Simon Cowell Cries During The X Factor UK

Simon Cowell was seen tearing up during Sunday night’s episode of The X Factor UK.

It was during 21-year-old Josh Daniel’s performance in the Manchester audition that Simon became visibly upset; his mother Julie had died just days before the auditions.

Mr Daniel, who is a car mechanic from Durham, sang ‘Jealous’ by Labrinth and revealed his own personal heartbreak. ‘I lost my best friend a couple of years ago and I interpret the lyrics in a completely different way’, he said, before dedicating the performance to his friend, who had died in a car crash.

The situation clearly hit Simon hard as he was virtually unable to speak, forcing fellow judge Cheryl Fernandez-Versini to take the lead. She said, ‘Wow. That’s the most captivated I’ve been in all the auditions’, which was followed with all three judges, including Nick Grimshaw, giving a ‘Yes’ vote.

The X Factor UK auditions had originally been postponed when Julie (who was 89) died on July 5. Simon, who was very close to his mother, was reportedly ‘completely heartbroken’.