Filipino sisters Almira, Irene, Mylene and Celina Cercado – collectively known as the girl group 4th Power – survived the second part of The X Factor UK's boot camp round on Sunday. After a stirring performance of David Guetta and Sia's track Titanium, they won a spot in the next round of competition.
During Sunday’s episode, the remaining acts had to perform a solo number in front of judges Simon Cowell, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, Rita Ora and Nick Grimshaw. The panel then had to select their top 15 favourites from each of the competition’s four categories, namely boys, girls, over-25s and groups.
“4th Power – boom! That is an audition,” said host Olly Murs after the group’s performance. “I would love to work with them,” said Cowell, though he pointed out that their performance “wasn’t their strongest”.
Ora agreed, saying that it was not 4th Power’s best, but was still impressive “compared to everything I’ve seen so far”.
“We don’t want to let this go,” the sisters said after their performance. “We don’t want to waste this big opportunity in our life.” Later, after finding out they were through to the next round, the group said backstage: “So unbelievable – there are so many great talents here. This is our best day ever.”
Next week, the remaining 45 contenders will compete for the final 24 slots, six from each category. The round, dubbed as the Six Chair Challenge, will take place over three weekends in front of an audience at London’s Wembley Arena.
4th Power are widely considered early front-runners. Their first audition, during which the sisters sung the Jessie J/Nicki Minaj/Ariana Grande hit Bang Bang, has amassed more than 15 million views since it was uploaded last month to The X Factor UK's official YouTube page.
Among their biggest competitors in the groups category are boy band The First Kings, church choirgirls Silver Tone and six-piece girl group Alien.
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