Seasick Diana rides the storm...
02 Oct 08
"I was so nervous I felt seasick..."
The X Factor bootcamp is an emotional time for many - but few felt the strain more than 17 year-old Diana Vickers.
Diana's bootcamp performance blew everyone in the auditorium away - but the whole experience was like nothing the Lancashire student had ever imagined before.
"I felt really overwhelmed when we first arrived. Everyone is so outgoing. At the hotel, everyone is singing and playing guitar, and producing musical instruments and forming orchestras - I just sat in the corner crying. I didn't know what was going on!"
And as the pressure built the teenager found it tough to be away from home. She sighed, "Obviously, I wanted to be here, but being away from my family is hard. I have been away from home before, but only with people I'm close to, not on my own".
"So I was whiny the first couple of days. I even cried at the good bits! But now I've made really close friends".
Forming strong bonds was key to Diana's confidence and soon her close chums included opera singer Katie Bailey, room-mate Alex, Ami Hargreaves and "the twinnies" Francine and Nicola.
She grins, "I've made loads of friends now and I'm really proud!"
"I'm not usually a shy person, I like to have a laugh at college but the atmosphere is quite serious, people aren't joking about".
In the end it was Diana's voice that earned her huge respect from her fellow contenders and her first bootcamp performance turned things around.
"As soon as I'd sung, I felt I'd made a connection with people. Everyone is so talented but my style is quite different; I wasn't sure if people would get me at all".
"I was overwhelmed," she told us. "When I was up on the stage I just wanted to go to the toilet! I was so nervous I felt seasick! But I had a word with myself, knowing it could be my only chance; I had to enjoy it".
And positive thinking was obviously the way forward, with a trip to Judges' Houses secured. She told us, "To be in the last 24 is the best feeling ever".
But although ever so grateful, Diana's nerves are not far below the surface.
"I'm buzzing - but I'm scared. There is extra pressure again."