‘X-Factor Australia’ Season 7 eliminations: Dan Hamill first to leave after showdown with Georgia Denton

“X-Factor Australia” contestant Dan Hamill has become the first contestant to exit Season 7.

Three of the four “X-Factor Australia” judges chose to send Hamill home after a tense singing showdown between the 30-year-old Melbourne singer and Georgia Denton on Tuesday’s episode, according to This Is The Latest .

Hamill, who was mentored by James Blunt, unfortunately failed to make the cut with his rendition of Alicia Key’s “Empire State of Mind.” Denton, on the other hand, wowed judges with her soulful performance of Beyonce’s “Ave Maria.”

Both Hamill and Denton found themselves at the bottom after the first round of voting earlier this week. “X-Factor Australia” judge Guy Sebastian even mentioned how “shocked” he was to find “two incredible singers” at the bottom two slots. He also described Hamill as a singer with “incredible potential.”

Sebastian, however, also compared Hamill to an “old dog who needs to unlearn a few tricks and find who you are,” Daily Telegraph reported.

Despite being eliminated from “X Factor Australia,” Hamill told Pop Sugar that he found the experience “nice” and “intense.” The teacher and aspiring singer also shared that he felt mixed emotions after his Tuesday night elimination, adding that it’s like going through “a grieving process.”

“I started off feeling like, just trusting that it’s meant to be, then I went through a bit of, ‘Oh, I feel a bit embarrassed, like I’ve failed,’” the singer said. “And then I went back to just trusting again. So I think it’s kind of a process that will be a bit of a grieving process.”

Hamill also praised his mentor, Blunt, on “X-Factor Australia.” He told Pop Sugar that Blunt was “being too hard on himself,” as he blamed himself for Hamill’s Sunday night performance that failed to get enough votes to keep him in the competition.

“[Blunt’s] been really great,” he said. “I trust everything he’s done. I didn’t agree with what he was saying. It was very sweet.”

After Hamill’s elimination, only 11 contenders are now left in Season 7 of “X-Factor Australia.” For next week’s episodes, the contestants will be given a Decade Challenge wherein judges will pick songs from each decade for the finalists to sing.

“X-Factor Australia” airs live on Monday at 7:30 p.m.

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