Rebecca Ferguson has said it is “so easy to forget yourself” in the entertainment industry as she was recognised with a royal honour at Windsor Castle.
The Liverpool-born singer-songwriter finished runner-up on The X Factor in 2010 but has turned more towards activism in recent years.
She was made an MBE by the Prince of Wales on Tuesday for her services to the music industry, having campaigned for the introduction of the new regulatory body for the sector to ensure artist welfare.
I think in showbiz it's so easy to forget yourself and just get caught up with the fame and the money, and so I'm glad that I actually stuck to me morals
Ferguson also met then-culture secretary Oliver Dowden in 2021 to discuss discrimination in the music industry, and last year called on media watchdog Ofcom to conduct an investigation into reality TV shows.
Speaking about taking a leading role in voicing welfare concerns, Ferguson told the PA news agency: “I think I’m proud that I didn’t lose my Scouse spirit.
“I’m proud because my Nan was always like, ‘you know when something’s wrong, Rebecca, you have that inner alarm bell and you listen to it’.
“So I’m glad I didn’t forget that because I think in showbiz it’s so easy to forget yourself and just get caught up with the fame and the money, and so I’m glad that I actually stuck to me morals.”
Ferguson likened her experience of finding her way in the music industry after The X Factor, where she finished behind winner Matt Cardle, with boy band One Direction third, to the character Pip in Charles Dickens’ novel Great Expectations.
She said: “I feel like I relate to him so much in the sense of (a) working-class girl come from nothing, all of a sudden thrown into this total new world, surrounded by these really sinister characters, and I had to navigate it.”
Ferguson is in the process of forming a new regulatory body called the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA), which hopes to “uphold and improve standards of behaviour” in the world of entertainment and broadcasting and has been supported by actresses including Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley.
The 38-year-old said many major broadcasters had already invested in the body, including the BBC, Sky and Netflix, and she hopes it will be operational within the next 18 months.
Asked what compelled her to switch from making music to becoming an activist, Ferguson said: “I just felt like it was an industry making billions of pounds, and human beings are the source of profit (with) absolutely no regulation.
“I just felt like someone needed to just go out there and just speak up, and thankfully it worked and people listened.”
Following her X Factor success, Ferguson released several albums, including debut Heaven in 2011 which peaked at number three on the UK chart. She also became a panellist on ITV’s Loose Women.
Asked if she had plans to make any new music, Ferguson said: “I’m kind of evaluating where I sit now, and I keep getting asked to go into politics.
I think for now, I’m gonna just have maybe a year of calm. I’ll still perform, I’ll still do gigs, but not as actively pursuing music.
“I feel like life’s naturally took me on a different turn, and I just need to be open to that and see what happens.”
