‘The X Factor’ UK review: Anton Stephans, Hannah Marie Kilminster, Tonatha Raihan rock audition show

The new season of “The X Factor” is now four episodes in, and we understand that there could be questions about whether or not there is a wide array of talent this time around. What we will say at least for now, though, is that at least the talent that the show does have is solid. There were several good performers over the course of the hour-plus episode tonight, including a person or two who may be some of our favorites of the season.

Sharon Rose – The show started tonight with some genuine talent, but we’ll say that Sharon is the one who, at least to us, really stood out and delivered something great. She set an extremely solid standard for everything that came after her.

Joselito Peralta – Yep, the judges did actually put this terrible guy through after he spent the majority of his “Copacabana” performance doing awkward dad-dancing across the stage. He’s like a more awkward Stevi Ritchie, and at least Stevi at times could sing.

Che Chesterman – We actually wrote about Che before this episode aired, and we were a fan! He’s got some things to work on (confidence, stage presence), but he has a killer voice. We liked the fact that he doesn’t look like you would expect him to sound. It’s unexpected, and that quality makes him extremely endearing.

Laura Johnston – Every now and then we get an audition out of nowhere like Laura or Sam Bailey. We don’t think she got the screen time to get through to the live shows, but her performance at least got a little bit of time in this episode.

Tonatha Raihan – Wait, she is a secondary school teacher? She’s clearly one of the boldest ones we’ve ever seen; what a quick transition on stage! This was a lot of fun for the most part, and she can really sing. A confident performer to watch.

Hannah Marie Kilminster – Hannah’s a farmer. Also go ahead and file this one under “great singers with surprising jobs.” Like Tonatha, what we really liked about her was that there was none of this sheepishness on stage. She can sing, and more than that she knows that she can sing.

Anton Stephans – The final three notable acts tonight were all stellar, but Anton was something special. He has the voice, the story, the presence, and he’s just innately fascinating with his dog and his dream of finally stepping into the spotlight. Here’s something else we found out about him from researching online: His story is even more powerful than he even let on, and we like that it wasn’t about what he’s gone through. It’s what he can do.

Who did you enjoy tonight? Share below, and head over here to read our review of the episode from Saturday! Also, sign up here to get some other TV updates on all we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ITV.)