Where Are They Now? - UK TV Talent Show Singers

With the recent return of popular UK talent show The X Factor, I thought it would be fun to revisit some ghosts of TV Talent past. Some are well and thriving and others are simply bitter on Twitter. Ready for a blast from the past?

Gareth Gates (Pop Idol, 2002)

Best known for: Gates was the sweet, shy heartthrob with a stutter and a great voice. The finale between Gates and eventual winner Will Young encouraged audiences to choose Team Gareth or Team Will - a great time for British reality TV.

How did he do?

He placed 2nd, but both Young and Gates went on to have successful careers in entertainment.

What has he done since?

Despite not winning, Gates was signed to BMG by Simon Cowell. His first single, a cover of 'Unchained Melody' went double platinum and was voted ITV's Record of the Year by audiences. His further musical attempts weren't as successful and a few years later, Gates participated in ITV documentary Whatever Happened To Gareth Gates? He continued releasing music and toured as part of a boyband supergroup in 2014. Gates then turned to Musical Theatre, with the titular role in Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat and roles in shows such as Legally Blonde. Gates also took part in Dancing on Ice and has appeared in various other TV endeavours.

What is he doing now?

From his Instagram, Gates has recently been performing in Live Music weekends at Butlins and on cruise ships.

Susan Boyle (Britain's Got Talent, 2009)

Best known for:

Bumbling onto the stage and having people instantly assume she was nuts and was going to be awful, before wowing audiences worldwide with her rendition of 'I Dreamed a Dream' from Les Miserables.

How did she do?

Boyle was the runner up in 2009, losing out to dance troupe Diversity.

What's she done since? After her shock rise to fame, Boyle got a little overwhelmed and was actually admitted to hospital for serious anxiety. She bounced back however, and went on to release her debut album that became the fastest selling UK debut album. Her 2010 album The Gift made Boyle the third act ever to top both the US and UK album charts twice in one year. Also, a musical based on her story, 'I Dreamed a Dream', opened in 2012. Fox Searchlight have also bought the rights in order to develop a film version of the musical. Boyle has also performed for Pope Benedict XVI and acted in film 'The Christmas Candle'.

What's she doing now?Her latest album was in 2016 and she's been keeping a pretty low profile since then. It has been confirmed that she is returning to the spotlight soon and releasing new music for Christmas 2018. Boyle is still one of the most consistently successful TV talent show contestants of all time and is reportedly worth a hefty £25 million.

Hear'Say (Popstars, 2001)

Best known for: Being adored by millions of kids and teenagers alike (me and my brother were honestly the biggest fans) and for winning the first series of Popstars. Also, their fast and messy split was well-publicised (and broke my tiny heart).

How did they do?

The group members were the finalists, with the 5 band members being selected out of the final 10 hopefuls. The unsuccessful five then formed Liberty X, the also popular group (who actually outlasted and outperformed Hear'Say).

What have they done since and what are they doing now?

Hear'Say disbanded just twenty months after their conception, citing 'public abuse' as one of the reasons, alongside tension within the band. Their first single 'Pure and Simple' went straight to number 1 and the band became the first act in UK chart history to simultaneously top the UK Singles Chart and UK Albums Chart with their debut releases. The band split and almost all of the members pursued successful solo careers with the entertainment industry.

Myleene Klass:Klass pursued a career in Classical and Jazz music after the band's split and had some success. Since then, she has been widely successful in Television, Reality TV, Modelling and Radio and has become a household name.

Kym Marsh: Marsh released some singles but didn't have much success. She has since been a television personality and is currently a regular star in British soap Coronation Street.

Suzanne Shaw:Shaw has had a successful career in Musical Theatre and Television as well as in TV Presenting and Modelling. She currently stars in UK soap Emmerdale.

Noel Sullivan: Sullivan moved over to Musical Theatre, starring in Love Shack, We Will Rock You and Flashdance.

Danny Foster:Foster has kept a lower profile but has a soul band and even auditioned for The Voice (sadly, he didn't get through).

Paul Potts (Britain's Got Talent, 2007)

Best known for: The classic rags-to-riches story of a Carphone Warehouse worker turned global Opera superstar.

How did he do?

He won the series in 2007, beating bookies favourite Connie Talbot (see below)

What's he done since?

Potts has performed twice at the Royal Variety Performance in front of the Queen. His debut album One Chance shot straight to number 1 post X-Factor and went double platinum. Potts then embarked upon his concert series of 97 concerts in 85 cities across 23 countries. In 2016, he took on his first two full-length Opera roles in Puccini's Tosca at Summer Sessions and Wagner's Der Fliegende Holländer. His life has also been adapted into a film called One Chance, starring James Corden as Potts. He also wrote a memoir to accompany the release. Potts was also married in 2013 to wife Julie-Ann whom he met in an online chatroom.

What's he doing now?

Still making music, touring the World and living the dream. He is currently playing sold out shows in South Korea. Oh, and Taylor Swift wrote a song about him called 'Sweeter Than Fiction', FYI.

Ariel Burdett (The X Factor, 2008)

Best known for: Her super intense, somewhat scary audition in which she was... sharp, to say the least.

How did she do?

After the strangest audition in history, the 'holistic vocal coach' was escorted out of her audition by security. So, she didn't get too far.

What's she done since?

Burdett has since claimed that the audition was 'just a character' and that 'she wasn't serious, ok!'. Seems legit to me.

What's she doing now?

She now has dark hair and is still making music. She now favours a more folk-acoustic vibe.

Burdett seems less angry, although some of her music is a little intense still. Listen to her song below and see for yourself:

Chico (The X Factor, 2005)

Best known for: Being one of the original contestants to adopt the 'talentless but entertaining and so I will get quite far' stereotype. Plus, he jumped into the pool and danced with his microphone during Judge's houses.

How did he do?

He got to Week 8 almost purely on charm and entertainment factor. Good on him!

What has he done since?

He released his number 1 hit 'Chico Time' in 2006 and also appeared on reality TV show CelebAir, placing third. He brought the hit back but adapted it to 'It's England Time' for the World Cup in 2010. Chico released some other music which didn't do as well but he always donated the proceeds to charity, which is sweet. He's been on The Weakest Link, Saturday Night Takeaway, Dancing On Ice, panto, movies... you name it, he's done it.

What is he doing now?

The most recent news on Chico is that he suffered a stroke whilst driving in September 2018, which I knew nothing about. It was said to be caused by a blood clot but amazingly, he woke up, drove back home and even led a fitness class the next day despite having no movement in his left hand. What a trooper!

Connie Talbot (Britain's Got Talent, 2007)

Best known for: Being the most adorable six year old with her missing front teeth who had the most stunning voice. Oh, and making Amanda Holden cry a lot.

How did she do?

She placed 2nd behind Paul Potts (see above) despite being the favourite to win.

What's she done since?

Despite having agreed to sign Talbot to Sony BMG, Simon Cowell and the label pulled out due to Connie's age. She went searching elsewhere and signed for a six figure deal, releasing her debut album 'Over The Rainbow', which was hugely successful and quickly oversold the amount of copies made. She has toured globally including Asia and has had more success overseas that in the UK. Talbot last released music in 2016.

What's she doing now?

Talbot is now 17 years old and still singing. Her Youtube account has more than 1 million followers and she is still pursuing music.

AbLisa (The X Factor, 2010)

Best known for: Best friends Abbey and Lisa are well-known for literally having a punch up on stage during their audition.

How did they do?

Unsurprisingly, their audition was their only appearance on The X Factor.

What have they done since?

Nothing music related. Abbey was interviewed by her local newspaper and said that she wished she had 'never done X Factor' before apologising for her behaviour. She also did a topless shoot for The Sunday Sport (I'll spare you the pictures). They are no longer friends and Abbey received threats from Lisa's family and actually considered moving out of the area.

What are they doing now?

See above. Neither Abbey nor Lisa have been heard from since and understandably want to stay out of the limelight.

Chicken Man / Robert Unwin (The X Factor, 2004)

Best known for: His... distinct squeaky voice and high-pitched tendition of 'Tragedy'. That and the fact that he worked in a chicken factory which earned him the nickname 'Chicken Man'.

How did he do?

Sadly, he had to put his dreams of global superstardom aside as he really couldn't sing. Nice guy, though.

What has he done since?

Unwin did a comeback performance on The X Factor Series 1 finale in which he performed Tragedy once again, live on stage. Also, this happened (which might be one of the most disturbing things I've seen):

What is he doing now?

Well, his last activity on Twitter involved him asking if he could meet Steps after their tour as he had tickets. That was in 2017 and that's all the info I can find, really. Take from that what you will.

Steve Brookstein (The X Factor, 2004)

Best known for: Being the original winner of The X Factor and that huge outburst from Sharon Osbourne in which she stated 'he's full of crap and he's an average singer' and branded Brookstein 'a fake'.

How did he do?

Despite Osbourne's controversial outburst in the series finale, Brookstein won the show with 6 million votes (Osbourne's autobiography has since told of how he actually received the most votes every week).

What has he done since?

Brookstein was dropped from Sony NMG after just 8 months, stating that he refused to make a 2nd album of covers and wanted to mix old and new. His debut album 'Heart and Soul' reached number 1, with the lead single 'Against All Odds' reaching this position also. Since X Factor, Brookstein has publicly boycotted the show, claiming that it is 'killing music' and that Simon Cowell 'wouldn't want me within 100 miles of him'.

What is he doing now?

In August of 2018, he was caught in some Twitter controversies and deactivated his account. He is back however, and just a few days ago retweeted an article about The X Factor, claiming 'I will be vindicated'. He is still making music and performs with his soul band, The Terrells.

I hope you enjoyed catching up with some friendly faces (some of them not so friendly). Reality TV has produced some huge stars such as Little Mix, Leona Lewis, JLS and it's been really interesting looking at those who have taken their success and ran with it and those who haven't been so fortunate. I hope AbLisa can make up one day.

Thanks for reading,

Amy x

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