In Conversation With...Fil Henley

THE X FACTOR IS BACK!! Yes, the nation's number one talent show returned at the weekend with a double header of auditions. One of the biggest highlight of the weekend was Fil Henley - the unofficial "nicest rocker in the world" according to Mrs O. We caught up with Fil to talk about his audition, his failure to reach boot camp and what he plans to do post-X Factor.

Here's what happened when UK Reality Stars met Fil (with a F) Henley

Fil Henley (X Factor 2013)

Hi Fil, welcome to the blog. Why did you decide to go on X Factor and what do you hope to gain from the show?

I went on the X Factor for a bit of a laugh and first of all just to make an interesting youtube video of me walking out of the first audition! The first 3 auditions aren't televised but I filmed them myself anyway, as I walked out of each of them performing down the halls etc. The production team judges obviously liked what I was doing and kept putting me through! I'm not sure they even heard any 'singing'! As the show progressed I decided I'm going to stick to my guns and be different to everyone else in any audition I make it up to.

Any publicity I gain from the show is a bonus, for me it's a case of standing out, being different and getting people to hear my music. The 'real' music is with my band Wings of Pegasus and hopefully people checking me out might go and have a listen.

What was the highlight of your audition? How were you feeling on the day of the audition?

Probably as soon as I finished playing my song at Wembley Arena, the crowd were awesome! A lot of what happened got cut out of the final edit, I think because it was an original song but they do have a lot of other auditions to fit in! The messages from the crowd on the day were really positive so that was great. On watching the room auditions back, I love it when Gary pushed over his chair in a way only he could, when he said 'Who else wants some of this' I almost died! Also when Nicole convinced the judges to put me through that was awesome, I think she liked my hair! I'm getting loads of tweets saying she's got a soft spot for me!

On the day of the room audition I was just normal to be honest! Everyone else though I think were really nervous, but as I wasn't too bothered about going through I didn't feel it as badly. I didn't see it as a big deal at the time, maybe I underestimated how many people would watch it. I couldn't understand why some people who didn't get through were in floods of tears storming out of the building, it's just a tv show!! 

Can you explain the audition process for this year from applying to singing in front of the judges?

There were 3 auditions before the first celebrity judges one. As I said before, I filmed these and walked out whilst performing and was put through to the room auditions. On the first audition I thought I'd get there half an hour early to get near the front of the queue as I was that ignorant of the shows popularity! I turned up, as people had been camping over night, I was probably about number 3,000 in the queue!

How did you feel when the judges said no to you on your audience audition?

As I saw it as an interesting side project to my music I wasn't too bothered. The crowd reacted really well on the day and even with the short amount of footage that was shown people have tweeted support saying I should have been put through! Some have said there's no point in watching it now, I'm blown away that some people found it that entertaining!

What advice would you give to people thinking about applying to X Factor?

Know what you want to get out of it, take it for what it is and don't pin all your hopes on the outcome. Make sure you have a solid foundation for a career first, then whatever happens you'll eventually get to where you want to be regardless of what happens in the show.

Have you made friends with any other auditionees this year?

I chatted with a lot of people but as their auditions haven't been shown yet I can't say, 'Oh there he is!!' I only knew their first names when talking to them before the auditions! Sam Bailey auditioned later in the day when I was at Wembley, I was filming other scenes at the time but my family loved her and I think she's awesome.

Where do you see your career going now post-X Factor?

I've been gigging, writing and recording for 7 years and have just released an album on Saturday with Wings of Pegasus. Hopefully with the exposure more people will listen to my real music. My album has got some great reviews so far and in the future I'm sure I'll release singles from the album with videos on the Wings of Pegasus youtube channel. I've been doing a lot of press/radio interviews and am off to do Celebrity Juice tomorrow which is great. Not to mention getting recognised everywhere!  Before the X Factor I managed to get airplay on XFM and finished 3rd out of 12,000 bands in a national unsigned band competition, so I know my musical foundations are solid and things can only get better from here on in.

Such great answers from Fil. We wish him and his band all the success in the world. Rock on buddy! Here's his best bits from the weekend...

Fil Henley sings Let Me Entertain You by Robbie Williams - Room Auditions Week 1 - The X Factor 2013

Fil Henley gets the Judges angry: EPISODE 1 PREVIEW - The X Factor UK 2013

Fil Henley sings That's Metal (To My Ears) - Arena Auditions Week 1 - The X Factor 2013