On Monday evening, I had a chance to interview Robert Allen, who was dropped from X Factor on Saturday by the unrepentant Simon Cowell. Despite a fantastic performance or an otherwise lacklustre song.
Robert and I chatted about his plans for the future, children, judges acting like children and Robert spent some time defending the McDonald Brothers’ performances on the show. The interview’s worth a read (naturally) and hopefully you’ll find Robert to be every bit the nice guy you saw on X Factor.
Brad: Hi Robert, how’re you doing?
Robert: I’m fine thank you very much.
Brad: So, I don’t know where to start with you Robert…we were shocked to hear you’d been evicted.
Robert: Aw man, it’s like everybody’s asking me if I feel cheated. I don’t want to think about the downsides of it, I want to keep positive. I know that getting from 100,000 acts to 12 acts down to the final 6 is a great achievement. I’m really proud of myself for getting that far, whatever Simon’s reasons for voting me out.
You haven’t heard the last of Robert Allen, as I said on the X Factor show. I’ve got the X Factor tour coming up in February going right through to March. From now until then I’m going to be working with a couple of producers getting some album material and single material ready.
As soon as the tour’s finished I’m going to try and get a deal and push something out by the middle of next year and strike while the iron’s hot.
Brad: Talk about optimistic! Well done!
Robert: Yeah, you’ve gotta be. I’ve been singing since I was a little kid and I’ve always wanted to sing. I actually signed to an independent label in 2001, that lasted for two years, but I wasn’t mentally ready for it. I’ve been in multiple groups, I’ve toured up and down the UK - I know what I want for my career and where I want it to go.
I can’t be downhearted about being out of the show, because that’s in the past. Unless they’re going to bring me back in!
Brad: Don’t joke! There’s actually been talk about that on our forum today - that your girlfriend’s due any day now and there are plans to bring you back when the baby’s born!
Robert: For real? A twist? Well, she went for a scan today and everything’s cool. They were going to induce her because they thought the baby was quite big, but everything’s normal now.
Brad: Is this your first baby Robert?
Robert: Yes, it is my first and I’m very excited for that. I was doing this competition for myself at the beginning, but finding out I’m going to be a dad gave me an extra boost. It’s inspired me.
Brad: Is the baby due now?
Robert: No, December the 23rd is her due date. It’s not close, but the baby could come any time soon.
Brad: Do you know if you’re having a boy or a girl yet?
Robert: It’s a boy.
Brad: Each week we do an X Factor chart on our website saying who we thought was the best performance of the evening. On Saturday, Lynne rated you second best act of the evening. (I read Lynne’s comment to Robert and also a comment from a reader that suggests Simon Cowell should leave the country for evicting Robert!)
Robert: Nice one man, it’s nice to hear that people are supporting me! It makes this whole journey a lot easier to know that people appreciate my singing talent and are willing to support me and help me build a career. Without fans, we musicians and singers don’t have a chance. To everybody out there, thank you very much.
Brad: As I said earlier, Saturday was the third time you were in the bottom two acts. How does that feel?
Robert: Well, I don’t understand how I was in the bottom two so many times, because every time I got up on that stage I made sure I gave 150%, sharing my soul and my passion. Every week I gave a different style - sometimes I went a little bit crazy, then I slowed down and did some more ballads.
I showed my versatility - I didn’t have props. The first time I had a prop was the choir on Saturday. No smoke machines, no wind machines or dancing or backing vocalists. Maybe for one of the judges it just wasn’t good enough….
Brad: When you ended up in the bottom to this week, were you expecting to be evicted?
Robert: Yeah, I was expecting to be evicted. But at the end of the day Simon made his choice, even though it doesn’t really affect him, so it doesn’t really matter to him. Maybe though it’s a little bit to my benefit that I came out so soon.
I still have respect for him. I have bigger respect for Louis and even bigger respect for Sharon Osbourne.
Brad: Simon commented in the early live shows that you need to calm down on stage. I thought your earlier performances were more fun and vibrant though. Did you prefer lively performances or your more ‘controlled’ performances?
Robert: In those performances it was like being in my own Wembley Stadium, it felt like it was an hour for me and I was performing in front of a stadium audience! I just needed to be up and down that stage and connecting with the audience as well as the people at home.
Brad: did you prefer performing in a lively way or did you prefer the more controlled performances that came later?
Robert: Well, before I started X Factor, my performances were actually quite controlled, so to come on to this show and start singing more up-tempo songs gave me a whole new outlook on my performance ability. So I’m glad that I was able to do both.
When I eventually do my own live shows, I’ll be able to do both styles - it won’t just be an hour and a half of slow songs. It’ll be a mixture of different songs and different moods.
Brad: Were you able to see the progression in your performances week after week?
Robert: Yeah, big progressions. Even as I go home this evening, I’m still going to go back and perfect my vocals even more and just get myself ready for the next level of my career.
Brad: Are you a better singer/performer now than you were at your first audition?
Robert: Totally a better singer now than I was seven months ago. I’ve learned a lot from the vocal coaches, learned how to command a crowd, what people like and what they don’t like. The main thing is as long as I get out there and perform and be happy, they will absorb my happiness.
Brad: During the live shows, you’ve managed to entertain us with a wide variety of musical styles. What artists and songs inspire you?
Robert: Mary J Blige No More Drama, Christina Aguilera, Rod Stewart, you know when he does the big band stuff? (sings a bit of Smile…) Frank Sinatra, Luther Vandross, Whitney Houston, Coldplay - those kind of songs with my soul vocal on top.
That’s what I wanted to do in the competition, but for some reason they just wanted me to stick to that soul genre. I like to be a bit edgy though, a bit diverse.
Brad: Were you comfortable with the songs you were asked to sing?
Robert: I was. The one song I regretted was Take A Chance by ABBA.
Brad: You didn’t have much choice there, did you?
Robert: No, I didn’t…
Brad: Was ABBA week the worst week?
Robert: I enjoyed the performance, but when I finished it I regretted it and it was too late to change the song.
Brad: How much input do you, as a contestant, have in choosing your own songs?
Robert: Oh, you have a little input, but at the end of the day, they make the final decision. You’re given a variety of songs, but they might stop you singing one because they don’t think it’s right for you. They know what the audience wants.
Brad: I see from your X Factor profile that you play a couple of instruments. Can you tell me a little bit about your musical career before X Factor?
Robert: When I was at school I used to play the violin, double-bass and I tried a little bit of piano and got to grade 4 on the clarinet. I was in Citizen Kane, a vocal harmony group and did many gigs up and down the country - they supported the Spice Girls and did a lot of TV work and festivals.
Brad: Five acts left in the show, who do you think’s going to win the show?
Robert: Ben or Leona.
Brad: And who do you think will be next to go out?
Robert: I think it’ll be between the McDonald Brothers and Ray. But I want to say, the McDonald Brothers have huge talent - they’re not just singers, they’re musicians as well and they’ve got a lot of fans out there.
Every time they get put down they just come back stronger and stronger. You know, they’re just getting used to performing on TV and in front of a live audience and as the weeks go on, they’re just going to keep getting better and better.
Eton Road didn’t have the best vocal on Saturday but I have a feeling they’re going to come back stronger this week and let the public see who they are!
Brad: Are you getting a lot of comments about the McDonalds today?
Robert: Yeah, I am and to be quite honest I don’t like it. Knowing that we’re singers and we’re up on that stage baring our souls. I know I feel naked up there, they must feel just as exposed as I do. I try not to let things affect me, but sometimes it does affect people and what the judges need to understand is that the McDonalds have a great talent and they need to feed that and nurture it, not knock them down. People out there love them.
I believe in their talent. They’re not my favourite style of singers, but there is a market out there for them and as they progress I think they’ll learn to adapt and be more versatile.
(at this point, Robert’s taxi arrives to take him home and we end the interview)
