Hear that Mobo-nominated track from X Factor's Mike Hough
He lost out to Adele at the awards in 2011, which is one way to lose, right? "It's my claim to fame"
Mike Hough auditions for X Factor tonight but, as he reveals, it's not his first shot at making it in the 'music biz'. In fact, after starting out putting videos on YouTube he was nominated for a Mobo award in 2011 for Best R&B/ Soul act. No biggie, he was only up against ADELE.
Yep, Hough released an independent single, Hero, and went on to compete against Adele in the nominations that year.
"It's my claim to fame," he laughs during tonight's episode saying he "happily" tells people he lost to the Hello singer because, well, it's Adele and even getting your name in the same sentence as her is pretty good going.
Mobo continued to back Hough, supporting the release of his EP Lost In Love in 2014.
He's got an army of followers on social media, whom he credits as being his 'record label' for helping get him seen. They already have a fan name: 'Houghligans'.
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As well as his own tracks, Hough's earned high praise for covers including Rihanna's Diamonds, which has more than 4 million views on YouTube.
Gigs and tours have taken Hough as far as the 02 Arena. Here he takes his fans backstage right up until he steps out onto the stage, a dream come true for the singer/songwriter:
As he says on X Factor tonight, he's always been right near the point of making his big break and he's hoping the show will push him that one step further.
See The X Factor tonight from 8:00pm and Sunday from 7:30pm on ITV
