The last 12 months have been hectic for Jake Quickenden. After a stint of the X Factor he went straight into the jungle for I’m a Celebrity… and now he’s about to release his own E.P.
We caught up with him at London’s Steam & Rye to listen to four of his new tracks and ask him for his thoughts on the new X Factor judging panel – Nick Grimshaw and Rita Ora join Simon Cowell and Cheryl Fernandez-Versini.
Jake told us: “I think Rita and Nick have big shoes to fill*.*
“Nick is a cool guy and he makes me laugh on the radio and he knows his music – he knows what sounds good on the radio, he's an opinionated guy and he's talented at what he does so we'll see how it goes.”
TOP NEWS
But he’s got some words of wisdom for the new judges: “Keep in contact with the people you're mentoring, it means a lot to them. Mel B used to Skype and message us all the time to make sure we're all right, that were eating right and resting our voices. It goes a long way – not only do you listen, you also gain a lot of respect for them for telling you what to do and for being there for you.”
And if you wondered what Jake thinks to Rita’s flirting as judge on The Voice, he tells us he didn’t watch it but, added: “I think some people are naturally quite flirty. I was [flirty] before I got with Dan [girlfriend Danielle Fogarty] and sometimes I'm friendly and people can think that's flirty but Rita can do what she wants, she's a judge on the X Factor.” We reckon Simon might have something to say about that...
Jakes' debut single, I want you, will be available on SoundCloud soon.