Melanie McCabe made her big X Factor comeback on this evening’s show and what a comeback it was!

The 18 year old singer has already appeared on the ITV show twice before, once in 2008 when she tried out in Dublin at the tender age of 14 but was turned away by Cheryl Cole because of her age and then last year she made it all the way to judges houses with Misha B, Janet Devlin and Sophie Habibis, only to be sent home at the last minute by American judge Kelly Rowland.

This evening the pretty singer was seen showcasing her new image in Manchester, where she tried out for the third time for Gary Barlow, Louis Walsh, Tulisa and guest judge Mel B.

She revealed to Dermot O’Leary that last year’s rejection hit her hard and that she still hasn’t watched the scenes which saw the Destiny’s Child star cut her from the X Factor lineup. On returning home from Miami, Mel couldn’t speak to anyone other than her mum and holed herself up for weeks as she struggled to cope with the fact that her friends were appearing on the ITV show, while she was back to her normal life in rural Ireland.

She may well make judges houses again this year though, as when McCabe took to the stage to sing ‘Bridge Over Troubled Waters’ for the panel, you could have heard a pin drop.

The audience loved the performance and gave Melanie a standing ovation. The judges did too and after the audition the normally grumpy Spice Girl Mel B raved about the huge voice that escaped from Melanie’s ‘tiny little petite’ body. She added:

‘You’re a little star in my eyes.’

Tulisa said:

‘That performance was outstanding, the raw talent that you have is just undeniable.’ She added:

‘You deserve to be on that stage and I am so happy you are back there.’

Gary was ‘thrilled’ that the young singer decided to brave the X Factor once more and praised the brunette beauty for her ‘extraordinary’ performance.

Louis looked like he was close to tears and was thrilled for Melanie, who he has stayed in touch with ever since she auditioned for the X Factor the first time round. He admitted that he was feeling ‘emotional’ and added:

‘I knew you were going to be good but you were incredible and I am so happy for you.’

Unsurprisingly, Melanie won four yeses and sailed through to bootcamp once more. She previously admitted that the next round was ‘tougher’ than last year but wouldn’t reveal if she had made it to judges houses once more. If she has the 18 year old will be mentored by Tulisa, who is looking after the girls this year and just chose her final four in St Lucia last week.

Did you enjoy Melanie’s performance tonight? Do you think it will be third time lucky for her? Leave your comments below….