A plasterer from Southend wowed the judges with his performance on X Factor’s first live shows at the weekend - and is tipped by many as a potential winner.

Matt Linnen, 28, who has done several gigs in the UK and local open mic nights as an amateur musician, sang his rendition of Alessia Cara’s Scars to Your Beautiful on Sunday night.

The song is now number 68 in the iTunes charts.

The father-of-three said he was having a great time on the ITV show.

He said of his performance on Facebook on Sunday: “Last night was so much fun!

“And this is mad! 68 in the iTunes charts!”

He added on Twitter: “Tonight! Thank you so much if you voted! I had a night I will never forget!”

Long-serving judge Louis Walsh said he believed Matt had great likeability.

He added: “No way are you going back to your day job after that.”

Another judge, Sharon Osbourne, reckoned that Matt was “trouble with a capital T”.

She also thought that it was the performance of the night so far, with Alesha thinking there was more for him to give.

Nicole Scherzinger, who is mentoring the singer through the competition, said she was “so proud” of Matt and that we “all wanted to roll up to Matt’s voice like an egg roll”.

Matt, who is in the over 28s category, is fast turning into a heart throb, with fans soaring in numbers.

He has been called the “most handsome plasterer/musician the show has ever seen”.

Matt chose to sing If I Were A Boy by Beyonce at the Boot Camp stage of the audition aired earlier in the month. He has previously said he has been chasing the dream of becoming a famous singer for so long and was thrilled by the opportunity.

Matt will have to survive a total of six live shows to be crowned the winner, after previously getting through the auditions and other stages of the competition.

He will next appear this weekend, with the song theme of Viva Latino.