said: “I’m more than just a transgender guy.

“We can be kind of overlooked, I suppose. I live a normal life. I’m an everyday kind of person.

“My name was Emily. I was in Year 9 at school and didn’t really know who I was.

“My mum paid for me to have treatment privately. I’m blessed with the people around me.”

His cover impressed judges, as did his “great attitude”, according to Cowell.

Robbie Williams, Ayda Field and Louis Tomlinson joined in the applause of the audience.

Cowell said of the audience response: “Felix, you didn’t get four Yeses. You got 5,000 yeses.”

Representatives for the show said Shepherd is not the programme’s first transgender contestant.

He went through with the approval of all four judges, as did teenage duo Aaliyah Robinson, 14, and Acacia K, 15, who were brought together by some impromptu plotting by Cowell and sang Bang Bang by Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj.

Looking to make a similar impact to 4th Impact, who came fifth in 2015, student and fellow Filipino Maria Laroco, 17, received a standing ovation for her powerful performance of Prince’s Purple Rain.

Ivo Dimchev got the approval of three X Factor judges, although Tomlinson was not convinced, calling the act “a bit too weird for me”, after the moustachioed Bulgarian sang a high-pitched original number.