‘PRIDE’S A FANTASTIC THING. BUT I LONG FOR A TIME THAT WE DON’T HAVE TO HAVE OUR OWN MONTH’
Ten years ago, Rylan walked on stage at an X Factor audition. Blond extensions as bright as his smile, bantering with the judges at a million miles an hour, it was his pummelling personality that got him through rather than his Ibiza-fied version of Des’ree’s I’m Kissing You .
“Everyone thought I was a joke. I knew exactly what my role was,” says Rylan. “A lot of people go on shows like that and they don’t realise they’re that one. They think they’re Lady Gaga. I love singing, but I knew that my job weren’t to stand there and sing, my job was to perform. I think I done my job all right because I’m still going 10 years on.”
The anniversary is a good time to reflect. The last couple of years have been a rough ride for all of us, but Rylan has also got divorced and struggled with his mental health.
The former guilty pleasure has, however, cemented his place as a national treasure, joining 150 other celebrities on double-decker buses for the Queen’s Jubilee Pageant. Not bad for somebody who the career-advising computer
