Jonathan Ansell sings for his supper

02 December 2008

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Jonathan Ansell is another one of those singers to find fame on the X Factor, but unlike most of the entrants who are just truly dreadful; Jonathan and his friends in G4 managed to actually defy the critics and release a pretty successful string of hits.

But now, like most beautiful frontman, he has gone solo, and he�s making a pretty great name for himself too; I caught up with Jonathan to find out what it�s like singing for the Queen, being on stage alone and of course, what he thinks of this years X Factor.

Hey what have you been getting up to this week?

I finished the tour and then have been spending most of my time online trying to work out a venue for the wedding - we have so much stuff to do!

How did you find the tour?

It was really good, it was great fun and the show was a slightly different concept and it was interesting to hear what people were expecting to come and see and what they thought about it afterwards and it was really lovely to get such positive responses from everyone and standing ovations every night. Above all, it was really good fun.

So for the past 12 months you�ve been a solo singer; how different is it from being with the G4 guys?

I don�t find it harder, I find it quite lonely in the down time; travelling, staying in hotels and having dinner you do with people from the record label and the tour and it�s weird not being with your mates from college. But at the same time, the professional side of it - the performing and interviews and things are just the same; I don�t feel daunted by it and I don�t feel any extra pressure or anything.

I just love it! It�s great fun and having learnt so much from being with the guys for three years taught me skills that I can use on my own. I guess it feels strangely comfortable.

Do you think you�d be doing what you are now if you hadn�t entered the X Factor?

No. An outright No. I was a professional singer prior to the X Factor and I was always working and singing but it was never at the same level and I never dreamt I�d get a record deal or would be performing in front of the Queen or headline the London palladium. I never would have had any of this unless the X Factor had given me that showcase opportunity, and it�s amazing how much it�s changed all our lives and now mine to go on a solo career.

So what do you think makes you stand out from the crowd?

I think that obviously having been through a reality television show has enabled more people to hear and discover that they like this kind of music and so I have been one of the forerunners in commercialising this kind of music and style.

The fact that reality TV has enabled us to bring my style of music to people in their living rooms every Saturday night has really given me a head start but alongside that I have a real accessibility about me as I haven�t had a massive musical upbringing and people can relate to my story in that I just listened to CD�s to enjoy music and then I ended up in a choir and I think that being able to connect to an artist and be able to relate to them is important.

What are your goals as a singer?

I was lucky to play the London Palladium on Sunday but I would love to be able to play at the Royal Albert Hall; it would be the icing on the cake for me and I would love to have my name in lights above the Royal Albert Hall for an evenings show and have a packed house, my music and a great orchestra. That for me is my dream for the future. But I would also love to play the Sydney Opera House, I�ve never even been to Australia but it�s such an iconic music venue so it would be a dream to do that too.

Who do you look up to within the music industry?

Loads of people in different ways. My musical inspiration is an amazing tenor called Juan Diego Florez; he is absolutely incredible and has such a unique core classical voice so I look to him for musical inspiration. But I also like to learn from people who are incredibly grounded and successful but haven�t changed.

Is living the dream as good as you imagined?

It�s everything I thought it would be and more. It�s exciting and every day is different and everything is spontaneous and I am able to perform in amazing places.