This year’s X Factor is finally over, and between Honey G, on-air gaffs, and falling ratings, it’s been one of the most controversial series yet.

One woman who is quite happy not to be involved in the show is Melanie McCabe, who auditioned four times over the years. She made it to the judge’s houses twice, with her journey on the show reaching a highly publicised conclusion in 2013.

Having spent the last three years focusing on music and gigging, the 22-year-old is now gearing up for the release of her first album in spring 2017, following her debut single, My Gravity.

“Since The X Factor finished, I’ve felt like I’ve needed to find my own niche in the market and my own sound. I don’t think I had a sound when I did The X Factor,” she says

Though her stints on the show were unsuccessful, she admits the experience helped mould her into the person she is today.

“The confidence that I have now as a singer would be nowhere near what I had before when I started out, and I think that only came with The X Factor. I think if I hadn’t done it, I wouldn’t be in the position I am now. Also, it’s part of my life, whether I like it or not. It’s a part of my story. I just have to embrace that,” she says.

However, Melanie was just 14 at the time of her first audition, which she think is too young for people to participate in reality TV shows.

“You’re so vulnerable when you’re that young – you don’t know who you are, let alone as a singer. If you go into X Factor not confident and sure of who you are, they will try to tell you who you are. At that age I was still very vulnerable and I took it very hard that year when I didn’t get through. I took it personally,” she says.

“Whereas the last time I was in a much better place. I totally just brushed it off. I knew who I was as a woman and it didn’t define me. As a teenager, you’re not mentally able to take that kind of rejection.”

In 2013, she also had to deal with heightened attention after the producers latched on to her story, which involved her family losing their house.

“When it all kind of kicked off in 2013, it was very, very intense. They showed me a lot on television that year and everyone knew who I was. I don’t think anyone really likes their business being put out there in public, but at the time it kind of just ended up coming out. They kind of made a bigger deal out of it that it needed to be. At the end of the day, there’s not a lot you can do when they get wind of something like that,” she says.

“People were going mad about me not going through, everywhere I went people were dragging and pulling at me and asking me for pictures. It was very, very crazy and I didn’t like it. Some people like fame and that whole craziness, but I found it very hard to deal with.”

Represented by respected promoter Pat Egan, Melanie has been focusing on achieving her own dreams on her own terms. She describes her own sound as a mix between mellow and upbeat tunes, and says the feedback on her first single has been good so far.

“After X Factor, I just gigged for a year and I was trying to get experience. One of my biggest goals was to make an album and for it to be original music. I’m trying to just enjoy this part of it now – what I worked for – and then I’ll focus on the next thing afterwards,” she says.

And her tips for any wannabe singers? “Try to go your own way first,” she advises. CL