Fake That: Gary Barlow impersonator claims X Factor producers set up his audition and told him what to sing
Hopeful: Ashley Crowe talks of the behind the scenes tricks of X Factor
Backstage plotting and underhanded tactics that occur on X Factor have been exposed by contestant Ashley Crowe.
Ashley, who is a Gary Barlow impersonator and a singer in tribute band Fake That, claims that he was approached by the shows producers and they decided that he should sing Take That hit Love Aint Here Any More in front of the judges.
24-year-old Ashley said that the bosses wanted to impress judge Gary Barlow and arranged for the Fake That singer to meet the Take That singer backstage.
Ashley told the Sunday Mirror: 'The programme makes out everyone who turns up for an audition has the same opportunity to impress. But that wasn’t my experience at all. They asked me to go on the show, even though the auditions had already closed
The tribute singer revealed how he was given VIP treatment and skipped the first round of auditions, was pushed to the front of the queue ahead of wannabes that had been waiting for hours,and sang a Take That song after being pushed to do one.
It was in April when Ashley was first approached by X Factor researchers after Fake That performed at a charity gig in Manchester.
After they introduced themselves to him they asked him if he would appear on the show even though he had already missed the auditions that took place that day.
Ashley felt it was unfair on the other contestants that he was going to go straight through but he insists that it was all their idea and so he took the chance they were offering.
Take that away: Gary said last night that he hates when people sing songs he likes
He did two brief auditions the following Monday and then didn't hear from them for six weeks.
Then on May 30 ITV announced that the new judging line up on the X Factor would consist of Kelly Rowland, Tulisa Contostavlos, Louis Walsh and Gary Barlow.
Just days later Ashley received a call from producers asking him to come and audition in front of the judges but Fake That were in Spain where they live for most of the year.
Have a word: The judges have an argument about the talent on the show
Ashley was flown back to Manchester in June for another audition at Event City and was given a list of Take That songs and told that he should perform one of those songs because Gary is the most important judge.
Unfortunately the judges didn't like the performance and Ashley did not make it through to Boot Camp.
An X Factor insider told the Mail Online that: 'Ashley's first choice of song was Take That - and he sang that first and then sang Mike and the Mechanics.
'He had a very lucky break getting to sing to a producer as he missed the
open day due to a gig. At the open day they sing to a producer so he did
the same, and then he had a callback to further auditions as per other
contestants. Unfortunately for him his luck ran out when the judges didn't
like him so he didn't get to boot-camp.'
Unison: The judges give a rare standing ovation after one of this weekends performances
Ashley claims that he never wanted to sing Take That and he forced to sing it.
Wishing that he had gone with his instincts, Ashley returned to Menorca where Fake That continue to play in bars and clubs and his audition was cut from this weekends X Factor shows.
A spokesperson for The X Factor told the Mail Online: 'This contestant completed the audition process in full but he did not get to Bootcamp.'
Back to normal: Tulisa and Kelly disagree over who they should put through to boot camp
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