UK Edition
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X Factor contestant Niki Evans was extremely disappointed by her first taste of showbiz.
Niki was chosen by music producer Pete Waterman to support 80s star Sonia on tour when she was just 16, but she was devastated by the pressure to lose weight and change her hairstyle.
"The tour was her dream. Yet she came back devastated. Supporting Sonia was not a glamorous life at all," Niki's mother Annette told The Mirror.
"I had a heartbreaking call saying, 'Mum, I've got to lose weight'. She was a size 12 but lost 21lb in six weeks. She had her long hair cut off too and looked gaunt when she came home full of stress coldsores."
Niki stuck to performing at pubs and clubs following a failed attempt at launching a pop career, but she is now hoping that X Factor will give her another chance at stardom.
