Lewis - Olly Murs - The Biography

O n Thursday, 25 June 2009, an audience gathered at the Excel Centre in Londons Docklands area to watch the last of four days of auditions for probably the most popular entertainment show on British television. Since its inception in 2004, The X Factor, created by Simon Cowell, had been a weekend fixture on ITV1 in the autumn months leading up to Christmas. It aimed to showcase and then celebrate new singing talent on peak-time television. Millions tuned in every weekend to watch. And when each series was over, many would buy the finalists recordings and tickets for their live concerts.

For this sixth series of The X Factor, though, to be screened from August 2009, a new twist had been added to the audition process. In previous runs, hopeful candidates would sing and dance in front of the judges in a small room. It would be seen by millions of viewers later but, in the heat of the moment, cruelty or encouragement would be delivered in this intimate environment. All this would change for series six. As with Simon Cowells other cash cow for ITV, Britains Got Talent, hopefuls would face a live audience as well as the judging panel. For the very first time, this live audience would have some input into the atmosphere of the tense initial audition process although the judges decisions would still be final. The crowd might be shrieking with approval but, if the panel gave four nos, that was that and the hopeful was gone.

At audition stage, acts would compete for inclusion in four categories: Girls, Boys, Groups and Over-25s. The latter category could attract the most surprising and unexpected people. The pop scene seemed to prioritise youth but it was never too late to push yourself forward to try your luck in an audition. Take for instance 48- year-old Susan Boyle who, just months earlier in April 2009, had become a TV and internet sensation on a global scale after she sang I Dreamed a Dream on Britains Got Talent to an astonished studio audience and judging panel. And on this June afternoon, after approving a rendition of Frank Sinatras Come Fly with Me by an 82-year-old former dance teacher (who insisted, This is my last chance), the panel of Louis Walsh, Dannii Minogue, Cheryl Cole and Simon Cowell would witness a 25- year-old with seemingly limitless energy and charisma.

Simon Cowell later recalled that when Olly Murs took the stage that Thursday afternoon, he was immediately struck by his self-assuredness and by how relaxed he seemed in front of 2,500 spectators. There was nothing pretentious about him. He wore his heart on his sleeve. I felt the audience related to him as well.

I didnt think too much about what was going on around me, Olly said later. I just did my job and tried to forget that it was so big.

Before he sang, Olly was asked what his dream was. His answer was simple, ambitious and direct: To be a pop star and be famous, and sell records, and be an international superstar. He then took his opportunity to impress panel and audience with a song 12 years older than he was.

Superstition was written and first performed by the singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Stevie Wonder in 1972. As with other performers Murs idolised, like Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlake, Wonder had established himself as a superstar by his teenage years. He was just 13 when his breakthrough hit, Fingertips, had topped the US charts in 1963, and by his 25th birthday had created a series of ingenious and groundbreaking pop, soul and funk LPs like Innervisions and Talking Book.

Watched back again now, Ollys performance of Superstition is not technically perfect by any means. From time to time, his vocal falters and lags behind the beat of the backing track. But there is no question that, from the opening bars, he is communicating with both the judges and the audience, even sneaking in a faux-moonwalk as a nod to one of his idols, Michael Jackson (whose untimely death, spookily, would be announced within hours).

As Olly finished to a chorus of cheers, whoops and screams, he called out, Hey, come on! He was already collectively engaged with the crowd, even though there were far too many faces to engage with on an individual basis. And joining in with the applause was the legendarily hard-to-please Simon Cowell.

Simon Cowell told Olly that he had made it to Stage 3 of the competition what was known as bootcamp with the words the easiest yes Ive ever given, adding, You are very, very, very cool.

The other three panellists were pleased too. Dannii Minogue assured Olly that he had the whole package. Cheryl Cole pronounced him a natural-born entertainer. Youve got four yess, announced Louis Walsh. Perhaps a lot more than four, reckoned Dannii: Everyone in the room. Two thousand yess.

With the sound of the crowd still ringing in his ears, Olly Murs left the stage to the strains of another Stevie Wonder hit, For Once in My Life a fitting choice of song. You may only get one chance to prove yourself as a potential star. Olly took that chance and it was the start of an extraordinary rise to fame.

Olly had attempted the X Factor audition process twice before, in fact, but reasoned, I felt I had to keep trying. He had sung to backroom researchers and production-team members on his two previous attempts but knew that, to tickle the ear of Simon Cowell, You need to pick the right song. Third time around, with Superstition, he picked right.

Its a weird feeling when you first walk out on The X Factor, Olly would tell ITV1 in 2012. The nerves, of course, because you know youve got to perform. The excitement because youre on one of the biggest TV shows in the country. And then youve still got the four judges in front of you.

A collision of television and the music industry, The X Factor was not just about entertainment, it was about cold, hard business sense. Contestants who succeeded on the programme, even those who compelled the audience to watch and vote week after week, were not guaranteed to persuade the public to buy or download a track they would release six months after the series final. People can give an amazing performance on the show but then they cant get the whole career thing right, argued Simon Cowell. Its disappointing but its out of our hands it comes down to the public whether or not they like them after the show.