If you want to get the gossip on all the X Factor acts, Creative Director Brian Friedman is the man to ask.
As someone who works closely with all the contests, we knew Brian would be the man to give us all the inside gossip on how the finalists and the wildcards are performing.
so, when we caught up with Brian at last night’s Style For Stroke event at Cavendish Sq, he revealed that he rated Rylan Clark, became an immediate fan of Ella Henderson and wants to make Jahmene Dogulas more comfortable on stage.
“I was really surprised by all the contestants. Some of them I thought were going to be a lot more introverted than they actually were, others surprised me with how little stage process they have,” Brian told us.
“I can say that I loved the process with Rylan. It was funny because he says he can move and it’s different when you actually put someone to the test. In our first meeting he said, ‘Oh I can dance, I can do everything’ and I was like, ‘OK, we’ll see,’ but he did really well, very impressed by him,” he said.
It’s not just Rylan who has impressed the X Factor’s creative driving force, he also loves Ella and wildcard Amy,
“I’ve been shocked by some of the voices I heard, Ella’s voice live, standing next to her while she’s singing is one of those moments where she finished and I told her, ‘I’m a fan’. I remember I had that moment with Rebecca Ferguson too – right when she sang for me I told her I wanted to buy her album.
“Amy, a wildcard, is incredible,” Brian continues. “She was doing some vocals she didn’t actually plan to do and hitting Mariah Carey notes.”
I’ll cater to Jahmene
We don’t expect to see The X Factor’s shy contestant Jahmene dancing too much, and Brian tells us that he’ll make sure he plays to his strength, his voice.
“Jahmene, I cater to what it is that he does. He’s all about his voice. He giggles a lot when he gets uncomfortable and for me, I don’t want to see that, that’s always a sign of weakness so I’m trying to work on his confidence a bit more.
“He’s the type of performer who says he’ll get it right when he’s onstage, but I’m the type of drill sergeant that thinks if you don’t have it right, I don’t trust you’ll get it right on stage, I want to get him to that place where he’s comfortable.”
We can’t wait to see what Brian has dreamed up when the first live show starts on Saturday night.