Simon Cowell has seen a lot — but nothing prepared him for this contestant's 'cave-sized' mouth
Simon Cowell doesn't like to beat around the bush; he comes straight to the point! During an August 2008 episode of 'The X Factor,' a 23-year-old contestant named Holly Jervis, dressed in combats and a cardigan and wearing specs, belted out the song 'Big, Blonde and Beautiful' from the 2007 movie 'Hairspray' in front of the esteemed judges Louis Walsh, Cheryl, Dannii Minogue, and Cowell. When Cowell was asked to share his feedback on Jervis' performance, he didn't hold back his thoughts and told the budding singer, "Your mouth is far, far too big when you sing. I mean, it was like looking into a cave."
As per Metro Co., while speaking about Jervis' mouth, Cowell further elaborated, "I have not seen anything so huge in my life, and because your mouth is so big, this weird noise sound comes out of it. It was absolutely terrible." At that point, Jervis asked Cowell, "Well, what will you say to the people who employ me now?" to which the latter retorted, "Who are they?" In her response, Jervis went on to say, "A holiday firm that has a massive chain throughout the country. And I've sung over the years to thousands of people."
Soon after, Jervis questioned Cowell, "So, why would I keep getting employed if I'm as bad as you're saying? Please answer me that," to which he replied, "Because it is one thing being a singer in a holiday camp." Then, Jervis interrupted Cowell mid-sentence and quipped, "No, no, no. I'm not just a singer. I have to have this. This is what I do." Following that, Cowell uttered, "I was just saying—making the ppoint thatit is one thing being a singer in a holiday camp and it is another thing being a recording artist!"
Despite getting the harsh remarks from Cowell, Jervis exclaimed, "The thing is, though, Simon, I have to be given a chance." On the other hand, Cowell stood his ground and went on to say, "No, Holly, you're not a naturally good singer." Shortly afterward, Cheryl entered the chat and said, "To be fair, every single person—there are thousands of people we see, and they—they would all love a chance to come through, and you just weren't good enough, babe." While offering her viewpoints on Jervis' singing, Minogue said, "It's verging on funny rather than serious, and I know that's not how you intend it to come across." At that point, Jervis replied by saying, "No, not at all!"
To calm down the situation, Cheryl gave a piece of advice to Jervis by saying, "Do you know what? Maybe you should take up, like, preaching or speeching or… because that part of it was great." At last, Walsh told the camp singer, "You are a very good saleswoman. Do sales, telesales, or something like that. You will be fantastic at that." Subsequently, Cowell also advised Jervis to take a different career route by saying, "Motivational speaking." Walsh echoed the same sentiments and said, "Absolutely." After receiving the feedback, Jervis told the judging panel, "I respect your opinion." At the end, Jervis got four nos from the judging panel, but she still thanked the four judges for their time.