Minogue offers support to axed hopeful

X Factor star Dannii Minogue has been offering career advice to a singer she turned away at the Judges' Houses stage.

Nicole Jackson, 19, auditioned in front of the judge in Dubai earlier this year, but ultimately failed to make it through to the live shows after crumbling under the pressure as she performed Stevie Wonder's 'Lately'.

Discussing the moment she was rejected, Jackson told This Is Bristol: "Dannii was great. She told me not to give up, and that she really believed I could be big and make it mainstream. She was gutted that I had messed up. She gave me lots of confidence."

She added: "Dannii called me yesterday out of the blue - I was in bed and I was like, 'Sorry, Dannii who?' She said she still wants to follow my progress and she has a writer that wants to work with me who saw me at the Boot Camp stages.

"I have got myself a manager, and hopefully with all this put together things will start to go really well. I would love to be a mainstream solo artist and Dannii said she thinks it could happen. To hear someone like her tell me that makes me feel great."

The aspiring star added that she was also thrilled to receive praise from Simon Cowell during her time on the show.

She said: "What the TV didn't show was all the comments that everyone gets - Simon Cowell said some really nice things to me about the way I sang."

Minogue's Girls category is currently being represented by Lucie Jones, Stacey Solomon and Rachel Adedeji on the show.