ALTHOUGH she has spent the past three years studying to become a psychologist, Rachel Young is at a loss to explain why, four days before the most important exam in her life, she has chosen to spend the day memorising the lyrics and dance routine to the Whitney Houston song, Whatchulookinat.
She knows she shouldn't be here, but even this rational 22-year-old was unable to resist fame's lure. "I've always wanted to be a singer," she insists. "If I don't get through, then I don't get through, but I had to give myself a chance." And the exa
m? "I've done revision, sure, but if I'mhonest, I really should have spent today studying to get up to speed for Friday.
"But this is different," she adds, gesturing to the thousands of other hopefuls around her. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, isn't it? I don't want to be famous for the sake of it, I want to make a career out of this."
Such calculated risks are testament not only to the popularity of The X Factor, but a sign of just how inexplicably vital its promises are to a generation of young people.
The largest television talent show in Europe rolled up in Glasgow yesterday, in search of a star who – ability, looks, and sheer bloody-mindedness permitting – could scoop a £1 million recording contract.
Of the vast numbers of aspiring singers and musicians at Hampden Park, few lacked the ambition to achieve such a hallowed prize. A handful of the truly dedicated had arrived early Sunday afternoon, camping out overnight. Scores of others, meanwhile, pulled up at the stadium at an hour even postal workers would shirk at.
Celebrity and glamour, however, were short on the ground yesterday. None of the auditions were filmed, and none of the famous judges – Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, and Dannii Minogue – were there to filter the inspired from the insipid. Instead, it fell to a lowly band of producers to screen the auditions. Those successful – an estimated 150 – will be invited back today to sing again. If they pass muster once more, only in June will they have the chance to impress Cowell and co.
Such a lengthy process shows how successful such formats have become since the first reality music talent show, Popstars, was aired by ITV in 2001. While the first run of The X Factor in 2005 saw about 50,000 people audition, the latest series had close to 200,000.
It is a pull which, in the eyes of parents at least, defies all logic. Out of the 8,000 plus people who turned up in Glasgow on a sunkissed Bank Holiday – including gnarled rockers, teeny pop fans, and a Marilyn Monroe lookalike – at least 1,000 were youngsters of school age, students who had chosen to sacrifice the revision time for Standard Grades for a shot at stardom.
One high school pupil from Kirkcaldy, who asked not be named, said she had told her parents she was spending the day at a friend's house studying for her English Standard Grade exam, which takes place today. In reality, she travelled through early to Glasgow, and waited four hours before being ushered inside the stadium to perform a Christina Aguilera song.
The producers, she insisted, would be impressed. "I don't want my mum or dad to know, because they'd kill me. I know they think exams are important, but I don't agree. This is my dream, I've got a real talent, and it's what I want to do. I can always do my exams again. I can't repeat this.
"Just because it's singing and dancing, people might laugh and say I've no chance, but they don't have any right to say I can't be famous. It's my ambition, and I'll do it if I want to." Such headstrong mindsets have irked educationalists. Bill McGregor, general secretary of the Headteachers' Association of Scotland, said: "A 14-year-old, or a 15-year-old, would be entering the lion's den even going to an audition.
"Some may have to travel the length and breadth of Scotland to get there. I suspect they'll be herded almost like cattle, forced through the process, and then told to go home."
Dr John Maltby, a senior lecturer in psychology at Leicester University, believes aspiring contestants conform to a distinctive personality type, with the traits of ambition, social access, psychological vulnerability, vanity, and attention-seeking tendencies.
"In programmes like The X Factor, you have those moments where people say, 'I will be famous, just watch out' even when they have just been told by Simon Cowell that they will never, ever step on a stage."
Jacqui McKechnie, a lecturer in psychology at Glasgow Caledonian University, said: "I would argue some people who go on to those programmes are maybe low on self- esteem and trying to get their self-worth from external rather than internal factors. Although we often criticise people who take part in these programmes, they might be very vulnerable."
Granted, not everyone present in Glasgow harboured aspirations of five-album deals and headlining Madison Square Gardens.
Take John Cowie, for example. A sprightly septuagenarian from Milngavie, he arrived sporting attire last fashionable when the Rat Pack was wowing Vegas. Proud though he may be of his dinner suit and tweed hat, it is the white dinner jacket he considers the killer touch.
"I bought it more than 20 years ago from Paddy's Market (the infamous flea market in Glasgow] for 50p, and it's still holding up," says the 73-year-old. "I like singing. I've done charity work, and I like karaoke."
A fan of Al Jolson, Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin, he intends to offer up a rendition of That's Life. "As long as I do it OK, I think the people will like it," he confides. "Everyone in shows like this do the same songs. It's something different ... I'm not expecting to win it, but I'm quite happy with my lot. I don't think I could be bothered with the celebrity life."
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?DARIUS DANESH• Then: Shot to fame on Popstars in 2001 with terrible rendition of Britney Spears' Hit Me Baby One More Time.
Came third on Pop Idol, and went on to score a UK No 1 with first single.
Debut album went platinum.
• Now: Roles in Guys and Dolls and Chicago led to Darius, 27, of Bearsden, playing Rhett Butler in Trevor Nunn's musical production of Gone With the Wind in London.
MICHELLE MCMANUS• Then: Won Pop Idol in 2003 with more than 6.5 million votes.
Became the first Scottish female to debut at No 1 with All This Time in 2004.
She had a No 1 album and lost eight stone, releasing a weight-loss DVD.
• Now: New album released later this year.
The 24-year-old Glaswegian is touring as Sadie in Little Voice in the Far East.
LEON JACKSON• Then: The 18-year-old from Whitburn, West Lothian, won the fourth series of X Factor.
His single When You Believe was Christmas No 1 in 2007, and he finished the X Factor tour in March.
• Now: Recording debut album to be released later this year.
THE MACDONALD BROTHERS• Then: Craig, 21, and Brian, 20, from Ayr, finished fourth in the 2006 series of X Factor.
• Now: The duo have just finished supporting Westlife during their UK tour.
They landed a record deal with a label in Asia and Australia, and are currently working on their fourth album.
The full article contains 1266 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
