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1.0 Biography

1.1 Birmingham Conservatoire

2.0 The X Factor

3.0 Post-X Factor career

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Rhydian Roberts Wiki Information

Rhydian Roberts (born 14 February 1983) is a Welsh singer, best known for his 2007 appearance on the fourth series of the British talent show The X Factor in which he came second.

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Biography

Rhydian Roberts, was born in Wales and attended the Pontsenni Cylch Meithrin and then went onto Ysgol y Bannau Welsh medium school in Brecon. He is a native Welsh speaker. He represented the school and Powys in the Urdd Gobaith Cymru Eisteddfod from the age of five. He kept his links with the Urdd whilst at Llandovery College and on through his time at university. He became head boy at Llandovery College. ^[1] He was a very keen rugby union player, playing with the Gwernyfed RFC club, near Brecon, as a junior and later for his school. He also played cricket for Powys County Junior teams. ^[2] "My plan was to be a professional player for the Swansea RFC Ospreys (rugby team)," he says. "From the age of ten that was all I could think about – and I wasn't interested in singing any more." He embarked on a stringent exercise programme and was the strongest bench-presser in Wales during his teens.

Birmingham Conservatoire

After taking a gap year, when he taught in a school in South Africa, Rhydian won a bursary to Birmingham City University's (then known as University of Central England) Conservatoire to study music and become a classically trained singer. ^[3] Director of Theatre Studies Michael Barry commented that "Rhydian was a star pupil at the Conservatoire from the very beginning." ^[4] Rhydian had lessons first with Adrian Clarke and then with Christine Cairns before graduating with first class honours in 2007.

He was the first singer from outside London to win the Kathleen Ferrier Society Bursary for Young Singers, beating 13 other second-year vocal students from music colleges around the UK. A panel of judges composed of internationally renowned singers remarked on his "formidable talent" and his "immediate connection with the audience". He also won the Reginald Vincent Lieder Prize and the Mario Lanza Educational Award in 2007. ^[5] In his second year he was also auditioned, on Barry's recommendation, by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra's (CBSO) Musical Director Sakari Oramo. He was cast immediately in the role of Morales in the CBSO's semi-staged performance of Carmen . Other successes include winning the Cecil Drew Oratorio Prize and securing leading roles in virtually all of the Conservatoire's major classical operas and musicals during his time as a student. ^[6] This included playing Charley in Merrily We Roll Along by Stephen Sondheim (June 2004, Crescent Theatre, Birmingham), and the lead role of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in the musical by Leslie Bricusse and Frank Wildhorn (June 2006, Crescent Theatre, Birmingham – directed by Michael Barry, and conducted by Ben Kennedy). ^[7]

His stage presence and charisma were often highlighted in reviews. His performance as Edward Kelley in Doctor Dee was noted by the Birmingham Post as charismatic, threatening and attractive. As Morales in Carmen he was noted for conveying genuine depth of masculine charisma. In Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri his commanding stage presence was again highlighted. ^[8]

Knowing that he would never get a prominent operatic role early in his career, he decided to consider alternatives. After graduating he auditioned for the BBC talent contest Any Dream Will Do to find a lead for Andrew Lloyd Webber's new production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat . However, he did not make it past bootcamp as his voice was not deemed right for the production's pop score.

The X Factor

In 2007, Roberts auditioned for the fourth series of the British talent show The X Factor . Ironically, it was his future mentor and supporter Dannii Minogue who gave the only "no" vote at his audition, while fellow judge Sharon Osbourne took an intense dislike to him during the "boot camp" stage, describing him as arrogant. There was much controversy over the way in which producers edited footage at this stage to make him appear, in Roberts's words, a "pantomime villain". Newspapers reported that although Minogue offered him a place in the live finals, he considered quitting for fear that he would be used as a figure of ridicule ^[9] as clips of him featured music from The Phantom Of The Opera .

His fears proved to be unfounded, as the live shows allowed Roberts to turn public opinion in his favour. The first live shows revealed an entirely new image, including a new peroxide blond spiky hairstyle. In early live shows, he quickly acquired a reputation as the most spectacular and unpredictable performer, with the judges and presenter Dermot O'Leary often acknowledging the audience's anticipation of his performances. These included a full theatrical performance of "The Phantom of the Opera", re-written exclusively as a one-person song by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and singing Shirley Bassey's version of Pink's "Get The Party Started" in a fur coat and sequin-covered suit. However, after performing the Pet Shop Boys' version of Village People's "Go West" in Navy Officer uniform surrounded by male backing singers in sailor outfits, judges commented that his camp theatrical presentation was beginning to overshadow his vocal performances. Later appearances, while still including dancers and pyrotechnics, saw Roberts tone down his on-stage antics. These performances garnered high praise from the judges, although some viewers lamented the loss of his spectacular presentation.

As the show progressed Roberts became favourite to win, tipped at 1/3 ahead of sibling duo Same Difference and Leon Jackson, who were tied with odds of 9/2. ^[10] Rhydian sang a duet in the final with Katherine Jenkins. He had previously been quoted as saying he wanted to perform with her. ^[11] Roberts finished as runner-up to Leon Jackson in the final show of the series, broadcast on 15 December 2007. The next day Simon Cowell offered him a recording contract with Sony BMG. It was also rumoured Andrew Lloyd Webber was interested after his highly acclaimed X Factor performance of the theme song of The Phantom of the Opera . As of yet, nothing has come of this, although in October 2008 Rhydian was invited by Webber to perform "Music of the Night" at Webber's 60th Birthday Party in Hyde Park before an audience of over 30,000. ^[12]

Simon Cowell, when interviewed by the Daily Mail , admitted that he was wrong about Roberts, saying: "He is nothing like the monster that you might have expected from those early scenes. He is incredibly polite and respectful. He stands out because he has an incredible voice but there is no arrogance or conceit. He's a very good guy and in fact I think he is very insecure." ^[13]

Post-X Factor career

2008: Rhydian

Roberts spent much of 2008 working on his debut album, the self-titled Rhydian , in the United States and Sweden. ^[14] He also performed at private functions worldwide. In the UK he performed on stage at the Welsh Grand Slam celebrations and the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year Awards. He has also sung for members of the royal family, including Prince Charles, who invited him to become a patron of the The Prince's Trust. In December 2008, he sang at the Children of Courage Awards Ceremony at Westminster Abbey. ^[15]

In November, Roberts returned to the X Factor stage, performing "The Impossible Dream", the lead track of Rhydian , at the series five finals. The album debuted at number 3 in the album charts and sold over 150,000 in its first two weeks. After four weeks total sales of over 300,000 were recorded and Roberts achieved Platinum Album sales status as awarded by the BPI. Rhydian was also declared to be the highest selling album by a male chart newcomer in 2008.

Roberts sang "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" with Charlotte Church on the Christmas special of her chat show. ^[16]

2009

Rhydian Roberts has now sold more than 600,000 albums and announced a second album is in the making. ^[17] ^[18]

He made an appearance on BBC Christian worship show Songs of Praise , which was broadcast in February, and recorded his own TV Special for S4C which aired over the Easter period. The show, recorded by Roberts, will be aired in May, 2009, followed by the documentary 'Rhydian, one year on'.. ^[19] In April 2009, Roberts performed again for the Royal Family - at The Prince's Trust Celebrates Success Awards. ^[20] ^[21] Roberts is currently playing a 24-date solo tour of the UK which commences on 27 April. ^[22]

Roberts will be soon at the Liverpool SUMMER POPS 2009 Festival. This Summer he will be headlining one of the Liverpool Pops dates in the Echo Arena. In addition, Roberts will be playing in front of an audience of 11,000, with Only Men Aloud supporting him on 30 July. ^[23] ^[24] Roberts is rumoured to be singing with Placido Domingo in August 2009. At another summer concert Roberts will be singing with Tom Jones and Duffy. ^[25]

Discography

Albums

Year	Information	UK	IRE	World	Sales	Certifications
2008	*Rhydian* ^[26] First studio album Released: 24 November, 2008 Label: Sony BMG Format: CD, digital download	3	7	27	UK: 500,000+ Worldwide: ^[27] ^[18]	UK: Platinum