Jahmene says ‘The X Factor’ was a "traumatising blessing".
The 2012 runner-up of Simon Cowell’s talent show described the going on the show as a "double sided coin" because of the tough schedule and level of exposure and admitted he wouldn’t go on the show given the chance today.
Jahmene exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "Would I recommend it to myself? Good question. I don’t think I would with the six chair situation at boot camp. To survive that, gosh.
"I think the year that I did it, I was really blessed. Everything fell into place even with just having Nicole (Scherzinger) as my judge … It’s funny because I would say no, I wouldn’t recommend it to myself. But it’s just been such a blessing. I wouldn’t be where I am without it. It’s that double sided coin. A traumatising blessing."
The 24-year-old singer – who’s working on a new album and will release his single ‘Down For Love’ on November 20 – also admitted he felt he was left with little choice but to make an album he didn’t like and subsequently "fell into a pit" and had to "find" himself again.
He said: "I think a lot of people don’t realise how out of control everything is, from your grasp. After ‘X Factor’ I had to make that cover album – I didn’t get much of a choice … I was prepared but I wasn’t prepared spiritually for what was going on so I just really fell into a pit."
He added: "If it wants to work for you it will work for you. You know Little Mix, One Direction, they’re doing really well. I know Lee-Anne, she’s lovely, it fits … you’re just blown up on ‘X factor’. You’re just blown up and every little part of you is put into places where you can’t find them and you have to recollect all your pieces and put yourself back together."
Jahmene: X Factor was ‘traumatising’
