He triumphed on The X Factor and smashed straight in at No.1 with his first single, ‘When You Believe’. Now Leon Jackson has finally unveiled his highly anticipated debut album, ‘Right Now’.
“After The X Factor ended all I’ve been doing is working non-stop on this album”, Leon says. “It’s taken time and a lot of people probably thought I’d disappeared but the truth is this is my first album. It was important to spend time getting it right, getting it to be the album I wanted it to be. I’ve learnt so much in the past year, I’ve been writing songs and getting totally immersed in the music. I’m so proud of this.”
And Leon is rightly proud. The first single from the album, the smooth ‘Don’t Call This Love’, smashed straight into the UK Top 3. The album ‘Right Now’ followed a week later debuting straight at No.4, facing off stiff competition from both the Sugababes and Katherine Jenkins.
Aside from ‘Don’t Call This Love’, another of the album’s highlights is the track ‘Creative’. Written and produced by music luminaries Peter Gordeno (Seal) and Chris Porter (George Michael), the song features a surprisingly up tempo slick groove, showing another side to Leon’s musical personality. Dramatic strings and dynamic brass mix stirringly alongside Leon’s now trademark smooth and rich vocals to create at track that just commands you to the dance floor.
Leon’s story is the stuff of dreams. The shy teenager from a council estate in Scotland won the hearts of the nation with his stunning voice and steadfast determination. Week after week he proved exactly why he deserved to win The X Factor, taking every single knock and returning each week stronger and stronger.
“I think people saw me take all this criticism and bust a gut every single week to improve. I know I cried so many tears on that show I’m surprised I didn’t get a contract from Kleenex to advertise tissues. But it meant so much to me. This is my passion. All I want is to be the best I can be.”
Leon’s voice and passion impressed X Factor guest mentor, Michael Buble so much, he invited Leon to sing on stage with him at Wembley Arena last year, and has since become one of his many champions.
“Singing with Michael was unbelievable,” he recalls. “I was on stage at Wembley in front of thousands of people singing with one of my heroes and my brain was just shortcutting every few minutes because I couldn’t believe this little kid from Scotland was actually really doing this.”
It has been an incredible journey for Leon.
Born in Whitburn, West Lothian, Scotland in1988, his father, Philip Johnson, walked out when he was just two years old. He was brought up by his mother, Wendy, in a small maisonette on the edge of the city. Leon left Whitburn for the first time a year ago when he won a place at The X Factor boot camp. On July 4th 2008 he handed over the keys of his childhood home to his mum – having bought her the place they shared for 19 years. His dad never lived to see his son become famous. He died three years ago from pneumonia.
“My mum made a lot of sacrifices for me as a kid. She gave up any chance she had of a career to bring me up. Money was tight but my mum made sure I never missed out. I may not have had the smartest bike or the best pair of trainers but I had everything I needed. I learnt from my mum how to live in the most thrifty way. My top lunch tip when I worked in Gap a year ago was Lidl noodles for 14 pence. I lived on them. Even now I get taken out on these amazing shopping trips and I’m turning over labels on shirts and saying: ‘I’m not having that. You can get it a tenth of the price in such and such a shop’.”
“I think I had a great childhood. I had my mum and my gran and I learnt to take responsibility for myself pretty young. I could cook a roast dinner from the age of ten and strip walls, paint a room round about the same age. I’m pretty domesticated. In fact I used to sing when I did all the housework. I’d hoover while balling out Michael Buble songs.
“If you’d have met me aged 13 and told me I was going to be a singer I’d never have believed you. I was that kid who wanted to be a footballer. This was never going to be something that happened to someone like me.”
Bizarrely, Leon never wanted to be a performer preferring to spend his time playing football. “I was never into music as a kid. I wasn’t into bands, I didn’t go to stage school. I sort of grew into music. It was my mum who first bought a copy of Michael Buble. It was a copy of his CD and I played it to death. I taught myself to sing listening to his music but before doing The X Factor I’d only ever done Karaoke. I was the Karaoke King of the Weatherspoons pub in the arcade where I worked in Gap.”
“I did it the first time round to win the £50 prize money and after that I got hooked. I did it every week. I’d start to draw a regular crowd and I loved it. When I went to the X-Factor auditions I was up against professional singers. I was totally in awe of so many of the voices – including Rhydian’s. I was just this kid from Scotland.”
On X-Factor, Leon was chosen as the peoples’ pop star and his life has changed beyond comprehension. “I’m living the dream. I’ve gone from this very humble background in Scotland to this incredible flat on the river in London.
“My life is all about music. I’m learning to play the guitar, writing songs and just immersing myself in music. I’m obsessed with contemporary jazz and my heroes are Harry Connick Junior, Jamie Cullum and of course, Michael Buble who has been such an amazing champion for me. I feel like I’ve lived 20 years in the past year because I’ve learnt so much and I can’t wait to get out there and let everyone know what I’ve been doing. I’m so grateful for every moment of my life. Every now and again I just stop and close my eyes to check it’s all real when I open them again. I want to make every second count.”
