Irish acts make cut for X Factor final 12

THE Irish will be well represented in X Factor this year with Dublin twins John and Edward making the final 12 along with model Azi Jegbefume.

The 12 acts selected to go through were revealed last night following months of televised auditions.

Louis Walsh and Boyzone star Ronan Keating controversially picked the 17-year-old Dublin duo at their selection process in Lake Como.

Louis had been a fan of the twins from the start, despite them coming in for ridicule from several quarters.

On Saturday night the normally confident teenagers were seen crying after they performed for Louis and Ronan.

The Grimes brothers are studying for their Leaving Cert in the Institute of Education, Leeson Street, having attended King’s Hospital in Palmerstown and Rathangan National School.

Online, the spiky-haired pair have attracted much attention, with more than 1,600 people joining their Facebook profile. However, over a 1,000 people have also joined a group set up called “I hate John and Edward Grimes”.

When John was 14 he entered a school talent competition and competed against Edward. He came third and Edward first.

When they first hit the screen as John and Edward, the twin teenage brothers impressed all of the judges with the exception of Simon Cowell, who thought they were a bit too cocky.

The boys said they once bumped into the Pussycat Dolls in a Dublin hotel bar and they sang to them – the girls invited them to a party after the show but they said they were too young to go.

The pair will go head-to-head against Azi Jegbefume, 25, and the three other girls in the band Kandy Rain.

Azi’s brother is Fair City actor Yare Jegbefume, who plays social worker Felix Jones. She is believed to have dated Everton footballer James Hall and has also appeared in RTÉ’s You’re A Star.

Azi has represented Ireland on the sports field, winning a place on the Irish athletics squad during her teens.

She met the other girls in the group at an audition 12 months ago when they were chosen to be in a seven-piece band – nothing ever came of this but the four remained friends and decided to form their own girl group.

Welsh teenager Lloyd Daniels also made it through to the live finals despite judge Cheryl Cole voicing her concerns about his tender age.

However, the hot favourites are teacher Danyl Johnson alongside 18-year-old student Lucie Jones.