Soul singer Paul Akister and former girlband member Hannah Sheares were among the stand outs on Sunday night's X Factor as the Wembley Arena try outs came to a close.
The 24-year-old pub singer - who appeared briefly on Saturday night's show - stepped into the limelight on Sunday as he overcame his shyness and won a standing ovation from all four judges for his performance.
"I loved the way you came on the stage," Gary Barlow told him afterwards.
"You are a quiet and unassuming guy but the music, the power it gives you - you took the whole room by storm."
Sharon Osbourne agreed, saying: "That was just amazing...really fantastic."
Hannah, meanwhile, also made it through to boot camp after viewers saw her on Saturday night splitting from her band Daisy Chains.
The panel were unimpressed with her bandmates on Saturday's show - but offered Hannah a lifeline if she was prepared to go solo.
And despite admitting that the decision had been 'horrible' and it had affected her friendship with the other band members, the 17-year-old sailed through to bootcamp with her rendition of Demi Lovato's Skyscraper.
"You made the right decision and this is where you are supposed to be," Nicole Scherzinger said, while Sharon told her she needed to 'work on her confidence' before sending her through.
Elsewhere it was a good night for groups with a clutch of acts including Code 4, Brick City and Xyra all making it to the next stage.
Another group, trio Dynamix, faced a dilemma after the judges tried to persuade lead singer SeeSee to ditch her band members and go it alone.
"Every band has a front person and it's definitely SeeSee," Louis Walsh said, while Gary added: "You are not going to make the final twelve, there are better groups than you in the competition."
Ultimately though the 22-year-old mum of one rejected their suggestion, tearfully saying: "I want this so much, I want it for my life and for my daughter...but I think I am going to say no."
They eventually scraped through to boot camp - with only Nicole voting against them.
Others to make it through included Joseph Whelan - who narrowly missed out on the judges houses in 2012.
The 27-year-old - who wowed both panel and crowd with his version of Guns n'Roses Sweet Child O'Mine - has swiftly risen up the betting since his initial re-appearance on Saturday, and according to Ladbrokes is now 7-1 to be crowned series champion.
The X Factor continues on ITV next Saturday and Sunday night as the action moves to boot camp.
