HENLEY singer Jamie Bruce will appear on BBC talent show The Voice tomorrow (Saturday), having lost four stone in seven weeks.
The former nightclub doorman, who once tipped the scales at 20 stone, has slimmed down in a bid to finally crack the music industry.
After failing to reach the final stages of Pop Idol and X Factor, Mr Bruce feels that the time might now be right to make his mark.
The 34-year-old said that he was inspired to lose the weight after his first audition for The Voice in December.
Mr Bruce, of Reading Road, said: ?I came out in such a positive mindset and the only thing missing from that was a positive image. I have lost the weight by cutting out carbohydrates and I feel great and full of energy and my brain is working better.
?It is a horrible industry that I have chosen to be in. If you do not look right you won?t get picked up. I know there is very little criticism for my voice so I don?t want to be criticised for anything else. This gives me the best chance possible.?
Mr Bruce, a soul singer, said he decided to give the reality TV singing route ?one last shot?.
?I decided to do The Voice as I had heard good things about it,? he said. ?They were looking for people to come forward to audition and because I got so far in the X Factor I decided that I would give it another go and try with a different competition.
?I already believed that the BBC would be better as it is more about the voice than the back story, being dressed as a chicken and the image. It was a bit of a disappointment getting chucked out of X Factor when I did, especially sharing the stage with the people that I did. I thought some of the wrong people went through.?
Mr Bruce will be seen singing before the show?s four mentors, Tom Jones, Jessie J, The Script?s Danny O?Donoghue and will.i.am.
He said: ?You walk on to the stage in front of around 700 people but you have to ignore those people and the judges, although they have your future in their hands.
?You could have heard a pin drop but you have to suck it in and not let the nerves get to you. I took a big breath and went on stage and did what I do.
?I am just hoping to get through to the next round.?
Pictures of Maidenhead MP, Theresa May. To search for a specific photo, please use the reference number printed in the newspaper caption.
standard
Galleries from Slough and its surrounding villages. To search for a specific photo, please use the reference number printed in the newspaper caption.
Galleries from Marlow and its surrounding villages. To search for a specific photo, please use the reference number printed in the newspaper caption.
Galleries from Windsor and its surrounding villages. To search for a specific photo, please use the reference number printed in the newspaper caption.
Galleries from Maidenhead and its surrounding villages. To search for a specific photo, please use the reference number printed in the newspaper caption.
TWO entrepreneurs were forced to give up two pubs after accruing debts of more than £1.5 million. Alex Sergeant and David Holliday ran the Bottle and Glass Inn in Binfield Heath and Hart Street Tavern in Henley as separate companies. They were wound...
THE founder of a bakery in Stoke Row has been named “Baker of the Year”. Tona Erreguin, who is also head baker of Imma the Bakery based in the Van Alloys Industrial Estate off Busgrove Lane, scooped the award at this year’s Baking Industry...
