Olly Murs says he was 'mortified' after watching three copycat versions of himself perform on new show Starstruck - because it made him question his whole career.
The singer, who’s sold more than 12million records and had four number ones, said watching them sing his songs was “really embarrassing”.
He laughed: “Although it was good TV - it was fun - I was slightly mortified at the same time of ‘did I really make it this far in my career?’
"Because if I'm dancing and singing like that, then God knows how I made it this far.
“I can't believe I've had a 12-year career, to be honest. Looking at the three of them that were singing - I mean it in the nicest possible way. It wasn't brilliant.”
Olly, who found fame on X Factor, added: “By the way, it was really humbling. It was something I'll always remember.”
The 38-year-old said that when he signed up as host of the show he had no clue that he’d be coming face to face with different version of himself.
“I actually had no idea, we turned up on the day and the team kept it a secret from me, because I suppose they were probably scared by what I was going to say. And they said, ‘We've got Lionel Richie, Elton John, Billie Eilish and Olly Murs.’ And I was like, ‘Pardon?’”
Olly said the ITV series, which kicks off on Saturday alongside the final of The Masked Singer, will be bigger and better than its predecessor Stars in Their Eyes.
Each week four different idols are featured, with three different version competing to be chosen as the best one.
“You get three Lionel Richies from three different eras of Lionel. You get the one from the seventies, one from the eighties, one from the nineties.
All the different outfits. It's three times the fun, three times the laughter. And it's just a bigger show in my opinion,” he explained.
“I've got to say it, because I'm getting paid to be on it.”
He also thinks that its more in tune with today’s TV tastes than X Factor, which he hosted in 2015 having competed in 2009.
“I think it's just that times move on. The X Factor was a big part of my life. I presented that show with Caroline, God rest her soul, and it was a great moment in my life.
"But this is a new moment. This is a new stage, a new thing. And I love the fact that we are reinventing an old classic show and bringing it into the modern-day era.
“It feels really fun. There were times on X Factor where it got really serious and there were cat fights going on and it was a little bit more of that tension, but this show isn't about that. This is just about everyone at home, and us as judges and me hosting it, having a great Saturday night.”
Judge Adam Lambert said that another difference was that he and fellow judges Beverley Knight, Sheridan Smith and Jason Manford all got on.
“Obviously we had different opinions at times. But we all really genuinely fell in love with each other. It's a really nice family feel up there, which I think is something fresh as well. It doesn't get catty. It doesn't get petty.”
Olly said that the Freddy Mercurys were terrified of performing in front of Lambert - who now performs alongside the remaining members of Queen.
He said: “They were absolutely cacking themselves, coming up on stage and singing in front of Adam. They were genuinely scared, because they they felt they really wanted to impress him.”
The 24 idols who are impersonated over the series also include Barbra Streisand, Tina Turner and Miley Cyrus.
