Rhydian Roberts and his signature peroxide hair rose to fame almost 16 years ago when he made his X Factor debut.
Rhydian was in his final year of university when he auditioned for the singing competition in 2007 and became an instant hit with viewers for his flamboyant style and dazzling hair.
"I had it all through university but it wasn't quite as white," explained Rhydian of his unique look on Loose Women in 2018, joking he was a "Phillip Schofield tribute act".
However, he claimed that show boss Simon Cowell kept pushing for his locks to be lighter and lighter, which ultimately left him with serious damage.
He continued: "I remember when I was on X Factor Simon Cowell kept saying, 'No, no it needs to be whiter,' so really it was him who gave me the damage to this hair. It's not healthy all this maintenance."
His full theatrical account of 'The Phantom of the Opera' led to Celine Dion declaring that he was 'in a different league' and he quickly became favourite to win.
But he was portrayed as the villain, with Rhydian later claiming that Simon admitted that was the plan.
"Rhydian, yes we're painting you as a villain, but that's what they did with me," the music mogul reportedly said.
And despite coming in second place to Leon Jackson, Simon made the unusual step of offering him a recording contract.
His debut album titled 'Rhydian', gained platinum status in weeks when it was released in November 2008, and earned him the title of highest-selling male solo artist of the year with 600,000 copies sold.
He performed to an audience of over 30,000 at Andrew Lloyd Webber's 60th Birthday Party in Hyde Park and Prince Charles invited him to become a patron of The Prince's Trust.
After going on tour, Rhydian released second album 'O Fortuna' and recorded his own television special for Welsh broadcaster S4C followed by the documentary 'Rhydian'.
As well as releasing music, Rhydian started hitting the gym.
The Welsh singer was a powerlifter at school and a strong bench presser but had rarely shown off his buff physique until a photoshoot in 2015.
Rhydian showed off his muscles in shirtless snaps - with his rippling abs and bulging biceps on show.
But in 2018, the star opened up about having struggled with his body image in the past.
"I did back at university. I guess you'd call it body dysmorphia," he explained on Loose Women in 2018. "I don't have it now but when you're on TV there's always a pressure to look good.
"The same is true with men as well. I don't have it bad at all. When I was muscular, you're never big enough or thing enough, whatever it is.
"It's not that important now and the older you get the more accepting you are."
After releasing two classical crossover albums, Rhydian decided to change his sound for his 2011 album 'Waves'.
"My first two albums were classical crossover and did very, very well," he told Wales Online. "But I went on the X Factor to be a pop star, not an opera star, and it's great to have the opportunity to record an album like this."
Rhydian joined the cast of West End musical 'We Will Rock You' in 2011, has appeared in the pantomime Aladdin, The Rocky Horror Show and touring productions of Jesus Christ Superstar and Little Shop of Horrors.
However, it seems that Rhydian has moved away from performing in recent years and is now working behind the scenes.
As well as describing himself as an "X Factor legend" in his Twitter bio, Rhydian said he is working for an entertainment management company.
As an artist manager and promoter to the stars, his talent includes Any Dream Will Do winner Lee Mead, Iranian-Candian West End actor Rami Karimloo, actress Samantha Barks and pop band UB40.
Rhydian is also keeping himself busy as a property developer and investor.
As for his love life, Rhydian explained he was putting his career before any relationship in 2007.
"I don't want to sound like a machine, but I have always been so focused on what I do that I don't have much time for anything else," he told Mail Online.
"I have always wanted to focus on being the best that I can possibly be. Most of my time I am either training my voice, in the gym, or doing performances.
"It can come across as obsessive but I believe that if you want things in life you have to work at them. You have to make sacrifices."
But he started a relationship with girlfriend Liesl after meeting in 2016 and became step dad to her son.
Explaining it was wonderful but challenging, Rhydian said in 2018: "He doesn't have a dad basically so I stepped in and I'm playing the role. I love it, you have to become completely selfless. To see his development is just gorgeous to see.
"He hates me singing. I practise at home and he says, 'daddy, daddy, stop singing.'"
Last year, there was speculation that Rhydian was taking part in The Masked Singer.
Viewers believed the "strong theatrical operatic voice" and Welsh twang belonged to him.
One person tweeted: "I said Ales Jones last time but I feel it's not him, someone maybe younger like Rhydian".
"#MaskedSingerUK Traffic Cone is Rhydian from X factor," another insisted.
Although it turned out that Traffic Cone, who was voted off in a double elimination, was actually classical star Aled Jones.
Meanwhile, in February the Welsh singer announced that he plans to retire after the release of his ninth studio album and a Best Of compilation.
"I've enjoyed my career. It's been 15 years since The X Factor, I've released eight albums already, and I just wanted to sign off my singing career with a couple of releases," he told WalesOnline's podcast In the Spotlight.
"One classical album and then later on in the year I'm doing a Best Of which has all my favourite songs from the pop world, musical theatre, and classical. That'll be it then – I'm hanging up my recording voice."
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