Ofisa Toleafoa confesses he is trying to win back his family's approval.
Ofisa Toleafoa confesses he is trying to win back his family's approval.
A number of Kiwis - including the brother of two top-level rugby league players and a gay man trying to get acceptance from his religious family - are making an impression on TV screens across the Tasman with their auditions for X Factor Australia.
Three New Zealanders have been acceptedinto the Bootcamp round of the talent-finding competition now screening in Australia.
Tokoroa 23-year-old Ofisa Toleafoa, known as Tee, brought the judges to tears when he confessed he was trying to get acceptance from his family, who turned their backs on him last year when he told them he was gay.
Hamilton-born 16-year-old Will Perrett, the brother of professional league players Sam and Lloyd Perrett, said he was the "odd one out" in his football-mad family of nine. He received a standing ovation for his performance.
Adam O'Brien, 24, was described as "New Zealand's Marvin Gaye".
Judges Ronan Keating, Danni Minogue, American rapper Redfoo and Australian actress and recording artist Natalie Bassingthwaighte praised the Kiwis' performances and hinted they could go far in the competition.
Toleafoa, who moved to Cabramatta, NSW, "to find himself" after struggling with his family's religious beliefs and his sexuality, said he was singing for his mother.
"I grew up in a very strong Samoan Christian family where our beliefs don't believe in homosexuality.
