A former X Factor contestant has revealed what it was really like on the show. American singer-songwriter Spencer Sutherland made his debut on the programme back in Summer 2017, auditioning for Simon Cowell, Nicole Scherzinger, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh. During his first audition, the musician received harsh criticism due to his performance habits – before the judges finally complimented his vocal ability, sailing through to the next round with four yeses.
But it wasn't just the audition round which saw Spencer impress the judges, the 32-year-old found himself sailing through the competition, passing Bootcamp and Judges Houses, before landing a spot in the live shows. As part of the Boys category, alongside Lloyd Macey, Leon Mallett and Sam Black, he was mentored by Louis Walsh. However, in the first round of the live shows, Spencer lost out to fellow Boys star, Leon and was ultimately sent home after receiving the lowest public votes. Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Spencer said: "It was really fun. It's funny because they always try to create a little bit of a drama and a little bit of panic.
"I think it helps with the TV show aspect of it – it's all in good fun. It clearly works for a reason because people love the shows and I loved doing it. I had such a blast doing it." Reflecting on Cher Lloyd's recent comments about the programme focusing on the reality TV aspect, rather than music, Spencer continued: "The whole story of me doing was, I flew over from Ohio, with a dream in a bucket and I did.
"They sort of sought out an American, I was talking to producers before I even auditioned – it's funny how those shows work." But prior to appearing on the programme, Spencer had already had a brush with fame, in June 2017, he was chosen as Elvis Duran's Artist of the Month on NBC's The Today Show with Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford, with his track Selfish. Since then, Spencer has become friends with Elvis and recently appeared on his show to promote his album, The Drama. "He's become a dear friend now," he said, adding: I just love it when that kind of stuff happens. People just continue to support for years. Now, we get to hang out and talk about an entire an album, instead of just discovering me as an artist which is fun.".
But one of Spencer's highlights was joining forces with Meghan Trainor for his 2023 single, Chicken Little, admitting that she was the "best person ever". He explained: "The thing I love about her is that she's a giant proponent of up and coming artists. So she loves to help out people on a bunch different ways. She messaged me which was really exciting because I've been a fan of hers for a decade.
"She asked to get on a song that I had written and I was like 'How can I say no to that? I wanted to ask you but I was nervous'. I love hanging out with her and her husband, they are just some of the good people in the industry," adding that everything you see from Meghan is "all real.". Currently, Spencer is on a world tour, having performed at Manchester's Gorilla bar on Thursday. "It's insane to be across the world in places like Berlin, Milan, I think I've outdone my dreams," he said before struggling to contain his excitement over the "coolest thing ever.".
"The X Factor taught me so much," Spencer said about his music. "I don't know what my genre is, that's my biggest takeaway from that." The musician who has released a staggering 26 singles went on to say "I just try to release as much music into the world that I was proud of. My first two albums, I'm just so proud and feel like I've finally honed in on my rock and roll and my glam rock style – it just feels so like me.".
Although he's been on a journey of self-discovery, Spencer revealed that it's "uncomfortable" to face such harsh realities about yourself but it's "necessary" to help you discover who you are as a singer and your stage persona. "When I was doing X Factor, I thought I was ready but I was so far off," he joked. Singing isn't the only thing Spencer is passion about and in 2021, the musician turned his hand to acting, starring in the Netflix hit movie, Afterlife of the Party. The film, during which he played Koop, instantly became a smash and one of the most viewed films on the entire streaming platform.
"It was a great transition because I played I played like this big pop star in a movie," he said. Spencer continued: "I got to write the music for the movie and it felt like a nice kind of crossover. I'm still auditioning, I would love to do more. It's hard when you're touring a lot." However, Spencer revealed that nobody expected the movie to take off so quickly. Despite currently being on tour, he's still attempting to write for his third studio album when finding gaps in his hectic schedule. "I'd like to put out a deluxe version of The Drama," he teased. He added: "We're working on more tour dates, more support stuff and headline. I just dropped my own coffee bean brand with my guitarist called The Drama Blend, so just trying out all sorts of fun.".
