The X Factor star Rhydian Roberts has revealed that he is retiring from recording music. The singer, who recently turned 40, will soon release his ninth studio album that celebrates 15 years of working in the industry.
The new album, which is called Rhydian, Classical Album, Hymns, Songs & Arias, includes some of the Sennybridge-born artist’s favourite classical songs. Speaking on WalesOnline’s podcast In the Spotlight Rhydian announced that the album would be his penultimate music release.
Discussing the new album Rhydian said that he was at a point where he was keen to “sign off” his singing career. “I’ve enjoyed my career. It’s been 15 years since The X Factor, I’ve released eight albums already, and I just wanted to sign off my singing career with a couple of releases. One classical album and then later on in the year I’m doing a Best Of which has all my favourite songs from the pop world, musical theatre, and classical. That’ll be it then – I’m hanging up my recording voice.” Our podcast, In the Spotlight with Rhydian, is available to listen to below.
The singer, who came runner-up to Leon Jackson on The X Factor in 2007, admitted that he rarely sings any more. He currently works as an artist manager at talent agency Neil O’Brien Entertainment, which represents the likes of Lee Mead, Samantha Barks, and Sir Bryn Terfel.
“I’ve not been performing much at all, out of choice, since 2019. I took the decision to go to the other side of music v promoting and managing acts. I’d achieved a lot of what I wanted to achieve in singing and now as a promoter to be promoting my childhood hero, Sir Bryn Terfel, is amazing.
“It’s a different sort of pressure. I prefer it because you’re working with different personalities and it’s different every day. With singing I used to get an anxiety that was similar to people who were scared of flying. So that stress has been alleviated somewhat. Working with other people has made me realise how precious I was and how I was worrying for no reason.
“The job has made me realise that maybe I was never cut out for it in the first place. The X Factor was just a stepping stone to release music and then do other things. My main job is actually in property and that’s my main source of income.”
Opening up about the pressures he has faced as a singer Rhydian admitted: “It’s all about the nerves it takes to be spot on every night with classical singing. If you fluff a note on television or stage there’s no hiding from it. You’re expected to be good.
“I have a passion for music. Being at the forefront, though, I don’t particularly enjoy it. It’s bizarre because although I was grateful for the whole fame and notoriety thing I was never enticed or craved it. People who hold on to fame will always be disappointed. You can get wrapped up in that and it can become a sort of drug to want to be recognised. I very quickly realised that I don’t really care.”
Rhydian stressed that it was difficult for him to stay “at a level” as a singer. “For the vast majority of us singers it’s a slow descent and decline and you can keep chipping away at it and then find yourself in 20 years singing to 10 people in a club. I knew when to step off and do something different.
“I feel that I’ve achieved a lot of what I wanted to achieve – singing with Celine Dion, singing for the Queen in her front room at Windsor Castle. In all of these things I’ve had pinch me moments but where do you go from that when it’s on the decline?”
Rhydian’s passion for singing originated at school. From a very young age he performed at Eisteddfod concerts. “I had a natural inclination towards music. I played the trumpet, a bit of guitar, and loved performing. I was a showman from a young age.”
As to why Rhydian applied to be on The X Factor in the first place he said: “At the time I was at music school and being a singer was going to be a long slog. The reality is if you go to music school as a vocalist then you’re probably going to do one of three things.
“You’re going to either be a teacher, in an opera chorus, or the magic can happen and you become a lead but very few singers get to that level. I was never good enough to be there. I went on The X Factor because I was crossing over and because I loved musical theatre and pop as much as I did classical. I literally applied because I wanted to have a record deal.
“I didn’t know anything about the shenanigans and the stories and the editing. I just thought that it was a singing competition and I didn’t realise that you needed a whole load of layers of backstory. More fool me – I should’ve done more research.”
Rhydian’s role on The X Factor saw him catapulted to national fame. Week by week the popular ITV show would garner huge viewing figures. This, in itself, felt “weird” for the singer. “I’m so different now and I’ve certainly mellowed – partly because I don’t like performing in front of an audience anymore. I find it difficult now. The older you get the more acutely you realise how difficult it is to do.
“When you get on the show itself for me it was a case of performing in front of the 400 people who were in the studio. I wasn’t thinking about the lens. If you look down the lens and go: ‘There’s 13 million people watching me’ you might get a little nervous and that’ll affect the performance.
“The first week, I have to confess, was nerve-wracking. There was all this press around the series that suggested that I was an arrogant b*****d. I just thought I’d be out in the first week and no-one wants to go in the first week of anything. I was thinking: ‘I’m going, I know I’m going to go’ but it turns out that I stayed until the end.”
Rhydian said one of his main sources of enjoyment from The X Factor was the team that he worked with. “Part of the reason that I enjoyed it was because of the team that was given to me. I was working with the best choreographers like Brian Friedman, great vocal coaches, and all the production. It would be thousands of pounds for me to do a show like they put on. I loved it.”
He went on to describe how, at the time, he was “concerned” that he’d never escape The X Factor. “At the time I was maybe concerned about that,” he said. “But now I’m quite proud of it because that was my moment to shine. It was a show that has produced a lot of big names.
“It was a great platform and I was one of the few classical acts, I had white hair, and I was Welsh and proud. I made the best of it and whilst I may be known as ‘Rhydian from The X Factor’ I don’t shy away from that and I’m incredibly grateful for Simon Cowell and the show.”
Discussing his relationship with Cowell, Rhydian added: “I had a good working relationship with Simon. He was good to me because he understood that genre and appreciated classical singing. It was amazing to have his backing.”
Rhydian admitted finishing in second place was bruising. He said: “The show stops and I came second. No-one gives a c**p and they all go to the winner. I go to the changing room and you think that you’ve failed. I thought that my opportunity had gone.
“I didn’t cry throughout that show but I have to confess, in the changing room, there was a little tear after the final. It was the energy that it took to get that far. There was pressure [living away from Wales] and you wanted to be home but you’re not for 12 weeks.
“I thought that no-one was going to book me and then I went to my singing teacher’s house in Oxfordshire and when I got there I had a call from Simon Cowell and he said: ‘I’m going to offer you the deal and not just the deal but a better deal.’ I ended up having a better deal than the winner. I went from being a little bit of disappointment to being elated. I was treated very well and I had six-star everything – private jets and all sorts of different things.
“It was the last year of lavish spending in the music industry and I took full advantage of everything. I went to LA and worked there a lot. I lived out in Stockholm for a while and worked with all the best producers in the world so I was in my element.”
Despite his success Rhydian described how he'd always been wary that it wouldn’t last. “You’re led to believe that it will go on forever. When you’re making money for the record label they treat you as if you’ve got a great thing going on. But then you have to realise that it is very cutthroat.
“I stayed with [my record label] for three years and then I left but I knew it’d come to an end because I’m a realist. The career as a whole didn’t come to an end after three years because I had another 12 years after that doing great work.
“You want it to go on longer and my biggest regret was that I was never really released worldwide. I didn’t go to America or Australia. It was a conscious decision from Simon Cowell because it’s a conveyor belt and he had his next show. Susan Boyle came along and took priority rightly or wrongly. To release me internationally would have been too much of a ballache seemingly. That was a big disappointment.”
Rhydian confirmed that he did not take this to heart though. “I can be bitter about that but then again it is what it is and I’m still grateful for what I had. I sold over a million albums and I’m happy with that.” The singer’s new album, Rhydian, Classical Album, Hymns, Songs & Arias, is available to pre-order now, ahead of its release on Friday, February 24.
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