Contestants usually perform on singing contest shows like the “X Factor” seeking fame – in hopes that one day, the world will know their name. But a contestant featured on the premiere show of the new season of the show wanted precisely the opposite – total anonymity.
The singer did not give her name, and performed wearing a wig and dark glasses, for fear of negative repercussions from within her ultra-Orthodox community, where performing in front of audiences which include men – and on television – is frowned upon.
The anonymous singer said she had dreamed of performing since she was a young girl, but had never dared to do so, and that this time, she was so nervous that she almost didn’t come to the audition.
Afterwards she said “I thought I was going to pass out on stage, I was crying” but that she was thrilled to have realized her dream. She also brought tears to the eyes of the celebrity host of the Israeli X Factor Bar Refaeli and the judges who praised her performance of the song “Read All About It” – and sent her through to the next round of competition on the show.
She said that planned to continue on and that she “hoped the audience would understand and accept” the fact that she was singing incognito – at least for now.
