You might see a music star from Swadlincote on your screens later this year on the X Factor 2017.
Ollie Smith, 18, packed up his guitar and headed to Manchester ready to wow the judges with his rendition of Fast Car by Tracy Chapman.
He received great feedback from judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osborne, clinching two yeses from the men, although Sharon questioned his confidence. The absence of a fourth judge meant that with two yeses, Ollie could progress to the next round.
He said: “The feedback from the judges was great. Simon Cowell said I’ve got a good voice, and when it came down to voting Louis Walsh said ‘100 per cent yes’, which was a great feeling.
“It’s a bit better than just your mum telling you that you’re good.”
When he returned for the boot camp auditions at Wembley Stadium, however, things didn’t go so well for Ollie.
He joined hundreds of other hopefuls training with voice coaches and performing in front of various people, but before he got to show his talents to the judges, he was pulled aside with several other performers. They were all told they would not progress to the next round and their X Factor dream was over.
The former Pingle Academy pupil hasn't taken the experience to heart though, and is determined that one day he will get his big break.
Ollie tours pubs and clubs across the area doing covers of indie classics from the likes of Oasis and The Stone Roses, along with some of his own material.
Ollie also appeared on the acoustic stage at last weekend's BurtonFest alongside popular local acts Kirby, Jamie Mathias and Ashley Sherlock. Headlining the festival were last year’s X Factor winner Matt Terry and popular boy band Union J, who also came from the show.
The joiner has always had an interest in music, first igniting his passion when he was just 10 years old.
And he won’t be letting one minor setback get him down. He said: “I might audition again one day, who knows?
“I’m just going to carry on gigging as I do, and get my name out there as much as possible.”
