Robbie: I might not have got through X Factor. I’m lucky if I sing in key

ROBBIE WILLIAMS has sold 55 million albums worldwide and has more Brit Awards to his name than any other artist in history.
But the star believes he would struggle to get through to the final stages of The X Factor - because his singing voice isn't up to scratch.

Robbie, 35, is convinced he would be no match for the contestants competing for a record deal this year.

And that's a big statement considering he has six No1 singles and eight No1 albums to his name.

In the third instalment of Robbie's exclusive interview with The Sun, he said: "I would definitely have entered The X Factor if I was a kid now. Of course I would have.

"I'd be excited and overwhelmed by the opportunity of getting through one of the rounds.

"It would be the only format to do that for someone like me.

"My voice isn't as good as some of these people competing. I might not have got through because I am lucky if I can get through a song and I've sung it in key. These people can really f****** sing."

Robbie is appearing on the hit ITV show tomorrow as a mentor.

But the singer, who will test his nerves by performing on the show tonight, was apprehensive about what he could offer the hopefuls.

He said: "I've got to go and do mentoring and I haven't got a clue what I am going to say.

"I wouldn't know what to tell myself. If there are little nuances that need to be changed in the music and the way they are singing, I am not going to spot them.

"I could be the most boring mentor since Mariah Carey. God bless her, she's ace. But all she said was, 'That's great. God bless you'."

With some gentle coaxing Robbie soon opened up with his views on the show so far.


And he has definitely been doing his homework.

"Well, I don't know what happened to Danyl. I saw his first audition and I just thought, 'There's the fella that has come and will take the crown away.'

"I will have a chat with him and I'll tell him to chill out. Let them walk around you, don't go to them.

"I thought he was phenomenal in the first audition he did.

"I thought Rachel is already fully-formed and a really interesting character. I can tell she will have some good, interesting things to sing about and interesting ways to say them.

"John and Edward are the Marmite of this show. I can see something interesting in them. They kind of scare me. There's something there. Maybe it's a show on Nickelodeon?

"And I think Olly, the Essex guy, is really good."

One person who has really impressed Robbie is X Factor judge and music boss Simon Cowell.

"I love Simon. I am a big fan of his. I think he is incredible. He's the most charismatic man on the planet right now. He's a very, very interesting man indeed."

And Cheryl Cole has also caught his eye: "Cheryl Cole. She's fit isn't she? Incredibly pretty."

Robbie is about to release his brilliant new album Reality Killed The Video Star, his eighth studio release. The album will go head-to-head with JLS, last year's runners-up on The X Factor and 2009's answer to Robbie's former band Take That.

But the singer isn't worried about the chart battle.

He is more concerned about a return to the stage - where he will be forced to confront a crippling stage-fright problem.

He said: "I'll find out if I can still do it this weekend. Then I have a gig at the BBC Electric Proms.

"I have been worried about that. I have got to go and be somebody I am not, which is what I do when I get on stage.

"I haven't done it for three years. All I have got to do is stand up and sing some songs. That's how I have got to view it." One thing Robbie won't be doing this weekend is handing out his mobile number to hopefuls.

And it's for a very simple reason - he no longer has his own mobile phone, relying on girlfriend Ayda Field to filter all his messages.

He admitted: "I don't have a mobile. People get hold of my number and basically if anyone asked for it I'd hand it out.

"I'd be waking up every day and out of ten texts that I got, eight would be asking me for things.

"I am not very good on the phone anyway. I never have been. I get a bit clumped up on it. So I decided I'd be best without one of these so I got rid of it. I am an e-mail man."

A lot has been written recently about Robbie rejoining Take That.

A mention of a reunion, and new material, earns a gigantic grin, plus a nod and a wink from the singer.

He even played their album The Circus to me and sang along to Gary Barlow's vocals.

"The Take That tour was fantastic. The show was amazing," he said. "It was f****** phenomenal. I did fancy being part of it. Yes I did.

"When they all got together on stage and played instruments, it was awesome. That's a band I want to be in. Their last album was really good.

"I did wish I had written some of it. The Circus album, whatever way you look at it, is a f****** good album. They all write on it. They all chip in.

"My favourite track is How Did It Come To This. When I heard it I was thinking, 'I wish that was on my album.' The Garden is class. I love it all. Hold Up The Light is great too. They are such good lads."

Earlier this year Robbie and Gary made peace during a trip to see Arsenal v Manchester United at the Gunners' Emirates Stadium.

And even though Robbie is about to move back to LA permanently, the Port Vale fan, who was born in Stoke-on-Trent, still lives for the beautiful game.

"I think United are a bit s*** this year. Scholes' legs have gone. It's a shame," he said. "He doesn't say much, Rooney, does he?

"He is the most shy person. He has been to see a couple of gigs and I love him to bits."

The star, who raises millions of pounds with a celebrity football match for Unicef every year, added: "Stoke are doing well. I'd love to go to the Britannia Stadium but I think I'd probably have my arms and legs ripped off if I did."

When Robbie isn't in his studio, watching DVDs with "the missus" or engrossed in online pool, he harbours a huge fascination with UFOs.

He scours YouTube for footage of conventions and attends meetings in LA to hear testimony from people who have had "sightings".

During our conversation I ask about his friendship with David Icke, the former TV broadcaster branded a crackpot for his eccentric theories about the future of the human race.

He said: "I am into all that stuff David Icke talks about. He never mentions the reptilian stuff. I speak to him every now and again. I'm incredibly interested in it, to be honest with you.

"I am really, really open-minded. So much so, my brain may have fallen out! I am not going to discount anything he says. Which might be, publicly and perception-wise, to the detriment of myself.

"If you look at it and you don't know much about it, it might come across as lunacy. And it might be. It might be just that."

But there's no lunacy in Robbie's new album Reality Killed The Video star, out on November 9. It has No1 written all over it. His single Bodies, is available for download tomorrow and in shops on Monday.

Fuente: The Sun