Joe McCaul has said that he's "glad" to have been eliminated from The X Factor as he is sure the competition would have become "more stressful".
The Athlone singer told 2fm of his relief at being out of the competition. He said, "in a way I'm kind of glad that it's happened now because I think going forward in the competition I think it would have gotten more pressurised and more stressful and I don't know if I would have been able for that."
McCaul added that he was pleased with his progress in the show, explaining: "It was a massive achievement to get that far and I'm happy and the support has been overwhelming. I think I've had two bad remarks out of hundreds, so if that's all that people have to throw at me then bring on the rest."
His X Factor dream came to an end in the most cruel way after he claimed and then lost a seat on Sunday night's Six Chair Challenge.
The 27-year-old also spoke out about his experience taking part in the singing competition, saying the show was crazy "on a while different level".
He said: "I knew it was going to be crazy, I didn't know it was going to be this crazy. The X Factor is on a whole different level. It's on this level that people would never expect.
"It's this crazy, manufactured show that people don't really see, and people don't really understand sitting at home looking at the television." However, he added that he's "not bitter towards the show, I'm very grateful that I got that experience and I'm grateful to the judges and for everybody else for having me on it."
His mentor in the 'Overs' category, Simon Cowell, described the singer as "annoying," suggesting that his image needed to be reinvented, "because he's like the librarian who can sing". However he admitted he had a good singing voice and granted gave him a chair only to swap him out later in the show.
Joe at Bootcamp
The 27 year old Athlone native also had a difficult time impressing Cowell at the Bootcamp stage who remarked rather unkindly, "Is there any way, like that movie The Fly, you can put that voice into another contestant."
Joe and his sister Donna won RTÉ's You’re A Star competition in 2005, and went on to represent Ireland in the Eurovision Semi-Finals. They failed to qualify but in 2012, Joe, as solo act, reached the bootcamp stages of the show.
Mind you Joe wasn't the only contestant to loose his seat last night. Cowell went on a bit of a swapping spree with Stephanie McCourt, Max Stone, Vicki Ann Nash, Tonatha Raihan, Zen Blythe and Hannah Marie Kilminster all losing their seats. Vicki was brought back once (before being switched again!).
Simon and the final six in the Overs Category
