Gene Simmons’ Daughter Auditions for ‘X Factor’

Fox's 'X Factor' got a bit of surprise star power Wednesday night when Sophie Tweed-Simmons, daughter of Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed, auditioned for the singing competition, impressing the judges enough to be passed along to the next round.

Tweed-Simmons and her parents arrived at the San Francisco stop, but despite the teen's desire to go unnoticed, it didn't take long before those waiting to audition began to recognize her parents.

The vocalist explained, "It's hard. It's a big shadow. I really just want to step out of being the daughter of the guy from Kiss. I want to be my own person and hopefully this is the way to just show the world who I am."

The aspiring singer added, "I don't wanna be, 'Oh, Gene Simmons daughter sings.' I want to prove to myself that I have talent, that I have the X Factor and that I can do this." But despite her protestations she revealed her full family name when asked, at which point Demi Lovato, who already acted as if she recognized Sophie, put it all together and the judges soon realized her background.

The Tweed-Simmons offspring admitted that she didn't tell her parents she was auditioning until the day before as she wanted to do it on her own without their help. She gave it her best shot with the oft-covered classic, 'Make You Feel My Love.' Being a teenager, she cited the song as being done by Adele, who covered it most recently. However, the song was written and recorded by Bob Dylan, and was a hit for both Billy Joel and Garth Brooks.

The judges admitted that she needed more work, with L.A. Reid stating, "I didn't quite get the chill bumps that I wanted to get from you" before turning her down. But Britney Spears, Lovato, and Simon Cowell all passed her forward. Cowell stated, "I think you've got a very interesting tone to your voice. I like the fact that you took on this song. You kind of made it your own version and that's the way to do it."

As shown on the show, Tweed-Simmons did have some doubters among her fellow competitors, as contestant Tara Simon was seen bad-mouthing the teen before her audition. Both Tweed-Simmons and Simon advanced, which could lead to some fireworks down the road.