When Same Difference first auditioned on The X Factor in 2007 - nobody would have expected them to reach the final.
After their energetic rendition of the Friends theme tune, a baffled Simon Cowell told them to "lose the crazy faces, screaming and shouting".
The music mogul added: "This is just so insane at the moment. You are so funny you two. God, I pity your parents."
But the brother and sister duo defied all the odds to reach the final and finished in third place behind winner Leon Jackson and runner-up Rhydian Roberts.
Speaking exclusively to The Mirror, Sean explains that Sarah wasn't even suppposed to be auditioning as she was there for support, but a producer took a shine to her.
They both sang separately and were initially turned down, but then they were asked to sing as a band and their "mind-blowing" rise to fame began.
"It could have been anyone stood in that queue and it just happened to be us that got all the way to the final," Sean tells us.
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"We ended up getting signed to Simon Cowell's label and had some of the best years of our lives after that. We got to travel the world and work with some of the best producers."
The pair "felt numb" after losing out on the top prize and felt there was no way forward, but they signed a mega money deal with Cowell's record label Syco.
Sean admits they were a "love or hate kind of act" but they had a niche and stayed true to themselves, releasing debut album 'Pop' in December 2008.
However, they were dropped by Syco due to disappointing sales, which was partially blamed on the collapse of Woolworths as the chain was a major supplier of music to kids.
"I just wish they had given it a little longer," explains Sean, who feels they needed more time to grow their fan base.
"There were pop acts like The Saturdays at the time that we outsold in a week when they had been going for six weeks. They got a second deal and were pushed constantly in the media.
"It feels like we never got given the chance. We were either going to be as huge as Leona Lewis was the year before and be multi-platinum all over the world or it just wasn't going to happen.
"It didn't help that there was a huge recession on at the time in 2008. It was easier to trim the fat off the books. That's life, you take the ups and the downs."
All of Same Difference's stock had gone to Woolworths and they were going to have massive cardboard cut outs of the pair, but when stores were forced to close it was all ruined.
"We then had to wait to get out stock out of Woolworths. It definitely had an effect," says Sean. "I remember thinking 'so what, if they want to get it they will be able to'.
"But the type of market we were was kids going into Woolworths with parents, pulling their arms to get the CD. It was a huge blow for us at the time."
"It definitely impacted us in a big way as far as our careers going forward and that was a huge shame."
They set up a singing and dancing for young fans, the Same Difference Pop Academy, then released second album 'The Rest is History' with an independent record label.
However, they broke the news they were splitting up to devastated fans in December 2014, with Sean telling us they wanted to become "nostalgic" rather than "flogging a dead horse".
Revealing why they broke up, Sean says: "Obviously I always wanted to be solo from the very start as I auditioned on my own.
"It just got to the point where brother and sister working together for that long, we were killing each other as kids, then working constantly every day and on tour. It just got a bit much.
"We knew Same Difference was losing its shelf life a bit at that time. Sometimes it's best to just leave things in the past."
Sarah achieved her dreams of starting a family, having two kids with her husband, and started her own dance school in their home town of Portsmouth.
"It was actually a good thing. Straight away Sarah moved into buying a church and doing everything with her dance school. It really set her and her husband along a new path and now they're absolutely thriving. It was definitely the right thing for her.
"We've got a huge respect for each other now. Sometimes we were pulling in different directions and as a family it's tough to do that.
"The kids are absolutely amazing. Being an uncle is incredible. I'm already hearing the boys sing and it's like a new generation of the family is coming through.
Sean is proud of Sarah's achievement and for carrying on the Same Difference name by calling her business SD Studios, but his calling was to get on the stage and go on tour.
The singer released debut solo single 'Turn Me On' in September 2016 and his first solo album 'Solo' in July 2020, which allowed him to explore his sexuality.
"All the time I was in Same Difference I was seen as the brother of the duo," says Sean. "I was kind of asexual in the way people knew me. I was able to come out and say this is who I am and sing about relationships, love and sex.
His second album 'Swing For The 90's' was released in April last year and Sean's new single 'In Love With The Night', which can be downloaded here, has been released today and is tipped to top the dance chart.
Sean, who is currently in Miami while starring in Burn The Floor, is exicted by the new direction his music is taking and is barely recognisable from his time in the squeaky-clean bubble-gum pop duo.
"It was kind of like I needed to show this new side of myself so people see you differently. I remember going on Loose Women and they were all over me which felt great," says Sean.
"I think I got ripped purely because I'm working with these incredible ballroom dancers who are in shape. You don't want to be on stage being the odd one out. I eat, sleep, train repeat."
Settling down and starting a family is all that's on Sean's mind, but he has recently just split up from his girlfriend as things got "too tough" with them both being away on tour.
"Things just got mundane so we ended up splitting," confesses Sean. "I'm looking at my life thinking 'you're 36 you really need to start settling down'.
"But performing is one of those things where if you love it it's addictive and you miss it. You can have the best relationship in the world but still miss everything that comes with performing and that's where I'm at.
"I can't see myself not wanting to perform, although I've noticed I was always the young, youthful, fresh one in the cast and now I'm the older, wiser guy.
"It kind of sucks because I still feel so young. it's a weird place to be. I feel if I don't find anyone there's always Married At First Sight."
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