What a knock out performance last night. How are you feeling?
I'm overwhelmed really. I'm so excited and I just can't wait to do the semi-final. The
final, sorry.
Were you nervous?
Yeah, I was really nervous. Like, before I went on, I couldn't really breathe properly
and I was a bit panicky but, as soon as I got into it, I really enjoyed it.
What is it like backstage? Is everybody chatting to each other or are you just kinda de-nerving
yourself before you go on?
Backstage is quite relaxed, actually. The producers help you and my singing teacher, she
was helping me calm down and take deep breaths. But, when you actually walk on, you see Simon
Cowell there staring at you, you're just like 'Oh, what do I do?'
You're like, 'Is this Simon Cowell? It is!' And it was such a good song choice.
As soon as you opened your mouth, everybody was jumping, like 'Ah! This is amazing!'
Why did you choose that song?
I chose the song because I think that... I just really like the song really and I think
that it showed off my vocal range as well, so. And I actually changed the song to make
it my own, so, that's why I chose it.
Yeah, totally. It was totally yours. Now, I mean a lot of the contestants have got so
much online support but you have got more than everybody. I mean, girls are loving you
online. How are you finding the twitter reaction?
I love it. I don't mind the girl attention at all. But, yeah, it's brilliant. The amount
of support I've got on Twitter and just anything social media is just fantastic and I've been lucky.
Are there any particular tweets that have stood out for you?
Well, obviously you've got the celebrity tweets.
Who's tweeted you?
Amy Childs has tweeted me a lot and Joey Essex tweeted me a lot at my auditions. Lucy, Mick.
And Simon Cowell actually tweeted last night.
- No way! - Which was like 'Oh my gosh!'
He said, like, 'Well done James.' And I was like, 'Thanks.'
That is amazing. Now, are you a TOWIE fan?
Yeah, I am. Yeah, I am a TOWIE fan.
And would you ever go on the show now that you- I mean you could do, I don't know, a
performance on the show even.
I'd perform on the show but I don't think I'd want to be on the show because they might
put too much fake tan on me or something, so. I'm not about that life.
I was gonna say, you look great as you are. Now, for the final, what have you got up your
sleeve? Have you already started working?
Yeah, I've been going through different songs I wanna do. Even this morning, I woke up and
was thinking 'Right, I've gotta focus now. This is the final, this is one of the biggest
performances of my life.' So, I've got a big, big song up my sleeve and I hope it goes well.
Have you performed it before or will this be the first time?
Nope, it's the first time I've ever performed it, so I don't know what it's gonna be like,
but it is a massive, massive song and I'm pushing it a bit. It's a bit of a risk, but.
We love risks.
Yeah, we do.
Now, do you have, like, a routine that helps you? Do you wear lucky pants? Do you have
lucky socks?
No, not really. I just... I think that you've gotta not... I think you've gotta just enjoy
it really. Because, I try to smile when I perform because I think that when people just
perform and they look a bit miserable. Even if you're singing a miserable song, you can
still enjoy it and still smile and I think that when you're smiling, it helps you to
enjoy it. That's sort of my thing. Smile.
That's a good one. We do love a smile. Now, lastly, if you could collaborate with anyone,
who would it be? If you could just jump on stage and rock it out with, you know.
What, at the moment?
Yeah.
Probably Stevie Wonder. Love Stevie Wonder. I'd say Elvis Presley but then he's dead, so.
Bring him back!
Yeah, bring him back. But I do love Stevie Wonder, he's a big inspiration, so. I love
older music as well, so, that sort of thing.
Amazing, we're totally wishing for you and good luck.
Thank you, cheers.