Ryan bows out of X Factor

But young musician loved every minute of experience

“Everything happens for a reason.”

Those were the philosophical, reflective words used by Coatbridge singer Ryan Lawrie as the talented performer bowed out of The X Factor last Sunday night.

Ryan, 20, impressed judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, Nicole Scherzinger and Sharon Osbourne at the boot camp stage with his performance of One Direction hit Little Things, alongside fellow contestants Freddy Parker and Melissa Pedro.

Sadly it wasn’t enough to take him through to the competition’s next phase – the Six Chair Challenge.

But the high standard of Ryan’s performance was emphasised by Cowell apologising for not putting him through.

Ryan had earlier been seen wowing the judging panel at his original Edinburgh audition, with his take on The Vamps’ tune Cecilia leading to Scherzinger calling him a “natural performer”. The former Coatbridge High pupil spoke to the Advertiser in the aftermath of his X Factor exit, telling us: “It was disappointing not to get through, but everything happens for a reason.

“I felt like I gave the best performance I could.

“Freddy and Melissa were amazing and because we worked so well as a team, I thought that all three of us would get through. Sadly it didn’t work out that way, but Simon came up to me after we were all told we were going home and apologised to me.

“I am pretty gutted to exit the competition, but being on the show was a wonderful experience.

“The highlight was getting three yes votes from the judges at my audition, and hearing their positive comments afterwards.”

Ryan is determined to bounce back from the snub and use the experience of his time on The X Factor to boost his musical career.

He said: “I will now get back to work writing some new songs and get into the studio to record material.

“Being on The X Factor has been great publicity for me and my music. My audition video has been viewed nearly one million times on YouTube.

“Hopefully this can all help bring more people to my music and progress my career in the near future.

“I’d like to thank my family, friends and fans for all of their support, and look forward to treating them to some new music.”

I’m gutted to exit ... but it was a wonderful experience

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Top talent Ryan wowed the judges at his initial audition