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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Hana Carter

Joe McElderry unrecognisable from his X Factor days as he showcases edgy look

X Factor winner Joe McElderry looked incredibly different from his days on the singing competition in his latest TV appearance.

The 30-year-old has embraced an edgier look from his days on the show where he beat Olly Murs.

No longer clean-shaven, the singer showed off designer stubble and had slicked back his wavy hair.

Revealing a bare chest, Joe wore a grey silk shirt with a plunging neckline.

He told Steph's Packed Lunch that he got to The X Factor bootcamps but quit three years before returning to the show and winning.

Joe McElderry looks very different to his days on X Factor (Channel 4)

He said: "So I would've been about 15. I got to bootcamp and on the second day I was like, 'I don't like the cameras being here.' Just overwhelming.

"I pulled a producer to one side and I was like, 'excuse me, I'm just going to leave now, this isn't for me.' I don't think they'd ever really had that before. You could tell they were a bit like 'sorry what?'"

Joe was just 18 when he won The X Factor - but was immediately the subject of a hate campaign (Ken McKay / Rex Features)

"I just said, 'I don't feel like I'm good enough and I don't feel like I'm ready or confident enough and I left."'

His cover of Miley Cyrus ' The Climb was his debut single and flew to number one in the UK charts.

He's also stepped into the world of musical theatre and in 2015 he played the lead role of Joseph in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.

He's recently been documenting his workout journey on his social media.

Joe said he had already made it to the X Factor bootcamps when he was 15 years old (Channel 4)

In one snap he was on all fours on the floor of a gym, covered in sweat.

He captioned the photo: "If you assault bikes! You know this feeling very well."

In another he wore a pair of orange shorts and a work out top as he gave the thumbs up.

He was met by fans who praised him for his fitness journey.

"OMG looks like hard work," one wrote.

"Well done Joe," said another.

Joe was met by cruel trolls in 2015 when he was blasted for showing off an alleged "fuller frame".

Joe has released five albums and starred in theatre productions (ITV)

He was hurt and furious by the comments and told The Mirror: "It was a bad angled photo and I would go as far to say it was an edited photo as well, but that's a whole other story."

"I reacted to it in a funny way by posting a topless picture from the gym and made a joke out of it, but I also wanted to send out a message to kids and teenagers that of course your body changes when you get older, of course you change shape, of course your shoulders get broader, of course your arms are bigger."

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