Bianca Gascoigne, Mollie King and Louis Smith… meet the celebs you had no idea once auditioned for X Factor
While they later found fame without the help of the talent show, we've dug up the cringe audition tapes the celebs don't want you to see...
FROM Celebrity Big Brother star Chloe Khan to TV presenter Stacey Solomon, there are several celebs whose careers were made thanks to an appearance on The X Factor
Here are ten famous faces who tried their luck in front of the judges panel, and what they're up to now...
Mollie King (The Saturdays)
Back in 2005, Mollie King was having less luck making it in the music world.
The blonde babe auditioned for the second series of the X Factor, and was panned by the judges for both her singing voice and her outfit.
Dressed in mini shorts, a tight top and a pair of heels, Mollie was chastised by Sharon Osbourne, who told her: “I think you’re dressed totally inappropriately.”
She later returned as part as girl band Fallen Angels, but the four-piece were equally unsuccessful.
Now a singing sensation in her own right thanks to her role in megagroup The Saturdays, she was announced as part of the latest Strictly Come Dancing line-up in 2017.
Max George (The Wanted)
This hunk also auditioned as a soloist, before going onto boyband fame with The Wanted.
Max George’s throwback video is made even more embarrassing by the fact that his arm is in a sling.
The 27-year-old told the judges: “I tripped down the stairs. Fell over the baby gate at the top of me stairs. Caught my boxer shorts on it.”
Luckily, his audition was successful – with Simon telling the singer: “You’re like a young Robbie Williams.”
Louis Walsh added: “I think you’ve got potential. Don’t think the voice is incredible, but the image is good.”
Max later auditioned as a member of boyband Avenue, but they were disqualified from the final 12 when it emerged the band already had a management deal.
Louis Smith (Olympic athlete)
The gymnast was already a Commonwealth Games gold medallist when he appeared on the show in 2008, but his singing voice failed to impress.
Simon Cowell told him: “Your voice isn’t good enough, and I don’t think it’ll ever be good enough. So stick to doing what you’re brilliant at doing.”
The 27-year-old has since since gone on to win medals in London 2012 and most recently Rio 2016, where Louis got silver.
Bianca Gascoigne (CBB and Love Island star and bar owner)
Footballing legend Gazza’s daughter Bianca Gascoigne, 29, seemed confident when appearing on the show in 2012, but was panned by the judges.
Take That’s Gary Barlow told her: “If I could compare you against the other 25-year-olds we’ve had, it’s really not good enough.
“What the other 25-year-olds have is they’ve been singing all their lives. Seriously singing. At 25, you should be a lot better than that.
“In general, it was a bit of a mediocre audition.”
Jasmine Walia (Towie star)
She was already a famous face when she appeared on the show, but Jasmine Walia’s audition didn’t even make it onto the main show.
The TOWIE stunner appeared on Xtra Factor, where she told the cameras: “No one from TOWIE knows that I’m here. I’ve kind of kept it a bit down low.”
After the judges admitted they had never seen the show, Cheryl asked: “What do you do on a daily basis in your life?”
Louis Walsh was very impressed to hear Jasmine worked part-time in a bank, adding: “Oh, you’ve got a real job!”
Simon stopped Jasmine’s audition mid-song to ask her to sing acapella, and she was left in tears after getting four nos from the judges.
Lauren Goodger and Jess Wright (Towie stars)
Jasmine wasn’t the only TOWIE girl to appear on the show.
Lauren Goodger, 29, revealed she and her ex-boyfriend Mark Wright’s sister Jess, 30, appeared on the show, as part of band Ruby Blue, back in 2004.
The audition clip has been erased from the internet, but the memory remains at the fore-front of Lauren’s mind.
She told the press the group were just one step away from the judge’s houses, and Lauren still dreams of becoming a pop star – but worries that no one will take her seriously after TOWIE.
Sallie Axl (Big Brother 2013 housemate and DJ)
Long before her Big Brother days, mum-of-two Sallie Axl, 28, appeared on X Factor.
At the time she was going by Sallie Waterhouse, and working as a pole dancer.
Unlike most of the others on this list, Sallie impressed the judges and made it through to bootcamp.
However, after leaving she tried to find fame elsewhere - and became a major talking point thanks to her appearance in the Elstree compound in the 2013 series of the hit Channel 5 show.
Chloe Khan (reality star)
Starting her life in the spotlight as Chloe Mafia - she first hit headlines in 2010 when she auditioned for The X Factor and became one of the show’s most controversial contestants ever.
Chloe got through to the bootcamp stage of the competition, but was kicked off after pulling an all-nighter to party and turning up "smelling like vodka".
Since then she rebranded herself to become a Playboy model and plastic surgery addict - and looks almost completely unrecognisable.
After her very public fall from grace thanks to X Factor, Chloe disappeared from the public eye for some time before re-emerging with a completely new look and successful business.
She was also a teen mum after having daughter, Destiny, aged 18.
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