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Lorraine Kelly: It’s a tough world… even if you have the X Factor

Lorraine and Ben
Lorraine and Ben

He’s yet another casualty of the brutal music industry where you’re only as good as your last single and if you don’t sell shedloads then you’re out on your ear.

All credit to Ben, who is a delightful chap and hugely talented, for being so classy over the parting of the ways with Syco, the company run by Simon Cowell.

He could have been bitter and resentful, but instead he praised the team there.

Ben is a class act, but it does show that these days even winning a big competition like X Factor doesn’t guarantee success.

Sometimes it’s because the show doesn’t do enough to help. The BBC could have surely done so much more to promote and nurture winners of The Voice, including 2015’s firefighter Stevie McCrorie.

Stevie is a huge talent, but seemed to be left all on his own to fend for himself.


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Over the years we have seen the likes of X Factor’s Leon Jackson, Matt Cardle and James Arthur blaze brightly for a short time, only to fall back down to Earth.

I can never make my mind up whether it’s preferable to have missed out on that short blast of fame in the first place.

Truly talented people have a far better chance of success, but you also need good PR and a healthy dollop of luck.

This year’s X Factor winner Louisa Johnson failed to make it to the Christmas number one slot.

It now puts her under a lot of pressure to come up with a follow-up big hit, or she too could face the axe.

It’s a tough old game and I really wish Ben Haenow all the best and hope he does manage to make it on his own, or with another label.

He has, without a doubt, handled a tough situation with great dignity.