A shy young man with Asperger's Syndrome has stunned X Factor judges in auditions for the show. Dannii Minogue said that 21-year-old Scott James, who did not set foot outside his home for seven years, amazed her and her fellow judges on the ITV1 show with his rendition of You Raise Me Up. Scott, from Stockton-on-Tees, is now tipped to become the next Susan Boyle after storming through to the final 50 singers in the competition. Dannii said: "He told us that because of his Asperger's Syndrome and the fact that he'd been picked on, he hadn't left the house in seven years. "But he just stood there calmly and told us that his singing teacher had been helping him to build his confidence. Then he started singing. You will not believe his performance when you see it." According to The Independent Magazine, due to be published on Saturday, Scott started singing in public after his mother took him to a local recording studio to make a CD for family and friends. Mike Frankland and Linzi Hunter, who run the Castlegate Recording Studio, coached him and encouraged him to perform in working men's clubs around the North East. After taking a few shows to get used to singing in front of an audience, Scott entered the X Factor auditions and made it through to the 'boot camp' stage, which involves just 50 contestants.
