‘My X Factor experience'
Thursday, 30 October 2008
We 'L.O.V.E' what Eoghan did with this Nat King Cole classic on Saturday night, watched by an excess of 10 million viewers.
THANKS to The X-Factor, Eoghan Quigg, has skyrocketed from being a normal schoolboy from Dungiven to being a household name in a matter of weeks, but it certainly hasn't gone to the young singer's head.
This week the 16-year-old spoke exclusively to the Northern Constitution about being part of the UK's biggest talent show, and what it's like working with his mentor, Simon Cowell.
Eoghan has only the positive things to say about his time on the show so far: "The X-Factor experience has been the most enjoyable thing I've ever done," he said.
“I'm getting to do what I really want to do and I'm meeting loads of new people.
“So far I've been lucky and I've had good comments from the judges, I've just been doing my best every week and I'm going to go on trying my hardest in every performance.
“Simon is a really good mentor, he's very supportive and we get on well. Your mentor picks your song every week, but you do have input and if you don't like the song, or if you have any problems, you can talk to your mentor about it.
“All the mentors are really nice. Louis has been giving me a lot of support because we're both Irish, and the girls are both lovely too."
In last Saturday's show Eoghan put his own spin on the Nat King Cole classic 'L.O.V.E.' - A performance that saw Louis telling the 16-year-old that he is "the one to beat" with Simon adding that it was his "best performance by a clear mile so far".
Eoghan added: "I think Saturday was my best performance so far. The big band week really took me out of my comfort zone, it's not the sort of music I normally listen to or that I'm used to, but I enjoyed the song. It was also the first real dancing I have done so far, which was tough, but I just did my best and thankfully the judges seemed to like it.
“If I could sing any song that I wanted I think I'd probably pick 'She's The One' by Robbie Williams, it's one of my favourite songs of all time.
“I like lots of different kinds of music, I like indie and pop, I love bands like Snow Patrol and The Script, I really like Robbie Williams, Shane Ward and Leon Jackson. I've met Leon a few times and he's really nice, really down to earth, even though he won the X-Factor, he's still a very nice, normal guy.
“I also met Nadine a couple of weeks ago and was chatting to her, it was good to hear an accent from back home. She is definitely someone I would look up to, and she was so nice, really funny and was just chatting away to me about home and stuff like that."
Eoghan says he gets on well with everyone in the house, but has a particular bond with Laura White and Diana Vickers.
He continued: "In the house I'm closest to Diana and Laura, they are really nice, well-mannered girls, you couldn't meet anyone nicer than them. I think Laura's is one of the best singers in the whole show, if I don't win I'd like to see either Diana or Laura win."
As for his hometown, Eoghan couldn't be prouder of where he comes from.
He said: "When anyone asks me about where I'm from, I tell them that Dungiven is my favourite place in the world, it's my home. I don't really get homesick as I'm kept pretty busy, but sometimes I do miss my family and my friends. It's always nice to see my dad after the show, and get a chance to talk to him.
“I've been told about all the support I've been getting back home, I know my school principal, Anne Sands, has been doing loads to support me, it'll be really nice to go back and see it all. I really, really appreciate all the support."
So, what, in Eoghan's opinion, gives someone the x-factor?: "The X-Factor is a singing contest, but it's more than that, you need the confidence, and you need to be a bit cheeky, you have to have the whole package. You could have the best voice but if you're really quiet, you might not win, or you could have an average voice, but if you've got a fun personality, you could end up winning.
“One of the hardest things is waiting during the results show to see if your name's called out. When they are saying names and you're waiting to hear your own name, you get more and more nervous, it's probably the hardest part of the whole thing.
“Saying goodbye to people every week is also very hard. We are all living together in the house and we all bond with each other, so when someone goes out every week it's tough."
As for this week's performance, Eoghan said: "I don't tell anyone what song I'm going sing each week, not even my mum and dad. This week is disco week and I like the song I'm doing, it's been done before on X-Factor during a previous disco week, I'm going to just try my hardest.
“The support from my family is immense. I would really love to be the first Irish person to win X-factor, it would be a dream come true. I'm the second youngest person ever to make it into the live shows, and I think I'm the youngest person ever to make it this far. But anything that comes my way I'm just going to take on the chin.
“I'd like to thank everyone back home who has been voting for me, I hope that if they like my performances that they'll keep on voting for me, but I'm just really grateful for all the support I've had so far."
