[Apple202]

Since winning the X Factor in 2010, Matt Cardle had to watch on as third place runner's up One Direction took the world by storm, leaving him in their wake.

Matt's opinion on the X Factor has been well documented, taking every opportunity available to him to distance himself from the reality show.

Talking to The Mirror's Dean Piper today, Matt admitted that his initial record deal with Syco and Columbia was never going to work because unlike One Direction, he was far too independent.

He said: "I was never going to be your JLS or One Direction, where songs are written for them and you're a puppet."

"I was always a different guy. People behind the scenes knew I wasn't some puppet and I never felt like one."

When it emerged in the press that Matt had parted ways with the Sony label, people assumed it was because he had been dropped.

Matt however has set the record straight, saying that he had made the decision to leave.

He explained: "I was given the opportunity to stay at Sony, do some writing and 'see how it was going to go' or walk away and go it alone. And I chose to walk."

Matt's debut album 'Letters', although selling well, didn't even come close to surpassing the UK sales of Rebecca Ferguson and One Direction's albums.

The singer is adamant, however, that his album was not the flop people have made it out to be.

He stated: "With a major record label it works for some people and not for others. It did work for me initially and it's not like I sold 10 copies. I went platinum and sold over 300,000 copies. That's not a flop."

http://uk.omg.yahoo.com/gossip/the-j...120039399.html

What an arrogant arsehole