ThisisBigBrother.com - UK TV Forums - X Factor's Diana Vickers 'had to overcome her shyness and nerves'

Quote:

X Factor's Diana Vickers 'had to overcome her shyness and nerves'

“DIANA was never a quiet girl” says Ann Vickers. “She was born to be a performer.”

And the 17-year-old has proved her mum right, having been catapulted to the forefront of the nation’s attention for her ‘quirky’ singing and barefoot sense of style.

This weekend she could secure a place in the final of the X Factor and change the course of her life – a far cry from where it all started back in her grandparents’ front room.

Diana said: “I used to go to my Grandma and Grandad’s house on a Saturday afternoon after I came back from ballet lessons and put on a show for them.

“I used to dance around their living room and we’d all sing together to songs he put on his old record player like Matt Monro.

“I used to look at my Grandad like he was a god.

“My Grandma was a bit of a mover too.”

Ann added: “Music and singing is a massive part of her life, but it’s certainly not come from my genes.

“I think it comes from her Grandad, John Vickers, who sadly died about four years ago. At family gatherings he would always stand up and give us a song.

“We used to take Diana and her older sister Charlotte round for them to babysit and they would all sing as a family.”

The singing continued when Diana got home.

She said: “As I grew up I would always be singing and dancing at home in front of my mum.

“I used to love the Spice Girls, B*Witched, Aqua, Simply Red, Wet Wet Wet, Lighthouse Family and M People.”

When she was four Diana enrolled at Westholme School, Blackburn, and her talent was soon spotted by the music teachers.

Ann, who lives in Accrington with Diana, said: “She was always interested in instruments and at first started playing the trumpet and then the piano.

“She started to learn to play the guitar too.”

Diana said: “My year 6 singing teacher Mrs Lofthouse first noticed I could sing. I haven’t seen her for ages, but she was the one who got me singing at school and that was it.

“But I used to be a lot more shy – I thought that everyone was a lot better than me.

“But then one day when I was singing in the choir at school, I decided to sing louder than I ever had done before and the teacher noticed me.

“She told other members of staff, ‘This girl can sing’. After that I began to be picked for the solo parts and in plays at the school.

“When I got to be a little older I started to enter a few singing contests in the North West area, but still the nerves still got to me.”

Ann said: “Her musical talents were recognised quite early.” Ann added: “Diana was an academically bright girl too. She got nine GCSEs and when thinking about her career, music was always at the forefront. We were beginning to think about universities before the X Factor happened, and which might be best for music.

“She really couldn’t see a future that didn’t involve music.” Diana grew up in Blackburn with her older sister Charlotte, now 21, who has recently graduated from The University of Liverpool and is currently working at Blackburn Town Hall.

Ann said: “Charlotte doesn’t sing, she’s more into her drama and wants to embark on an acting career.

“It’s fantastic to think we could have two stars in the family.”

Source: Lancashire Telegraph