THE brother of a wannabe popstar from Barrow who auditioned for the X Factor has praised his sister for going before the judges.

Viewers of Saturday night's X Factor were gobsmacked when Susan Shepherd turned up dressed as the late Amy Winehouse then proceeded to change her entire outfit in front of the judges.

The 52-year-old, who is a regular at karaoke nights in Barrow, had planned to sing Winehouse's Valerie but the judges suggested it was not the right choice.

In response, mum-of-two Mrs Shepherd took herself behind the large "X" at the back of the room before returning to the judges and performing Joan Jett's I Love Rock 'n' Roll.

The Victoria pub regular took her friends Brian Rawlinson, Audrey Watson and brother Ken Blake with her to the auditions.

Although many found her audition comical, Mrs Shepherd's brother Ken voiced his pride and said he "couldn't have done what she did".

He told the Mail: "I would just like to say that Susan is game for doing what she did.

"I was with her at the X Factor auditions at the time, as you can see, to support her and I couldn't have done what she did so well done Susan for doing what you did."


Mrs Shepherd is now considering trying out again next year when she hopes to attempt a Whitney Houston hit to impress judge and Whitney fan Simon Cowell.

"I'm thinking of auditioning again next year. But next time I would go down as myself and sing a Whitney song," she said.