Red Moon
25-11-2007, 10:46 AM
Pub Contests Changed X Factor Leon's LifeLEON JACKSON was working quietly in his local Gap store just weeks ago.
But now the X Factor star is a household name with a nationwide army of fans and a record deal on the cards.
And Leon, 18, of Whitburn, West Lothian, says he owes it all to karaoke.
He said: "If it wasn't for karaoke, I wouldn't be singing in front of the X Factor audience.
"I would never have had the confidence to enter. Have a go. It can get you a lot further than you think. Just look at me."
Leon was a shy teenager who loved to sing but only in the privacy of his own home.
Then he tried a karaoke night at a pub. His first song in public was Last Request by Paolo Nutini.
Leon said: "I was hooked. I couldn't stop getting up to sing. I won the £50 prize three times in three months."
A year later, he has made the final stages of X Factor and is coached by Dannii Minogue.
He added: "Karaoke gives you a chance to show off your talent. It has changed my life."
Source: Sunday Mail (http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2007/11/25/pub-contests-changed-x-factor-leon-s-life-78057-20157733/)
But now the X Factor star is a household name with a nationwide army of fans and a record deal on the cards.
And Leon, 18, of Whitburn, West Lothian, says he owes it all to karaoke.
He said: "If it wasn't for karaoke, I wouldn't be singing in front of the X Factor audience.
"I would never have had the confidence to enter. Have a go. It can get you a lot further than you think. Just look at me."
Leon was a shy teenager who loved to sing but only in the privacy of his own home.
Then he tried a karaoke night at a pub. His first song in public was Last Request by Paolo Nutini.
Leon said: "I was hooked. I couldn't stop getting up to sing. I won the £50 prize three times in three months."
A year later, he has made the final stages of X Factor and is coached by Dannii Minogue.
He added: "Karaoke gives you a chance to show off your talent. It has changed my life."
Source: Sunday Mail (http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2007/11/25/pub-contests-changed-x-factor-leon-s-life-78057-20157733/)