Ex pop idol has a Euro dream
A young girl once dreamed of the day when she would sing in the Eurovision Song Contest - and this week that ambition will come true for Jessica Garlick.
Although the 21-year-old singer lost out in the search to find the nation’s new Pop Idol she is keeping her fingers crossed for success when she goes for glory in the Estonian capital of Tallinn.
In the past the annual musical event has launched acts such as Abba, Celine Dion, Julio Iglesias and Buck’s Fizz to musical stardom.
Garlick is desperately hoping to follow in their footsteps when she competes against singers from 23 other countries with her power-packed ballad Come Back in The Eurovision Song Contest which is screened on BBC One on Saturday May 25.
‘‘It has been an ambition of mine to sing at Eurovision. David and Carrie, the vocal coaches from Pop Idol, originally put my name forward. I was so excited.
‘‘When I heard the song I thought it was just fantastic. I really hope that I can do everybody proud. I would love to win but as long as people are pleased with my performance I will be happy.’’
Garlick says she is a big fan of the contest. ‘‘When I was younger I remember sitting watching Eurovision on TV and my mum telling me that one day I would be there singing for the UK. I think that has helped drive me and made it an ambition.’’
She has her own personal favourites from past UK entrants. ‘‘I loved Gina G’s Ooh Aah... Just A Little Bit. It was the record that everybody used to get up and dance to at the disco. And Katrina & The Waves’ Love Shine A Light was the first song I sung as part of a trio when I was 17 - that was our opening number.’’
Garlick first tried her hand at the fame game appearing on BBC One’s talent show Star For A Night but she became better known as one of the 10 finalists in the most-talked about TV show of the year, Pop Idol.
She was born close to Swansea but now lives with her long-term boyfriend Owen Satterley and her family in Herefordshire.
‘‘Owen is really good. He has always been very supportive of my singing ambitions. He’s a lovely boy,’’ she beams.
‘‘I don’t get to see him or my family as often as I would like but I do speak to them all every day. They are all still a big part of my life and they all phone me daily but that’s nice it just shows they care.
‘‘My mum has always driven me and said whatever I wanted to do she would support me. When I met Owen I was only 16 and I told him I was going to try and become a singer. He has been really great and supportive.
‘‘You get so many boyfriends who just try and stop you from doing things. Some of my friends gave up singing and then a year later they split up from their boyfriends,’’ she says incredulously.
Owen and her family will be glued to their TV sets on the big night and they are planning to pull out all the stops to celebrate the landmark moment in Garlick’s musical career.
‘‘My mum is going to have a proper Eurovision party. She is desperately trying to get the garden finished on time.’’
Garlick still has fond memories of taking part in Pop Idol and says becoming one of the 10 finalists exceeded her original expectations.
‘‘We never knew Pop Idol was going to be so big when we first started. I wanted to get as far as to sing for the judges because I wanted to know what they thought of me.
‘‘That was my goal. If I hadn’t got that far I would have been really annoyed with myself. I was really pleased and everything after that stage was a bonus.
‘‘Doing the Pop Idol tour was the best experience of my life until now. Getting to sing to that many people every night was amazing but it all went too quickly. I used to go to sleep thinking ‘I really enjoyed that tonight’. Then I would wake up thinking ‘I’m going to do it all over again tonight’.’’
Although they are now involved in separate projects Garlick says she is still in regular touch with the majority of the other finalists.
‘‘I talk to Will a lot. He is the person who I have asked for advice while I’ve been preparing for Eurovision and promoting the single.’’
Garlick has been amazed at the amount of interest that has been generated in the lives of the Pop Idol finalists.
‘‘I phoned Rosie when I saw there was a story in the newspaper about Hayley and her moving into a flat together. I told her I couldn’t believe that had made the papers. We had a good laugh about it all.
‘‘Everything is so cool. We have all just gone from really normal lives to getting splashed across the front of national newspapers. It is amazing to think what has happened to us.
‘‘I must be one of the luckiest people in the world at the minute. Everything is going right - nothing is bad in my life.’’
