Leon's keeping it real as he starts all over again

IT IS rather ironic to hear the words "keeping it real" being uttered from the mouth of a reality TV show star. Being genuine is somewhat contradictory with such shows.

But Leon Jackson is not a typical "X Factor" winner. Yes, he has the obligatory tear-jerking life story - his father left his mother when he was just two, later dying when Leon was just 16 and he badly wanted to win to make his mum proud. But from there he deviates from the normal manufactured pop star.

For a start he's from Whitburn (famous residents so far include Robert Burns's illegitimate daughter Elizabeth), he is a karate black belt with an interest in architecture and he was quickly aware that the "persona" created for him by the pop business just didn't fit right. Which is why reality is now biting for the 21-year-old.

"I'm just trying to produce something that's honest, for me that is the key this time around - to do something that's honest," he says.

The last three years, since he pipped Welsh singer Rhydian Roberts in the 2007 final, have been a rollercoaster for the be-quiffed singer. He has already experienced the highs and lows of the music industry, having had a number one single, a successful album and tour - and then being dropped by Sony BMG label Syco Music in March last year.

But Leon, who says he is breaking away from the image and musical genre into which he was pigeonholed - a kind of West Lothian Michael Buble - is now flying solo and he says his future is bright.

"I have shunned the spotlight because I want to develop myself as an artist," he says.

"When I parted ways with Sony, it was an opportunity to be in control. Musically it was a good opportunity for me to start afresh.

"I've been finding out what kind of artist I am and just making sure I feel comfortable. It's been a gradual re-education, I'm kind of starting again and writing songs starting from scratch, producing the bare bones of songs organically on the guitar or piano."

It was Valentine's Day last year when it all clicked on stage for Leon. Something had been missing from his previous performances - an acoustic guitar.

When he stepped out on to the stage that February evening to perform his first live acoustic gig at Tiger Tiger in Glasgow, everything fell into place. "That was a turning point because I knew this was the way forward for me to be playing the guitar. Ever since then I've been playing live gigs."

The talented musician, who taught himself to play guitar, has also been experimenting with other instruments, including the piano and ukulele, both of which could make an appearance at future gigs.

But it's the heartfelt lyrics of Leon's new tunes that may well help to set him apart from other artists.

"I'm writing songs about the rigours of love and life, and life experiences and issues that are current at the minute in my life.

"You know how you go through experiences in love and you might take something away from them that will always stay with you?," Leon asks. "I'm writing songs about that kind of thing."

Leon has plenty of people close to him to base his material on if he chooses to - he's always been open about how much he loves his mum Wendy, and he's had a girlfriend for the last two years.

He also wouldn't commit to saying that his new material would form the basis of a second album, although such an achievement would undoubtedly delight him. "I'm writing these songs, I'm experiencing singing them live but they might not make a record," he says.

Leon has already performed a handful of intimate acoustic shows over the last 18 months and is set to entertain fans at 02 ABC in Glasgow tomorrow.

"I'm really excited and really looking forward to it," he beams. "My new music is well suited to small style venues. I've got some schoolmates coming and ex-work colleagues. It will be nice and laid-back - that's the way it should be."

The weekend will also mark a rare trip home to Whitburn for Leon, who can't wait to spend some quality time with mum Wendy, who still lives in the West Lothian town.

Few people could blame him for looking forward to some rest and relaxation time and a break away from the pressures and stresses that go hand-in-hand with a career in the music industry.

But while every artist has their critics, what is his response to those who point out that he's not been as successful as other winners such as Leona Lewis or Alexandra Burke? "I'm different from these artists," he says. "I'm working at the minute so maybe they (critics) don't understand or whatever. I'm just concentrating on what I'm doing."

Leon has spent the last year recording new material and writing songs in a London studio, having lived in an apartment in the south west of the city for two-and-a-half years.

His new "acoustic guitar-led style" is already proving a hit with fans, and he hopes to impress the expected 800 people at the intimate gig tomorrow.

"The style of music is away from the jazz genre I was pigeonholed in, it's more guitar-led - it is just honest songs," Leon says.

What makes Leon's journey even more remarkable is that he didn't start singing in public until the age of 18 - just six months before he auditioned for the X Factor.

He's come a long way since spotting a leaflet advertising karaoke at a local pub while having a cup of tea in the staff room of Gap in Livingston, where he used to work as a sales assistant,

"I asked one of my friends if he fancied going along to it and he laughed and said, 'you don't sing'."

After stunning his friend with his rendition of Paolo Nutini's Last Request at the karaoke, Leon knew his future was in music.

"Something clicked inside me and made me happy and I knew there was no other feeling that I got from life like that," he says.

Given how far Leon has come since impressing with his first public performance, it is perhaps understandable why he is reluctant to talk about his time on the X Factor, preferring instead to concentrate on the future.

He admits he "doesn't hear a word" from the X Factor judges, including former mentor Dannii Minogue, but added that "it's not really relevant because I'm on a new journey and a new path at the minute".

"Ultimately the X Factor has allowed me to make a living from being a musician and for that I couldn't be any more thankful."

Despite having had a number one single, "When You Believe", and an album - "Right Now" - which was released in 2008, as well as a headline tour last summer, Leon still doesn't see himself as a celebrity, adding: "I just concentrate on my music, it's a luxury to be able to do something that I love for a living."

The self-published artist compared some of his tunes "really loosely" to music from the likes of John Mayer and James Morrison. But where does Leon see himself in 10 years' time?

"I just want to play live," he says. "I love live music and that's what I want to be doing, but I'm just taking it one step at a time.

n Leon will perform at the 02 ABC on Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, at 7pm tomorrow. Tickets cost 8.50 and are available by calling 0844 477 2000.

Lasting acclaim?

Edinburgh and the Lothians has had its fair share of musical reality TV stars over the years, but where are they now?

Corstorphine entertainer Craig Chalmers, 27, shot to fame on Any Dream Will Do in 2007: Currently on a UK tour playing Joseph in Bill Kenwright's production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Edinburgh-born singer/songwriter Ainslie Henderson, 31, appeared on the BBC's Fame Academy in 2002: His first album, Growing Flowers by Candlelight, was released on his own label in 2007.

Susan Boyle, 49, from Blackburn, West Lothian, was catapulted from obscurity to global fame after appearing on last year's Britain's Got Talent, finishing runner-up: Her debut album, I Dreamed A Dream, has been a huge worldwide hit.

Keith Jack, 21, from Dalkeith, shot to fame when he reached the final of BBC's Any Dream Will Do competition in 2007, but lost out to Lee Mead: He will take over from Craig Chalmers as Joseph next weekend...