THE pouring rain seemed to mirror Scott Bruton’s screen tears when I met him earlier today in central London.
Happily – less than 12 hours after his X Factor elimination – young Scott had a smile on his face.
He chatted at a relaxed mid-morning press conference – and also thanked MEN readers for their support.
You can read the news story here.
And check out the audio files at the bottom of this blog.
I know fans of Manchester-raised Scott will want to know more.
So here are some edited extracts of what he said today:
First question…how was he feeling?
“I’m feeling good. Obviously I was a bit devastated yesterday. But after it’s sunk in, you’ve just got to realise that things like this happen and I’m hoping to work off the back of The X Factor now.
“I’m really feeling good about my future. It’s the start of the rest of my life. Congratulations to Danny, he pulled out an amazing performance.”

Did he feel he’d been undone by Daniel’s sob story in the sing-off?
“No, I don’t think that in the slightest. I feel like Daniel performed better on the day and the judges saw that. Obviously I’m a bit gutted that I left. And just well done to Danny.”
What was going through his mind when he stood speechless on stage after being voted out?

“When Louis turned round and said the act that is going home is Scott, I was just like, ‘Oh my God, it’s actually over.’ But then I sat down and I had a chance to calm down and just realise how well I’ve done. How many people can say that, ‘I entered The X Factor, 182,000 people, and I made the top 10?’ How many people can say that? So I’m trying to keep a really positive attitude on it. I’m looking at the glass half full now. Twelve million people have watched me for God-knows how many weeks and I’m just really, really happy at the position that I’m in at the moment.”
Louis choked up after Daniel sang. Did Daniel’s story swing it for him?
“I honestly don’t think that the story swang it for him. He just sang better on the day.”
Was he happy with your final performances?
“Yeah, I feel my final performances…I performed them to the best that I could. At least I can go out of this competition now with my head held high and no regrets. It’s not as if I went out on a bad performance. So I’m really happy about that.”
Was he happy with song choices?
“First week, no. It was a dreadful song but Simon has actually turned round and said, ‘Yeah, I made a mistake there.’ She’s Out Of My Life, yes, fantastic song. And That’s Life, yeah.”
Was he annoyed with Simon?
“No, Simon has been an absolutely fantastic mentor to me.”

How did he feel about the judges’ comments in the first week, when Simon got the song choice wrong?
“When they started just pretty much ripping into me, I was like, ‘Oh my God, am I going home first week?’ I’ll be honest, I didn’t want to be handed the wooden spoon. I was just like, ‘He’s obviously made a mistake. I just hope he delivers for me next week, if I get through.’ And he did.”
What did Simon say to him on stage last night?
“He was just basically giving me advice and just saying, ‘Look, this isn’t the end of your career. I know it might feel like that at the minute but you’re going to do so well off this.’ The amount of exposure that I’ve got from The X Factor, I mean 12 million people a week watch it, so somebody somewhere could take an interest. I hope, anyway, out of 12 million people. But I’m just keeping my fingers crossed. I’m going to keep my head down and work hard, because I didn’t enter this for the fame or the money or the glory. I entered this because I want a music career and I just hope I can make something out of this now.”
Was Simon the right mentor for him?
“Yes. Definitely. Simon was my first choice mentor. He was the only person I wanted. I feel like he did the best he could for me.”
How far think did he think he’d get in The X Factor?
“To be honest, I thought I was going out at Bootcamp. So just to get this far is an unbelievable achievement. I’ve had so many amazing experiences through this show. So I feel so lucky and so blessed to be in the position that I was in.”
Who does he think will win and who does he want to win?
“Who do I think’s going to win? I think Alexandra will win. One of the most dynamic singers I’ve ever heard and she’s a true performer as well. She’s got it all. Who do I want to win? Laura. I want Laura to win. I think she’ll definitely be in the final. Also Eoghan as well, cos Eoghan was my best mate in the house and he’s an absolutely fantastic guy. When he get gets out of the competition, I’m going over to stay with him and his family in Ireland. They’ve already invited me. And my family has invited him to come and stay with us. We’re really, really close mates and he’s a diamond bloke. Me and him are like a double act in the house and he’s like, ‘What are we gonna do without you now?’”

“It’s going to be weird, because I’m going to miss everybody so much. I found it hard when GirlBand and Bad Lashes…because we were all so close. Living together in that environment, it’s just like, ‘My God, people are going to be going home now.’ It was weird. And the house felt so empty, especially after Bad Lashes went, because that was two girl bands, and that’s eight people in the house. I think it was 21 people staying in the house, and eight people going, it’s just like, ‘Oh my God, it’s so empty.’”
Has there been any romance in the house?
“Yes, there has. I’m not going to say, though. There’s been a boy and a girl that have been getting very close.”
Future plans?
“I’m going to see about getting into a studio, sitting down and writing some songs and try and get them out there. And obviously record a new demo and get that out there and see if anybody picks that up.”
“As I say, Getting out of The X Factor, it’s not the end for me. It’s just the beginning of something great. And that’s what I said at my very first audition – it’s the start of something great for me. Just because I’m out of The X Factor, it doesn’t mean it has to end.”
Would he ever go back to Pontin’s?
“Oh no, definitely not. The Bluecoat is well and truly out of my life now. I’m just so happy that people have stopped calling me Scott the Bluecoat now. When I first got into The X Factor, I was walking down the street and it was like, ‘Oh look, there’s that Bluecoat.’ I suppose it did get me down a bit because I was trying to lose that title. But then when I got further in the competition, the live shows, ‘My God, it’s Scott Bruton.’ And it was nice to lose that title.
“A Bluecoat wasn’t all that I was. I did the job for seven months. It’s the best job I’ve ever done, by the way, an absolutely amazing job, I’d recommend it. But I was a singer before I was a Bluecoat.
“It is a hard job, believe me. It’s not easy. There’s been people saying, ‘Oh yeah, being a Bluecoat is so easy.’ Try it. It’s not. It’s so hard. You’re up at nine o’clock, going to bed at 11 at night and getting three, four hours to yourself during the day. So it’s constantly working. You’ve got shows to do and so much to learn.”

What if Pontin’s threw big money at him to go back?
“I highly doubt Pontin’s would bring me back as a Bluecoat. Maybe they’d bring me back as a cabaret. It would be nice to go back to my centre and do a gig, yeah. Just to go back and see everyone and just say, ‘I used to work here and now I’m accomplished.’ I’ve used Pontin’s as a stepping stone, because it’s a fantastic stepping stone for any young artist or anybody that wants to do well in the music business. Because Bluecoats come across as cheesy, cabaret, but I’ve seen so much great talent come from Pontin’s, especially. There’s so much undiscovered talent in holiday camps, I’m just glad that I’ve been able to lead to the way and just show people that people from holiday camps can do well.”
Has he got other careers in mind if music doesn’t work out?
“I’d like to go into TV presenting, because that seems right up my alley, especially for a person that’s got a personality like I have. I can just go up and talk to anybody, me. So TV presenting would be a career I’d like to do, if I didn’t do well in music.
“Possibly acting as well. I had to pull out of college because of lack of funds. But it would be nice to pursue that again. But I’m just 100 per cent focused on my music up to now.
“I did drama at college for two years and had to pull out due to lack of funds and get a full-time job.
“I’ve been thinking about this a lot over the past few weeks and I’d really like to go to the West End and try my hand out there. It would be really nice to at least try and go for some sort of part in the West End and get accomplished that way, because at least I get to do everything that I love. I get to sing, I get to dance, I get to act and get to really express myself on stage and that would be a really fantastic career for me, I feel.”

Has Simon offered him a record contract?
“He’s an absolutely fantastic mentor. He’s given me some great advice. I’m sure he’ll keep in touch with me. Has he offered me a contract? No. No, he hasn’t offered me a contract. It would be nice if he did, though.”
“I didn’t enter this for the fortune or the fame or the glory. I entered this to get a career. As long as I can do well off this, then I’ll be completely fine.”
X Factor Scott To Bounce Back
X Factor Blogs
Audio Files:
Scott says thanks
Scott on the moment he was voted off
Scott on what Simon said to him on stage
Scott on who will win
Scott on Pontin’s
Scott in the West End?