She took out the title as X FactorAustralia’s winner in 2012. Now the pint-sized pocket rocket with the big voice is gearing up to headline this year’s X Factor Live Tour.
DOLLY spoke to Sammy and chatted about music, roast chicken and, err, dining with vampires…
Q: How does it feel when you look back at your first performance and then you look at where you are now?
S: I feel like I’m looking at a different girl, in some respects. I think the thing with me on the show is that I really did grow. In the beginning I was still myself but I’m the better version of myself now. I feel like I’ve grown so much and really changed for the better.
Q: Who was the first person you called when you won?
S: My mum. I was like, “Mum I won!”. And she was like “I know!” She was in the audience but I still called her because I wanted her to come backstage.
Q: How has life changed for you?
S: I actually get noticed on the street, I can’t believe it. It’s different because people have said to me, “Oh you’ve already gone through this” but I haven’t. I’ve never been someone that people actually recognise so it’s a totally different world and you have to make sure you’re dressed well and have your hair good every day. That’s new! (laughs)
Q: Have you been papped by the paparazzi?
S: I can’t believe it’s me. I’m one of those people that’s been papped. I’s so weird.
Q: Now your song What You’ve Done To Me has been getting so much air play. Can we expect more songs like that from you?
S: Oh, definitely. I think I want to keep that kind of pop, uplifting, fun vibe. I do want to do songs like the arrangement that Guy [Sebastian] did for Heartless as well though — those powerful moment songs. But I think pop is really making a comeback.
Q: The X Factor tour is kicking off in January, what can we expect?
S: It’s going to be so fun! We’re all so excited. We have really become a family, especially the top six because we spent so much time together. I don’t think any of us have toured before so it’s a first for everyone.
Q: Who are you closest to out of the contestants?
S: Nathaniel and I were really good friends because we were in the same group, and we got along really, really well and his girlfriend’s so lovely! He also got along with my boyfriend so we all hung out a lot. I also love Bella and The Collective. Will and I text all the time, and I see The Collective boys a lot.
Q: What did you guys get up to backstage?
S: When we did sound check, we’d all have our mics and only we could hear each other with our inner ears. So we’d be like whispering to each other, it was just hilarious.
Q: You were signed to a record label and then dropped a few years ago, how did you pick yourself up and keep going?
S: It was really, really hard. When I got dropped I honestly lost all of the faith in music. It’s tough on your soul when you love something so much. I fell apart, I really, really did. I just wanted to sleep all day. I hated life! But I’m so glad that I experienced what it feels like to have a normal job and to start from scratch. I appreciate everything more than I ever did and I’m willing to work even harder.
Q: What’s your advice to young girls who might be going through a tough time?
S: I always say that the reason I’ve gotten through bad things in my life is because I have very close friends and family. That could be your mum, your dad, or your cousin or your best friend. I always keep my circle really, really small and put trust in certain people. I feel really blessed that they’ve got my back.
Q: You were so confident on stage. What’s your number one body confidence tip?
S: You’ve gotta think of the things that you love about yourself and think about the fact that you’re lucky. You know, we’re so lucky to be healthy. The reason everybody thought I was confident on stage was because I looked like I was having fun — so everybody else was having fun with me.
THE FAST 6!
1. Favourite movie?
S: I’ve got two. The Sound of Music and Titanic.
2. Any phobias?
S: Yes, I hate mice! I actually hate mice, I can’t stand them.
3. If you had an endless supply of food, what would that be?
S: Roast chicken and raw vegetables. I really do love it.
4. What is one goal you’d like to accomplish in your lifetime?
S: To have an ARIA sitting in my room would just be incredible.
5: If you had access to a time machine, where and when would you travel to?
S: I’d travel to when my brothers were little again. They’re big now, they’re sixteen and eighteen. They’re not my babies anymore. I’d like to go back to when they were two and four and I was their mini-mum.
6. Who would your dream dinner guest be?
S: Beyonce because I just want to ask her everything! And Edward fromTwilight. Not Robert Pattinson, but the actual vampire!
Q: Do you have a message for DOLLY readers?
S: Yes! I want to say thank you so much for the support and don’t ever stop believing in yourself. I know the reason that I’m here is because of everybody’s support. And come to the tour!
How is life after The X Factor TV show?
We are all so excited! Can’t Wait!
How are you adapting to the ‘celebrity world’?
It’s so weird, I’m still adjusting. But I am very grateful to be where I am.
What was your favourite performance during the competition?
Heartless and Scream.
What are you looking forward to most about the X Factor Live Tour?
Reliving moments from the show and being with all the contestants.
Tell us about the support you get from your fans.
My supporters are the best in the world. I am so lucky and grateful.
When did you know you wanted to audition for The X Factor?
I’d always loved the show and I decided to go last-minute, thanks to my parents.
Who is your favourite artist?
Beyonce.
Who did you become closest to on the show?
Nathaniel, Fourtunate, Bella, Angel, The Collective and Jason.
Which state are you most looking forward to visiting on the tour?
Perth! My hometown.
We chatted to the gorgeous Samantha Jade this week in Sydney, and she chatted to us about music, and life after winner The X Factor!
She told take40.com ‘I always hoped I’d be experiencing everything that’s going on right now, but I wasn’t sure I would. Especially when I gave up music, I didn’t think this would happen… so I feel very lucky to be where I am.’
The 2012 X Factor winner’s song ‘What You’ve Done To Me’ has been a raging success since it was released at the start of this month, and we wanted to know what we can expect from the music video!
Sammi revealed ‘People can expect that it’s pretty extreme… it’s a really beautiful video… there are different elements… it shows a bit of rain, a bit of fire. There’s quite a lot going on in it.’
We also asked her to clear up those Guy Sebastian collaboration rumours, and she admitted ‘I would love to collaborate with Guy. I did talk to him the other day (and asked him) and he was like ‘oh yeah!’ so hopefully if there’s time.’
It’s only been a few weeks since pint-sized singer Samantha Jade took the crown as the winner of ‘The X Factor Australia’ and she’s already risen to the top of the pops with a platinum-selling single!
MTV Australia talked exclusively with Australia’s newest pop star last week about taking out the top spot, meeting Guy Sebastian in a Swedish recording studio and some of the secrets behind the upcoming ‘X Factor Australia Tour!’
MTV: Congratulations on winning ‘The X Factor’! Has it sunk in yet or is it still feeling pretty surreal?
SAMANTHA JADE: I think it’s finally sunk in! It took a while, it was so unexpected and then it was so full on, I was on cloud nine! But it’s finally sunken in and I’m just loving it, and so grateful to be where I am.
MTV: Queuing up on audition day, did the thought ever go through your mind that you would take the whole thing out?
SAMANTHA JADE: No. Not at all, not once! My family are all from Perth and they would fly over in the first few weeks [of the live show] because we didn’t think I’d get that far at all. So after that first bottom two my mum came that second week, my dad came the third – I was like, “You guys better get out here!” because you never know when it’s your time to go. So it was shocking [to win].
MTV: You were friends with your mentor Guy Sebastian before the show – how did the two of you meet?
SAMANTHA JADE: I actually met Guy in a recording studio when I was working in one of the rooms and he was working in the other room. I went out into the lounge … and I saw this afro and I was like “Oh my gosh, Guy Sebastian!” Of all the places to meet the Australian Idol, in Sweden! It was so funny! And he’s just so lovely and down to earth, and he was like “Let’s keep in touch!” and I was like “I voted for you!”
MTV: Do you think being friends with Guy made it easier or harder to have him as a mentor?
SAMANTHA JADE: You know what, I think it was a totally different dynamic because we hadn’t worked together like that so it was very different. But Guy’s a very professional person and he takes his work very seriously so for him to ever have given me a little extra boost, he would never have done that. So I think it was the same as everybody else. He did expect a lot from me because he knew me and he knows that I’ve done a lot, but that was good for me because I had to work hard and I know that you don’t get anything without hard work!
MTV: What’s the most important thing he’s taught you?
SAMANTHA JADE: You know what he said to me that was really good for me to hear was “You’re here because of you. I couldn’t have put you through, there’s three other judges, and it’s up to the public every week.” So he was like, “You just have to believe in yourself and put your nerves away because this is what you do. And once you put your nerves away you can start enjoying it, and once you enjoy it then everyone enjoys it with you.”
MTV: Any plans to collaborate with Guy?
SAMANTHA JADE: Oh my gosh, I would love to collaborate with Guy! If I can do a duet with him I would do it in five seconds. I’m going to ask him!
MTV: Our MTV Style Me’host (and Guy’s wife) Jules Sebastian has styled outfits for you – is it quite a collaborative effort in choosing your outfits? Or do you let her take control?
SAMANTHA JADE: She’s so amazing at styling so I let her completely take the reins because I know that she knows me so well and she’s very open to ideas. She’s not the kind of stylist that goes, “That’s what you’re wearing and that’s it!” She’s very, very sweet and lets me be involved every step of the way. So I guess it is a bit of a collaborative thing, but she brings all the outfits to me and she always brings more than enough, she’s such a great stylist!
MTV: You must be working hard in the lead up to ‘The X Factor Tour’ – can you let fans in on any secrets of what we can expect from the shows?
SAMANTHA JADE: Well there are going to be a few group songs, that’s going to be exciting, because I thought we were all just performing solo but I’m so happy we get to relive some of those moments as a group again. But what’s so great is that the top six, we’re all so different, so it’s totally different genres of music packed in to one little show so it’s going to be really fun.
MTV: Will you be heading back to LA now that you’ve got a number one single under your belt?
SAMANTHA JADE: I think I’m in Australia for a while now. I will definitely go back there and write, you know, do some music. But I would never go back to live, I’m so happy to be home and I’m staying here!
With New Year’s Eve approaching, most 25-year-old women are thinking about disused gym memberships and meticulously planning the wording of resolutions – but that’s the last thing on the mind of The X Factor winner Samantha Jade.
It’s nothing to do with her figure, but rather the nature of her last New Year’s resolution: to quit singing.
You’d never know it, given her current success, but the girl from Morley was “broken” after years of letdowns in the US and was ready to leave music behind.
but luckily for the horde of screaming fans that flocked to see her perform at Whitford City on Wednesday, her parents managed to change her mind and then The X Factor changed her life.
“I came home and I’d been in the states trying and it didn’t work and it was horrible,” she said.
“And then I’d kind of given up. I was like ‘I’m not going to do this anymore because I’m not happy in music anymore’.”
She had been signed to Jive Records – the same label as Britney Spears – and recorded songs with Timbaland and Wyclef Jean, but the label focussed on promoting other artists and her album was never released.
“My New Year’s resolution last year was to give up music. It was such a dark place for me, it was all political and industry and it wasn’t fun anymore,” she said.
“My parents were the ones who said ‘You have to do this again, you have to try again because you’re not yourself without singing’. It was hard to give it another chance but I’m so glad I did.
“I’m not making any new New Year’s resolutions, that’s it for me.”
All wasn’t said and done once she made it onto the set of The X Factor but it was the reality format’s unique ability to connect her directly with fans that vindicated her hopes.
“I got knocked back on the show as well but it was a different thing because it was being in front of the public and that’s what I’d tried for, for so long,” she said.
“Artists who aren’t on shows like this, it’s hard for them because you have to go behind the scenes and try for people to listen to you. With X Factor, you’re dealing straight with the public. It was good for me to really know what they thought, what worked and what didn’t.”
What did work for Jade was Kanye West’s Heartless; fans jumped on iTunes following her performance and it went to No.1.
“It was not expected at all,” she said.
“I never really looked at the charts when I was on the show because I didn’t want to get upset, but someone texted me and said ‘You’d better look at the charts this week because you’re number one’.
“I ran into the wardrobe room by myself and I just started bawling my eyes out because it was such a moment I’d worked very hard for and dreamed of. I’m so grateful for that moment.”
Her appreciation is obvious; after fans withstood the pouring rain to watch her perform at Whitford City, she stayed to sign each and every autograph long after others would have allowed executives to whisk them away.
“It’s weird that I get recognised, I can’t get used to it,” she said.
“The other day this guy was taking photos behind a pole and I was like ‘oh my gosh it’s a paparazzi’. I’m telling my boyfriend ‘someone famous is around’ and this guy comes up and he’s like ‘He’s actually taking photos of you’.
After her series four win – which was watched by two million Australians – even Jade’s family are experiencing the strange new sensation of being familiar faces.
“My dad was like ‘I was at the shop the other day and I couldn’t even get in, everyone was congratulating me’. And my brothers are gaining Twitter followers as we speak, so they’re very happy. I’ve got the best family, I’m so lucky I’ve got that support.”
Jade will spend Christmas in Perth with her family and says she’ll do her ritual last-minute present shopping at Galleria, have a coffee at her favourite haunt, Soto in Mt Lawley and check out the new Beach Club at The Cottesloe Hotel before she travels around the country for The X Factor Live Tour.
Congratulations to Stefania for being out first #samanstar of the month check out our interview below
When was the first time you heard samantha sing?
The first time I saw Sammy sing was about 7 years ago, I was on my myspace profile and had stumbled across her myspace. It was then when I realized she sang the Step Up song in the movie Step Up. The day after I made a Samantha Jade Fanspace on myspace and have been supporting her ever since.
What is your Favorite song of samantha?
My favorite Samantha Jade song would have to be Turn Around and What You’ve Done To Me. Both written by Sammy and it showcases her wonderful songwriting talents!
Have you met samantha and if so tell me what happened?
I was scheduled to meet Sammy backstage on the xfactor when I flew to Australia to see her perform live but due to illness during the show, I had to be rushed to the hospital so I missed my chance but hopefully I will one day.
Why are you samantha’s biggest fan?
I am Sammy’s biggest fan because no matter what I’ve stuck by her side even when things took a twisted turn. I was fortunate enough to know the personal side of Sammy when chatting with her daily through her myspace and email, she was always a genuine person and despite her busy schedule she would always take the time to write back. She had all the qualities I look for in a musican, she was sweet, very talented and down to earth which is what drew me to her. I’ve never dedicated myself more to any musican like I have with Sammy, her music always makes me smile. I’ve been supporting her for 7 years and was completely heartbroken to find out that she was dropped from Jive records and her album wouldn’t be released, despite that I continued to support her and never gave up on her. I knew one day that she would get her chance to live her dream the was it was suppose to be, once I found out she had auditioned for X factor Australia, I was very thrilled to do everything I could to show how amazing and talented she was by getting people to vote, spreading the word and spending countless hours voting as much as I could. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for Sammy and will always be a dedicated fan, to everyone she’s Samantha Jade, X Factor winner 2012, to me she’s just Sammy.
Have you seen Samantha perform live and if so what was it like?
I saw Sammy live when I flew to Australia to watch her on xfactor the week she preformed UFO and was the most amazing experience. She captivated the audience & judges with her edge dance performance and killer vocals. When Sammy preforms she makes you wanna up out of your seats and join her on stage, her performance was perfection. Better than any concert I’ve been to
