Sharon Rose
*** Local singer makes it through to Boot Camp ***
*** Local singer makes it through to Boot Camp ***
Being interviewed about being on the X Factor, when you’ve been sworn to secrecy, can’t be an easy task but Sharon Rose manages to do it with aplomb and handles it like a pro. Sharon appeared on our tv screens last Sunday (6th September) where she auditioned in front of the judges, Simon Cowell, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, Rita Ora and Nick Grimshaw and an audience who were up on their feet dancing and cheering by the end of her knock out rendition of I’m Every Woman. Clearly impressing all of the judges with four ‘yes’s", she’s made it on to Boot Camp.
Sharon, who lives in Canvey Island, is already well known here at MyTownSouthend and in the Southend area, having appeared with local drama group, Southend Operatic & Dramatic Society in the musical Sister Act, playing the lead role of Delores. She also starred as Delilah in Samson the Musical written by local talent Ashton Moore, and has appeared with her band, The Thorns, at The Alex Pub as well as regularly gigging in venues in and around London.
I catch up with 26 year old Sharon on her week off, although interestingly she tells me she is spending a lot of time in the studio. Having previously auditioned for the X Factor in 2012, I wondered how she came to audition for this, the 12th series of the show. “Well, luckily for me, my friend works as a talent scout for Syco (Cowell's production company) and they asked me if I could do it. They told me that they were holding auditions for the X Factor in London. I wasn’t really interested in doing it but then I just decided to go along and I got through all the stages; there are quite a few!”
“It was a weird experience but it was good.” she tells me when I ask her what it was like watching herself auditioning on tv. “But I wasn’t allowed to say anything about it until it aired on Sunday.”
I mention that although there are no hard and fast rules, there seems to have been a lot of talk in the press about people auditioning who are already in the music business, implying that they have an unfair advantage. Sharon argues the point by saying, “I think the X factor is just like applying for any job, You know, you make an application and you just hope that if you’ve got the experience, you’ll get it. You just hold out and see what’s going to come of it. It’s just like any job. We’re all singers and all workers who need to get paid for our talents and we just go for whatever we can.”
I do wonder why the press seem to make such a big deal of it. “It’s a shame really,” Sharon says, “because I think the show is for people like that. Obviously it’s for people who have never done it before too but also it’s for people who aren’t getting anywhere and just need that break. That’s what the show’s for and there’s no way anyone can really dictate to anyone else how to go about their success.”
Does she think it will help her career progress? “I thought about it in the sense that I really want to push a project that I’ve got coming up at the end of this year and I was talking about it to a friend and he was kind of saying to me that it’s important that I get known because, you know, it’s all about publicity really.”
The project she wants to push out to the public is a forthcoming EP which will consist of her own original material. “I want people listening out for it and for people to really pay attention to my art.”
I ask her if she gets annoyed that people like Joselito (the Copacabana guy) get through when they obviously have no real talent; and she tells me very firmly, “Oh no, no, no! I know what X Factor is all about. It’s an entertainment tv show and they are out to create a buzz, to make people laugh, to make people cry and when you sign up to things like that you know it’s a game and you have to enjoy playing the game otherwise you’re just going to get yourself depressed over it, you know? I kind of went in with an open mind and thinking that it’s just a tv show and I’m just going to enjoy it as it is and not try to make it what I want it to be in my head.”
Everyone knows that Sharon has got through to the next round at this point - can she tell me any more?
“I don’t think I can, otherwise I might get into trouble but you should definitely expect a lot of drama. It’s going to be very dramatic. There’s going to be a whole lot of entertaining drama!”
Whaaaat? You can’t say that and leave us hanging Sharon! But she does. So what can she tell us? I ask her what happens after the judges have all said ‘yes’. I assume that she’s had to liaise with Simon Cowell as he has been given the ‘Overs’ (over 25 years old) category. There’s a slight pause before Sharon laughs (one of those awkward ones) and says, “Well there’s a lot of drama. It’s all a bit exciting!” She goes on, “This year the categories have changed, so that’s something that might be interesting when you watch it. Watch this space.”
Getting to meet Olly Murs and Caroline Flack was a lovely experience for Sharon, “Olly Murs is a very entertaining person.” She was relieved at how down to earth they both were backstage too. She also got to meet Rita Ora and Simon Cowell who came backstage after her audition.
Sharon, who lives in Canvey Island, is already well known here at MyTownSouthend and in the Southend area, having appeared with local drama group, Southend Operatic & Dramatic Society in the musical Sister Act, playing the lead role of Delores. She also starred as Delilah in Samson the Musical written by local talent Ashton Moore, and has appeared with her band, The Thorns, at The Alex Pub as well as regularly gigging in venues in and around London.
I catch up with 26 year old Sharon on her week off, although interestingly she tells me she is spending a lot of time in the studio. Having previously auditioned for the X Factor in 2012, I wondered how she came to audition for this, the 12th series of the show. “Well, luckily for me, my friend works as a talent scout for Syco (Cowell's production company) and they asked me if I could do it. They told me that they were holding auditions for the X Factor in London. I wasn’t really interested in doing it but then I just decided to go along and I got through all the stages; there are quite a few!”
“It was a weird experience but it was good.” she tells me when I ask her what it was like watching herself auditioning on tv. “But I wasn’t allowed to say anything about it until it aired on Sunday.”
I mention that although there are no hard and fast rules, there seems to have been a lot of talk in the press about people auditioning who are already in the music business, implying that they have an unfair advantage. Sharon argues the point by saying, “I think the X factor is just like applying for any job, You know, you make an application and you just hope that if you’ve got the experience, you’ll get it. You just hold out and see what’s going to come of it. It’s just like any job. We’re all singers and all workers who need to get paid for our talents and we just go for whatever we can.”
I do wonder why the press seem to make such a big deal of it. “It’s a shame really,” Sharon says, “because I think the show is for people like that. Obviously it’s for people who have never done it before too but also it’s for people who aren’t getting anywhere and just need that break. That’s what the show’s for and there’s no way anyone can really dictate to anyone else how to go about their success.”
Does she think it will help her career progress? “I thought about it in the sense that I really want to push a project that I’ve got coming up at the end of this year and I was talking about it to a friend and he was kind of saying to me that it’s important that I get known because, you know, it’s all about publicity really.”
The project she wants to push out to the public is a forthcoming EP which will consist of her own original material. “I want people listening out for it and for people to really pay attention to my art.”
I ask her if she gets annoyed that people like Joselito (the Copacabana guy) get through when they obviously have no real talent; and she tells me very firmly, “Oh no, no, no! I know what X Factor is all about. It’s an entertainment tv show and they are out to create a buzz, to make people laugh, to make people cry and when you sign up to things like that you know it’s a game and you have to enjoy playing the game otherwise you’re just going to get yourself depressed over it, you know? I kind of went in with an open mind and thinking that it’s just a tv show and I’m just going to enjoy it as it is and not try to make it what I want it to be in my head.”
Everyone knows that Sharon has got through to the next round at this point - can she tell me any more?
“I don’t think I can, otherwise I might get into trouble but you should definitely expect a lot of drama. It’s going to be very dramatic. There’s going to be a whole lot of entertaining drama!”
Whaaaat? You can’t say that and leave us hanging Sharon! But she does. So what can she tell us? I ask her what happens after the judges have all said ‘yes’. I assume that she’s had to liaise with Simon Cowell as he has been given the ‘Overs’ (over 25 years old) category. There’s a slight pause before Sharon laughs (one of those awkward ones) and says, “Well there’s a lot of drama. It’s all a bit exciting!” She goes on, “This year the categories have changed, so that’s something that might be interesting when you watch it. Watch this space.”
Getting to meet Olly Murs and Caroline Flack was a lovely experience for Sharon, “Olly Murs is a very entertaining person.” She was relieved at how down to earth they both were backstage too. She also got to meet Rita Ora and Simon Cowell who came backstage after her audition.
Nick Grimshaw's selfie with the other judges
“There was a moment when Simon Cowell had just finished watching and he came backstage and talked to us and just had a genuine conversation with everyone.” She reveals, “He is so short, he was much smaller than I thought he would be!” and then as a quick afterthought, “Maybe because I was in heels!” “It’s a cool experience, but you have to take it lightly and don’t let it be a heavy thing.”
Sharon certainly didn’t seem to be as nervous as she was the first time she auditioned for the show (I checked out a YouTube video of her audition) although some of the contestants seem uncontrollably nervous before and during their auditions. She tells me, “They have hundreds of people to film in one day, so I can see how some people’s emotions can be put to the forefront without them wanting to be, but it is something where you really have to make a decision where it’s only going to be what you make it and to not allow the emotional roller coaster that is the X Factor to just take you with it. Otherwise you’ll be swallowed up.”
Does she think that her experience has helped with that side of things? “Yeah, I’ve done a lot of work since 2012 and also the fact that I’m really enjoying my life at the moment. I think every moment spent at X Factor and experiencing it, that I’m grateful for it.” “It’s an extremely nerve wracking situation for anyone performing in front of all those people. Also you’re waiting hours and hours to perform for just 2 minutes! Already there are a lot of emotions. All the moments in-between you need to learn to manage them. So regardless of what happens on the journey you can manage yourself.”
Wise words, indeed. Sharon certainly does seem to have her head screwed on and I’m sure this will stand her in good stead for whatever the X Factor machine throws at her.
Sharon certainly didn’t seem to be as nervous as she was the first time she auditioned for the show (I checked out a YouTube video of her audition) although some of the contestants seem uncontrollably nervous before and during their auditions. She tells me, “They have hundreds of people to film in one day, so I can see how some people’s emotions can be put to the forefront without them wanting to be, but it is something where you really have to make a decision where it’s only going to be what you make it and to not allow the emotional roller coaster that is the X Factor to just take you with it. Otherwise you’ll be swallowed up.”
Does she think that her experience has helped with that side of things? “Yeah, I’ve done a lot of work since 2012 and also the fact that I’m really enjoying my life at the moment. I think every moment spent at X Factor and experiencing it, that I’m grateful for it.” “It’s an extremely nerve wracking situation for anyone performing in front of all those people. Also you’re waiting hours and hours to perform for just 2 minutes! Already there are a lot of emotions. All the moments in-between you need to learn to manage them. So regardless of what happens on the journey you can manage yourself.”
Wise words, indeed. Sharon certainly does seem to have her head screwed on and I’m sure this will stand her in good stead for whatever the X Factor machine throws at her.
Sharon appearing in Samson the Musical
I briefly ask Sharon how it felt to have performed in Samson the Musical, which was written by Southend writer and composer, Ashton Moore, and also how it felt to have the part written with her as Delilah in mind.
“Samson was amazing, Ashton is such an incredibly talented guy and to work with him and to bring his idea to life was such a good experience. I was really honoured to be part of it. It really brought out my passion for the West End and there are great things coming with that too; So you just have to watch this space.” Really, tell me more? She suddenly goes all coy again. “Erm…we may have to save that discussion for another interview some time in the year.” This girl is giving nothing away. She’s good!
“There’s so much I’m not allowed to say but I can say that this year on X Factor there’s going to be a lot of changes, a lot of new things happening - and it’s such -an exciting show. I don’t know how far I’m going to go with it but no matter how far I go I’m just gonna roll with the fun.”
So what advice would she give to anyone thinking about possibly wanting to audition for the X Factor in the future.
“The only advice I would give is to go with your guts, the X Factor is driven by a lot of young people - so they really do like having young people on board, because they consider them a blank canvas to work with. It’s such a volatile thing and you have to make a decision that you’re happy with.”
Although she won’t give anything away about the competition, you get the feeling that regardless of whether she makes it to the final or not, Sharon Rose has the passion, determination and level headedness needed to be a success in the business that she obviously adores to be a part of.
So what can we expect from Sharon at Boot Camp. “Ooh a bit of Beyonce and bit of James Bay.”
“You’re not going to sing any of your own songs then” I ask her.
“No. I’m keeping my own stuff for future releases. The future is really exciting!”
And I for one, don’t doubt her?
Keep up with Sharon's progress on X Factor every Saturday and Sunday night from 8pm or catch up here with http://www.itv.com/xfactor
“Samson was amazing, Ashton is such an incredibly talented guy and to work with him and to bring his idea to life was such a good experience. I was really honoured to be part of it. It really brought out my passion for the West End and there are great things coming with that too; So you just have to watch this space.” Really, tell me more? She suddenly goes all coy again. “Erm…we may have to save that discussion for another interview some time in the year.” This girl is giving nothing away. She’s good!
“There’s so much I’m not allowed to say but I can say that this year on X Factor there’s going to be a lot of changes, a lot of new things happening - and it’s such -an exciting show. I don’t know how far I’m going to go with it but no matter how far I go I’m just gonna roll with the fun.”
So what advice would she give to anyone thinking about possibly wanting to audition for the X Factor in the future.
“The only advice I would give is to go with your guts, the X Factor is driven by a lot of young people - so they really do like having young people on board, because they consider them a blank canvas to work with. It’s such a volatile thing and you have to make a decision that you’re happy with.”
Although she won’t give anything away about the competition, you get the feeling that regardless of whether she makes it to the final or not, Sharon Rose has the passion, determination and level headedness needed to be a success in the business that she obviously adores to be a part of.
So what can we expect from Sharon at Boot Camp. “Ooh a bit of Beyonce and bit of James Bay.”
“You’re not going to sing any of your own songs then” I ask her.
“No. I’m keeping my own stuff for future releases. The future is really exciting!”
And I for one, don’t doubt her?
Keep up with Sharon's progress on X Factor every Saturday and Sunday night from 8pm or catch up here with http://www.itv.com/xfactor