Not long ago, The X Factor was dominating Saturday night TV, as people across the UK tuned in to watch and vote for their favourite singers in the competition.
One of the most unforgettable stars of the ITV series was Rowetta, who finished in fourth place while competing in the very first series 20 years ago.
Yes, that’s right – somehow, it’s really been two decades since The X Factor was first launched, with Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh on the panel as the original trio of judges.
To mark the 20th anniversary of series one, Metro.co.uk had the chance to speak to Rowetta about her time in the competition and her music career, having joined Happy Mondays in 1990 and collaborated with artists including Solardo and Todd Terry.
While The X Factor might have propelled her to TV fame in 2004, Rowetta decided against doing any more reality TV when it ended, despite receiving a flurry of offers.
The musician, now 58, explained how she turned down all of the shows, including Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, making exceptions for programmes such as Children In Need and BBC Music Day.
‘I don’t want to do things for money if possible. I’ve not needed to, because of my singing,’ she shared.
‘I’ve just never done it for the money. That’s not what drives me. It’s being taken more seriously as a singer and people hearing my voice and my songs. That was more important to me.’
Rowetta’s X Factor journey began with her audition in Leeds, as presenter Kate Thornton brought her into the room to meet the judges for the first time (before the format on the show changed and auditions were held in front of a live audience).
Following her rendition of Lady Marmalade and Circle of Life in that fateful first audition, Sharon told her: ‘I think you’ve got a real old belter’s voice,’ while Simon’s vote sent her through to the next round.
The singer’s powerful vocals took her from strength to strength in the competition, with Simon mentoring her in the over-25s category as she won over audiences with her talent and magnetic personality.
The then-38-year-old never faced a sing-off in the competition, eventually finishing in fourth place behind Tabby Callaghan in third place, G4 as the runners-up and Steve Brookstein as the winner.
Years later, you can find numerous comments on social media from X Factor fans who believe Rowetta should have been crowned the winner – but she’s glad not to have clinched the top spot.
‘As the top woman, I’m really glad that I didn’t win, because my single would have been Somewhere Over The Rainbow,’ Rowetta said, having sung the famous tune from The Wizard of Oz in week three of the live shows.
‘I wanted to do Stop Crying Your Heart Out, Oasis, to be honest, but Simon said it wouldn’t work. But for me, it would have done because then I could have moved on from the X Factor.’
Had Rowetta won the series and released Somewhere Over The Rainbow as her winner’s single, she doesn’t think she’d have been able to ‘move on’ from the show.
‘I think it would have been a disaster to win it, and then have to bring out songs like that. I love funky stuff. I don’t want to be doing Somewhere Over The Rainbow for the rest of my life,’ she stated.
‘So I decided that as long as I’m the top woman, that would be my ambition. I think that was a great result.’
Rowetta’s main reason for doing The X Factor was for her grandma, who kept saying to her: ‘Why are you not on the TV like these singers? You’re better than those.’
‘She didn’t realise I’d been in Happy Mondays, played Wembley stadium supporting Oasis and stuff like that. Rock in Rio…’ Rowetta recalled.
‘She didn’t realise that they were quite a big band. She just said, “You should be singing on your own,” because she knew what a good voice I had, and I’d not had my moment yet.’
After finding out that there was no age limit for entering The X Factor, Rowetta went for it… becoming one of the most unforgettable singers on the show, and boasting collaborations in her career with artists such as Oliver Heldens and Shed Seven.
‘I’m in a great place now but it took a while,’ she added.
Rowetta takes ‘loves’ being a role model on the Manchester music scene, including performing at Manchester Pride, explaining that when she was growing up, ‘there was no one to look up to from Manchester that was Black and female’.
However, one aspect of her career that the musician takes umbrage at is being referred to as a ‘backing singer’ – ‘because I’ve never been one’.
‘I still love touring with bands, and being the female is very important for me to represent Manchester from the female perspective, and not be called a backing singer,’ she explained.
‘I hate that because they seem to do that just to Black girls more than white girls. So I always say, “Just don’t call me a backing singer,” because I’ve never been one, I don’t stand at the back.’
While Simon, 64, inititally appeared to debate letting Rowetta through in her first X Factor audition, the pair subsequently formed a strong bond on the show as he became her mentor.
‘Sometimes I’d sing a couple of words, and he said, “You literally can sing anything can’t you Rowetta?”’ she recollected about her time spent with the media mogul on the ITV series.
‘I’d give him goosebumps, and you could see he would crumble after me singing a couple of words, and that gave me so much confidence.’
‘I just really enjoyed it,’ Rowetta added about her time on the programme. ‘It’s got a great sense of humour. I didn’t take it too seriously. I didn’t expect anything at the end of the show. I didn’t want anything from him.
‘What you do afterwards is the most important thing to me.’
Rowetta had nothing but glowing praise for ‘the people I got along with while I was on the show’, such as Simon and Sharon, as well as those she has stayed in touch with, including Sinitta, Tabby and individuals who were working backstage on the series.
‘Because [it was] the first series, I didn’t really know what I was getting into but I don’t really complain, because the benefits have outweighed the negatives,’ she said.
Rowetta now has several exciting ventures on the horizon, including a memoir that she said has the potential for a TV series, a song out with Todd Terry and Fedde Le Grande, and a tour later this year.
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Twenty years on from her X Factor journey, Rowetta’s legacy continues.
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