Rhydian Roberts Biography

Rhydian Roberts

Singer and Runner-up on the 2007 series of X Factor

Born:

1983

Place of Birth:

Brecon

School:

Ysgol y Bannau Brecon and Llandovery College

Trivia:

Rhydian's grandfather was Tom Jones' doctor.

Biography:

Rhydian Roberts from Sennybridge made his name as a contestant on the 2007 series of X Factor. He finished as runner-up to Leon Jackson, being pipped into second place by just 1 % of the vote despite being the 3/1 on favourite with the bookmakers before the final.

Profile written by Rhydian's mum, Angela Roberts.

"Rhydian was born in Brecon Hospital attended the Pontsenni Cylch Meithrin and then went onto Ysgol y Bannau welsh medium school in Brecon.

To this day he remains a fluent Welsh speaker.

He represented the school and Powys in the Urdd eisteddfod from the age of 5. He has kept his links with the Urdd whilst at Llandovery College and on through his University life at Birmingham Conservatoire.

This year was his last year as he will be 25 next year and too old.

He was a very keen rugby player, playing with Gwernyfed club, near Brecon, as a junior and later for his school.

He is still very keen on fitness and goes to the gym daily.

He also took up the trumpet and cornet which he played right through to his A Level music exam.

He often says that his time at Llandovery College was one of the happiest times of his life and he felt very privileged to finish his school life as head boy.

He took a gap year working in a school near Pretoria, South Africa.

During his time in Birmingham he has won many prizes and participated in numerous student productions as part of his course.

He did not tell his parents he had entered the X Factor so it was a surprise and a very exciting time for them.

No-one prepares you for the press invasion into your life as a parent when something like this happens.

I would ask that people in Wales do not believe some of the horrid things that have been said about him in the press, judge him on his ability to sing and entertain.

Malcolm, Rhyd's dad is an electrical contractor and definitely not a millionaire as stated in one Sunday paper!

His Mum Angela works for a Carers Charity called Crossroads Caring for Carers, who give breaks to family carers.

Rhydian has said that if successful in the X Factor he hopes to be in a position to make a donation to Crossroads in Wales.

Rhydian is a loving, caring and happy person and when performing makes every effort to give it his all. He said the other week that he is living his dream at the moment and is very grateful to all at the X Factor for giving him this opportunity.

The X Factor have set up a my space (myspace/xfactor-rhydian) site for the competitors and Rhyd writes a weekly blog so you can catch up with news from him. You can also post messages which he gets copies of, as they do not have access to the internet in the X Factor house."

Rhydian has compiled an audio diary for BBC Radio Cymru's Dylan and Meinir Show whilst competing in The X Factor.

He wowed the judges on 27 October 2007 with his rendition of 'The Phantom of The Opera.'

After the performance Simon Cowell stated that Rhydian was 'potentially World Class'.

On 2 November he sang a rendition of Pink's 'Get The Party Started'.

On 9 November he cemented his position as favourite to win the competition with his version of 'You Raise Me Up'

On 16 November The Pet Shop Boys' Go West was given the Rhydian Roberts treatment leaving him in the last six.

A week later a solid performance of 'Somewhere' from West Side Story ensured that Rhydian reached the final five.

On 1 December his show-opening song - Queen's 'Somebody To Love' impressed the voters enough to ensure his place in the semi-final.

The semi-final produced Rhydian's best performance yet, with a stand-out performance of You'll Never Walk Alone from Carousel and a breathtaking rendition of Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water.

This meant that Rhydian joined Leon and Same Difference in the final on 15 December.

Rhydian was 3/1 on favourite with the bookmakers before going into the final but was beaten into second place by 18-year-old Leon Jackson.

On finals night Rhydian sang O Holy Night, Somewhere - which had reduced judge Danii Minogue to tears when he had performed it in a previous round - and a duet of You Raise Me Up with Katherine Jenkins.

In January 2008 Rhydian Roberts signed a record deal with Sony BMG.

Sony BMG has the rights to all artists represented by judge Simon Cowell including Rhydian, Leon Jackson and former X Factor winners Leona Lewis and Shayne Ward.

Rhydian stated on BBC Radio Wales that new material is being penned for his debut album. He also confirmed that Jim Steinman has shown an interest and will be writing some songs after seeing Rhydian sing "I'd Do Anything for Love (but I Won't Do That)" on YouTube. There may also be a couple of covers but he refuses to record an X Factor memorabilia album.

Rhydian's eponymously titled album, which took a year to record, was released in November 2008. The album included covers of Simon and Garfunkel, Meatloaf and Queen songs on the record.

The album released in November 2008, sold more than 500,000 copies making him the biggest selling debut male artist of 2008.

He also hit the road for a 16-date UK tour in 2009.

The tour started at Nottingham Royal Centre on Friday 1 May and ended at Sheffield City Hall on Saturday .

His second album, O Fortuna, is released on 30 November 2009.