'X Factor' Session: Brenda Edwards

It's been a while since we took a stroll down X Factor memory lane, but with the latest series currently bogged down in the melodrama surrounding Katie Waissel, Cheryl Cole and Wagner Carrilho, we thought, 'What better time to find a contestant from a more innocent time on the show?' So we gave a call to series two star and West End performer Brenda Edwards, who just happens to be back on the music trail with a new single. Click play to watch her performances and read on for our catch-up interview:


Brenda sings her new single 'You Know How To Love Me'

So you are back with a new single!
"Yes, the single is released on November 15, which is Monday. For the last five years I have been working constantly in the West End and there just hasn't been the right time to put something out. I really wanted to concentrate on it properly. Now is just the right time, the right place, the right song. Everything appears to be right for me, right now."

Why did you decide that this was the right song to come back with?
"My management were contacted by the songwriter and they sent it through to me. I just loved the words. I'm a soul singer and I was looking for a soul song. They wrote it about three years ago and were just looking for the right person to sing it. It is literally just a combination of everything coming together. But the words of this song are very poignant. Whether you have a loved one or a friend who always looks out for you, it can mean so many different things to so many different people. And that's the sort of message I want to send out. A song for everybody to enjoy."

Is an album on the way?
"I've been working on the album continuously while I've been doing West End stuff. I have the tracks ready, it is just a matter of picking the right ones. I have 25 songs right now and I need to whittle it down to 12 or 13. There's lots of up-tempo numbers, some big ballads on there and a few covers of songs that I really like."

Do you think it's unfair when people say that the people who fail to win X Factor don't have much of a career ahead of them?
"Most definitely. You have got to keep trying and keep knocking on those doors. I was just very lucky that as soon as I came off X Factor I went into Chicago, and since then shows have kept on coming. I'm very, very lucky that my career has spanned the five years since X Factor and is still going. Aside from that, I have put a band together, I have supported Smokey Robinson, I have played at Ronnie Scott's, I've played at the Cardiff Millennium Theatre - I have just had my finger in all the pies!"

What would you be doing now if you hadn't gone on the show?
"I was an accounts manager before the show and I was always going to my local club and doing karaoke or appearing anywhere that people would sing to me. I would probably still be doing what I was doing. But I enjoyed doing my accounts work - I love what I do and singing is my passion, but you've got to make use of all your talents. Whether it is singing or whether it is finance - there's nothing wrong with money!"

Would you advise more X Factor acts to follow your path and enter musical theatre?
"It is definitely up to the individual as to what you do afterwards. I am really grateful for my platform on X Factor and I wouldn't have been in the West End without the show. Everyone is always asking me, would you do it again. If I had the chance, of course. I just loved being on that stage. Having that studio audience and people at home watching, you can't put a price on that. Even the people who have got record deals and number ones, they are still working hard. And that's what ultimately your career will depend on."

There's been a few comparisons between Wagner and Chico from your year. How do they compare?
"Chico was my friend from the year and I will always have a soft spot for him. He's a really genuine guy. I can't put Wagner in the same category as Chico. I know a lot of people do, but I don't. Chico was an entertainer. Wagner is an entertainer. Chico could sing. Wagner is... well, I don't know. I don't know about that, sorry! I feel really bad for saying that, but I'm a singer and I think you need a certain degree of that. You need various things for The X Factor and I think singing is one of them."

Would you let your kids go on the show?
"I personally think the age limit should be raised on X Factor. It is mentally very draining. If you are a 16-year-old soloist it could be very down-heartening and you could get very depressed about it. In a group, you can feed off each other, but on your own you will struggle. You are in a big bubble and you don't realise that until you have left. Personally, as a mother, I wouldn't want my daughter or son to enter until they had gone through college and done their exams. I mean, when you see the faces of these young kids, you just want to hug them, squeeze them, hold them tight and tell them everything is going to be alright. It's just terrible."

You've done music, reality TV and the West End. Is there anything left that you want to achieve?
"I did a few bits on GMTV and with Lorraine Kelly a couple of years back and I liked that. I enjoy talking! I would love to do a show about music. It would be a bit old-fashioned with real music, live. Lots of different entertainers, whether it is bands or soloists, live in a studio. I would be totally up for that. I'd just love anything to do with music."


Brenda sings 'Son Of A Preacher Man'