As the 'X Factor' tour rolls into Dublin this week, Mary Byrne revealed to RTÉ Ten that a lot has changed with the contestants since the live shows last year.
Mary, 51, who came fifth in the competition after a controversial sing-off with Cher Lloyd for a place in the semi-finals revealed that this time around the contestants are “enjoying it, and giving one another a real boost.”
The former Tesco employee added that 17-year-old Cher, whose friendship with Black Eyed Peas star Will.i.am is helping her secure a dream duet with Rihanna, has grown-up a lot in the last few months.
“Cher has become a completely different girl, she’s looking after herself now, she’s calmed down an awful lot. She still has her moments but she’s a young kid, she wants to reach for the stars, she wants it all.”
As for the other young hopefuls, Mary admitted that “Katie is Katie, and I love her, Rebecca has become more confident when she’s on stage and even Wagner has been showing his true personality and he’s a real gentleman. There was a bit of a thing between him and Matt a long time ago and they’ve actually made up. The problem was they were all in competition with each other so there was a lot of friction but it’s not there any more.”
As for the judges, Mary was full of praise for her mentor Louis Walsh, who she credits as having “changed her life,” however she revealed that the other judges have been less communicative with their acts since the show ended.
“I don’t think the girls from heard from Cheryl, Matt has heard from Dannii, I’m sure the boys have been in touch with Simon, but I know that Cheryl hasn’t been in touch with any of them.”
Yesterday, Mary, who wowed the judges last year at the Dublin auditions with her rendition of 'This is A Man’s World', had her debut single, 'I Call You Mine' played on Mooney on RTÉ Radio One.
Beaming proudly she said “when I first heard it, it was like it was written for me, it’s all a chance you’ve been waiting for and it’s now here. I fell in love with the song immediately and cried like a two year old.”
Her debut album 'Mine & Yours' goes on sale March 25th and includes familiar tracks like ‘This Is a Man’s World’, ‘I Who Have Nothing’ and ‘The Way We Were’.
