The X Factor: Singing siblings add a bit of fun

Brother and sister duo singers Leilani and Elijah Taula pre-auditioned for the New Zealand 2015 X Factor yesterday afternoon. Photo / George Novak

Leilani and Elijah Taula reckon they have the X Factor.

The brother and sister duo have been singing since they were children but only recently started to perform as a double act.

They were among hundreds of hopefuls who belted out ballards and pop tunes to impress the first round of judges for the new series of The X Factor NZ.

Pre-auditions were held in front of The X Factor NZ producers Andrew Szusterman and John McDonald at the Club Mount yesterday afternoon.

Leilani, 16, and Elijah, 18, performed Lonely Boy by The Black Keys and Elijah said they would be "a bit of fun" for New Zealand to watch through the reality TV series if they made it through.

"We love doing it and people love to watch people doing what they love."

Leilani said she and her brother were typical siblings with the occasional fight but when it came to singing it was perfect harmony.

"Our real strength is when we sing together, we are really lucky because we are brother and sister our voices blend together really well."

When Leilani was 13 she auditioned for Good Morning's Find a Star and got to the finals.

"It was such a good experience but I was really young and didn't know what I wanted to sing. Now I have Elijah singing with me, it's much more fun working and harmonising together."

Both play an array of instruments.

Horse trainer Fiona Crosgrove, 36, also auditioned and said she had been singing "forever".

She described her voice as more "bluesy" than most.

Ms Crosgrove said she was excited at the opportunity The X Factor NZ could offer her.

A queue of hopefuls at the Mount Maunganui Cozzie Club. Photo / George Novak

Georgia Baker-Trebilco (right) is excited to give it a try.

The X Factor NZ New Zealand publicist Jeane Mowatt said they had been travelling around New Zealand, to 13 locations, to find talent for the show.

After the hopeful singers had auditioned, they were given an instant "no" or a "maybe".

A panel would then look through the maybes and they would be contacted within the next few weeks to find out if they had made it to the live auditions in Auckland.

In the 2013 series of The X Factor NZ, after more than 7000 people had been involved in the pre-auditions, 300 to 400 went through to try out at the live auditions.

The X Factor
The X Factor is a New Zealand television reality music competition, originating from the original UK series and based on the Australian The X Factor production format.

The first series premiered on TV3 in April 2013, with regular Sunday and Monday screenings.

The show is open to anyone aged 14 and over, and the winner will be signed to Sony Music Entertainment New Zealand.

The contestants are split into the show's four traditional categories: Boys, girls, over-25s and groups. From the second series, bands are also able to enter in the group category. The first series was hosted by Dominic Bowden, with recording artists Daniel Bedingfield, Melanie Blatt, Ruby Frost, and Stan Walker, as the show's four judges. Greymouth singer Jackie Thomas was the winner of the first series.