NATHAN Grisdale, the Blackburn singer who was controversially booted off the X Factor after reaching the six chair challenge stage, says he has no regrets about appearing on TV’s top talent search.

Nathan, 23, was competing for a spot with mentor Louis Tomlinson from One Direction but lost out to J-Sol and Thomas Pound even though he was initially reinstated.

“You didn’t see it on TV but I asked to sing again to fight for my place and Louis gave me one of the chairs back to go through to the next round,” said Nathan. “Then I was replaced at the very end.”

Now Nathan is preparing for a couple of solo shows in Manchester and London and is determined to prove the judges wrong.

“I wouldn’t say I regret going on X Factor,” he said. “I gained a lot of followers online and got noticed a bit more. Now my shows are selling well and a lot more people are interested in my music so I can’t complain. But whether I’d go on it again is a different question.

“If had a big regret, it was that I was saving an original song for the judges houses stage of the competition. So all I got to perform was two covers which is just not me at all.”

Nathan, who lives in Wilpshire, has been making music since he was in his teens and first came to prominence when videos he posted of his own songs went viral on YouTube.

A former St Bede’s High School and Accrington and Rossendale College student, Nathan is continuing to write and record his own material.

“I can’t say too much but I’ve done a co-write on a song which has been taken up by someone big which is very exciting,” he said.

“I’m a songwriter, for me it’s all about my music.

“A lot of people just want fame from going on X Factor which is fair enough but I just wanted to get my music out there.

“Even though I did covers, I knew people would search for my music and that happened. I got thousands more views on my videos and on, nights out I was getting noticed. It was all good.”

A promising footballer, Nathan was on both Burnley’s and Preston North End’s books as a youngster.

“I was a holding midfielder in the mould of Richie Smallwood at Rovers,” said Blackburn Rovers’ fan Nathan. “But I’d started to release videos of my songs which just went mad and I knew I had to decide between my music and football.”

Many of Nathan’s songs are very personal and tackle issues such as bullying and bereavement.

“You hear a lot of pop music which is about people getting drunk and partying which is just not me. I like to write meaningful songs that don’t just touch me but touch other people,” he said. “I’m not going to change.

“My mates asked me what I’d have done if they had tried to put me in a boy band on X Factor. I’d have left the show immediately - it’s just not me.Music is what I do. I’ll keep writing and releasing singles and hopefully will be touring again next year.”

And his tip for X Factor?

“I think Dalton will win it,” he said. “He’s got the best voice by a mile.”

Nathan Grisdale plays Manchester’s Deaf Institute on Sunday, December 9. Details from www.seetickets.com