It's the return of Britain's X Factor, the best antidote to a rather lackluster season of South African Idol on MNet. It seems the clear standout in the first audition show was the "girl with the flower in her hair," 18 year old Gamuchirai Nenghu, who goes simply by Gamu. She performed a stunning reworking of Katrina and the Waves' classic "Walking On Sunshine." She was born and raised into her early teen years in Zimbabwe. Gamu's mother was nearly as compelling to watch as Gamu herself. She is clearly a contestant to watch. Beyond her obvious singing talent, it seems there are stories from her life that audiences will want to hear. Her audition already got over 80 000 views on YouTube! See Video After the Jump
The new season of X Factor also seems to already have its first controversy. Daily Mail says that thousands of fans of the show took to Twitter to complain that they think the show is using auto-tune pitch correcting technology with some of the contestants. The three contestants singled out are Gamu, mentioned above, Caroline, of the duo G and S, and Shirlena Johnson who closed the show with a stunningly idiosyncratic version of Duffy's "Mercy." So far there is no official word from the show addressing these concerns.