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Journalist has the X-factor

Former Guardian journalist Alexia Parenzee is in this week's celebrity auditions for X-Factor Australia. Picture: Lewis Freer

Geraldton writer and musician Alexia Parenzee has advanced to the X-Factor celebrity auditions.

The singer, guitarist and ukulele player auditioned for the X-Factor when it came to Geraldton in February.

“I love what music is about,” she said.

“It’s telling a story from the deepest part of your soul and it is a sacred thing.”

Ms Parenzee was born in South Africa and moved to New Zealand with her family aged eight.

She showed signs of musical talent as a child.

Her first lead role was playing Cinderella in a school musical, and she went on to star as the narrator in the story of Noah’s ark.

“I’m sure there are embarrassing videos of those somewhere,” she said.

She has travelled the world extensively, including a student exchange to Douarnenez, France.

“For the first month I couldn’t string a sentence together, or follow conversations, but by the end of the three months I had picked it up (French) to the point where I was basically fluent,” she said.

She completed her Year 12 exams before returning to New Zealand to enrol in a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in journalism.

“I loved writing and the arts, so I thought it would be a good place to start,” she said.

In her second year, she transferred to Curtin University in Perth to be closer to her family who had moved across the Tasman.

After graduating, she planned to travel to South America, but was offered a job at The Geraldton Guardian and made the move to the coastal city in December 2013.

“I love the beachy lifestyle,” she said.

You may have spotted Parenzee playing at The Provincial, or busking at the Railway Markets on a Sunday morning.

She is taking her mum to the Sydney auditions for moral support.

“The most important thing to me is to stay true to who I am and keep grounded in who I want to be as a musician — honest, down-to-earth and full of soul,” she said.

Ms Parenzee recently left the newspaper for a communications role, but remains in Geraldton pursuing her musical career.