Former X Factor star Janet Devlin has been travelling up and down the country showcasing new material from her debut album ‘Running With Scissors.’
The 20-year-old starlet made an appearance at Liverpool’s Arts Club on Seel Street recently to let audiences know that she hasn’t disappeared into the dreaded post-X Factor oblivion.
She told JMU Journalism that Liverpool holds a special place in her heart as it’s where he career began.
“The Echo Arena is where I did my X Factor audition, so that’s where it all started. I like Liverpool, I think it’s great,” Devlin said.
Despite the cult following of fans that have followed her across the UK, Devlin doesn’t think her Liverpool gig went all that well, saying: “It’s not the best performance I’ve ever done in my life, that’s for sure.
“Vocally there was a bit of bits and bobs but you know, I did try. The tour has been excellent so far. Most of the gigs everyone’s been singing out full pelt and properly getting involved and clapping, it’s been great. Obviously tonight not many people sang along, which is alright, everywhere is different.”
The tour includes a home-coming gig in Omagh, Co Tyrone, which Devlin said she is really nervous for, saying: “I’ve never played in my hometown before… There’s quite a lot of pressure actually.”
Devlin has been praised and criticised for having a ‘marmite’ tone to her voice where people either love it or hate it. But she stands behind the negative crowd, explaining: “I personally hate it, I know it’s weird but I don’t know many singers that go ‘Yeah, I love my voice.’
“Growing up I always wanted to have more of a soul voice that had lots of range and I just didn’t believe in myself for so long because I’d be like ‘Oh when I sing I can’t reach that note’ or ‘I can’t do that cool thing where it goes that high.’ I used to get freaked out about it but I suppose some people like it which is a good thing.”
Like many artists before her, Devlin said she wants to get rid of the X Factor stigma. Despite coming from the show, she went in a different direction and wrote her own music, staying away from the spotlight.
“There’s nothing more annoying, especially on telly, if you go on TV or radio or something and they say ‘X Factor’s Janet Devlin’ and I’m like ‘Ok right, I was on that show, that’s cool, but you do understand that I’ve sat down and made like three EPs, two albums and don’t understand that I write things.'”
However the Tyrone-born star does agree that contestants do have a time limit to release their material, saying:
She said: “Everyone’s pretty much like: ‘Your fame will only last this long.’ All my record deals were like: ‘You can write your second album, you can write your own music in the end, but for the first album you need to get this album out.’
“I mean there’s a lot of money on the table. I felt insulted because I’ve been writing since I was a child, how dare you say that I have to sing someone else’s stuff. It’s what I wanted, I could have easily took the other hill and been really successful, but you know. I used The X Factor as a platform to get to meet people in the industry and I got what I wanted.”