Ong and strong after years in pop wilderness
Steve Brookstein He won the first ever X Factor but was quickly dumped by Simon Cowell after the two clashed.Now 47, he has gigged in a coffee shop and in a pubs where punters paid just £2.50 a seat. Leon Jackson The lovely Scot may have won the nation’s hearts after triumphing in 2007’s X Factor but after just one album he was dropped by record execs in 2009. Still only 27, he’s now writing and performing music in the US. was actually pleased some good came out of the talent show. But he remains baffled as to why One True Voice were so neglected. He said the group was given very “average” music to record and, though Pete Waterman was their mentor, they didn’t have a hands-on manager. Their follow-up single, which was not released for another six months after the contest ended, was the equally underwhelming Shakespeare’s (Way With) Words that peaked at number 10. Daniel decided to quit and within a few weeks the record company pulled the plug on the group. But it gave Matt the option of a solo career. He said: “That was quite exciting but now I question the company’s motives. “I was a strong character. If there was a guy thatt could keep the band together it was me. “I signedsigne a solo deal but that turned out to be the worst time.” He went back to his parentse and waited but nothing happened. Matt recalled: “I was so miserable, just lying in till lunchtime, staying up late every day. They paid me a £100 a week retainer and I was spending most of it on drink and taxis.” His lowest point came at a party James Arthur His voice blew everyone away and secured his win on the X Factor in 2012, aged 24. But he criticised another musician on Twitter in a jibe which was interpreted as homophobic and was dropped by Cowell’s label Syco after his debut album. just before his 18th birthday. He said: “Everyone asked: ‘So what are you up to?’ and I’d end up having to lie to them and say I was working on new material or recording in the studio. But the truth was I was doing absolutely nothing.
“In the end I actually had to leave my contract so that I could go back to writing and performing music.”
Oyster
His life turned a corner in 2004 when he started gigging again, sometimes to just a few dozen people in working men’s clubs.
In 2005 he also met Laura, now 29, the women who would become his wife. It gave him new focus and hope. He also set up an indie band, State Warning, and launched a corporate lighting and entertainment business, which he still runs.
But he’s found the gigging has been the most rewarding.
It has earned him £1million since it really took off in 2008. He and Laura have just bought their second home. His tracks have entered the iTunes top 200 more than 183 times in over 60 countries.
Last year he made an album with Steve Power, who produced Robbie Williams’s album Escapology.
He said: “The music industry can destroy you if you let it but if you’re willing to be yourself, go out and release music, the world is your oyster.” Matt’s new single Get Over You is available on iTunes and Spotify.