A NEW wave of X Factor fever hit Birmingham as wannabe singers in search of fame and fortune descended on the city.

Auditions for the TV show took place at the LG Arena yesterday and nearly 5,000 hopefuls queued up from 8am to try their luck.

Yesterday they had to sing in front of the show’s producers and the best were being called back today for the second stage.

The pick of the bunch will then get to sing in front of the X Factor judges in Birmingham in May.

Among those who have already been told they are through to the next round were tribute act Tiara, made up of Boy George clone Jason Watkins, aged 38, and Amy Winehouse lookalike Sammy Lines, aged 40, from Sutton Coldfield. The pair impressed the producers with their rendition of the Donna Summers and Barbara Streisand hit Enough is Enough.

Sammy, who owns an entertainment agency, said: “We’re so thrilled to have got through to the next round. We love what we do and the producers obviously saw that and liked it.”

Hoping for success second time around was Marie Neil, aged 22, a part-time singer and fast food shop worker from Walsall, who got as far as boot camp last year.

“I thought I’d come back and try again. I wasn’t given a reason why I didn’t get further than boot camp last year – they just called us onto the stage and told us we hadn’t made it. Who knows, this year we may have different judges so I may stand a chance.”

Also auditioning for the second time were father and daughter Terry and Rebecca Edwards.

For pub and club singer Terry, aged 59, from Solihull, this is his last throw of the dice.