| Red Moon |
12-11-2008 08:41 AM |
Pressure of being the favourite got to me
Quote:
Pressure of being the favourite got to me X FACTOR’S Laura White yesterday admitted she is livid at getting the boot.
The 21-year-old favourite also revealed the three judges who sent her home on Saturday did not stay on after the show to offer her any comfort.
Breaking her silence on the X Factor storm she said: “I’m not going to lie, part of me is angry. I had such amazing comments off the judges and all of a sudden they were taken away. It’s been hard to take in.”
She added she was “so distraught” she hid away backstage after the vote — and by the time she emerged judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Dannii Minogue had gone.
She said: “Only Cheryl Cole was left.”
And devastated Laura admitted the pressure of the X Factor had got to her and sapped her confidence as she drove herself to win.
The brunette confessed she sometimes felt overwhelmed by the attention that came with being one of the bookies’ favourites to win the contest.
In an exclusive interview she told TV Biz: “The pressure builds up and it can start to affect you. I didn’t completely lose confidence — but I worked so, so hard for so many years and I really believed this would be my big break.”
And the 21-year-old felt even more stress because of digs about her appearance by judges Simon Cowell, 49, and Louis Walsh.
Luckily her loyal mentor, Cheryl Cole, 25, was always there to bolster her bruised confidence.
She said: “The comments did bother me a bit, but Cheryl used to say, ‘Just stay with it — they find it difficult to say anything bad about your singing, they have to say something!’”.
Laura spoke as a petition to see the jazz singer reinstated on the ITV1 talent show soared to 21,000 last night.
Fans were stunned when Simon, Louis, 56, and Dannii Minogue, 37, all voted for Laura to go after she found herself down in the bottom two with Ruth Lorenzo, 25, after the public vote on Saturday.
But Laura suspects it was her popularity and the assumption she would easily make the finals which may have sealed her fate. She said: “Cheryl said that actually could have held me back and stopped people from picking up the phone.”
Asked if Louis - who had the casting vote on Saturday night - made a tactical vote in getting shot of her in order to get rid of a clear favourite, Laura said: “Personally, I’m unsure but I know that Cheryl possibly thinks that’s what it was.”
The student from Bolton admitted she is still coming to terms with Saturday’s shocking events and the end of her time at the X Factor contestants’ North London pad.
She said: “It’s been really difficult for me since I left the house — I want to achieve so much, music is my life.”
But the former barmaid is determined to keep fighting to make her dreams of a music career come true — and is already looking forward to performing in the X Factor live tour.
Meanwhile, the singer’s angry grandma hit out at the judges’ vote — and even branded Louis “mean”.
Margaret White, 77, said: “I think the X Factor judges are idiots for voting off Laura. She’s so good and the whole country seems to be shocked.”
The OAP from Atherton, Greater Manchester, added: “I think that Louis Walsh is the worst. He just seems mean and obviously has something against my Laura.”
All the finalists will take to the stage for the X Factor 2009 Live Tour, starting on February 24 in Aberdeen. Book tickets at bookingsdirect.com.
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Source: The Sun |
