Saturday, 17 November 2007

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X Factor Niki's teenage taste of fame was a disaster

Singer found the pressures of the music world tough

X Factor contestant Niki Evans' first brush with fame as a 16-year-old left her disillusioned with the music industry.

The aspiring singer was picked by producer Pete Waterman to go on tour with pop star Sonia in the 1980s.

But the experience left the teenager's confidence shattered.

'Supporting Sonia was not a glamorous life at all,' says Niki's mum Annette Rolphson, 56.

'The tour was her dream. Yet she came back devastated both emotionally and physically.'

Niki is said to have struggled with the demands of the music world and was pressured to slim down and cut her hair.

'I had a heartbreaking call saying, "Mum, I've got to lose weight". She was a size 12 but lost 21 pounds in two weeks,' Annette tells the Daily Mirror.

'She had her long hair cut off too and looked gaunt when she came home full of stress cold sores.'

Niki, now 34, is hopefully now better equipped to deal with the pressures of fame.

Since getting to the finals of the X Factor her confidence has gone from strength to strength.

Katie Evans