'X Factor' U.K.: Janet Devlin owns premiere night

By Rick Porter

August 20, 2011 8:15 PM ET

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Meet Janet Devlin, a 16-year-old from a small town in Northern Ireland and the breakout performer on premiere of the U.K. version of "The X Factor."

The show began its eighth season in Britain with some significant changes: Simon Cowell, who's gearing up for the show's U.S. launch, is no longer a judge, and Cheryl Cole and Dannii Minogue are gone too (Kelly Rowland of Destiny's child and British pop stars Tulisa Contostavlos and Gary Barlow are their replacements). Given all that, as the Telegraph's reviewer pointed out, the premiere probably needed a water-cooler moment.

It got that from Devlin, who was presented as shy and nervous almost to a fault. She sang Elton John's "Your Song," and although her voice isn't huge, it's got a great, unpolished-in-the-best-way quality to it.

Her performance is below (note: the audio and video didn't quite sync when we played it). You can also see her full audition segment here and hear more from Janet on her YouTube channel.

Here's hoping the U.S. version finds some talent this strong.

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Photo/Video credit: ITV

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