Losing not a total loss for Edwards
FOR Gavin Edwards who was booted off The X-Factor SA yesterday, success has always been in his blood. Way before he joined the show he had already rubbed shoulders and worked with some of the top musicians in the world, like Westlife’s Bryan McFadden and Enrique Iglesias.Yet, he still needs a solo career, which explains why he was a contestant on The X-Factor. Being mentored by singer and songwriter Zonke, Edwards was sure he would go far in the competition, but conceded defeat when it faced him.
“It was a tough one for me. Things got heated every week and it was a matter of time before my turn to leave came,” said Edwards, who was surprisingly cheerful.
He had hoped that he would still be in the competition today, but he also learnt from others’ experiences that nothing was a given on the show.
“You pray that it’s not you going and sometimes your prayers are answered, but in the end the chop falls on you. It only means someone else’s prayer was answered with my departure,” he theorised.
Having gone through a series of excruciating performances which were taxing for him, the father of two still believes he gave it his all.
“I wouldn’t change a thing if I could do this again. I told my wife that I would give 150 percent of me and if I make it, then great, if not, then great as well. I have no regrets whatsoever,” he said nonchalantly.
Perhaps him being unconcerned came from the fact that he has some cool deal lined up for him in the near future, thanks to The X-Factor SA.
“When Kirk Whalum played on the show, he expressed that he’d want to work with two contestants and these ended up including me.
“So we are going to be travelling to the US and playing at some gigs with him. I think Vodacom will be paying for that, so that should be great. I might not have won the finale, but I came out with something and I am looking at making it count,” he said.
While he is in the US, Edwards plans to write songs in iconic areas like Nashville, to give his album an authentic feel.
“Anyone in music will tell you the magic that comes with Nashville and I am looking forward to tapping into that,” he said.
He could not be drawn on who he thought would win the show as he called the experience “unpredictable”.
“Each time we saw the bottom two we were shocked so I could never commit to telling you who will win,” he said.
While he got Whalum, someone might catch John Legend’s eye as he is on the show this Saturday. The music theme for the week is “South African songbook”.
The X-Factor SA on SABC1. Live gala show, Saturday, 6pm, result show, 7.30pm.