X-tra chance? TV reject Paije Richardson could perform again on X Factor

Published: 8 October, 2010
by TERRY MESSENGER

SPECULATION is mounting that Islington’s rejected X Factor hopeful Paije Richardson will be given a another chance to make his dreams come true.

Simon Cowell is expected to announce tomorrow (Saturday) that each judge will be allowed to bring back a contestant knocked out last week.

It’s thought that judge Dannii Minogue will pick Paije (pictured), a cinema worker from Finsbury Park, as her “wild card” from the acts she at first rejected after hearing them sing at her house in Australia.

He will then get the opportunity to sing in the live show tomorrow night although Paije may be subject to a public vote to see which of the four wild cards goes through. 

The 19-year-old from Yonge Park was originally ruled out of the contest during the judges’ homes stage, despite impressing Dannii with a soulful, note-perfect rendition of True Colours. Judge Dannii acknowledged his originality and conviction, remarking: “For me he’s the only one who knows who he is in the competition.” 

But after seeing other contestants, she refused to put him through to the next stage.   

She told Paije: “There’s a sound to your voice that can’t be taught but what wasn’t there for me was putting that personality into the performance.”

Further controversy arose when fellow judges Cheryl Cole and and Louis Walsh picked contestants who cracked up and forgot their words.

The X Factor was criticised for picking vulnerable people, likely to boost ratings, rather than choosing the most talented acts.

Paije said: “I’ve nothing else to pin my hopes on so, at the moment, it’s the end of the world. I’ll keep trying and struggling to be something so maybe it will happen some day.”

Before singing for Dannii, Paije said: “If I do well in this competition, my life will change so much compared to cleaning the cinema and mopping up popcorn.”