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Dannii Minogue told The Independent Magazine, due to be published in the newspaper on Saturday, that 21-year-old Scott James amazed her and her fellow judges with an electrifying rendition of You Raise Me Up.

She said: "He told us that because of his Asperger's syndrome and the fact that he'd been picked on, he hadn't left the house in seven years.

"But he just stood there calmly and told us that his singing teacher had been helping him to build his confidence. Then he started singing. You will not believe his performance when you see it."

According to The Independent, Mr James, from Stockton-on-Tees, started singing in public after his mother took him to a local recording studio to make a CD for family and friends.

Mike Frankland and Linzi Hunter, who run the Castlegate Recording Studio, coached him and encouraged him to perform in working men's clubs around the North East.

After taking a few shows to get used to singing in front of an audience, Mr James entered the X Factor auditions and made it through to the "boot camp" stage, which involves just 50 contestants.