Back in September, the X Factor UK welcomed ‘R.E.D’ mastermind Ne-Yo to the ‘judges houses’ stage of the competition.
Joining full time judge Nicole Scherzinger in selecting the male acts she would take through to the live finals, the ‘Let Me Love You‘ singer found himself splitting opinions when he opted not to ‘save’ tabloid hopeful Nathan Fagan-Gale.
Now, Ne-Yo has revealed just why he didn’t put the vocalist through, in an exclusive interview with The Voice.
His explanation below…
“Although the X Factor is a music competition, it is not just about singing. It’s about more than singing; the x-factor is what it is that makes you a star. Nathan does have a great voice, he’s an incredible singer, but in my personal opinion I just didn’t see a star in him.”
Then, perhaps in response to the Londoner’s long running ‘fame quest’, he revealed:
“I had a conversation with Nicole off camera and I let her know that music and the realm of entertainment doesn’t do phony well. I also said that I was going to be very honest and give my no holds barred opinion about everybody that stepped in front of me.”
“Nathan is a good singer; I just didn’t sense the genuineness in him. I’m not sitting here trying to act holier than thou, but my opinion was asked and I gave it. If Nathan paid more attention to the sentiment of the song and the genuineness of the performance as opposed to trying to look and sound as cool as humanly possible he will go far.”
Following several failed attempts to assert himself as a star, we can’t say we disagree with Ne-Yo’s estimation of Nathan- a vocalist, whose career has seen him achieve anything but a solid fan base and the respect afforded to many of his Brit contemporaries.
From his fruitless stint on Big Brother UK five years ago to his embarrassing run on this year’s X Factor, it’s clear to everyone but Nathan that he lacks the ‘IT’ the likes of Jermaine Riley, Mike Hough and James Arthur serve in effortless abundance.
Here’s hoping he takes Ne-Yo‘s advice and makes the most of it.