Thursday 02 October
12:57 Student Interview: Carolynne
Carolynne wants to give the biggest thanks to her fans
and voters for all their support throughout the Academy
rollercoaster...
Look back over the last eight weeks and tell us
honestly what it's been like.
It's been really hard, but also the best experience of my
life. I've made so many friends out of it, it's been the
best time ever. Being away from my family has been really
hard for me. I didn't think I'd find it that difficult 'cos
I've been away from them before and lived on my own. But
not seeing them and not being able to talk to them has been
really difficult.
Compare yourself on day one to yourself now.
I've definitely changed, I've come out of my shell more.
It took me a while to settle in and to get to know everyone.
Performance-wise I've definitely come out of my shell and
feel like I have developed throughout my time here.
Is there anything you want to say now that we're
so near the end?
I want to thank everybody who has written me letters because
they really have cheered my down days up, and I know I've
had some bad times here! I can't tell you how much I appreciate
them, [fans] just watching and reacting. It's amazing getting
these letters from people you don't even know. It's made
me feel really really good.
Explain what life in the Academy has really been
like to someone who doesn't know.
I don't think you can imagine it unless you're really here.
Being followed 24/7 by cameras, when you're getting out
of the shower, or when you just wanna cry or have an emotional
moment...it's hard when you have a camera on you all the
time. When you do something, you wonder if it's going to
end up in your VT. You kind of want to keep your personal
development and your musical development as separate but
you can't do that because it's a reality TV show. I forget
about the cameras all the time, but I'm aware that they're
there. But - obviously - there have been moments when I've
forgotten about them! It's weird to go outside and these
people come and talk to me like they know me because they've
seen me here. It's really weird when people know you and
you don't know anything about them.
Are you in a position to offer advice to others
after this experience?
The only advice I'm in a position to give is stay true to
yourself. If you work hard you'll get there. If you believe
in your dreams everyone else will too.
Have you got one final message for your fans?
Thank you so much for voting for me! This Saturday I'm not
going to be thinking about the voting, I'm just going to
sing for everyone who has voted for me before and enjoy
it.
