AS A five-year-old, he loved nothing better than getting out his karaoke machine and singing in front of his family.
Singing was always a passion for Hull mechanic Ryan Mathie, who used to enter karaoke sessions performing his favourite song, Rock DJ by Robbie Williams.
Now, Ryan, 18, has not only impressed Robbie's band mate Gary Barlow and the other X Factor judges Nicole Scherzinger, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh but was also a huge hit with a 4,000-strong crowd at Wembley.
The judges were blown away by the 18-year-old from west Hull after he played an acoustic version of Daft Punk's Get Lucky on the ITV show on Sunday.
No one was more pleased for Ryan than his mum Debbie.
She said: "The Ryan you saw on television is the Ryan we see every day.
"He is just so lovely and down-to-earth and the whole family are just so proud of him.
"We weren't sure when his second audition would be on television so when Ryan appeared on the show on Sunday, my phone didn't stop ringing with people telling me how well he had done."
Ryan, a mechanic who works for Hull City Council, got four "yes" votes from the judges and even flirted with former Pussycat Doll singer Nicole after she winked at him and squeezed his cheeks.
At his first audition earlier this month, Ryan had the judges laughing when he described his job and how he had to endure stepping in people's "bin juice" in the
lorries.
Nicole later tweeted to her four million followers: "No more bin juice for you, Ryan!! Loved his rendition of "Get Lucky"! SCHAMAZING! ;) #XFactor"
It was not just Nicole who was impressed with Ryan's performance on Sunday's show.
Sharon Osbourne said: "I thought you were sensational" while Gary Barlow said: "A great song choice, the crowd loved it."
Louis Walsh said: "Ryan, your voice is everything except rubbish. I think we've found an amazing soulful star."
Nicole then invited Ryan to the judges' desk, saying "Couldn't you just squeeze him" before grabbing his cheeks.
After he left the stage, Sharon told the judges: "He's very likeable."
Ryan said the magnitude of performing before his audition was "immense" and he was seen waiting nervously backstage with his family before taking to the stage.
"I've wanted to do this since I was a little bambino," he said.
"I used to enter karaoke competitions, my song was Rock DJ by Robbie Williams, I had my own little dance moves and everything."
Ryan looked open-mouthed at the size of the audience as he stood in front of the panel and told Nicole: "I'm just lucky to be able to play for everybody."
He will now compete for a place at one of the judges' houses, the final challenge before the live show.
Ryan's appearance had been delayed for two weeks and even his own family had been in the dark, not knowing if the teenager had won through the auditions.
Debbie said: "We hope the whole of Hull gets behind Ryan.
"We are so proud of all he has achieved so far. He can go all the way."
