Do you think you've got the X Factor? Do judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, Cheryl Cole and Danii Minogue, not to mention the live audience, fail to intimidate you? If so, wannabe popstar Hugo Jardim wants to hear from you.

Hugo hopes Ipswich has the X Factor

By WAYNE SAVAGE, entertainment writer

Do you think you've got the X Factor? Do judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, Cheryl Cole and Danii Minogue, not to mention the live audience, fail to intimidate you? If so, wannabe popstar Hugo Jardim wants to hear from you.

The Ipswich Debenhams retail worker is appealing for singers to join him on his quest for talent show glory.Twenty-two-year-old Hugo, originally from Portugal but now living in Harwich, has already entered himself in the male soloists 16-24 category.

However, he really wants to enter a boyband in the ITV1 contest as well as future competitions.

“I like working in retail management, but I would prefer to be in the music industry. Singing is what I really want to do, it's my passion,” he said.

Hugo - who is big fan of acts like Westlife, Boyzone, Take That and 2008 X Factor runners-up JLS - is looking for two or three 18-25 year olds who can really sing and dance.

“They don't need previous experience, I'm sure there are good singers out there without it, and they don't need to just like boybands too,” he stressed.

“If they like big singers like Mariah Carey it'll be nice because we can do huge group melodies, ballads, a huge variety of songs. It's important that we get along and they really want this, not just five minutes of fame on television.”

Just over 19million - 62 per cent of the TV audience - watched Geordie Joe McElderry pip Essex favourite Olly Murs and Dagenham darling Stacey Solomon to the X Factor 2009 crown. A massive increase on the total of 14.6m who watched Alexandra Burke win in 2008.

According to latest figures, last year's show was the most watched ever series with viewing figures averaging 11.8m.

More than 200,000 hopefuls entered the contest, including Hugo.

“I was very close to seeing the judges, I got through the first audition but not the second,” he said.

“There's so many talented people out there it's unbelievable. It's getting harder to get through every year, the quality is amazing.”

Hugo is aiming to go that one step further this time around - and isn't daunted by the prospect of auditioning in front of the new live audience famous for their chants of 'off, off, off'.

“I'm not scared of the live audience; I'd love to perform for them, it'd be great,” he added.

Hugo moved to the UK nearly five years ago to pursue his music dream and find work, but his love of music goes back to his childhood.

“I started singing in Karaokes in Portugal when I was about 12 and back in Portugal I came second in a competition out of about 60 people which was good, I was quite happy with that.”

He will also be taking part in this year's Live and Unsigned competiton, hopefully with the boyband if he can find more members in time for the auditions at the Regent on February 13.

“I don't even have a name for the new group yet, I want to find the rest first and then come up with something together, something we're all comfortable with,” he added.

Hugo's not necessarily looking to be the frontman.

“I don't know if I'll be the lead singer. I need to see the other guys, have a chat about who's the leader and who's the second. I'm not going to say I'm the best, it's whatever's best for the group.”

Applications must be in by March 5 and auditions begin at the end of April/beginning of May, so Hugo is keen to put the band together as soon as possible.

He's been an enormous fan of the series since day one.

“I haven't missed one episode and my favourite winner is Leona Lewis, without a shadow of a doubt,” he added.

“Hopefully this year it could be us up there. I would say to anybody interested that it's a future we could have; a great future. If you like music get in touch and let's go for it, let's go all the way,” urged Hugo.

Anyobody interested in auditioning for his boyband can e-mail boyband3@hotmail.co.uk or call 07717 417039.

If you've entered this year's X Factor call 01473 324728 or e-mail wayne.savage@eveningstar.co.uk