Interview - Alejandro Fernandez (X Factor)

We chatted to X Factor 'Hero' Alejandro Fernandez about being on the show, screaming girls and his secret weapon...

Hi Alejandro, what have the past few days been like for you since the show aired?

Absolutely crazy. I didn’t expect to have this much of a reaction from people. I have over 16 thousand followers on twitter now, it’s been so crazy.

How long has it been since you did your first audition and what’s it been like waiting for it to be shown to the nation?

About and month and a bit. Oh my god it’s been very cringe. It’s been so long and I’ve been so anxious to see what its actually going to be like. Obviously it’s going to look so different on camera than it does when you’re on stage and I’ve just been wondering what they’re going to show, what they’re not going to show and all that kind of stuff.

Do the producers prepare you for the over night madness?

Oh my god yeah. The day before I was shown on TV they kind of gave me a little bit of a brief. So like, what you should do, what you shouldn’t, “if any newspapers get in touch let us know and we’ll deal with that for you” and all that kind of stuff, they’re really nice and really supportive.

Obviously you’re new to our screens, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I come from Burgess Hill, which is in West Sussex. I work at Hollister, so technically I am a ‘Hollister Model’ that’s my job title (insert embarrassed laughter here) pretty much a walking trademark.

Have you always wanted to be a singer?

Yeah, ever since I was about 6 years old I’ve been in productions. I was in Stagecoach Theatre School for a couple of years and I kind of switched to acting a little bit more, then I went back more to singing so its been a bit of a rollercoaster between the two, but I’ve always always always wanted to be a singer.

Who’s your favourite recording artist?

At the moment it’s ‘The Script’ because I love there songs and what they say. They’re not kind of a cheesy, corny, mainstream type band. Even though my second audition may have been a little bit cheesy, and a little bit corny they’re not like that and I’m not usually like that but it gets the audience going.

What kind of music would you like to release in the future?

Obviously I’ve got to do a bit of cheese, everyone likes a bit of cheese. But I quite like Country and I quite like Soul but I probably wouldn’t be able to pull that off. So yeah kind of Country, Pop, type music.

What are the judges like close up?

I was really apprehensive about meeting them actually in my first audition, I was really nervous about how they were going to be, were they going to be nice people. And they were, I was really pleasantly surprised. Obviously Gary Barlow didn’t really like me in the first audition, that was a bit awkward. I didn’t even realise I called Nicole Scherzinger hot until after I’d said it and I was just thinking ‘oh crap, I have made an absolute tit out of myself on TV” But yeah they’re generally really nice, love Sharon, love Louis, nice people.

So what’s it really like waiting to go in for your audition?

Oh my god… its… oh… literally I can’t put it into words. I was shaking, I felt sick, every time I took a sip of water I’d need the toilet. Before my first audition I went to the toilet about 30 times in the space of 2 hours before I went in and I’m not even exaggerating. One time, actually the first time I met Dermot O’Leary I literally smashed head first into him in the toilet, which was embarrassing. It was just really scary.

When you chose to sing part of the song in Spanish did you think that would be your secret weapon?

Yeah I thought so, it kind of came out that I had a ‘secret’ which was singing in Spanish and I think the audience really liked it.

What was it like in the arena with all those screaming girls?

It was heaven. So much fun. What happens is you get a scream when you walk on stage, you get a scream when you tell them your name and you get a scream when you start singing, but once I started singing in Spanish it just went absolutely crazy.

There’s been a few changes to Boot Camp this year, what can viewers expect?

Viewers should expect a lot of drama, it was very very very dramatic. We were told it was the hardest boot camp in 10 years, it was horrific. They should expect a lot of tears, a lot of broken hearts. It’s going to be a very good show.

What made you want to enter X Factor over the other talents shows around?

Well I’ve been watching X Factor for about 8 years. I wasn’t quite the age last year, but obviously I’m old enough this year so I was so excited to actually be on the show and I’ll tell you what, it was the most surreal thing when I walked in the room, I thought ‘oh my god this should be on TV, I shouldn’t be here” I almost felt like I needed to leave, it was just so weird.

Is there anything you’d have done differently from the auditions we’ve seen so far, obviously nothing too drastic as you got through?!

I would have tried to control myself a bit more with the vocals, because I was so focused on the performance and I was so nervous I think my vocals kind of dropped a little bit, I did notice that on my audition, I hit a few flat notes. The thing is when Gary said that I was “one foot in theatre land” I had to completely change the way I sang to show him that I was versatile, so I was completely out of my comfort zone which is why my vocals were down a little bit, so that’s what I would change just for my personal satisfaction.

What was it like watching it back on TV?

It was a mixture of surreal, cringe, happiness and excitement. I’ve got to be honest there was quite a lot of cringe.

Fan Questions.

Are you single?

I am yes.

Can you speak any other languages?

I can, obviously Spanish, and a little bit of German.

Can we expect a rendition in German?

(lots of laughter) No way!

What would be your dream duet?

I reckon Beyonce, that would be absolutely insane to duet with her.

What would you sing?

I have no idea, I probably wouldn’t be able to sing, I’d just be standing there in awe.

Follow Alejandro on Twitter @AlejandroFHolt 

Let us know what you thought of Alejandro's audition and this years X Factor so far!