3:31pm Monday 1st December 2008
By Jeremy Miles
YOU could be forgiven for thinking that he’d disappeared without trace but Rhydian Roberts, the charismatic runner-up in last year’s X Factor, is back with a blast of publicity.
In a flurry of TV, magazine and newspaper coverage the 25-year-old, classically-trained, Welsh singer is suddenly everywhere again.
What’s more he has the Svengali-like Simon Cowell working behind the scenes to guide his career into the fast-lane After months of preparation, it’s delivery time. The striking blond vocalist has not only just released his long-awaited album, called simply Rhydian, but has also announced a major UK tour for next year which includes a concert at the Bournemouth International Centre on May 22. I caught up with the singer – who gave up a scholarship at Birmingham City University’s prestigious Conservatoire for TV fame – as he ploughed his way through a punishing interview schedule that at the moment can find him talking to up to 25 journalists a day.
“It’s been pretty hectic,” he told me. “It might look as though I’ve been hibernating but actually I’ve been working solidly on the album and spending a lot of time in Los Angeles.”
He admits that entering X Factor was a calculated move on his part.
“It’s very difficult to get a contract with my kind of voice. For me X Factor seemed like the surest way.”
Friends warned him off and when he lost out to Leon Jackson he says he was gutted. “I was so near and yet so far. I felt I’d let everyone down. But the very next day I was offered this great contract so I feel somewhat redeemed.”
With X Factor behind him, and the weight and influence of Cowell in his favour, Rhydian feels perfectly placed to develop his career. Despite being a serious scholar of classical singing, he feels the world of popular music offers enormous opportunities, but that making the move was a huge risk.
“I was doing well as a young baritone at music school. I was semi-professional and performing in operas and musicals but there was something missing. I wanted a wider appeal.
“In the classical world you’re open to massive scrutiny, however good you are. People come to scrutinise, not just to see the performance. One of the problems as a young baritone is you’re always aware there are better singers, people a lot older, because in classical your voice probably continues to improve until you’re 40. I was 24, so I thought I’d make a big leap, do a more populist show and have fun.”
He has no regrets.
“It was a huge risk, but I’m so glad I did it because my life is far better now.”
However the classical career is far from forgotten.
“I still see three different teachers, one of whom is a specialist in gospel singing and I’m developing my voice, so who knows in 10 years time...”
In the meantime he’s loving the experience of reaching the broadest imaginable audience.
“It’s great because really my voice is the kind that would normally appeal to middle aged or older women but coming from the X Factor, where I showed a bit of versatility and was seen by 11 or 12 million people a week, I’ve got kids of eight and people of 88 in my audience. That’s ideal for me because I never wanted to be a stereotypical classical act.”
l Rhydian plays the Bournemouth International Centre on May 22 next year. Tickets are on sale now.
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