Matt Cardle has put himself right up there as a contender for The X Factor this year with this performance of The First Time (Ever I Saw Your Face).
Anyone failed to be moved by this near-perfect cover of the song made famous by Roberta Flack needs their head examining. Cardle put so much emotional energy into the vocal it’s hard not to be affected by it.
There is a reason for this, as he explained on The Xtra Factor:
“My mum’s best mate was killed when I was 11 and she had four kids. My mum took on those kids and they made our family absolutely better. And the oldest one [of the kids] met his girlfriend under similar circumstances and I sang that at their wedding as she came into the church. The whole day was one of the most emotional of my life and it brought it all back.”
Cardle will now have to do something terrible not to make it through to the final, probably alongside One Direction and Roberta Ferguson. I do, however, have a soft spot for Cher Lloyd.
