What to expect at The X Factor auditions.

What to expect at The X Factor auditions.

I'd like to start of with saying that the X Factor auditions I attended was at Old Trafford in Manchester on 17th March 2012. I'll also point out that I wasn't the one auditioning, but supporting my sister who was auditioning.
The first thing you will need to do is make sure you know the date and location of the X Factor audition you wish to attend. You will also need to read very carefully the details which are put up on the website for auditions t make sure you are there on time and also you know what the cut-off time is for the X Factor auditions you are attending.
If you are not a morning person and struggle to get up before 7am, then going to an audition like this may mean you have to put some extra effort in just to get to the specified venue in time to be in with a chance to audition.
For the day that we went to The X Factor auditions, we were told not to be there any later than 9am as it would be unlikely that we would be allowed to even queue if we were. Of course, you have to account for all the others that will be attending and those that even camped out the night before to get a good spot in the queue. With that in mind, we were up at 4am, with a plan to be there between 6.30am and 7am. We knew that it would take a while for us to get to the venue and therefor allowed enough time for this. We also made sure we knew the times of buses, trains and trams to get there, and made a timetable for ourselves.
When we arrived at the venue, there were some areas to park close by, but not at the actual venue itself, and having read the website, we already knew this and were told that it would be best not to drive there, unless you were being dropped off, as parking would be limited.
We arrived at the venue at around 6.45am and started queuing immediately. There were already approx 1000 people there, and there were plenty more behind us.
Once we finally got to a point where we were standing still, after snaking round all the barriers for about 20 minutes, we finally stood still and gave a sigh of relief. We'd made it, and looking in front of us, we weren't that badly placed.
I won't go on about my day in particular much more, but instead give you a few hints and tips of things you should take with you and what to expect.

Items you should take with you when auditioning for The X Factor.

• An umbrella. ( we forgot ours and paid the consequences!) 
• Comfy shoes.  - You are likely to be stood in the queue for a minimum of 5 hours. Bring a pair to change into if necessary, after all you may have picked out an outfit that doesn't include your comfiest shoes.
• If possible, bring a camping chair/seat. That will eliminate the need for comfy shoes to a degree and will also mean you can at least sit down for a while. 
• Take a picnik blanket or towel to sit on if you haven't got a camping chair. At least this way you can sit on the floor without dirtying your outfit. But be prepared to be shouted at and told to stood up during filming!!!!  There was a lot of that. Lol
• Take sandwiches, drinks etc to keep you going. There are hot food carts around, but that'll mean needing to leave the queue, only to queue again and then having to find your place again, and if you're on your own, that may be difficult.  So with that, I would also suggest having someone with you if you can.
• A coat, or a warm top. It can be cold standing around all day and the last thing you want to be doing is shivering, on top of the nerves that you may already have.
• An ipod/mp3 player/magazine.  There will be big gaps where there isn't much going on and if you can pass the time listening to a few tracks or reading, it will make all the difference.

What to expect when auditioning for The X Factor.

• Expect a very, very, very long day. So be prepared.
  
• Expect a lot of repetition, especially whilst they are filming. The film crew made us repeat things over and over again, so they could get the shot they wanted. About 4 hours of filming for what will be about a couple of minutes footage on the t.v.
• Expect to be waiting longer than expected.  There was a countdown clock for when the auditions started it was counting down from 3 hours. When it finally got to a minute, the whole crowd started to count down and then let out a huge cheer, followed by......... nothing. Because nothing happened.  Instead we waited for another 30 minutes or so just to be asked repeatedly to do the count down again, so that they could film it. Ugh.
• Once you do start moving.. finally, expect to be waiting for at least another 2 hours, without really knowing what's going on, unless you are in the very first group that they take in.  We were sat in the Old Trafford stadium for about 2 hours without being told what was happening.
• Expect to be singing whilst others are singing. The booths are all in one room and are pretty much material made pop-ups. So if you get easily distracted, then you certainly will be here. Whilst I was waiting for my sister, all I could hear was a muffled noise of different songs and singers. Some really loud and not great, others were really good and high pitched.  Enough to distract anyone who is trying to concentrate.
• Lastly, and most importantly, expect to get a no.  Not because you can't sing, but because the simple fact is, they need to get numbers down to a more manageable number, so even if you're a fantastic singer, you're luck might just not be with you.  There were plenty of really good singers that were told 'no'.  Don't be discouraged by this, but except it. Don't be bitter, just take with you the experience of the day and use it to your advantage if you're planning to audition another time.

Hints and tips for people auditioning for The X Factor.

• Wear something that will make you stand out from the crowd.  They randomly pick people out of the crowd for interviews and such. People who catch their attention are more likely to be these people. Although there were plenty of normally dressed people they picked too.  These are the type of people that will at the very least get put through to the auditions in front of the 'real' judges.
• Get there as early as possible. You'll get a better view of what's going on and more likely to catch the attention of the film crew. 

One last thing I would like to mention, and something that annoyed me greatly, was the amount of litter that people left. As we were moving round the barriers ready to go into the auditions, the litter just got worse and worse. There was no excuse for this. There were plenty bins around, and even if there hadn't have been, there is nothing stopping you taking a bag for your rubbish. It's not nice to see, shows a great lack of respect for other people and the environment, and most of all, is just damned lazy and inconsiderate.  The campers were the worst as the front of the queue was where the most litter was.

I invite you to add your comments and if you have had the experience of auditioning for the X Factor, share your story here, aswell as tips for others who wish to audition.