Who is Tracyleanne Jefford? Meet The X Factor 2017 contestant with the massive voice and huge personality
Tracyleanne is bouncing back from a difficult divorce but has gained a lot of confidence since her first X Factor appearance in 2006
From: Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey
Bio: Tracyleanne Jefford already competed in The X Factor in 2006, when she got as far as Simon Cowell's Boot Camp before being sent home. But this time she says she's finally ready – and wants to go all the way.
This unemployed mother of three, who comes from the traveller community and got married very young, has just gone through a difficult divorce after 17 years of marriage.
Now she's lost weight, gained a bunch of confidence and wants to change her life for the sake of her kids.
What did Tracyleanne sing at her audition?
TracyLeanne gave an emotional performance of Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow and drawing on Amy Winehouse.
"There's nothing fake about you, there's nothing false," said Louis. "You are exactly the kind of person we love on this show," Simon added. The judges noted that her voice wasn't the strongest – but they loved her enough to put her through and give her four yeses.
How did Tracyleanne get through to Judges Houses?
Tracy seemed to gain a lot of confidence at Boot Camp. She chose a song that suited her voice - The Ronettes' classic Be My Baby. With her own three babies looking on in the audience and cheering her on, she was through to the next round.
Then it was on to the Six Chair Challenge, with a spot as one of Nicole's Overs at Judges Houses up for grabs.
It looked like things were going wrong when Tracy launched into You Don't Own Me by Lesley Gore – in fact, Simon stopped the whole thing. She had another go without the backing track but things were pretty dire.
But all was not lost. In classic X Factor style, she had another song up her sleeve - Dorothy Moore's Misty Blue. It was miles better and earned a standing ovation. "I believe in you, Tracy, you should have a chair, and then we've got to have a long awkward conversation about song choices," Simon said.
Luckily Nicole was able to find her a chair, even though the judge found the Six Chair Challenge really difficult this year – and she was through to the next round.
The X Factor airs Saturdays and Sundays on ITV
