X Factor star admits rejecting boss Simon Cowell’s advice made ITV show history

dailystar.co.uk:

X Factor star who missed out on a spot in the final showed Simon Cowell who was boss when rejecting his advice landed him a charting single - and made show history.Jay James, who made it to the live shows back in 2014, is now the fourth member of iconic band The Overtones, who have sold more than half a million records as a vocal harmony group.Their album Good Ol' Fashioned Love peaked at number 4 in the UK Albums Charts in 2011, and was certified Platinum after sky-high sales.Now Jay and his bandmates Mike Crawshaw and Darren Everest have reflected back on their individual X Factor journeys, going from failed boot camp experiences to appearing on shows like The Xtra Factor and Dancing on Ice as the house band.Jay first auditioned for X Factor in 2014, making the live finals in series 11 mentored by Simon in the Over 26s category.

But he wasn't the only one, as the original Overtones line-up - consisting of Darren, Mike, Mark Franks and the late Timmy Matley - also auditioned for the show in 2009 under the name Lexi Joe.They sadly didn't make it past the Boot Camp stage, despite receiving "standing ovations" from audiences.Speaking exclusively to Daily Star, Jay explained that show boss Simon Cowell is "a lot different" in real life than he appears on the programme - but Jay wasn't scared to go against the grain and reject his suggestions.He explained: "My experience of the X Factor and with the early rounds was that I didn’t really want to be anyone other than the person that I was.

I let Simon know that really, really early on, and he just allowed me to do everything that I wanted to do, to be honest. "There were a few different moments on the show where essentially there were suggestions coming at me about what I.