WHEN Ryan Mathie was told he wasn't going through to the live finals of this year's X Factor, it wasn't the end.
Instead, it was the start of the teenager's dreams of making a career out of music.
It is little over two months since Louis Walsh sent the west Hull lad home having beaten off competition from 90,000 entrants to reach the final six boys in the ITV show.
He won the hearts of the competition's judges with his own take on hits by the likes of Daft Punk and Avicii and has since been performing those hits throughout the country to his new legion of fans.
But as the X Factor reaches it's conclusion on TV tonight as Sam Bailey and and Nicholas McDonald go head-to-head in the final, for Ryan there is a very different journey ahead.
The time has come for the 18 year-old to show off the real Ryan Mathie, the one who before the competition didn't sing covers, but wrote his own songs which he hoped one day would earn him a living.
"It kind-of doesn't feel like I've done it and that I made it up in my head," said Ryan reflecting on his time on the hit TV show.
"I didn't expect to get that far and it has been good to raise the profile, but, in one sense, I'm kind-of glad I got knocked out when I did because I've got a chance to be known as an original artist and not a cover artist.
"All the way through the competition, I put my stamp on the songs to show I'm not like every singer songwriter that's out there. I'm different. I want to show people my stuff and show them that I can write."
X Factor nearly didn't happen for Ryan, who admits he had his reservations about entering.
He said: "I just didn't think I'd get very far. I had seen so much talent every year watching them get thrown off and then really bad singers and performers still there. I was like 'It's not for real musicians'.
"I was at work and the boss was just like 'Pack your stuff up and go'. I went to the Hull auditions and just kept going and going.
"I am really pleased how much I got out of X Factor. My voice has improved from being on the show and I'm now hitting notes I didn't think I could hit. My voice has matured and there's more passion when I sing now."
Ryan admits from the start he got the impression he wasn't what the judges were after.
"I think X Factor is a lot about stereotype," he said.
"Not just the voice or personality but it's what you look like as well. I wasn't the slimmest guy. They're always looking for a stereotypical pop star. I wasn't that person."
Breaking away from X Factor will be a struggle. Even now, Ryan is recognised in the city as the man from the TV show.
"It's a bit crazy, it has carried on after leaving X Factor – people coming up to me wherever I go and looking at me thinking to themselves is it him or isn't it.
"It's all it's been, the last couple of months. I'm used to people coming over and asking if I'm this guy from the telly.
"People notice me off the telly, sometimes, but they don't realise what programme. One guy came up to me and said 'I feel like I know you from somewhere'. I told him 'Someone off the telly?'. He then asked if I fit TVs."
But having packed in his apprenticeship in vehicle mechanics during X Factor, Ryan is now concentrating full time on the music, and will be showing off his own material at an intimate gig at The Back Room in Cottingham on Tuesday.
"When I got as far as I did in X Factor, it showed me that I must be talented and that singing is what I want to do for the rest of my life," he said.
"Since the competition, I've written some new stuff and stripped old songs and polished them.
"The music industry is so hard to crack into and it doesn't happen overnight but if I work hard enough, I'll be able to make a living.
"X Factor has been a good experience and there's people who know who I am but now I am starting again. I don't want to be like other people on the circuit – I want to be different. You've got to start at the bottom and work your way up."
Ryan's gig in Cottingham is part of the next Fruit Trade Music Club event, which takes place at the Hallgate venue at 7.30pm.
The show, which costs £10 to enter, will showcase Ryan's own material as he works towards the release of his debut album, expected to be released in June next year.
Sea of Wires will open the show and will be followed by Tom Tree.
"We're working on an album for next year and The Back Room gig will give people an idea of what to expect," said Ryan.
"Normally, I play a lot of cover versions and one or two of my own songs but, at The Back Room, it will be the other way round.
"It's a venue with a great reputation for atmosphere and sound quality and it promises to be a memorable gig.
"I'm looking forward to it."
For more information about tickets for Tuesday night, call 01482 847007
