With his dark looks and cheeky grin, judges on talent show The X Factor have compared Mark Nigrelli with superstar Robbie Wiliams. Steve Pratt meets the pop hopeful.

THE X Factor wannabe Mark Nigrelli is suffering for his art at this precise moment. He's having his eyebrows plucked. The stylist has sat him down in a chair in the hairdressing salon at Psyche store in Middlesbrough to prepare him for a photo shoot.

The tweezers are out and plucking before he has time to protest and, as he's doing a press interview with me at the time, it wouldn't be good for his image to cry out in pain.

The singer from Newcastle may have been likened to Robbie Williams on the ITV1 talent show and have a single release in the offing, but image is just as important in the music business these days.

He seems slightly embarrassed that the judging panel - Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh - hinted he could be the next Robbie Williams. Visually, stylist Allison McKay sees his look as "very much Will Young jacket and jeans".

At 28, he's a bit older than many beginners in the pop world and that's reflected in the wardrobe, chosen from the Psyche clothes rails, for the photo shoot. "It's all very casual in the pop world. Mark's look is a little more sophisticated and older than teen pop. I'd call it sophisticated but stylish with it," says Allison.

Such a high profile show as The X Factor is giving Mark, who's half Sicilian and half Geordie, valuable exposure as a performer after a decade as a singer and musician. He goes on from the North-East audition to a place in the next round in London. There, the successful contestants will be split into three categories - ages 16 to 25, 25 and over solo, and groups - with each mentored by one of the judges.

His appearance as a solo singer came about by accident. "A mate of mine put us both in as a duo," he explains. "Then he dropped out at the last moment because he'd been in Pop Idol before. So, in the end, I decided to enter on my own."

His choice of audition song, Barry Manilow's Mandy, surprised the judges and certainly caught their attention. They liked him a lot, putting him through to the next stage.

"It was great," says Mark about auditioning. "Simon really liked me. It was a weird experience because there were a lot of great singers. I was one of the last ones to perform on the day. The judges kept breaking and going for coffee. I was waiting and waiting."

Mark is no stranger to singing. He dates it back to being 18 and a sax player in a band. He was disappointed at not getting a job in a Tina Turner gig that he wanted, so took up an offer to sing backing vocals in a band.

"Then the lead vocalist was sick and I took over as the main singer. I was fronting bands and ended up in a duo with a female singer," he says.

They eventually married and had a son, Bailey, now three, but have since separated.

Currently Mark sings in a local band called 4 for 1. He's now a full-time singer, having previously worked in nursing. He says the other lads in the group have been great about his X Factor appearance. Now he's hoping to take some time away to concentrate on his single and vocal coaching.

His main concern at the moment is working on his single, Sunshine Days, chosen from several songs offered him in recent weeks. He describes it as having "the Ibiza touch with a bit of Latino feel as well". Feedback has been good from the people who've heard it, he says.

Although flattered by the Robbie comparison, Mark talks of another singer, Michael Buble, as someone he admires as a "superb vocalist".

The next stage of The X Factor competition has already been filmed, but Mark's not telling which of the judges becomes his category's mentor or how far he progresses in future weeks.

He's certainly enjoyed the experience so far, although it was a shock to open up a recent copy of Heat magazine and see his picture in it. Everyone taking part in the show got along well after travelling to London where they were put up in a big hotel as the next stage of the competition got under way. "It wasn't really competitive to be honest. People's attitude towards everyone else was really friendly," he says.

Mark has watched a tape of his performance at the Newcastle auditions but says: "It's odd looking at yourself".

He takes great pleasure from seeing the reaction of what he calls his biggest supporters - son Bailey and stepchildren Rebecca and Damon. Their friends at school have said: "We saw your dad on television".

Despite all the attention, from both public and stylists, Mark is trying to keep his feet on the ground as his singing career takes off. His aim, he says, is "to take each day as it comes and not lose my head". The only losses so far have been his eyebrows.

* The X Factor continues on ITV1 on Saturday at 7.05pm.

Published: 27/09/2004