Ruth Lorenzo - X Factor 2008

I always knew she was a feisty lady but no way would I have predicted that Ruth Lorenzo would turn her back on Simon Cowell to sign a record deal with his biggest rival.

Ruth has reportedly signed a £1 million deal with EMI/Virgin and a source told The Sun that she was blabbing the news at the launch of Jean-Christophe Novelli’s Costa del Sol restaurant at the weekend.

A guest at the bash said: “Ruth was a bit giddy with the free champagne and was telling everyone Simon was gutted she signed elsewhere. She said she wanted to sign with him because they got along so well during the X Factor. She said she would have loved to work with him.

“Ruth says he has given her lots of advice — which she made it clear she was grateful for — and also that he had given her a lot of confidence with her singing and with her career.

“But the EMI deal was just too good for her to knock back.

“By the way she was celebrating, EMI/Virgin had given her big bucks.”

Ruth may have been well advised to turn down offers from Simon’s own record company when you consider how former runners up have fared under them in the past. Just look at Andy Abraham’s recent comments on the subject and you’ll see that it is hard for graduates of X Factor to succeed once the show moves on. Hopefully EMI will market Ruth right and stand by her past the launch of next years series, managing to inject some longevity into the rock chicks musical career.

Ruth Lorenzo - X Factor 2008

X Factor divas Ruth Lorenzo and Alexandra Burke are said to have had a massive row on the UK wide tour over the affections of a background dancer.

Ruth is reported to have accused Alex of pulling a dancer that she had her eye on, but I wonder if she’s just plain jealous of Alexandra’s success.

A source told The Sun: “Ruth claims they fell out because she pulled a dancer Alex had her eye on. She reckons Alex bullied her but the old green-eyed monster has been creeping in.

“Meanwhile Alex feels she is being singled out by Ruth and the others on tour because of her success.

“She insists she was never after any dancer – she doesn’t think that would be very cool. She thinks Ruth is just using it as a excuse to pick on her.

“But either way their friendship is well and truly over. They can barely look at each other. Both have threatened to leave unless the other is booted off the tour.”

An insider also told us that Ruth was alienating herself not just from Alex on the tour but from all the former contestants. She told Unreality TV:

“Ruth is said to be the diva of the current X Factor tour, often causing friction with her fiery Spanish temper, demands and un-called for attitude.

She spends very little time with the other acts off stage and she acts like the star of the show on stage.”

So is Ruth Lorenzo a Señorita or a diva? Tell us what you think below…..

Ruth Lorenzo - X Factor 2008

Despite being very vocal about their plans to become room-mates, Ruth Lorenzo has admitted that she and Alexandra Burke will not be sharing a flat any time soon.

The former X Factor contestants struck up a close friendship on last years series and planned to share a flat in London after the show. However with Alex committed to spending lots of time in America it seems that Ruth is going to have to find a new pal to share with.

“No, no, we are not sharing a flat. It’s not true. It was just a rumour,” Ruth told the Daily Record. “We’ve been so busy, the both of us. I want to move out of Surrey after the X Factor tour, but Alexandra is going to New York and Los Angeles to record.

“I might bring my family with me, like my niece or boyfriend to be with me for a bit. I still live with the same people from before The X Factor, but I will move to London.

“Alex and I will be close and we will be able to go out to dinners and things like that when she’s back in the UK, but she’s going to be quite busy.”

JLS - X Factor 2008

JLS’ singer Oritse Williams has moved in with his fellow X Factor singers, Alexandra Burke and Ruth Lorenzo.

Oritse has been having family problems which have prevented him from returning home, so his old XF plas have stepped in to help him out.

“Oritse has spent the past few months living with the rest of the finalists,” a source told The Sun.

“He was the bread-winner for the family, but things are very tense at home with some of his relatives. So he has not been able to go home yet and he has been staying with Ruth and Alex.”

The insider continued: “Alex invited Ruth to share her very small hotel suite and Oritse has moved in too.

“He is sleeping on the couch for now – it’s a bit of a squeeze!”

Ruth Lorenzo - X Factor 2008

Former X factor contestant Ruth Lorenzo has jumped in on the are they, aren’t they scenario between Diana Vickers and Eoghan Quigg and said that she thinks they should definitely be dating.

Ruth told MSN:

“They are best friends, we always see them together, they’re always joking around or if one or the other misses their families.

“They’re the same age, same situation so they really get along. It would be so cute for them to be together,” she said.

X Factor rock chick, Ruth Lorenzo has revealed that she has been offered multiple record deals and she hopes to sign one as soon as her X Factor contract allows her.

The 26-year-old told The Sun: “Lots of people want to give me contracts, I’m so excited. I’m not allowed to sign until the tour’s over. It’s in our contracts.”

She added: “I’m looking forward to the tour because I’ll be with my best friend Alexandra. I miss her and I want her to win.”

Yesterday, I got the chance to speak to one of the sweetest X Factor contestants in this year’s show: Ruth Lorenzo.

Ruth was voted out on Saturday night, and we received a storm of comments complaining that Eoghan or Diana should have gone instead. Many of our commenters said they’d never watch the show again!

And so we catch up with Ruth to chat about how she came to audition for X Factor, what her real musical tastes are, and where her career is headed after this. In fact, we may have solved the conundrum that was bothering me on Saturday night (I couldn’t work out how she could be marketed as a singer) – we have decided that Ruth should front her own rock band!

Commiserations on being voted out on Saturday night. Was it a surprise that you were the one to go?

You know, it was a surprise, but it wasn’t a surprise, because everyone has to go from now on apart from the winner. So, I didn’t want to go, so I tried my best, I sang my best and I tried to do everything the best I could. Obviously someone had to go and it was me. But still, I’m so proud of myself, so happy and I’m enjoying every single minute of it.

On Unreality TV, the article about you getting voted off has some 70 comments on it. Most of the commenters are vowing never to watch X Factor again, because you’re not on it. They’re saying it just won’t be the same without you.

Oh my God, that’s amazing! That just gave me goosebumps!

Actually, my taxi driver said the same thing this morning. He was like “Ruth, why did you have to go? You were my favourite! I’m not watching X Factor again.” I said “No, you have to watch it and you have to vote for Alexandra!”

The thing I’ve been hearing most over the weekend is that Eoghan and Diana were the weakest candidates and they should have gone instead of you…

But really, who votes? Eoghan and Diana are so close to the younger people, and they’re so young and so bright and full of life that it’s normal. The younger kids vote and they vote their eyes out. You know how much support they’re getting and they’re so proud of it. They deserve every single vote they get.

I’d like to know, what drove you to audition for The X Factor in the first place?

My best friend’s daughter – she gave me the application form for my birthday last year, so I just had to do it. I went to my first audition in Manchester and I walked through that queue thinking “How the hell am I going to do this?” There were 22,000 people there, and I was one of the last to get there, because I’m a Spaniard and we’re always late!

As I walked through the queue I was going “Listen guys, let’s just go home, I don’t want to do this.” And the little girl just held my hand and said “Listen Ruth, you have to do it. You’re getting through and you’re going to be in X Factor, I know you are.” I just did it for her, and just look at me now. It’s amazing.

We’re had a few contestants in reality shows in the UK from Europe. Chico comes to mind, although I think you’re not so much of a novelty act! How did you think your nationality would influence voters?

I really don’t know. For someone who’s not from the country, that obviously has a strong Spanish accent, it just shows how much this nation appreciates talent. It shows they liked me for who I am and not just because of where I’m from. I feel so much at home in this country – I’m not moving out of here!

I do want to sing in Spanish, because there’ve been people all around the world supporting me. From South America, from California, from the States, from Mexico, India, Australia. They’re saying “Ruth, it doesn’t matter what language you sing in.” So, I do want to sing in Spanish, hopefully one day if I make an album.

I didn’t want to sing in Spanish on the show, because I thought it was disrespectful to the British public. They know I can sing Spanish – they know that. I just wanted to be on the same level as the rest of the contestants and prove that I am a good singer. I didn’t need to shake my butt or wear a Spanish dress.

Yes, those thing would have stereotyped you, wouldn’t they?

Yeah. All this Ricky Martin style music, I like it but it doesn’t boil my blood. You could see if you watched the show – Purple Rain, Knocking On Heaven’s Door, all of those are the songs that I sang with the most passion. Those are the songs that I love.

I wanted to ask you about that – it was only after you’d been in the sing-off and had a chance to demonstrate your passion that people saw you as a good rock singer.

I think being in the bottom two twice has really helped me go far in this competition. Because I’ve been able to show the real me, and you know they call me now Rockarita Lorenzo or Spanish Rockarita [she sounds really sexy when she rolls her R’s at this point - Gerard], which I love!

You know, I used to have this problem in Spain too – I used to walk into a record label with my big hair and my curvy body and I’d say “Hi, I want to speak to the person in charge..” and they’d ask what kind of music I do. When I told them I do rock, they’d look at me, drop their jaws and say “That can’t be – you are made to dance, move your body and look sexy, whatever…” All the time I’d be so frustrated because no-one wanted to hear me sing, because they wanted to look at me and that is not what I want.

What I loved about Purple Rain was that I wasn’t wearing any of those beautiful dresses, I wasn’t showing my cleavage, I wasn’t doing anything apart from wearing a t-shirt, some jeans and singing. And people really appreciated it.

Can you tell us what types of music you like to listen to?

Oh, I’ve listened to all kinds of rock. I also love U2, Muse and Coldplay – that type of music, I love it. My big influences were Guns N Roses, Whitesnake, Deep Purple, Def Leppard, Led Zeppelin [At this point, I’m tempted to propose… -Gerard].

Simon obviously had a bit of a crush on you. Do you think that was genuine or was it just for the cameras?

Do you know what, Simon Cowell never lies, so I guess some part of it must be true that he fancied me, or at least I just want to believe it like that! At the end of the day, I’m a woman and I like to feel pretty.

But you know, he’s actually a really cool guy, and I really appreciated all the comments that he gave me when he said that yes, I was a good singer. Those were the comments that really got to me and really made me feel good.

I felt so good last Saturday with the comments that he gave me after I did Always for a second time. I could see that the judges were really emotional with me.

Yeah, Louis Walsh was crying at the end, wasn’t he?

He was crying, he was genuinely crying. We have a cool connection, Louis and I, and I love how passionate he is about JLS and how much he’s fighting for those boys – he really believes in them and I respect that so much.

I thought you were very practical on the Xtra Factor – you were already talking about lining up gigs for next week! Are you always that way?

I am. Why see bad things in life, because life is so short. We need to enjoy it while we can.

When something really really bad happens, I think the only bad thing that could happen in my life is losing one of my family members, and I don’t even want to think about it. I think you have to take life with positivity, always looking at the bright side. There’s not one bad thing I can take from this experience, except that I’ll miss everyone in the house.

I’ll miss the dirty house, the messy rooms. I’ll miss Alexandra, I’ll miss JLS. I’ll miss them all.

You and Alexandra seem to have struck up a really solid friendship. Where did that come from?

Yeah, we did, and it is truthful. Alexandra is just like you see on TV – she’s fun, she’s nice and our friendship is great. I never thought in my life that I’d come out of X Factor with such a good friend. She’s my best friend right now.

It was at bootcamp, and we had a friend in common and I said “Who’s she?” and I said I would love to meet her. She’s got this special spirit, she’s got these eyes that are a live. And then she went to him and said “Who’s that girl with the big hair you’ve been speaking to?” So, he introduced us and that was it. We were friends.

And we’re moving in together and hopefully she’ll win and I won’t have to pay rent! You know why? Because I think that the winner of X Factor gets given a flat, that’s why.

But won’t you guys be out travelling on the X Factor tour?

Yes, we’re going to be on tour. It’s going to be amazing, and I can’t wait to sing with everyone. I think this is going to be another part of the competition to be honest with you. I think whoever proves here that they can work onstage, that can work with musicians, can gig day after day without losing their voices. I think those people will have a big big chance of getting contracts.

There are many eyes on us right now and we’ve got to make sure that we do our best.

And what are your plans for after the tour?

My biggest dream would be Simon Cowell ringing me up and saying “Hey Ruth, do you want to record something?” And if it doesn’t happen, I’ll just have to go and knock on his door and say “Simon, Simon, come on, let’s do something!”

I do want to do my own CD and put some of my own songs on it. I want to sing. That’s all I ask for.

Do you write your own songs?

I do. I play the piano and the guitar and I write music. I translate music and do other things.

Would you put a band together?

I would love to have a band! I’m not a diva singer – I can’t be alone on stage. I’d love to work with other musicians. It’s the best best feeling. I want to have a band.

Do it! Put a band together! Actually I think that’d be a great way forward for you. Front your own band! We need some more rock chicks.

Ah, so you liked it then?

Absolutely! There aren’t enough rock voices on The X Factor, so it was nice to see someone up there singing those songs.

James Corden was in the studio and criticised Britney for miming during her performance. What was your take on her appearance?

Well, I think most artists have mimed at some stage in their lives. She went onstage, she looked gorgeous, she danced, she got the audience going. For me, I thought she was great.

We didn’t get to meet her, because she was so busy – she came in, did her thing and then left. She came straight from Paris. I’m sure if she’d had time, she’d have done a masterclass with us.

I noticed that you didn’t technically do a Britney song – it was a Joan Jett song that Britney covered, I Love Rock And Roll.

It’s a good one! Nigel, the music director, made it like the original. He didn’t make it pop!

How did you feel about the themed weeks in general?

I think that limits you. If we’d had rock singing, that would’ve been great. If it had been jazz, Laura would have shined.

Anyway, as my last question I usually ask who you hope will win the show, but I think I can guess what you’re going to say!

No, it’s Alexandra, and JLS on the final!

We wish Ruth all the best for her musical career. She was one of the nicest contestants to speak to, really bubbly and positive throughout.

Ruth Lorenzo - X Factor 2008

Outgoing X Factor singer, Ruth Lorenzo, has said that she was flattered by the attention of Simon Cowell throughout the competition.

Cowell made no secret of the fact that he had a soft spot for Ruth and often commented on her sexy appearance.

At yesterdays press conference Ruth said:

"He’s such a flirt! It’s really made me very confident because im a curvy Spanish girl, and I’ve always felt overweight or not pretty enough.

"And to have this man – who is so powerful and hangs around with beautiful women – saying ‘yeah, I fancy you’, it’s like, ‘OK, I might not be that bad then’."

Wow. Shocking. Ruth Lorenzo’s X Factor journey came to an abrupt end tonight.

Louis Walsh was in tears. No longer will he be able to call her a “little Spanish rock chick”.

In the bottom two along with Ruth was Eoghan Quigg, which throws my theories about the power of the teen vote into complete disarray!

Anyway, I laughed at Dermot’s quick interview with Ruth right at the end – he said “Well Ruth, you kind of came from nowhere…” And she gave him this look that said “I came from Spain, you tool. Weren’t you listening to that part every single week?”

The question is, would you buy a Ruth Lorenzo record?

Now, before you start commenting in BIG ANGRY LETTERS, think about it for a moment. How were they going to market Ruth? Who’s buying power ballads these days? How many records can a busty Spanish rock chick hope to sell in the 00’s?

In case you didn’t notice, Ruth’s departure leaves Dannii Minogue without an act now. Will she go on the offensive against Louis? I doubt it, she’s not as vindictive as Senor Walsh. Poor Dannii, and after her winning big last year with…Leon.

Tonight, X Factor singer Ruth Lorenzo is adding her own rock twist to the Britney hit I Love Rock and Roll and being the last over 25 act left in the competition she is determined to give it her all this week.

The vocal coaches feel that her American song she’s chosen, if she nails it, could be her best performance ever and could be enough to get her through to the semi-finals, but will she crack under the pressure?

Ruth is getting a lot of interest from Spanish actors and actresses – she’s even been invited out for drinks with some people form a Spanish soap opera!