Whatever the outcome in the X Factor final this evening, Jahmene Douglas is a winner.
After suffering dreadful abuse at the hands of his father as a child, he has found the strength to overcome his stage nerves and make it through to the final three, alongside Christopher Maloney and James Arthur.
Jahmene doesn’t have a bad word to say about anyone. He describes James as ‘being like a brother’ and he says Christoper ‘get slots of hate, but he gets lots of votes too, so it’s a balance’.
To cope with his stage nerves he says he goes into a bubble. ‘When I sing, I’m separating myself from everything else’, he says.
‘People who know me understand you can’t be a weak person to go through what I have,’ he says.
Jahmene has been asked by Women’s Aid – a charity for domestic violence to be an ambassador for children and young people. ‘That means a lot to me,’ he says.
So who does he want to win the show? ‘James,’ he replies, without hesitation.
See the X Factor final on TV tonight.