During the weekend, one of the UK’s leading newspapers, The Daily Star, revealed a few of the names that would be taking part in the brand new series of The X Factor. Amongst those names is someone extremely familiar to Eurovision fans. That name is Slavko Kalezić who, of course, represented Montenegro in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv with Space.
Slavko’s story also began on The X Factor
It was via Slavko’s local version of The X Factor where he reached a new height of fame in Montenegro and throughout the Balkan region. In 2013, he took part in the first season of The X Factor Adria. The show was broadcast not only in his home country but in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia as well. Following a memorable audition covering Beyoncé’s End of Time, Slavko eventually advanced to the judges’ houses stage. His mentor on the show was former Eurovision participant and host Željko Joksimović. Unfortunately for Slavko, Željko didn’t put him through to the live shows.
After several singles, Slavko returned to the centre of the spotlight earlier this year. In May, he represented Montenegro in the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest in host city Kyiv. Unfortunately, Space wasn’t able to qualify for the grand final. However, it was undoubtedly one of the contest’s most memorable performances. Now, it seems that the next step in Slavko’s journey is to perform on one of the world’s biggest X Factor stages! The X Factor UK has launched the international careers of stars such as One Direction, Little Mix, Leona Lewis and Olly Murs.
Filming for The X Factor UK bootcamp is underway now
The timing of this story is interesting. Over the past few days, ITV has been filming the bootcamp stages of the upcoming 2017 series in London. Therefore, does this suggest that Slavko has already been successful in his audition and has progressed to the next stage? If so, and Slavko is also successful in making it through bootcamp, then the infamous Six Chair Challenge will be his next challenge… excuse the pun! We expect the Six Chair Challenge to be filmed next month, so keep an eye out on Slavko’s social media for any potential clues!
Indeed, Slavko posted just yesterday that he was at London’s Hilton Wembley hotel. The X Factor regularly use Wembley Arena to film certain stages of the competition. In addition, the show’s own studios are also located in the area. It all adds up!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWzs9T3hKLD/
Following in the footsteps of Saara Aalto?
Slavko won’t be the first star from within the Eurovision bubble to take part in an ITV talent show competition. Finland’s Saara Aalto led the way this time last year, winning over the British public with one of the most memorable journeys in X Factor history. Despite falling into the sing-off showdown three times, Saara won over the British public with a series of exceptional performances and finished in an incredible second place.
This year has already seen two Junior Eurovision alumni participate in two of ITV’s other talent shows. Maltese Junior Eurovision winner Destiny Chukunyere reached the semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent. Then, shortly afterwards, Ireland’s Zena Donnelly joined Team Pixie on The Voice Kids and reached the battle rounds, unfortunately being paired there against eventual winner Jess Foley in the ultimate battle.
The X Factor UK will air over the next few months
The 2017 season of The X Factor UK is predicted to begin airing towards the end of next month. As always, the final will take place in December. Perhaps Slavko will be filling our screens for the next few months?
Would you like to see Slavko take part in the UK’s version of The X Factor? Do you think he could match Saara’s achievement from last year? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and via our social media pages @ESCXTRA!
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