Life will never be the same for Joe McElderry.
His marvelous and thoroughly deserved win on the X-Factor at the weekend has been followed by a mad whirl of visits, press interviews and meetings for this and talks about that.
And the 18-year-old will be making a triumphant return to his home town of South Shields tomorrow to sign copies of his debut single, ‘The Climb’, at the HMV store in King Street.
The song is already perched at the top of the download charts and destined to be the Christmas No 1.
The local lad with the world at his feet is now getting used to having an official entourage of publicists, stylists and assorted celebrity advisors constantly in tow.
At 4pm on Wednesday the fans who voted him through successive rounds of the top TV talent show will get the chance to meet their hero in person. The debut CD also features two bonus tracks, ‘Somebody to Love’ and ‘Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me’ which were two audience favourites during Joe’s time on the show.
Joe, who was one of the 200,000 entrants into this year’s X-Factor, has entranced audiences and viewers all over the UK and received outstanding comments from the show’s judges.
Due to anticipated demand the signing session will be wristbanded. Fans can pick up free wristbands at HMV which allow them access to the event. 500 wristbands will be available only from the HMV South Shields store from 8.00am onwards.
Geordie Joe, a performing arts student at Newcastle College, said: “I’ve hardly slept since the result but I don’t feel tired at all. I’m still buzzing from what’s happened. It’s so weird to see myself on the front pages. My family and friends have been saving all my press cuttings for me since the show started.
“It’s still sinking in. I think once I’ve been back to South Shields a few times things might start to feel a little bit normal again,” said the local lad who not so long ago worked as a part time waiter in the Customs House to earned a few bob.
Well maybe.
After the home town promo he will be whisked away and back to the celebrity lifestyle with a vengence. “I’ve got a mad week and then a few days back at home for Christmas. I’ve missed the friendliness of the North-East and the beach at South Shields. I can’t wait to have a walk along the coast over the holiday,”
He’ll probably have a few thousand people keen to keep him company.
See Joe’s performance at the final below: