Tulisa - The Biography (20 page)

If she could steer Little Mix to victory, Tulisa would consider the experience to have been particularly successful. As she prepared for the final hurdle of the long series, she looked back not only over her
X Factor
experiences but over her career and life in general. Who would have thought when she went through such pain and torment as a child and during her teenage years that just a few years into her twenties, she would be a popular and successful musician, an actor and television presenter, and a much-loved judge on Britain’s leading talent show? So many hurdles and obstacles had been placed in her way, but Tulisa had found a way to overcome them all. So while she did feel stressed and tired by the demands of
The X Factor
, she was also able to keep them in perspective rather better than her rival judges, whose lives had not been as tough as hers. Could the tough and at times cold resolve that life had installed in Tulisa be her hidden weapon as the finishing line was in sight?

She gave her girls a final pre-show push by predicting that they would not just be a successful pop act but actually a force for good in British society in general. ‘I think the thing about these girls, if they got that record deal and came out into this industry, they wouldn’t just bring music to the UK, they would be inspiring lots of women across the country,’ she said, in full-on electioneering mode. ‘I think they would make a difference to people’s lives as well as their ears.’ she added. This had been a selling point that Tulisa had worked well during the live shows. Aware that girl bands often fail to attract votes from
The X Factor’
s largely female voting base, she approached the issue bravely by appealing straight to the hearts of female viewers. In doing so, she was positioning her band not as the next Saturdays, but the next Spice Girls – a movement and almost political brand as much as a pop band. As such, they were the perfect vessel to attract votes. Why vote for someone just because of how they sing and look, when you can also vote for them because they stand for something that connects with you? Having attached such a powerful message to her band, Tulisa could approach the final with confidence that she had given them the best chance possible. Just one more weekend of
X Factor
duty and she could finally take that well-earned holiday.

The moment Tulisa appeared on screen on the Saturday evening she captured the imagination of viewers. Indeed, her outfits for the two shows certainly got tongues wagging. On the Saturday, she emerged wearing a corseted mini-dress with a huge skirt, black netting, polka dots and layers of tulle. As a
Grazia
writer commented: ‘Blimey…she ended up looking like a puffy cupcake, no?’ She introduced her act three times on the Saturday show. At times during her introductions she seemed subdued, even depressed. Was it the pressure of the evening affecting her, or could it have been the words of Barlow, who while praising his own act had taken a thinly veiled dig at Tulisa. His reference to how often his rival judges had asked the public to vote for their respective acts, and to ‘thumping of the table’, seemed to unsettle Tulisa for a while. Big rows between judges during the final are often frowned upon by the public. Therefore, while she could undoubtedly have bitten back hard at Barlow, she did not.

She might have been subdued at times on the panel but when it came to her duet with her act, Tulisa was in strong voice. They performed a superb mash-up of Alicia Keys’ ‘Empire State Of Mind’ and ‘If I Ain’t Got You’. She slotted into the line-up in the perfect way for the context: she seemed simultaneously at one with the band but with an element of elder stature. More than anything, her vocals were the best of the three judges in the eyes of many viewers. Twitter became awash with admiring comments from
X Factor
viewers, many of who seemed surprised that Tulisa had such great pipes. As she sang with her finalists, Tulisa seemed a million miles from the days when her
X Factor
role had first been revealed. Asked which of the three mentor-act duets he enjoyed most, Walsh particularly praised Tulisa’s vocals with Little Mix. ‘Honestly, I really liked all three,’ he said of the duets. ‘I love the bond between Gary and Marcus. But then the little muffin and the other little muffins came on! I didn’t know Tulisa could sing that good,’ he added.

During the sister show
The Xtra Factor
, the boss of the show finally made an appearance – albeit via satellite. Wearing sunglasses and sitting outside in a t-shirt, Simon Cowell was clearly enjoying being able to show the contrast between the weather on the west coast of America and that in London. He spoke admiringly of the final. ‘Do you know what, it really made me miss being back in Britain,’ he said. ‘It was absolutely amazing, one of the best finals I’ve ever seen and I wasn’t on it.’ Asked who he thought had performed best, he immediately chose Tulisa’s act. ‘No question, Little Mix won the night,’ he said. ‘I thought all three contestants did really well… but I got to say Little Mix are a revelation and if a girl group was to win the show, it makes history and maybe something special is going to happen.’ He then turned to the criticism Tulisa and the rest of the panel had faced in the new series of the show. ‘They’ve been great, the new panel this year,’ he said. ‘I’ve really enjoyed the show. [It] could have had a bit more controversy, but at the end of the day, it’s all about finding stars, and I think tomorrow night Marcus versus Little Mix is going to be sensational… I couldn’t call it.’ However, he had clearly leaned more to Tulisa’s act. Roll on Sunday.

On the Sunday Tulisa wore another eye-catching dress. This time it was a striking, full-length, mermaid-style gown. It had been made especially for her by Fyodor Golan, the winner of the 2011 Fashion Fringe. She seemed to have difficulty walking in the frock and needed to hold onto Louis Walsh’s hand in order to reach the judges’ panel without falling. Walsh looked a touch comical himself, wearing a bright red suit that resembled at first glance the sort of dressing gown one might imagine a ‘young-at-heart’ chum of Hugh Hefner to ill-advisedly sport at a
Playboy
mansion bash. Tulisa’s final weekend outfits seemed to get the thumbs-down from many viewers. The following morning the
Daily Mail
opined that she had lost her overall ‘style war’ battle with Kelly Rowland. Her bold choices for the final weekend had certainly swung the newspaper’s approval from her.

As for her act, they performed the Christmas carol ‘Silent Night’, En Vogue’s ‘Don’t Let Go (Love)’ and the winners’ single, Damien Rice’s ‘Cannonball’. Marcus Collins, too, performed ‘Cannonball’ as his potential winners’ single, but he seemed less comfortable with the track. Tulisa’s act received wonderful feedback all night. Walsh said: ‘I’m going to predict – Little Mix – big future.’ Even Barlow – whose act was up against the girls – said: ‘Simple, beautiful, emotional, very very Christmassy…Well done.’ Tulisa said: ‘Girls, I’ve pretty much said all I can say but I want to say to you again how proud of you I am from the bottom of my heart. You have done so well.’ She then ramped up the emotion and gravitas in her voice, asking: ‘And who said that a group can’t win? Who said that a girl group can’t win
The X Factor
? I believe you can do it and I hope you believe as well and I hope the UK believes you can do it – and I hope they pick up the phone and vote!’ O’Leary said: ‘She’s at it again – she’s like Winston Churchill or something.’

After they sang ‘Don’t Let Go (Love)’, Barlow said, ‘This is definitely your direction – great performance tonight. Well done.’ Tulisa returned to her bombastic electioneering when she thanked viewers who had voted for Little Mix each week, and added: ‘But why did you pick up the phone? You picked up the phone because you wanted them to get through and to get to the final and you wanted them to win this competition. So, those votes meant nothing unless you pick up the phone today, tonight, right now – they need it, it’s the final. I’ll say it again: they’re not safe, so vote for Little Mix!’ This time, O’Leary said: ‘Oh man, I love it when Tulisa goes Jerry Maguire!’

After Little Mix had sung‘Cannonball’, it was time for each of the judges to have their final say . Summing up the mood of the moment, Walsh told Tulisa’s band: ‘The reason we’re getting emotional is that four little pop princesses have been born.’ Rowland said: ‘I’m so happy. I’m so proud of you – congratulations.’ Barlow encouraged them to continue supporting one another, as he predicted they had big things ahead of them. Then it was time for the closing comment of their mentor and master electioneer Tulisa. She told each member of the band in turn what they meant to her: ‘Jade, you are the most adorable person I have ever known, Jesy, you are inspiring, Leigh-Anne, you remind me of myself years ago and Perrie, you were born a star. I love all of you. It’s out of our hands now. Let’s hope the public have voted.’

Finally, Tulisa joined her band onstage to stand alongside Barlow and Collins, as O’Leary announced the winner of
The X Factor
. She and her band leapt for joy when he revealed Little Mix had won. Leigh-Anne said: ‘Oh my gosh, wow.’ As the stunned excitement of the band became more palpable, sweet Jade said: ‘I’m so grateful. Thank you for everybody who voted.’ Perrie added: ‘Oh my gosh, that’s insane.’ Only Jesy was able to speak more than a few words. She said: ‘Oh my God, this is never going to sink in. We can’t thank the public enough for picking up the phone.’ Runner-up Collins was disappointed with coming second but his friendly and sporting side was just as clear in defeat. ‘The girls really deserve it,’ he said. ‘They are amazing. I’m really proud of myself. Thanks to everyone who voted.’ As for Tulisa, she said: ‘I think I wanted them to win more than they did.’ It was meant in jest but there was some truth to it – she had been a gloriously competitive and dedicated mentor. Naturally, she was in triumphant mood into the night and was quickly talking about putative collaborations between herself and Little Mix. ‘There have been talks about us performing together again,’ she said. ‘When I release my album we might re-record the song we did together and put it on my album.’

Looking to the future, she said: ‘I am here whenever they want me to be, they’re my new best mates. They won because they are the most beautiful, genuine, talented girls and I love them.’ Tulisa celebrated their final victory in a style that was more N-Dubz than
X Factor
: with a kebab. In the early hours of Monday morning she Tweeted: ‘what do ya do after ur act wins the xfactor?…go 2 ur local kebab shop of course, wooooiiiiii….LOVE U #LITTLEMIX keep it real’ Meanwhile it emerged that Simon Cowell had hired Richard ‘Biff’ Stannard, the songwriter who helped the Spice Girls find fame, to create a hit for Tulisa’s winners. Biff is pop song-writing royalty, and the man who wrote the Spice Girls’ debut smash hit ‘Wannabe’, the song that launched not just their musical career but their entire ‘girl power’ brand. More recently he has worked with the 2010
X Factor
winner, Matt Cardle.

Tulisa said later she was attracted to the idea of managing Little Mix, but added that she believed this was not permitted. ‘I would manage them if I was allowed to, but I guess that’s not how it works,’ she told Olly Murs and Caroline Flack on
The Xtra Factor
. ‘I’m a mentor and I’m still going to be their mentor. I’m always going to be there for them. I will get involved as much as I can, as much as the label want me to be involved with them. I’m just gonna go with the flow and give them as much advice and help as I physically can.’

Interestingly, when the week-by-week voting statistics were released after the final vote had been announced, it showed that Little Mix had entered the lead only in the closing weeks of the race. The act that had finished top most often was Janet Devlin. She finished top in the first four weeks of live shows in which a public vote had taken place. Little Mix had first finished in the top two of the voting results in week four, when they came second to Devlin. They returned to the second place in week eight, and then for weeks 10 and 11 (the semi-final and final) they finished top of the voting.

For many, the true winner of the series had been Tulisa. She became the toast of the
X Factor
nation. The
Sun
claimed she had not only been guaranteed a place at the table for the 2012 series, but that she had been offered a doubling of her reported £450,000 salary to return. Interestingly, the unnamed source quoted in the
Sun’
s story claimed that, far from harming her popularity with the show’s bosses, her clash with Misha B had actually been seen as a positive. It was said they admired her for sticking to her guns over the issue. While the veracity of the
Sun
’s claims has yet to be established, the
Sunday Mirror
quoted Tulisa as saying that she would be seeking a decent deal to return for the 2012 series. ‘I definitely want to come back next series,’ she was quoted as saying. ‘But would I do it for a pay-cut? Definitely not. That’s ridiculous.’ Confident words, particularly in times of financial austerity.

She also wondered whether she would be able to create such a favourable rapport with her assigned category again. ‘I do wonder if I’d get on with my contestants as well. It might have been first time lucky,’ she reflected. In another development, she corroborated the perception that she was standing by her criticisms of Misha B. ‘I never go back on my actions,’ she said. ‘For me it’s about what happens behind the scenes as well as on stage,’ she added. ‘I wasn’t lying. It was affecting one of my acts and the week something was said it stopped. I think even from Misha’s point of view it is something she might not have realised she was doing. We had a talk and I think she’s a lovely girl.’

Finally, it was time for her to return from planet
X Factor
to the real world as she moved to capitalise on her massive profile. It was a triumphant and confident return.

S
uddenly, it seemed, lots of people wanted to collaborate with Tulisa. So successful and popular had she become, that people were keen to try and link up with her. Jessie J, who had assisted her at judges’ houses, expressed a hope that they would record a song together. ‘I’d love to do a track with Tulisa,’ she said. ‘We’ve talked about writing a song like “Do It Like A Dude” together. A big girl power anthem because we are both feminists.’ Her praise of Tulisa took a saucy turn when she added: ‘I popped in to see her in her
X Factor
dressing room for two minutes and ended up staying for two hours. We just get on really well and have such a laugh, plus she’s got a great bum, which is fine with me.’