THE music industry is known for being one of the hardest industries to crack – and no one knows this more so than Gisela Chan.
The 32-year-old singing hopeful, from Birmingham, has appeared in front of The X Factor judges three times – in 2009, 2010 and 2013 – but to no avail.
Despite being told her performance was "quite shocking," the housewife, who is a freelance actor and model, is determined not to give up – and says her "bad" auditions have been purely down to "jet lag."
Speaking exclusively to Fabulous, Gisela has now revealed behind-the-scene secrets of the popular ITV show – and how she really feels about Simon Cowell's mean comment.
"It's a well-staged and executed programme," claims Gisela, who has previously auditioned as both a solo act and in a group named Jahm.
"People don't really know until they go to the actual auditions and you feel totally blindsided by the process.
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"The judges are scripted and already know what they're going to say, and they're briefed before each auditionee goes in to see them.
"And when the contestants are being interviewed by the X or Xtra Factor team, the producers tell them exactly what to say to make them look like fools."
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Gisela goes on to say that filmed auditions are edited professionally – including the sound tracks.
"A little auto-tuning is used to make the audition sound better or a lot worse," she alleges.
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"We got told to perform and say exactly what the producers want or else we wouldn't get to go on the show anymore.
"They suggested the song choices for us too and said it was the best for the group."
While viewers see a 60-second audition on their screens, the X Factor regular notes there's a lengthy process that actually takes place beforehand.
Gisela, who doesn’t like to compare herself to anyone vocally but says she admires singers such as Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera and Whitney Houston, explains: "There are three producer auditions before the auditions in front of the celebrity judges.
"The first auditions are mass auditions, which are usually held in football stadiums or exhibition halls.
"There's one producer and lots of singing booths where you sing after queuing all day.
"If you receive a golden ticket, it means you've advanced to the next step."
Gisela goes on to explain how the second audition takes place in a room with roughly three producers.
"If you're chosen, you're given a red ticket to the next stage," she says.
"Then the third audition is held in a room with two producers and a cameraman, who tape your audition for subsequent viewing.
"They won't inform you if you've made it to perform in front of the celebrity judges at this point.
"You get a phone call in the near future with further phone interviews and then they decide who to pick.
"Then, you'll receive another phone call to let you know you're short listed, and a final call a week or less before to let you know you're picked for the celebrity judges audition show."
Gisela, who is currently on maternity leave with her newborn, says she was told "last minute" that she'd been selected to audition in front of the celebrity judges.
"At that time I was on holiday in America so I had to change my audition to the last audition slot which was in Glasgow," she says.
"My audition was back-to-back from flying straight from America to Glasgow the next day ready for my audition."
I forgot to bring water after landing from the plane to my audition and I was running around in panic for a while. My throat and vocal cords got really dried and I knew I wasn't ready to audition in that state
It came as a surprise to Gisela, who says she didn’t expect to be selected to see the judges because she hadn't been chosen two years in a row – 2007 and 2008.
And according to Gisela, that's the very reason she failed to impress the judges with her rendition of 'If I Ain't Got You' by Alicia Keys.
While Dannii Minogue told her the performance was "all over the shop," Simon asked Gisela why she was pulling such a sad face.
"Simon, I've been travelling, I'm really tired and I've got jet lag," she told him.
The comment caused Louis Walsh to burst out laughing, while Simon responded: "You can't use that as an excuse- absolutely categorical no sweetheart."
But Gisela remains firm to her word that exhaustion from travelling was to blame.
"If the producers had told me earlier that I was going to audition in front of the celebrity judges then I wouldn’t have gone on holiday to America," she explains.
"I flew straight from America to Glasgow to have the audition as it was the last audition slot…
"I forgot to bring water after landing from the plane to my audition and I was running around in panic for a while.
"My throat and vocal cords got really dry and I knew I wasn't ready to audition in that state."
In 2010, Gisela went back to audition again – but this time she tried her luck in a group named Jahm.
My group members were so nervous, tired and forgot lyrics and sang over everyone out of tune.
I couldn't even hear myself sing.
I felt like I'd wasted a golden opportunity again.
Still, the judges were unimpressed, with Cheryl calling the performance "quite shocking" and "very bad," while Louis Walsh compared it to "three cats being strangled."
Simon Cowell added: "Probably the worst group we've had on the show…genuinely I've never heard anything like that. It was utterly atrocious."
Recalling the negative feedback, Gisela says: "The judges weren't impressed but fair enough.
"We were asked to arrive early in the morning at 9am to start filming our backstage interviews and other scenes such as fake queuing…
"When we finally got to see the judges, it was the final audition slot of the day and it was 10pm in the evening!
"I missed my last train to go back home and had to book a hotel.
"My group members were so nervous, tired and forgot their lyrics and sang over everyone out of tune.
"I couldn't even hear myself sing.
"I felt like I'd wasted a golden opportunity again."
Gisela also says that she wasn't offended by Cheryl's remark.
"I feel like that was somehow scripted," she says.
"I don’t feel anything personal about when she said this."
But Gisela does have a few things to say about Cheryl…
"Cheryl – I'm amazed that she can forge out a singing career with little singing skills and a lot of auto-tuning.
"Anyone can be a singer using her formula and this opportunity can be offered to anyone."
But despite all of the knock-backs, in 2010, Gisela's dream finally came true when she received a call from producers asking her to perform with other auditionees on the X Factor live final.
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"It was fun to be able to step on the X Factor live stage," says Gisela, who got to hang out backstage with One Direction and Olly Murs.
"It was great to meet other auditionees…but they all had their own quirks!"
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