Indeed, it was an interview dominated by damnation of fame and the industry that supports it. The God-fearing Tulisa even went as far as saying she would pray for forgiveness, such was her claimed revulsion for the celebrity circus. ‘Sometimes I feel like I’m sinning,’ she said. ‘I ask God for forgiveness. I’m like “God forgive for being in such a silly, shallow industry,” because it’s based on giving other people power and putting other people up and letting other people look up to them. It makes them feel like they’re below them.’
It is worth pausing to consider where Tulisa was in her life and career at this stage. A young woman in her twenties, with her band’s best days perhaps behind them, she inevitably attracted comparisons between her position and that of Cheryl Cole when she had first joined the X Factor judging panel. These comparisons are interesting given that Tulisa ostensibly – if not officially – replaced Cole on the panel. Cole was 25 when she was hired by The X Factor. She was famous through her membership of girl band Girls Aloud and due to her tumultuous love life and infamous due to her conviction for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, following a scrap in a nightclub toilet in 2003. She had yet to formally separate from her husband Ashley Cole, had not embarked on her solo career, and also, more crucially, had yet to be crowned the ‘nation’s sweetheart’. In other words she was famous, but it is important to recall just how much her fame and popularity rocketed as a result of her X Factor exposure.
Tulisa, at 23 two years younger than Cole had been as her X Factor experience began, could eye Cole’s experiences with a mixture of hope and caution. The rewards for being part of the X Factor judging panel clearly go beyond the specific exposure and renumeration. The scale of those rewards is variable, though. There is no automatic golden path for any X Factor judge. In this sense, the situation is similar for the judges and acts. For every Leona Lewis, Olly Murs and One Direction there are plenty of Leon Jacksons and Steve Brooksteins – winners who flopped despite topping the vote on such a popular show. Likewise, though Cole had made the most of her exposure as an X Factor judge, it is undeniable that other reality television judges such as Dannii Minogue, Ellen DeGeneres and others had benefited far less.
One can add into the comparison between Tulisa and Cole two additional variables. Firstly, Cole had emerged from the reality television genre herself. Girls Aloud were formed during 2002’s series Popstars: The Rivals. Therefore, she always carried that inherent sense of being ‘the people’s champion’ who had been democratically elected to fame. Secondly, as Tulisa scarcely had her feet under the X Factor table she was shown what a fickle beast it can be when Cole was unceremoniously dumped from her judging role on The X Factor USA. Cowell had felt she did not fit into the show as he nervously launched it in America. This was a crushing blow for Cole who had left the UK series and her home country in general to follow her hope of becoming a true star in America. The immediate effect on Tulisa of Cole’s humiliation was a sustained onslaught of media speculation that Cole would return to the UK panel at her expense. More generally, the episode reminded the canny Tulisa that all the foundations of a successful celebrity career are tenuous. She felt more determined than ever to enjoy the moment and to make the most of this golden opportunity that had come her way. She approached the series with the blessing of Cole, though some press reports portrayed the two young women as sworn enemies, secretly loathing one another. Indeed, it was the blessing of Cole that helped Tulisa find the strength to face the tribulations that came with it. ‘I could have become Britain’s most hated woman by replacing her, but having her support made all the difference,’ she told Heat. ‘She told me there was no bitterness and I should go for it. That made me a lot more relaxed.’
The official promotional trailers for the 2011 series, introducing Tulisa and the other new judges to the public, were typically boisterous X Factor stuff. In one, a clip was shown of Tulisa animatedly asking a contestant ‘Are you mental?’ When the first episode hit the airwaves, her opening words to the viewers were to announce she had joined the panel because she is ‘young and current’. As one newspaper reviewer observed the next day, by that she could have meant that her predecessor Cole was neither. She admitted she was ‘dreading’ the first slot of auditions, so nervous was she about what lay ahead. The first thing she noticed was the pressure that comes from the audience members behind her. She soon settled in and made a success of things. Indeed, she was for many viewers the very cream of the new panel, as Britain’s top entertainment series entered the unimaginable – life after Simon Cowell.
The first act shown auditioning in the opening episode of the series was 18-year-old Frankie Cocozza. The mop-haired singer presented himself as a bit of a wild child and ‘a liability’ in his opening VT. Asked why he was auditioning he said, ‘I just want to be famous.’ He said, ‘The lady judges might get a couple of winks if they’re lucky,’ and he certainly grabbed Tulisa’s attention on-stage when he said he had the names of seven girls tattooed on his bum. She checked she had heard him correctly, then added: ‘How about – I don’t believe you?’ He dutifully turned his back on the audience and flashed his backside so all could see the tattoos. Tulisa and the rest of the panel were in hysterics. Walsh asked Cocozza whether, if the panel put him through, Cocozza would have Tulisa and Kelly’s names tattooed on his butt. ‘If they pay for it,’ he quipped. His rocky performance of ‘Valerie’ was enough to see Cocozza through to the next round. As it would transpire, the opening act would become synonymous with the entire series, even after his premature exit.
Other notable acts to appear in the opening episode included the 48-year-old Hong Kong-born Tai Chi instructor Goldie Cheung, who was shown vomiting just before her audition, which turned into a madcap performance. Kitty Brucknell told the panel she was 26 and then gave an overall performance that positioned her as the needy and slightly unnerving contestant of the series, in the model of Katie Waissel the previous year. The most talented of the openers was Northern Ireland teenager Janet Devlin, whose sweet and quirky rendition of ‘Your Song’ had the entire venue enchanted. Tulisa’s responses to these key figures in the opening episode were: to Goldie: ‘She’s so refreshing – I’m sold!’; to Kitty she said: ‘You’ve got a very quirky personality, people will either love you or hate you’; she told Janet ‘I love the fact you’re so shy, it’s so endearing – that is a recording vocal.’
There had been concern and even suspicion among many faithful X Factor viewers that the new panel would not work. However, on the evidence of the opening show there was much to admire in the selection. While Barlow had been more animated – and certainly harsher – than his previously slightly dour media image had suggested, and Rowland’s soulful American patter went down a treat, it was for many viewers Tulisa who was the revelation among the new faces. She certainly brought some feistiness to proceedings but she had not been the lippy, out-of-control kid that some people had feared she would be. Instead, she had balanced her youthful, urban image with that of a mature, graceful twentysomething who was on the show on merit and, crucially, believed herself to be so.
One contestant in the opening show had not been quite so convinced of Tulisa’s charms. George Gerasimou had auditioned in 2009 in a three-piece band called Triple Trouble. They turned out to be well named, as they reacted furiously to criticism from Simon Cowell. They slammed their microphones to the floor and stormed off stage. Gerasimou said that he would not be a ‘clown’ and insisted that as he had matured, he would be able to cope with any criticism from the judges, however negative. However, his song performance was below average and his newfound maturity consequently got put to the test afterwards. He appeared horrified that the judges had called for the backing track to be stopped. Then the audience began to chant ‘Off! Off! Off!’ which did nothing to improve his mood.
Rowland and Barlow both criticised him, with the latter saying that far from maturing like a good wine or cheese, the singer had matured ‘like a bad curry, mate’. Tulisa th
en said that she felt he had not changed his attitude at all. ‘I felt a lot of aggression off you, you’re very angry,’ she said. He replied that he was a ‘puppy’ and that he was being misjudged. ‘It’s not a good vibe,’ Tulisa countered. The red mist descended and Gerasimou hurled abuse at Tulisa. He called her a ‘scumbag trying to replace Cheryl’. When he moved towards the front of the stage she told him, ‘Stand back – don’t invade my space.’ He then told her to shut up and added an insult that was censored by the programme but which provoked looks of horror. Tulisa told him he had embarrassed himself ‘in front of the entire nation’. As he was led from the stage by security, she told him, ‘I’ve worked my way up from Camden Town,’ and thumping the desk to emphasise her point, added: ‘That’s why I’m here today.’ The cheer of support from the audience was far louder than the edited programme suggested. Many audience members rose to their feet in support of Tulisa.
Backstage, Gerasimou’s foul-mouthed rant continued. Pointing at Tulisa on the backstage monitors he said, ‘No dogs allowed – I didn’t know dogs were allowed on The X Factor or I’d have bought my f**king Alsatian!’ This enraged Dermot O’Leary who pointed menacingly at him and said, ‘George – watch your mouth.’ It was no bad thing for Tulisa’s popularity for her to be shown under attack so early in the series. Nothing rallies X Factor viewers more quickly than an act that appears far too big for their boots. In the case of Gerasimou, his attack on Tulisa was portrayed as so utterly petulant and unfounded that she was undoubtedly the sympathetic figure in the battle of words. The fact she so pluckily defended herself and her presence on the show only added to the glory of the moment.
Gerasimou was later interviewed online about the confrontation. He said, ‘I actually rated Tulisa before that but when I went on X Factor I got to know what she was really like. Honestly, I wouldn’t urinate on her if she burst into flames.’ He went on to blame Tulisa for the spat, saying she was ‘out to make me lose my temper’, and conceded that he ‘came out of it as a clown’. Asked what insult he had thrown at her in the segment that was censored on the broadcast, he said he called Tulisa a ‘Camden whore’. He rounded off his rather sour interview by calling Tulisa a ‘cheap Cheryl’, Rowland a ‘cheap Beyoncé’ and Barlow ‘a cheap Cowell’. It was clear that time had not mellowed him. The drama only added to the appeal of the opening episode. From the perspective of Tulisa’s popularity it gave viewers the chance to rally behind her as she faced off a foul-mouthed bore. As she would have been all too aware, this was helpful for her. After the show was broadcast, she received a text message from Simon Cowell. It was his verdict she cared about more than anyone’s. ‘He said he was completely happy and there were no notes for improvements,’ she said. ‘So I guess I passed!’
The viewers had also been impressed, though those of them who had been aware of Tulisa prior to the series noticed she seemed thinner on the show. She later dismissed theories that arose that she had gone on a crash diet. ‘The only time I lost weight was two years ago after I saw myself in a bikini,’ she told Now magazine. ‘I didn’t mind because I was still toned, but I realised I’m more comfortable being the weight I’ve always been. I don’t know how it happened, but it just slipped off. I’ve never tried to lose weight. I’m always 8-8 ½st – that’s where I am now. The biggest I’ve been is 9st.’ Still, so far so good. In a future episode Tulisa’s emotions would soar to the surface. Indeed, a spectacular outburst was just around the corner for the newcomer.
‘The last thing I thought was that I’d be crying on national TV,’ she told the Mirror about the audition in question. ‘It happened early in the auditions and it wasn’t just a Cheryl tear. We’re talking floodgates. I couldn’t stop. This one person performed and all the emotions built up. It was overwhelming – they really got me, then there was the realisation I was actually doing The X Factor, that my life had changed, and it all came out.’ Michelle Barrett had sung ‘All The Man I Need’ by Whitney Houston, after telling the judges of the sacrifices she had made in life to look after her children. Her devotion to her maternal duties had, she said, prevented her from making it as a singer. It was a pleasant rendition and when it came to the comments from the judges, Tulisa was the first to speak. ‘You remind me of my mum,’ she said, clearly trying to hold back tears. ‘It was brilliant. Just like you, Mum had a beautiful voice and she didn’t do anything with it.’ The she compared the sacrifices both Barrett, and her mother had made for their children. She drew on memories of her own mother ‘standing in the kitchen’ and singing with her amazing voice. The contestant became so overwhelmed that she too started crying. Tulisa said to her fellow judges, ‘You guys are going to think I’m nuts, but this is a mummy and daughter thing going on.’
After the audition, Tulisa explained further to Barlow, Rowland and Walsh why she had felt so emotional. ‘Me and my mum have got this really powerful relationship, she’s the reason that I sing,’ she told them. ‘She had the most powerful voice and never did anything with it – she had me, she became unwell and then, you know, she spent her life still singing in the kitchen, and I wish she’d got up and done that because she has a voice just like that. Amazing. I can’t believe I just got that emotional.’ She added that her friends teased her about how unemotional a person she is. ‘They say that getting emotion out of you is like drawing blood from a stone, but you bring my mum into it and that’s it!’
On the evening that this edition was broadcast, Tulisa’s mother seems to have got the wrong end of the stick and thought the drama was being broadcast live. According to Tulisa, she received a phone call from Ann: she seemed to believe that the audition she had just watched on ITV had taken place the same evening. Tulisa was very amused by the misunderstanding and reassured Ann that the audition – and her upset – had taken place several months previously. She then put the phone down and shared the humorous mix-up with her Twitter followers. ‘As if my mum called me 2nit going “r u ok love? stop crying!”…ITS NOT LIVE YET MUM! I’m sitting eating my dinner! Haha she cracks me up.’
It was a light-hearted and amusing conclusion to an emotional moment in the series. And so to boot camp, which began on a dramatic and controversial note. Having gathered 186 acts for the boot camp round, the judges immediately axed 40 of them before a single note had been sung. It certainly made for sensational viewing, but many viewers felt enormous sympathy for the 40 acts who had had their hopes raised by being told they were ‘through to boot camp’ and who had travelled from across the country to be there, only to be sent home as part of a premeditated twist. It seemed cruel.
With boot camp completed, each judge discovered which of the categories they had been chosen to mentor. Traditionally, the judges are keen to avoid the groups category but for Tulisa the opposite was true. ‘The category that I need in my life is the groups,’ she said. (Barlow, on the other hand, declared: ‘If I get the groups…I’m leaving’ and Walsh said: ‘As long as I don’t get the groups, I don’t care.’) As Tulisa approached the door behind which her category had been assembled, she said: ‘I feel unprofessional now because I’m so emotional.’ She so wanted the groups and when she saw she did indeed have them, she leapt up and down on the spot with sheer joy. ‘Guys, you can’t even imagine how emotional I’m feeling right now,’ she told them. ‘From now on, I am here 100 per cent for all of you. From the bottom of my heart.’ She then told them they were going to Greece for the judges’ houses phase.
Outside, she told O’Leary, ‘I now want to be the first X Factor judge to take the groups to the finals and win the competition. Here comes the competition – now I’m ready, now I’m ready, baby!’ Confident, almost defiant words, but how well placed her confidence turned out to be. At the time, though, few people shared her confidence. The bands category did seem very weak at first. Even ex-Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher, an unlikely fan of the show and a man who had been personally approached by Simon Cowell to be a judge on this very series of the show, was moved to discuss this. His prog
nosis was not encouraging for the bands category. ‘I watched this series for the first time this weekend,’ he told Digital Spy in October. ‘I’m usually quite good at picking who is going to go through, and I think I managed to pick them all correctly this time. The groups are f**king appalling; they really are f**king dreadful!’
There would clearly need to be some surgery performed to save the band category. Fortunately, Tulisa had a crafty plan. First, though, she had some more simple decisions to make. She put through 2 Shoes – a pair of Essex girls, Nu Vibe – a boy band, and Rhythmix, a girl band put together from girls who had originally auditioned as solo artists. As is custom, the drama of each decision was played out for all it could be as each act stood in agony, waiting for the decision to be announced. She told 2 Shoes she admired their combination of a fun, novelty act with genuine vocal talent, but then said she was not sure there was a big enough market for them. Having given them mixed hints, she said: ‘Girls – I’m taking you through to the live shows!’ Teasingly, she told Nu Vibe, ‘Guys, I am so sorry…but…you’re going to have to put up with me a lot longer.’ They raced towards her, and judge and act celebrated in a huddle like a football team. She used the same trick with Rhythmix, who she told: ‘I’m very sorry…but you’re going to have to do this all over again.’
Tulisa - The Biography Page 10
