Monica Michael •
Monica Michael entered through as the X Factor wild card on Saturday after not making the cut for Mentor, Rita Ora’s initial selection.
The 25 year old of Cypriot roots was on the show previously in 2014, only to be rejected by Cheryl Fernandez Versini. Despite Monica singing a touching rendition of ‘My Angel’, she thought she had suffered a similar setback this year, as fellow contestants Louisa Johnson, Lauren Murray and Kiera Weathers, were picked ahead of her by mentor Rita Ora, as part of the 12 remaining contestants for the live shows.
The news of Monica’s comeback broke out on the Xtra Factor, which is the spin-off show for the X-factor where judge Simon Cowell expressed his desire to bring Monica back to the show.
He Said: ‘I just thought I have to bring her back, the show would not be the same without her’.
Monica, who first performed at a number of LGR events once posted a video of herself dancing to a Tsifteteli song by Nikos Kourkoulis called ‘Kapou Kapou’ which obviously gets our vote!
After rejecting Monica the chance to advance to the live shows in 2014, Cheryl Fernandez Versini was delighted for the North Londoner and scrubbed the tag ‘Wildcard’ off her name: ‘I want to get rid of the word Wildcard. For me, you are a complete competitor. ‘You were my biggest mistake from last year and the timing for you, is now’.
The performance at the Judges houses reduced guest judge Meghan Trainor to tears, and mentor Rita Ora was relieved that her contestant would be getting a second chance in the competition.
She said: ‘I should have put her through in my final 3. She is a ‘rough diamond’. ‘I could not sleep Sunday night thinking about if I could convince the other judges of giving her a wildcard’.
The Cypriot, who is clearly a favourite of the judges, seems to have made an emotional connection with judges and fans alike. The boy’s Mentor Nick Grimshaw claims to have been a fan of Monica from the 2014 series of the show. ‘I am so happy you’re back, you’re a serious contender for this show which is really annoying for me because you’re not in my category’.
Her re-introduction to the live shows will no doubt pose a threat to show favourites Louisa Johnson, Che Chesterman and 4th Impact. All at LGR will be backing her involvement in the competition from here-on-in and whatever happens, she will be seen as a winner.
