Anyone who watched the eighth series of UK talent show, The X Factor, would have noticed Kitty Brucknell, the beautiful blonde diva, portrayed as a “novelty act”.
We at Essentially Pop are extremely honoured to have had the chance to chat exclusively to the controversial X Factor Star, to find out a little about the real Kitty, away from the X Factor image.
We found a highly intelligent, talented and extremely nice person, dedicated to her craft.
This is what Kitty had to say:
You first came to the public’s attention on the X Factor in 2011. Do you feel you were portrayed fairly on the show?
Probably not. Especially at first. I was really upset with the way that I came across at the beginning, because everyone who knows me knows that I’m not arrogant, or big-headed in any way. There was quite a lot from my first audition which wasn’t portrayed fairly. But, to the producers’ credit, from bootcamp onwards, they did try and change things, it was just too late by that time, because everyone had made up their minds. It was heartbreaking, I cried for three weeks after all of that. I’d gotten through to the live shows, and I just wanted to cry. I wish I had gotten the experiences that everyone else had gotten – when their auditions were aired, they would be getting tweets from their idols, and everyone would be congratulating them. And all I had was my idols tweeting that I must be a horrible person, and I was a failure in every way. It was really tough.
Would you advise other young artists to go down that same route?
Honestly, I’m not sure if I would recommend it to anyone. The problem is that it’s really hard to get signed nowadays without some sort of profile, so a lot of managers think it’s the best route. And sometimes it is. But I don’t think some people know what they are getting themselves into. Fame is irreversible. That’s just how it is.
Do you keep in touch with any other XF contestants, either from your year, or from other years?
Not from my year, no. I tried to, but there was a lot of bitterness and I think it became quite a dark year for a lot of people. I had to make a decision to cut ties because I couldn’t stay around all that negativity. I did keep in touch with The Risk for a while, they were cool. And Bradley Johnson from NuVibe, he’s in Australia now. I know a few people from other years, Ruth Lorenzo was so helpful to me after I left, and I’m so proud of her success. She’s a massive star in Spain now, and it’s amazing. I love her voice. I’ve chatted to Jedward a bit, I’m a huge fan of theirs. And there’s a few others, but I have been so focused on my music, it’s hard to stay in touch sometimes. I really try to. I never want to forget people who have helped me.
Do you feel the “X Factor” tag is a help or a hindrance to forging a career in the music industry?
I’d say it’s a hindrance to 99% of people who enter. That’s the problem. It pays the bills for a few years and can help you get a leg up if you get lucky. But if you’re not what people are looking for, then that’s it, bye bye, see ya later. And it’s really hard to deal with that. I wish the industry wasn’t so snobby about it. At the end of the day, I have probably worked three times as hard as other people who didn’t do it – I have such a huge hurdle to climb.
You’ve been writing and touring extensively since that time. How did you enjoy touring Asia? Did you find it a different experience to touring in Europe, in terms of your reception, for example, in a place with no preconceived ideas about you?
I am OBSESSED with Asia. It’s incredible and I loved it. It was amazing because nobody knew who I was, and so I had this clean slate. I had to really work the crowd and it gave me a good idea about my strengths and weaknesses. But they really get into it all and it’s amazing how they dress up and are so enthusiastic. My confidence had been so knocked in 2012, so it was incredible to do this tour and build it all back up again. I think that tour probably saved me, it got my mojo back. The other place I’ve toured a lot is Egypt. It’s incredible and I love the culture there, especially the clubs in the desert. It’s a whole other ballgame, it literally is my favourite thing in the world.
It’s to your credit that you write and produce your own music, and have a hand in the entire creative process. Do you feel it’s important to be involved in all aspects of your career?
Of course. In fact, that’s one of the things I’m really into, and it’s important to me that as an artist I am involved in everything from the ground up. I’ve designed all my solo tours, and done the video backdrops and picked out the costumes. For China I was sewing my jewels into my corset on Christmas Day! I love being so involved, it’s what gives me the greatest satisfaction.
You have a large loyal fanbase. How did the name “Kitty’s Divas” come about?
That name came about really quickly! It was just after I was on the live shows. This fan called Toby, he wrote to me and said I should call my fanbase Divas. But then everyone started making twitter accounts saying Kitty Diva, so it just stuck. I love that, I am totally bessotted with my fans. We’re like one big family and they mean so much to me it’s unreal.
Your next single, “Glitter in the Sky”, is available to preorder now. Tell us something about that!
I made this special link – GlitterSingle.com – click that and it takes you right to the link to pre-order! You can also pre-order all the instrumentals as well, and the karaoke version as well as dance mixes. I am so super excited about this but I can’t do it without your help, so it’s really important that everyone pre-orders – it will change my life if this charts. It literally would open so many doors.
What do you feel are the advantages of using Pledge Music as opposed to the traditional route?
Well, especially from the show that I came from, it gave me an amazing advantage to get my fanbase going and excited about my music. I have wanted to put music out for so long, but I really wanted to wait until I got it right. And also, because releasing a track is so expensive! For an independent label/artist, it’s like buying a house. I literally could not have done this without the support of Pledge. I am so excited for the future and I can’t wait to see what’s round the corner. I just keep on going!
What’s the meaning behind “Glamour and Damage”?
Well, there’s two sides to me. One is “Glamour”, that’s the pink lipstick and the frilly dresses and the smiles. So that’s super happy dance music. The “Damage” is all about being real. It’s a side of me I don’t normally show, but there’s also a badass side to me as well,and it’s all mixed up in there. I love the title. It’s been that title for two years now… it just took a little while to get going!
Are there any surprises in the new album?
Well, there’s this country track I wrote about an old friend of mine who passed away last year. But it’s uplifting, and sing-a-long and has this great guitar solo in it that I’m obsessed with. So that’s probably a bit of a surprise. I’ve remixed a lot of tracks that people have heard as well – so it’s coming from a really fresh standpoint.
And last of all – what next for Kitty Brucknell?
I have these two tracks that I want to just kick ass with. They are so radically different to what’s in the charts right now, so it’s a big risk. But I am going to do everything I can to get them heard because I put my heart and soul into them. One is a take on Moonlight Sonata. It’s piano and African drumming. It’s bonkers!
We’d like to thank Kitty for taking the time to speak us and wish her well in all her future endeavours.
You can purchase “Glitter in the Sky” on iTunes
“Glamour and Damage” is available to preorder on Kitty’s official website
