PERFORMERS could be heard entertaining the town centre as Sing Bolton Sing returned for its penultimate round of auditions.

Entrants young and old took to the stage in the Market Place Shopping Centre and sung their hearts out to try and convince the judges to put them through to the next round.

In the afternoon, 18-year-old Emily Gregory from Leigh showed off her voice with performances of Don’t You Remember by Adele and Disney classic Colors Of The Wind from Pocahontas.

However, her first song was hit by a technical hitch and Miss Gregory said it affected her performance.

She said: “I think it went alright but we had a few technical difficulties, which made it a bit more difficult for me because I was already nervous anyway.

“I was fine as soon as I got on to the stage. I was just getting so nervous building up to it because they were running late."

Some of the judges made some negative comments about her performances, with one calling her second song “boring”.

But defending herself, Miss Gregory said: “Some of the comments were very harsh. I don’t really think the judges took into consideration the fact that we had technical issues.”

Next up was 25-year-old Sarah McCaig from Wigan, who dazzled the audience with her renditions of Somebody to Love by Queen and It’s Too Darn Hot by Ella Fitzgerald.

She said: “I think it went really well. I’ve actually had a cough recently so I was really nervous but I think it went alright.

“I’m really, really happy with the judges’ comments because I heard some of the things they said earlier and it made me even more nervous but I’m pretty pleased with it.”

Asked what she thought of her chances, she said: “I don’t really know. I have heard a few of the girls from the week before and they were amazing. I think I’m just going to have to wait and see what happens.”

Sing Bolton Sing returns on Saturday for the final round of auditions.