Name: Kerry McGregor

Age: 31

From: West Lothian

Occupation: Full Time Mum

The Story So Far…

* Kerry auditioned in Glasgow singing ‘Show Me Heaven’ by Maria McKee. All three Judges liked her. Simon said “good voice, good song choice – yesâ€?, Louis said “good voice – sounds like you mean it. Yesâ€? and Sharon said “great voice, great face. Yesâ€?.
* On the first day of Bootcamp Kerry sang The Beatles track ‘Something’. Mark Hudson thought it was “beautiful�.
* On the second day of Bootcamp Kerry sang ‘You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me’ by Dusty Springfield. Mark Hudson said “I think she’s beautiful inside and out�. However Adrian Williams thought she was not as good as the other contestants. Sharon agreed with Adrian, saying she’s not as good as some of the other female contestants but she has a great aura about her.
* At Judges Houses Kerry sang ‘You’ve Got A Friend’ by Carole King.
* After the performance Adrian said that he had been negative about Kerry at Bootcamp but this performance had changed his mind. He thought this was the best he’d seen her perform, and even though she was not vocally as good as the other girls, he liked her. Sharon said her eyes sparkled when she sang and loved her lust for life. After much debate Sharon thought she deserved the chance.

History

* Kerry is a single mum and lives with her son Joshua (aged 18 months) in West Lothian. She was born and raised in Scotland.
* She is very close to her mum and says she is her ‘backbone’. Her dad was knocked down and killed by a drink driver when she was six. Her mum and grandpa were singers too, her grandpa was known as the Scottish ‘Bing Crosby’.
* Kerry is a paraplegic and uses a wheelchair and crutches. She broke her back when she was 13 after falling out of a tree.
* She came second in the song for Europe. Her song ‘Yodel In The Canyon Of Love’, lost out to Katrina And The Waves.
* Kerry has had a record deal in the past and made it to number 21 in the charts a song called Freedom.
* Kerry played Carol-Ann in the Channel 4 show The Book Group in 2003.
* Kerry won the Child of Achievement Awards in 1988.
* She appeared in a play on Radio 3 called ‘Peeling’ which was about disabilities.

What would winning The X Factor mean to you?

“Winning The X Factor would be a great sense of achievement because my life has been a bit of a toil and I’ve always fought against difficulties in my life. It would mean so much to me – it would almost be like the proof is in the pudding by winning The X Factor. It would prove to me that everything that I’ve ever done has been worth it and that I’ve always been fighting in the right direction�. If she does find herself in the position of winner she says that she’d buy her mum a house, “It would be so close to Christmas so I’d probably spoil my wee boy a bit that Christmas� she adds.

What do your friends and family think about you getting through, and what will you miss?

“I’ll miss my son, my family, my friends and I’ll also miss my parrot Sonny. The parrot doesn’t get on with everyone so it will be hard to clean him and feed him while I’m away. But my friends and family are ecstatic. They have seen me striving for this career so they are so excited for me. They are absolutely over the moon. I’ve never been so far away from family and friends before and had to get on with it myself without their help. I’d probably say I’m looking forward to the independence that it will give me as well as appearing on the live shows and getting the opportunity to sing in front of all those people at home. So getting the chance to come down there, being independent, being with everyone in the house would be one of my biggest accomplishments yet I suppose.�

Have you had any brushes with fame in the past?

Kerry has had a couple of brushes with fame before. She acted in Channel 4’s The Book Club and came runner up on Song For Europe behind the Katrina And The Waves. She says “I performed on the National Lottery so that was probably my five minutes of fame but nothing came from it as I was just the session singer on it.�

Where did you go to school

Kerry went to West Calders High School in West Lothian where her favourite subjects were music and english. She says that she comes from a very musical family. “We’ve all been vocalists throughout the generation. My Grandfather was classed as Scotland’s Bing Crosby and my Mum was a fantastic singer and sung on the circuit and had opportunities to take it further but was always too nervous. She never had the confidence to grab and run with it but I think each generation gets that little bit more experience so hopefully I can pick up and fly the flag for them and maybe achieve something for all of us.�

What is your proudest achievement to date?

She says that one of her proudest achievements was when she won the Child Of Achievement Award. “It was my school that put me forward and I had to go to The Guild Hall in London to collect my trophy. That was quite a momentous time for me because it proved to me that everyone realised how hard I’d strived to get back to my old school because they wanted to put me into a school that was specially designed for disabled people. I could cope with the disability but I really needed to be surrounded by people who I’d always been surrounded by. So that was quite an achievement in itself to fight my way back to school that had no disabled facilities at all and also be recognised for it.�

Who are your musical influences?

Kerry has varied musical tastes. She cites her influences as including Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, Talking Heads, The Eurythmics, Barbra Streisand and Whitney Houston. “Pink Floyd have great depth and The Eurythmics are one of my all time favourites.� Her favourite album is ‘The Division Bell’ by Pink Floyd and her single is ‘Summer Sun’ by fellow Scots, Texas. To wow the Judges she’d love to sing ‘Woman In Love’ by Barbra Streisand.

What are your hobbies/passions?

Her hobbies also include painting, drawing and craft. She says “I made a dolls house with all the furniture for a little girl. I just love making things. I play a little of the guitar. A five chord wonder!� But singing is her first love. She explains, “Before I broke my back I always believed I would be on the stage dancing but after I broke my back things obviously changed. I still saw myself on the stage but couldn’t really do much dancing so I’d say from 13 onwards I always saw myself as a singer because that was the way of getting myself to the stage again.�