Tulisa - The Biography (19 page)

To say this lit the touch-paper in Tulisa’s mind would be an understatement. Finally unleashing her N-Dubz self on the show, she thumped the table hard as she pleaded for people to vote for Little Mix and continued thumping away as she roared that they ‘deserve to win the competition!’ It was an amazingly powerful outburst. Never in
X Factor
history had a judge shouted so loud for their act. Nor had there ever been any incident of such violent desk-thumping. Tulisa had raised eyebrows across the studio. She later had a bit of fun on Twitter, writing: ‘Wow! My hand hurts… Save our little muffins.’ The voters did just that, and Tulisa’s band was safely through to the final. Not only that, they went into the final as the favourites in the eyes of a significant number of viewers and commentators.

In the wake of her historic achievement, Tulisa faced another onslaught of negative stories, the foundation of some of them spurious to say the least. First, the
Daily Mail
claimed that when Tulisa cried during Misha B’s farewell song that the tears had been motivated by guilt. Its headline screamed that she had fought back ‘tears of guilt’ as if this was fact. The story went on to claim: ‘Perhaps feeling guilty at her part in the Misha bullying scandal, Tulisa was seen weeping as she worked her way through the song.’ Perhaps, indeed – or perhaps not. More likely is that Tulisa was caught-up in all the emotions of the moment: pride and relief that her act had made the final, sadness at the exit of Misha B – an act that she admired musically and who of all in the competition had come most from her neck of the musical woods.

As for Misha B, later that same day she confirmed that there was no remaining tension on her part when it came to Tulisa. Asked on
Daybreak
if she had forgiven Tulisa, she said: ‘Forgiving is the thing that I have done. I believe that in situations that occur in life, you shouldn’t get bitter you should just get better.’ The Mancunian added: ‘Because there’s a saying that to forgive is to set a prisoner free, and I realised that prisoner was me. And instead of getting bitter about a situation – because it’s only making you not feel good inside. And for that situation I’m so grateful because it has been one of the greatest experiences of my life – for me to look at the situation and grow and learn from it. I’m just so grateful.’ That was by no means the only interview she gave in the 24 hours following her
X Factor
exit in which she was given the opportunity to blame her downfall on Tulisa. Given the undoubted massive talent she had, which had been clear for all to see from her first audition to her farewell song with its original rap lines, she was under pressure to provide a sound bite with which the media could explain why she was no longer in the competition. It was refreshing to see Misha B resist so many times the temptation to turn on Tulisa. She also, incidentally, resisted the opportunity to slam Barlow, who had told her on the Saturday show that the bullying claim meant she could not win the show. ‘I’ve got the utmost respect for Gary – I think he’s amazing,’ said Misha, who was showing admirable restraint as she was bombarded with leading questions. She added: ‘understand what he was saying.’ Asked who she wanted to win the show, she chose Little Mix, and spoke with glowing approval of Tulisa’s act. She said if they did not win she would like Marcus Collins to take the title. Anyone other than Amelia Lily, in other words?

With talk of a ‘feud’ between her and Misha seemingly laid to rest, Tulisa could look forward to putting the much-hyped story behind her. Except that the following morning’s
Daily Star
had the headline
X F
ACTOR
SLURS RUINED LIFE
, above a story about Misha B. An unnamed ‘source’ claimed that Misha had snubbed Tulisa, Walsh and Barlow after the results show on Sunday, claiming: ‘She is convinced they wrecked her hopes in this show, and future deals, in a very calculated way.’ The veracity of the source was questionable, not least in the light of the pains Misha to which had gone the previous day in order to diffuse the issue. Indeed, the only significant direct quote on the matter the
Daily Star
story included about Misha was: ‘What they said had an effect. I think it did have an effect.’

On the same day, a more authentic story appeared on the
Heatworld
website, in which Misha B said – in a video interview – that she was ‘grateful’ for the experience she had with Tulisa. She said it had helped her to mature ‘as a person’. In case of any remaining doubt over how she felt, she said she found Tulisa ‘inspirational – I’ve nothing bad to say about her.’ It does not get much clearer than that. It is easy to dismiss the entire saga as just another of those
X Factor
spats that get hyped to the hilt to keep the show in the headlines and therefore in the public eye. While it had a flavour of that to it, for Tulisa it was far more significant. With
The X Factor
under intense scrutiny due to the absence of Simon Cowell and the introduction of the new judging panel, it would be easy for any of the new judges – or the very show itself – to fall irrevocably from public view. Scepticism over the concept of a televised talent contest had started to grow. The slightest hint of exploitation by judges of what are always perceived to be entirely vulnerable contestants could be deadly for the personality involved. Tulisa had been hired for her feisty nature, so she was particularly vulnerable to such accusations. Mindful of the ‘vile chav’ talk that greeted her appointment, it was even more important for her to not be embroiled in any unpleasant allegations.

Then, there was the second post-semi-final storm for her to weather. She simultaneously faced a new plugging row, when she was criticised for using her Twitter account to promote a dental firm that had given her free tooth veneers. Having been fitted with 12 porcelain veneers by dentist Dr David Bloom at Senova Dental in Watford, Hertfordshire, free of charge after she was hired as an
X Factor
judge, Tulisa had been overjoyed with her new look. She told the
Radio Times
how happy she was to be on the receiving end of so many ‘freebies’ since coming under the
X Factor
umbrella. ‘It’s mental, the amount of free things I get offered,’ she said. ‘There are things I work to afford and I don’t have to pay for them. It’s ridiculous. I could sell half the free things I have and be able to put a mortgage down on a house.’

The press then suggested that she might be facing an Office of Fair Trading (OFT) investigation for her mentions on Twitter of how and where she had received her veneers. She had first mentioned the treatment on Twitter in March, when she Tweeted on one of her treatment days, signing off the message ‘THANK U…DAVID!xx’ She subsequently sent out four further Tweets about the treatment, each name-checking the dental firm that had given her the treatment. One such message, sent during the summer, read: ‘Every1 keeps asking me about my new teeth & who did them, so here goes @drdavidbloom @senovadental, their [they’re] amazing so happy.’ The fact Tulisa had not mentioned that she had received the treatment free of charge meant she risked falling foul of OFT regulations. The organisation, which does not publicly confirm whether an individual is being investigated, stated: ‘It must be clear if endorsements in blogs, posts and microblogs like Twitter have been made in return for payment or payment in kind.’

The week leading up to
The X Factor
final is normally one of relentless hype, excitement and expectation. In 2011 the anticipation took a while to get going. The first major story of the week centred around an apparent mistake on the website of music chain HMV. A ‘winners single’ for Amelia Lily appeared on the website, leading to claims that here was a ‘smoking gun’ proving the show was fixed for her to win it. The chain was forced to apologise, saying that ‘an unforeseen and regrettable technical issue’ had caused the page to appear. Conspiracy theorists were scarcely placated by HMV’s words. As well as those who claimed the mistake showed that victory had been fixed for Lily, others claimed that this was evidence of a plot to destroy her. This theory posited that the story had been cooked up to discredit Lily and therefore push more votes to Little Mix, the supposed beneficiaries of the fix in this scenario. Twitter users raged, using the hashtag ‘fix factor’.

However, a more positive sense of excitement surrounded the announcement, 48 hours before the final, that Tulisa, Barlow and Rowland would duet with their respective acts in the final. As we have seen, the duet is a key part of the final. The news that the three judges would duet with their acts gave the 2011 final a new dimension. Asked how she felt about the prospect of her duet with Little Mix, Tulisa said: ‘I’m more nervous than they are!’ There was much laughter as Barlow observed: ‘Thank God Louis didn’t get an act in the final.’ Walsh took the quip in good heart and said: ‘I think Johnny [Robinson] and I would have been a good duet… We were thinking of Renée and Renato, “Save Your Love”.’ Tulisa was wonderfully ebullient about the chances for her act in the final.
The X Factor
is not a forum for false modesty or shy understatement and she was not in the mood for either. ‘A group has never won this competition, especially not a girl group even getting this far in the competition,’ she said. ‘I’m the youngest judge, it’s my first year and I want to change
X Factor
history with these little muffins behind me.’ On a more personal note, she also reflected on the impact the series had wrought on her. ‘It has been a journey and very life-consuming,’ she said. Fellow judge Barlow had also recently spoken of what a toll the duties had taken on him. That a man with as long and at times tumultuous showbiz career as Barlow found it a strain is significant. For Tulisa, who had seen plenty of drama in her life but who was younger and fresher, it was also a trial. ‘It does become your world,’ she said. ‘Literally. It takes over your life.’

Turning to the much-discussed tears she had shed while watching Misha B’s exit from the semi-final, Tulisa explained that despite her reputation as a hard character, she too could hurt sometimes. ‘I am not a stone,’ she said. ‘If I see someone going through such an emotional thing, it’s hard not to be upset at that. I completely get it. I can imagine how they must feel. I felt very emotional watching her journey and it just ended. If anyone had been in that position I would be crying.’ She said another factor in her emotions was the knowledge, as she watched Misha’s farewell performance, that it could have been her own ‘little muffins’ waving goodbye. ‘I thought this journey could be over and that scared the crap out of me to the point where I was tearful before I came on,’ she said. ‘Then just seeing Misha go made it real… that a contestant that had been in a competition for that long is now going home.’

As for Tulisa’s band members, they embarked on the traditional ‘journey home’ that finalists make in the week after the semi-final. It makes for a powerful ‘VT’ video to be run prior to their performance on the big final. Jane told reporters that their beloved mentor was making sure they kept their feet on the ground, despite being spoken of as many people’s favourites to win the show and then build a worthwhile career afterwards. ‘There is no way we will become divas,’ she said. ‘It’s just not our style. We’d give each other a slap. Tulisa keeps us grounded and we all keep each other very grounded, too.’

Tulisa took the chance to take a swipe at rival judge Gary Barlow. The Take That singer had heavily criticised Little Mix in the semi-final. Tulisa felt this was no coincidence. ‘[Gary’s comment] was tactical – 100 per cent,’ she told the
Mirror
. ‘If they win this competition they could become a brand like the Spice Girls – everyone has their favourite member, so everyone needs their time to shine. There will be a little girl at home waiting for a certain one to come on.’ Cleverly, she then positioned Little Mix as the plucky underdogs of the final showdown. ‘All the odds are stacked against us – I’m up against Mr Competitive in Gary Barlow and a girl band has never won,’ she said. ‘But the other part of me says things were against N-Dubz and we made it. We are in the final, but we are still the underdogs. I just hope the underdogs can win.’

It was the sentiment of the N-Dubz album
Against All Odds
transferred to her new gig. Playing the underdog card was a shrewd move. Tulisa is unlikely to become a politician any time soon but she had shown throughout the
X Factor
live shows that she can electioneer with the best of them. Thumping the desk as she implored each of the girls’ home towns to ‘pick up the phone and vote for them’, presenting them as a force for good in society, and then placing them as the underdogs of the final weekend – she was pushing some very effective buttons with the audience. Would it be enough to see her become the youngest-ever winning mentor in
X Factor
history, and enough for the act to become the first band to win the competition? The closest any band had come before was the second-placed finish for G4 and JLS, and then the third-placefor One Direction.

Meanwhile, having told her act to remain focused and keep their feet on the ground, Tulisa had to stay grounded herself when, just days before the
X Factor
final, she was voted ahead of Kate Middleton and boy band One Direction in a poll of young people to find Britain’s ‘most magical people’. She was the highest-ranking celebrity in the poll, finishing just behind ‘Mum’ at number one and ‘Dad’ at number two. The survey was carried out among 1,000 young people aged 4 to 16 years old on behalf of the Lite Sprites toys. While such polls should be kept in perspective as a bit of fun and are only partially representative at best, it remained a welcome boost to her to her spirits know that she was rated so highly among young people. Indeed, the news was also further vindication of Simon Cowell’s selection of her to make
The X Factor
appeal to younger viewers. He had, it was widely felt, got many things wrong for the 2011 series of the show but hiring Tulisa was proving to be the wisest stroke he had pulled. As he remained in America, trying to pull
X Factor USA
closer towards the sort of viewing figures he had envisaged for it, he decided after all to not join the panel for the final of the British show. It was felt he had decided that the best thing for him was not to be associated too closely with this latest, controversial, instalment of the show. However, he remained very proud of Tulisa and the contribution she had made. Hiring ‘Trouble’ had, he felt, been a great move.