Olly Murs has certainly found the formula for success. As he celebrates his fourth album topping the charts, the former X Factor runner-up tells Andy Welch why he hopes his fan base keeps growing

PONDERING the key to his successful five-year music career, Olly Murs says: "I suppose it's because I'm like an old-fashioned entertainer, but I really don't know. I was very lucky when I came off X Factor that there was a niche for an entertainer like me, and I don't think there was anyone out there that was doing what I was doing, but I try not to analyse it too much."

He did seem an unlikely chart star when he finished as runner-up on the series in 2009. The one thing in his favour was that Murs' cheeky-chappy charm stood out against a load of worthy, stage-school graduates, but in the world of talent show TV, that will only take someone so far.

Murs has just released his fourth album, Never Been Better, and is already sitting on worldwide record sales of around 10m. His tour dates for Newcastle's MetroRadio Arena in April are selling well; three previous albums have all gone at least double-platinum (meaning sales of 600,000 and upwards), he's been nominated for several Brit awards and supported the likes of Robbie Williams and One Direction – both of whom he now counts as friends – around the US.

"I've done a bit of everything, TV and radio presenting, and I think that's helped me," he says. "People seem to like what I do, and feel like they know me and what sort of person I am. It starts with my music, though, and the rest stems from there."

Never Been Better sees Murs returning after a year-long break. He used his time off to catch up with the friends and family he'd barely seen during his first three manic music career years.

"Yes, I've been playing a lot of golf," he confesses. "I'd never played and fancied having a go, so I found a local pro, had a few lessons and have been playing ever since. I'm not great, but I am getting there."

He's enjoyed having weekends off, spending a bit of time in the house he bought on the outskirts of London, and some normality.

"I've got a three-year-old nephew, so I spent time with him, and really it was just nice to appreciate everything I've done so far," he says. "Even with all the highs and lows and stresses and worries, it's nice to reflect on what you've got going on, and just remember that I've got amazing people around me and my life is pretty wonderful. It made me want to try even harder with this new album."

On the album, Murs worked with songwriter Wayne Hector, plus a number of others he's teamed up with before, as well as some new collaborators. Among them are Demi Lovato, who sings on Murs' new single Up, Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, who as well as writing Seasons for Murs has written some of the biggest songs of the past 20 years for Adele, U2, Ellie Goulding, Maroon 5, Taylor Swift and Leona Lewis, and Paul Weller, who wrote a song for Murs after meeting him at a concert last year.

"I was watching Paolo Nutini and Paul was there. We said hello, and he asked if I was doing a record, because he had a couple of songs he wanted me to hear with a view to recording them," says Murs, sounding as if he still can't quite believe his luck.

"I said, 'OK, cool', of course I did, but thought, 'As if Paul Weller is going to send me a song'. I thought it was a passing comment, but a few days later, a song came over from him and he wanted to know what I thought. I loved the original idea, but asked if we could rewrite a little bit and tweak a few lyrics, so I went over to his studio and we worked on it together.

"It was a dream, really, he's one of the best songwriters in the world. The Modfather, on my record. It was special."

It's understandable Murs thinks landing a song by Weller is a coup, and thinks it might be one in the eye for those who don't really take him seriously as an artist.

It's fair to say that Murs often doesn't quite get the credit he deserves. His records have sold consistently well, his tours sell out and his singles are played constantly on the radio, particularly commercial stations.

Character traits that make him so appealing to millions of members of the public, also seem to make him appear a little boring to the media. He's not as outspoken as Ed Sheeran, as talented as Paolo Nutini, or as grandma-friendly and confessional as Sam Smith. Nevertheless, whatever he's doing, it's working.

Next year's tour has Murs excited about the chance to meet his fans.

"When I left X Factor, I never, ever thought I'd get to this point, with a fourth album and another tour. I mean, I wished and dreamed I would, but now I have, I want to do six or seven. I've just gone with it and there is an amazing fan base that keeps growing. More people are backing me, more people buy my music and that's an amazing feeling. I really want it to continue through this album and into the future."

  • April 18 and 19, MetroRadio Arena, Newcastle. olyymurs.com
  • Olly Murs new single, Up, is out on December 21 in a bid for Christmas No 1