Matt Terry shot to stardom when he competed on X Factor season 13.
The popstar appeared on the hit ITV programme in 2016 and wowed the judges with his rendition of Stand By Me at the audition stage. Matt sailed through the live shows when he was mentored by Nicole Scherzinger - and saw off competition from Saara Aalto to eventually be crowned the winner.
He soon released his debut single, When Christmas Comes Around, which shot to number three on the UK Singles Charts. The winner of the show is awarded a record deal - and Matt told the Daily Star he decided against going with Simon Cowell's label, Syco.
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He said: "The deal with the show is you win a contract with Sony and within that, there are Syco, RCA, Island etc. I was fortunate to have had more than one offer and I got to pick Syco or RCA.
"My winner's single was Syco but I got a choice to do my album through Syco or RCA. I think it was absolutely the right thing so they definitely understood me and I got my album. RCA isn't Simon's label but actually, I'm grateful for Simon, he changed my life and he's always so lovely and supportive but I never really had much to do with him.
"He wasn't my judge, I didn't sign to his label and I think it was the right path for me. There are no hard feelings at all and it was definitely the right thing."
Matt's debut album, Sucker For You, peaked at number 29 on the UK Albums Chart and he parted ways with RCA in 2018. He is now aged 29 and is currently performing as Stacee Jaxx in the hit musical, Rock Of Ages, which is touring the UK.
Matt still attracts attention from fans, but said it was at its "most mental" in the immediate aftermath of the show. The singer recalled a time he was nervous after a driver pulled him to the side of the road. He told the Daily Star : "I hadn't learned to drive yet and I wanted to buy a car so I did a really intense course before the tour and I bought a Mini.
"It was fun to drive around in and I was always in the car because I loved it and there was this man in the car who drove up past next to me and was beeping me and I thought 'oh my God, what have I done?'
"He wants to punch me, he's having a go at me, he's going to ram into my car and he was like 'pull over, pulll over!' and I was like what shall I do?
"I was nervous, I was scared and he starts to like push his car into mine, I stop and he comes near me and I'm like he's going to have a massive go at me.
"He gets out of his car and luckily his two little girls jump out the back of his car and he's like 'can we get a photo mate?' I was like 'I thought you were gonna wallop me'.
He continued: "That was the craziest time, nothing like that has happened since, I mean I guess I've had a few but it's been years."
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