The X Factor’s latest runner-up Sam Lavery has put those Simon Cowell rumours to rest.
The super-talented 17-year-old singer was voted off the show following a sing-off against Ryan Lawrie after Sharon Osbourne’s shocking decision to go to Deadlock.
You may recall that her mentor Simon confessed that he and Sam just didn’t have that ‘connection’…
Well, Sam has opened up to us about what he was referring to. And it turns out is wasn’t anything personal.
The Geordie lass reveals that she and Simon actually did work really well together, but just didn’t get that connection with the song choices.
Right! It was about the songs. Maybe it was just an age thing…
Sam told ED!: “We worked really well together and when he said the connection thing… he meant with songs.
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“Because of the themes of the week it was so hard to get a song that was perfect every time, so it was hard to get something that was 100% right for me.”
There were also a lot of comments made on social media about how Simon tried to change the young contestant.
The teenager has had a huge transformation since the start of the show and her mentor had a lot to do with that.
But Sam views that as a positive.
“Yeah I look back to my first audition and I literally look like a completely different person…,” she says. “I realised I didn’t have as much confidence as I thought, and he’s actually given me more confidence by kind of stripping me back and letting me be just more natural and me.”
Aww, Sam, you have every reason to be confident!
Talking about romance rumours between herself and Matt Terry, she denies there is anything going on: “No, I just look up to Matt as a big brother, honestly he’s one of the most genuinely nice people and I even spoke to his mum and dad last night and said, ‘Whatever you have done with him, honestly he’s amazing’.”
Matt, sorry if you’re reading. We think you’ve been friend-zoned!
Obviously, we couldn’t help but ask about the one and only Honey G.
Sam said she likes to keep herself to herself: “Yeah, she’s a really nice person but she does like to just kind of go off, practise, she needs her own space which is fair enough..
“Honey G is Honey G. She works hard and practises more than any of the others.”
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When asking who she would like to win and who she thinks will win, she excitedly said: “Matt Terry and Matt Terry!”
Ohhh, okay then! But you’re just friends, right?!