Olly Murs Interview

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Olly Murs

Linda McGee talks to 'The X Factor' star about what Simon Cowell is really like, his plans for the future, his 'EastEnders' ambition and those persistent rumours about Stacey Solomon!

Linda McGee: Let's go right back to the start Olly, to when somebody convinced you to enter 'The X Factor'. What were you thinking back then? Were you apprehensive about it all?
Olly Murs: Well, I was actually in Australia and I'd already applied to the show twice before and I thought 'Two times... you know, third time lucky, why not give it a go?' and it was the Over 25s category I'd be in this year and I thought 'do you know what...' and all my mates were saying "It'll be easier for you to get in" because it's never been the most popular category and not had as much talent. So I was in Australia, I came back and my mate over in Australia said "we could continue the visa if you want to stay longer". I was so tempted and I thought 'No, I'm going to go back. I'm going to give it a go' and it wasn't until May I think that I first auditioned for the show and... the story is history from then on.

LM: And the Over 25s ended up being a real strong category this year...
OM: Yeah, it went on to be the hardest category. I remember sitting there at boot camp when we just got revealed and we were going to judges' houses and there were six of us, I remember looking around thinking 'oh my God, the talent is ridiculous' and Simon Cowell was just really pleased to get the group. And I remember thinking 'Aw God, I'm going to judges' houses now'. I wasn't confident at all that I'd get through and then I just got through to the final twelve.

LM: At what point did you start thinking 'This could be the dream this time round'?
OM: Do you know what, I never did, ever. Every week, I mean even when I was at judges' house I remember Simon putting me through and he said: "Do you know Olly, you're a risk... but you're a risk worth taking" and I was like 'God, I'm finally getting through'. Even each week that I was in the show, you could probably see from my reaction each week that I got through, you know, I was kind of a fan favourite in a way. The crowd were behind me every week and I think The X Factor deliberately left me sometimes until the last minute.

LM: Yeah, that's just so cruel, isn't it?
OM: I know! It meant so much to me. Every week I wanted to get through. I never believed that I would get anywhere in this competition. I still can't believe it now. It's been like 'Oh my God, why is Olly Murs, who used to sit around in his room wanting to be a popstar... I mean I never thought that I had that much talent. All of a sudden I'm up there and...

LM: And the public told you that they like what you do...
OM: Exactly, and the public have. They've spoken. And they've voted me in every week and I managed to stay... It's crazy. People must have really seen something in me which I don't see. And you know, I managed to get into the runner-up position in The X Factor 2009, which is a massive turnaround in my life. It completely changed it.

LM: Talk to us about Simon. Is he as scary as he seems on TV?
OM: No! Well, you know what, he is and he isn't. You know, it's kind of like when your boss or your director of your company walks into the room and you go 'Oh my God' but then once you get chatting to him he's a really down-to-earth kind of guy and he's really funny as well. He's great.

LM: Was he easy to work with?
OM: Yeah, really easy to work with. You know, he knows so much about music. He's got an ear for perfection I think. He was talking to us about how he's always on the go with the show. He's always thinking up new ideas. He's up late at night, thinking he could have changed this... he's always thinking of different things to change the show. Whenever we did sound checks and rehearsals with him to show the songs for the show he'd always have an idea of what you could do to make it better, if there was anything we could do to make it better. But there was always something every week. You kind of expected it every week but every time he'd make a decision you'd just trust Simon Cowell. You're not going to turn around and say: "No, Simon, you shouldn't do that" because you know straight away.

LM: Were there never any weeks where he picked a song for you and you just thought 'Aw no!'?
OM: There was a song. The one song I wasn't particularly happy with... no, it wasn't that I wasn't happy with it, it was just... it was 'Don't Stop Me Now' by Queen. It wasn't that I didn't like the song 'cause I love the song. And I loved singing it and performing it. I just thought that, at that point, it was getting a little bit predictable what I was going to do each week. I think people would have predicted me to do Queen's 'Don't Stop Me Now' so I wanted to try and do something different. Even though, picking any Queen song would have been hard. And I think that that was one of the weeks that the public, not that they didn't like me anymore, but I think it just got to a point where it wasn't anything different or fresh and I think I probably lost a few votes, like the next couple of weeks after that.

LM: Did it completely knock your confidence when you were in the bottom two?
OM: Well, I was only in there once. I think it was me, Joe and Stacey that never got in there. I was nervous about it but you never take the public vote for granted because you know that they're not fickle. They'll see straight through people... lucky enough for me I went on finish second in the show so people must have picked up the phone... It is just a TV show and I knew that, at some point, I'd be in the bottom two because it's part of the show. I didn't expect me, Joe and Stacey that week to not get in there... so I got in there and I managed to get through. It's weird now it's finished, it's really strange.

LM: What about the other contestants? I know you all seemed to get along pretty well but it must be difficult to live in the same house as them and then compete against them every week, is it?
OM: Well, it's like the 'Big Brother' house but we were obviously allowed out in 'The X Factor'. But you are in a house with 12 people, or 12 acts, which meant that there was 19 or 20 of us, because of all the groups. Like everyone in their day-to-day life, you have your days where you have bad days, you have your good days and you have stressful times. Obviously, in the house, there wasn't any arguments as such but you knew when to let someone let off a bit of steam or you knew when they were in a bad mood. I think the worst thing about the house, that I found, was just getting some time to yourself. I've lived in a hostel when I did three months in Australia travelling so I kind of knew how it is and you do get your moments when you're with someone all the time and you do get your times when you can have a couple of hours where you can just go out and if you wanted to go out you could go out on your own and have a walk, gather your thoughts. There was a nice park nearby. It was just one of them things unfortunately. When you're in that environment things get forged... I mean like me and Stacey. The papers said that me and Stacey were having a relationship. It was like 'Olly dumped me' or she dumped me.

LM: Actually I just read a headline there before I came in 'Stacey heartbroken over Olly'! Do you read those stories? Can you laugh about it or is it upsetting when some of the stories aren't true?
OM: Well me and Stacey laughed about it a lot because, you know, it wasn't particularly bad press. You know, I can understand where people got it from. We're from Essex, we're in the house...

LM: And you seemed to get on well...
OM: Yeah, we got on the best. I mean she was my best mate in the house. We got on absolutely like a house on fire. And yeah, I knew that was going to happen. You know, like I say, she's just a great girl to be around. I really enjoyed her company and even now that the show is finished of course you miss each other. I miss her. I miss being around her because I was with her so long.

LM: Do you still see the other contestants?
OM: I text a few of them on the phone. But you miss them. You do. I mean, I miss being around Stacey, Joe, everyone. I mean we spent three months with them, 24 hours a day.

LM: What about Jedward? How intense did they get in that house?
OM: Aw, I love Jedward. Do you know what, nothing ever affected them. They never had a bad day. I mean, they never showed that they had a bad day. They just got on with it, 150%. They worked hard. I think me, Jedward and a couple of others were the hardest-working.

LM: So none of the other contestants begrudged them their place there? They seemed to get very bad press at times, especially when Lucie went home.
OM: No, the contestants, we liked them. I loved them. I loved every minute of Jedward. You know, I saw them the other day at the final show and they came up to me and said "We hope you win Olly, we hope you win". They're just great guys. They're just funny. They don't actually know they're that funny. That's what's so good about them. And they don't take themselves too seriously, you know, they really don't. They're just genuinely having a good time. They're just two 18 year old lads and instead of being out drinking and falling out of clubs, these two have turned 18 in 'The X Factor' and have gone on to be absolutely huge... they could be huge and I think they deserve it. I think that sometimes it's not all about having the best voice. I mean I haven't got the best voice in the world. I'm not someone that's as good as Joe. I mean Joe could sing a song, any song, unbelievably.

LM: It's about the different styles in a show like The X Factor though, isn't it?
OM: Yeah exactly. My voice isn't unbelievable yet the performance comes with it and I'm different. I've got a completely different style to him. That's like Jedward, they'd be honest and say they're not the best singers in the world but they're so entertaining. They're so different. There's just such a gap in the market for them two. And I really hope they go on and be massively successful. I really do. I can't wait... I can't wait to go to the tour. I was chatting to their dad John and he was like "Make sure you get me tickets to your tour" and I said: "You're having a joke, I'm going to be coming to Jedward's tour". And then there's the ongoing debate, what are they going to be called? Are they going to be John and Edward or are they going to be Jedward? I mean I think Jedward's the more commercial name. But John and Edward, could you see that on an album cover? I like Jedward. I like the name. I think it's short, it's sweet and everyone knows them as Jedward. So that'll be interesting to know what they do next with that. I'm really looking forward to seeing them on the tour. They're just great. I've not got a bad word to say about the twins. I think they're just brilliant.

LM: I have to ask you about Robbie Williams even though I know you're probably sick of answering questions about him! Do you think to yourself 'Wow, Robbie Williams is my mate now?'
OM: Exactly! What has happened to me in my life? I know, I mean Robbie Williams is one of my mates.

LM: He was really good to you on the show, wasn't he? From the minute you met him at the masterclass he seemed to really like you...
OM: Yeah, every time I met Robbie he was brilliant. I think he'd just taken a liking to me and I was the same with him. It wasn't hard. It wasn't like you met a celebrity, it wasn't difficult. It wasn't like 'Aw God, I don't know what to say'. You know, he's got millions in his bank account, he's got a house in LA - his life is completely different to mine but at the end of the day he's a normal person like everyone else and we manage to sit there and talk about life in general and it's brilliant. Again, I wouldn't say a bad word about Robbie. I think he's an absolute gem and it was an absolute pleasure to meet him and hopefully I'll have a catch-up with him in the New Year. And who knows, we could be battling it out in the charts... we could even do a duet together, who knows? It could be really funky. Who knows? There are so many possibilities. I'm just so open to everything at the moment.

LM: Have you thought about what style of music you'd like to release if you're lucky enough to get an album deal after the tour?
OM: On the show we did a lot of retro, old music but I'm very much a modern, dance, fan. I know I didn't really get a chance to show that. The dancing was really used for the songs that I had, which was very funky... James Brown kind of style. But really I could see myself coming back next year and maybe doing like an Alexandra Burke kind of album, you know very modern and upbeat. But then I can see myself doing a very retro sort of maybe Indie album, funky with maybe an Amy Winehouse kind of feel to it. I don't really know. I'm kind of really open. I've got lots of ideas... Or maybe even going back to the Justin Timberlake first album 'Justified', very bandy, very R 'n' B soulful, you know, very much twisting it.

LM: And there seems to be a gap in the market over here for that kind of artist.
OM: There's a gap over here, exactly. And I've always said that. Every time I believed I could do it or I believed in myself I thought 'there is a gap in the market over here for a male dancer, singer/someone... Not that I think that I could be Justin Timberlake because I mean, Jeez, he's massive but who knows? But that's where I see myself actually. I mean who knows what's going to happen after the tour when I'll be looking around to see what happens then. Hopefully I'll get picked up. Hopefully next time I'll be chatting to you I could be talking about my new album coming out. Who knows? Hopefully that will be the case.

LM: What about this whole Rage Against The Machine campaign? Did you think it was a little bit mean on poor Joe?
OM: Yeah, I think it was. I think I read it in the papers. This year there's been massive media interest in it. It was like a battle, wasn't it, to the end? I was actually gutted for him. I think he deserved it. It's a shame really because I think he's the only X Factor winner now that hasn't got No 1. I think that's a bit of a shame. I actually think it'll help him, I think it might help him in some ways. I think that the next time he brings out his next single, or obviously his album that he produces, people are going to want to buy his single now and make a point. I just think, Rage Against The Machine, a great song but is it really a song for Christmas? No. That's the thing. I think most people are like that, they like the song but it's not a Christmas song.

LM: It's an 'unleashing the hate against X Factor' song?
OM: Yeah. I think it was, yeah. Obviously it was something against 'The X Factor'. I think it was a bit of fun and I read in the paper that they're actually signed with Sony anyway... But, like I say, I'm gutted for Joe. I really am. I mean that could have been me and I'm sure I would have been gutted and I'm sure Joe is. I'm sure deep inside he is.

LM: Well, he's not showing it. He's come out and congratulated them and sounded like he meant it so good for him.
OM: Exactly, you can't help it. They've won. It's like me, I finished second to Joe and, you know, I could only congratulate him because I think he's done brilliantly and I think he's the same. Rage Against The Machine, it might not be everyone's cup of tea but it's No 1 in the charts so good luck to them. I'm sure Joe's going to bounce back and I'm sure he's going to go on to better. He's going to do well and it'll hopefully get a million records for him and he'll get a nice disc for it and it'll be something that he can remember for the rest of his life and hopefully his album will go on to be successful... I've nothing bad to say against Joe. He deserves it. He's a great lad, really nice and kind. He has a fantastic voice and he's got a fantastic future and I just wish him all the very best and I can't wait to catch up with him on the tour.

LM: I have to ask you about another rumour that circulating. Is it true that you're touting for a part in EastEnders? Would you love a cameo in it?
OM: Course I would, yeah! Why wouldn't I? I live in Essex in Witham and I'm a massive fan of the show. I'm a massive fan of 'EastEnders'.

LM: Give us a potential storyline then.
OM: I don't know, even a short scene. Maybe I walk up to Stacey in the market or maybe if I took over from Billy on the stall, you know the fruit and veg. Or I could walk into the pub with Minty or Garry... oh no, Garry's not in it anymore. But I could walk in with Minty. Anyway I'd walk in and say "Alright Phil, how you doing mate? Can I have a pint please?... maybe have a fling with Ronnie... and then get good mates with Jack maybe! Me and Jack could own the club together. I'm thinking I could do anything on 'EastEnders'. They could put me in any role. I could be Ian Beale's long-lost son. I'd just come out of nowhere and go "Hey Ian". I don't want to ring up 'EastEnders' and say I want a part but someone asked me "What would you want to do after the show?" and I said I'd love to do acting. I'd do anything and 'EastEnders' is huge.

LM: So would you consider TV presenting and acting roles right now, even though music is your first love?
OM: Yeah, at the end of the day, I'm not an established act. I'm just someone off 'The X Factor' and my aim is to make myself an established popstar. That's what I want to hear but if a role came up on 'EastEnders' or something, you know, why would you turn that down? It would be a great experience but that is something I'd like to do in the future. I remember Robbie Williams actually - do you remember that? - he appeared in the background. For me, I just want to get my pop career started first. Who knows? I could come in 'EastEnders' on a Christmas special or something. I don't know but if they wanted me I'd be more than happy to take the call.

LM: Let's go back to The X Factor for a minute, and to the judges, we have to ask - Is it all real, all the drama and bickering that we see on screen?
OM: Definitely. The judges get on because they're all friends off camera but when they're on the camera, when it's their acts against each other, it really is competitive, it really is. And you do sort of think 'It's getting a bit heated' because, you know, they all want to win. They all want to beat Simon and now it's like everyone wants to beat Cheryl. They are so competitive. You hear so many rumours about what they're going to do next year, they're changing the format again. Well, I've just heard rumours of what they're going to do. But they get on. You see them off camera and they're always chatting away. And even when they're on camera they're the same. They get on really well on camera but it's just the competitiveness on a Saturday night and Sunday night. As soon as it's their act, as soon as it's Simon against Cheryl, then that's it. Cheryl's not going to be nice to me...

LM: They were all pretty nice to you in fairness... you were one of the lucky ones!
OM: Well obviously Simon's mine but I think most of the time Cheryl, Louis and even Dannii were pretty much spot-on... and they all put me down, didn't they, to win? It's weird.

LM: Yeah, everyone except Dannii
OM: Yeah, and the presenters, Dermot and Holly... except Dannii. How bizarre is that?

LM: But pretty cool...
OM: It's weird. I mean, to think that they did that at bootcamp. It's nice that they saw that. But, you know... I didn't win... so... sorry to all the judges that put me down!

Time runs out and we have to finish our interview despite Olly's desire to talk all day! And what did we learn during our quick chat?... That sometimes reality television shows do give nice people a break in a very tough industry... and sometimes that break is genuinely deserved. But enough about Cheryl and Joe!! Just kidding, we're sticking with Team Olly here... well at least until Joe comes to visit us anyway!

Watch Olly Murs on 'The Afternoon Show' here