A Trinidadian singer and an English barman, who has Caribbean roots, have been touted as two of the frontrunners in Britain’s top talent show-The X Factor.

More than 11 million viewers watched Rozelle Phillips be applauded by all four of the ITV show’s judges with her soulful rendition of ’One Night Only’ by Jennifer Hudson.

She was unanimously ushered through to the next round by chief judge Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole, Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh.

And the 21-year-old had another surprise in store after revealing she had moved 4,000 miles from her home in Trinidad and Tobago to appear on the show.

She said she had been inspired to audition after watching clips of Leona Lewis’s X Factor performances two years ago on YouTube.

Phillips said: ’I moved to Britain last year because there aren’t any competitions like The X Factor in Trinidad and Tobago. I used to watch the show on YouTube back home.

’I thought to myself ’No way am I letting that opportunity pass’. And my grandmother said to me, ’You go for it’.

’My grandmother brought me up and I know it was hard for her to let me go to England because we are so close. But she did it anyway because she wanted me to achieve my dream. I am going to do this for her and for myself.’  

It was also revealed that another contestant, Iranian singer Behrouz Ghaemi, also auditioned after watching the show on YouTube. He was allowed to appear because he is studying music at University College London.

Jamie Archer’s astonishing Afro hairstyle, meanwhile, has also earned him rockstar fame. The 33-year-old barman’s hirsute appearance has already earned him the nickname Hairy Angel II in a nod to another talent show overnight star, Susan Boyle.

Before his audition, Jamie, told the judges he had spent years trying to become a professional musician-playing small gigs in front of unsupportive crowds.

But after singing ’Sex On Fire’ by rock group Kings of Leon, the man widely known as ’Jamie Afro’ received a standing ovation from a screaming audience-and the notoriously hard to please Cowell was even singing along.

Jamie-whose father William is from Guyana and mother Jeannie is English-said after the performance: ’Women often stare at my hair. They love it and want to run their hands through it.

’It’s definitely helped me to pull. After one gig this girl came out to my car, threw her handbag on to my seat and said, ’So are you going to take me home then or what?’ And did I? You bet I did.’

However, questions have been raised about the eligibility of Phillips and Ghaemi.

Last year, X Factor producers were heavily criticised for allowing Spanish singer Ruth Lorenzo to perform.

A spokesman for the programme remained adamant though that no rules had been broken by allowing Phillips and Ghaemi to enter.

’Rozelle is a UK resident. She has lived here for more than a year and a half. Her dad is over here as well,’ he said.

’It’s not as if she came here just specifically to be in the show. It’s true she did watch Leona Lewis on the show and it was part of her dream to come here. But her dad was over here already. It wasn’t like she just rocked up from Trinidad for the audition.’

He added, ’We are getting more and more international contestants. It’s the power of the Internet.’

-Daily Mail