Fleur East has some wise advice for any budding singers thinking of entering televised music competitions.
The talented star, 34, first rose to fame in 2014 as a solo artist on the eleventh series of The X Factor, where she came second behind winner Ben Haenow.
Despite achieving huge success thanks to the now defunct show, Fleur has warned anyone thinking of applying to similar shows, like Walk the Line, to "do their own research" beforehand.
Speaking to the Mirror as part of her new collaboration with Schweppes, Fleur advised wannabe singers to "try every avenue" before signing up to a reality TV show.
The X Factor may be no more, but this weekend Simon Cowell returns with a brand new musical offering, Walk the Line.
Alesha Dixon, 43, Dawn French, 64, and Gary Barlow, 50, serve on the judging panel for ITV's new musical game show - with Maya Jama taking on the hosting duties.
"I would say definitely do your research and know exactly what you’re walking into and just be aware of the risks," the radio presenter told us when quizzed about if she had any advice to contestants considering going on the brand new ITV show.
"That’s what I did. I’m a bit of an over-thinker and before I even auditioned, I was like 'Got to weigh up everything - all the pros and cons. What’s the worst case scenario? What are my options?'
"I think it worked for me, for many reasons, but one of the main reasons is that I tried everything else in the music industry before I went then and auditioned a second time."
Fleur became a household name thanks to her incredible run on The X Factor back in 2014.
Before the ITV show even ended, she became the first ever contestant to reach number one on the UK iTunes with her rendition of Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson's Uptown Funk.
Going on the show clearly worked out for the singer, who released her first full-length album, Love Sax and Flashbacks shortly after coming second in the live final.
But Fleur credits her success from the show to how she approached it and all the experience she gained before auditioning for a second time, after first trying out for the series as a member of the girl group Addictiv Ladies in 2005.
"I feel like any singers that I speak to, I say 'try every avenue before you then try that' because [although] i think it’s a great way to get into the industry, and I’m forever grateful for it because it gave me opportunities and a huge platform, I think it was the right time for me because I tried everything else [first]," the star wisely explained to us earlier this week.
"It literally was the cliche last shot - it was the only thing I hadn’t tried."
The star - who has teamed up with beverage brand Schweppes to create Fleur’s Eastern Standard cocktail - went on to credit the X Factor for being a "crash course" into the music industry.
"There’s sort of a perception that whoever auditions for these kind of shows just walk in off the street and all of a sudden they become famous overnight and became an overnight success," the singer mused to us.
"But a lot of people have worked and honed their craft and got a lot of experience and that was my situation and i think you need experience to do well on a show like that."
She added: "I think it’s tough when you don’t have experience because you’re then growing and developing in front of the nation, criticising your every move as you're learning, which is so tough and The X Factor is super hard - it’s a crash course into the music industry."
"I think you need to be strong willed, know who you are and definitely have to have experience."
* In celebration of the unshakeable British spirit, new research from the nation’s favourite mixer - Schweppes - shows a renewed appetite to embrace the festive season and a desire to reignite fun family rituals. Find out more at www.schweppes.eu/
