Gamu Nhengu

Gamuchirai ('Gamu') Nhengu is an 18-year old Zimbabwean schoolgirl and singer who gained particular prominence as the subject of an unprecedentedly strong Facebook-centred campaign to have her reinstated to the live performance stage of British commercial television station ITV's talent-search competition , following her controversial failure to be selected as one of 12 finalists.
Origins
Following the death of Nhengu's father when she was three years old, her mother Nokuthula struggled to bring up the family; in 2002 her mother moved to Scotland to study at the University of Stirling, leaving Gamu and sons Milton and Marty with relatives in Harare. In 2005 they rejoined her and she has now qualified as a nurse. Nhengu attends Alva Academy in Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire and in the last few years began sing at events, including one organised by BBC Scotland, and gospel concerts. She claims to have been accepted at university to study philosophy but has taken a gap year to try for a career in singing. all four judges voted for her to progress to the "Bootcamp" stage following her rendition of Katrina and the Waves Walking on Sunshine. Principal judge Simon Cowell said she had a voice like a "cool old-school jazz singer from the '20s or '30s". The show attracted controversy for the use of Auto-Tune pitch-correction software during broadcast to disguise out-of-tune notes, especially evident during Nhengu's singing. Cowell subsequently banned its use.
At the subsequent "Bootcamp" stage involving 211 acts, her emotional performance of Make You Feel My Love by Adele (originally written and performed by Bob Dylan) appeared to bring seasoned judge Louis Walsh to tears and she was voted into the last 32.
Rejection
On the show broadcast on Sunday 3 October 2010 at the "Judges' houses" stage, Nhengu was among eight girls that performed, singing Pixie Lott's "Cry Me Out" before judge Cheryl Cole and guest judge Will.i.am. Cole, however, rejected Nhengu and chose three other contestants from her group to progress to the final live stage, to join nine other finalists selected by other judges.
Unsubstantiated rumours circulated that she had been rejected from the competition because her UK visa was about to expire However, other commentators suggested that, understanding Nhengu's likely front-runner status, her expulsion from the competition was a preconceived publicity stunt on the part of the show's producers, and that the following weekend she would duly be reinstated as part of a newly-introduced "wild card" selection allowing the judges to give a "second chance" to previously ousted contestants.
Campaign
Within hours of her expulsion from the competition, a Facebook page entitled "Gamu should have got through" rapidly gathered large numbers of supporters. Within 24 hours over 100,000 people had signed up and just over 48 hours later, the figure was more than 205,000.

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