Toddler Sees Dad's TV Audition for the First Time, Has Hilarious Reaction

A former The X Factor contestant has melted the hearts of viewers online after sharing a video of his three-year-old daughter watching his television audition for the first time.

Eoghan Quigg, 31, made it to the semi-finals of the U.K. version of the talent show in 2008 and finished in third place. He shared his daughter Emmy Belle's reaction to the audition on TikTok, under @eoghanquigg last week. The clip, which has garnered over 808,000 views, has resonated with fans who fondly remember Quigg's time on the show.

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"She knows daddy is a singer, but she is very young, so we never mentioned to her that I was on TV," Quigg, from County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, told Newsweek. "From the video, she wasn't too keen! I look so young in the clip that she wouldn't have recognized me. She actually said that she didn't like 'that daddy' which I thought was very funny because that's not what I look like now."

Viewers online were able to see Quigg's daughter staring up at the television screen in awe, watching her dad—kitted out in late 2000s trends—waiting to meet the show's tycoon Simon Cowell and three other celebrity judges. One of those judges was Cheryl, a British singer who later appeared on the U.S. version of the show.

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"What's daddy nervous about," Emmy Belle said, after which her mother, Amy Campbell, informed her that her Quigg was "going to sing."

Campbell quizzed Emmy Belle again after a then teenage Quigg began his performance with a cover of Michael Bublé's "Home."

"Who's that?" she asked, to which her daughter giggled.

"I like my daddy," Emmy Belle said. "That's not daddy like it is...I don't like that daddy.

"I don't like daddy's hair like that," she said, after clocking that the 15-year-old in the video is, in fact, her father.

Quigg's video has sparked a wave of nostalgia among viewers, many of whom shared their own memories of watching his performances live. Some have fondly reminisced about Quigg's time on the show and the era when The X Factor was considered at its peak in the U.K.

"In my head Eoghan Quigg is still a teen," one user, @gemmarrx, said.

Another, @cwhite9793, added: "So cute! I loved Eoghan Quigg when I was 15."

"The childhood love of my life," a third user, known on the platform as Carolyne Ashcroft, said.

Reflecting on the video's viral status, Quigg is not surprised as to why the clip has received such a positive reception online.

"Emmy Belle's little personality really shone through," Quigg said. "She's such a funny, charismatic and caring little girl.

"She's also not afraid to give her honest opinion as well and I love that about her," he added.

Following his stint on The X Factor, Quigg continued to pursue music, releasing a self-titled album in 2009. Though his early career had its ups and downs, Quigg never strayed far from the public eye.

In addition to his music career, he has ventured into radio presenting and content creation. He currently works with various brands online while continuing to make music both solo and with a band.

Quigg's daughter's unfiltered reaction serves as a reminder of the passage of time and the lasting impact of reality television moments on both contestants and viewers.

"It was nice to see so many people message under the video about their experiences of watching me around that time," Quigg said. "It really brought back that nostalgic feel of those old days when I was on The X Factor."

The X Factor began airing in the U.S. in 2011. The British version of the show paved the way for the success of acts such as One Direction, Little Mix, and Leona Lewis. The U.S. girl group Fifth Harmony was formed on the American version of the show in 2012.

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