‘The X Factor’ winner Dalton Harris has revealed that struggling as a homeless kid in Jamaica and winning a local contest motivated him to apply for the hugely popular ITV talent show.
The 24-year-old singer – who beat off competition from Anthony Russell and Scarlett Lee to win this year’s series (03.12.18) – applied for the ITV show after he won a talent competition in his home country, Jamaica, and was motivated to dream big after the cash prize helped him get off the streets.
Speaking on ‘Lorraine’, he said:
“I needed to go to school and I needed to be able to take care of myself because I was a homeless kid and so entering that competition enabled me to be able to take care of myself, go to school, feed myself and do normal stuff.
“It was kind of a big help and I knew I wanted to be an artist and I knew I had to go to a big platform.”
Dalton – who previously won more than £6,000 in cash after winning Digicel Rising Stars in Kingston – has now been given a recording deal with Simon Cowell’s label Syco Music.
Louis Tomlinson – who mentored Dalton throughout the series – told the show’s final crowd that Dalton is a “true gentleman” after the result was announced.
The proud tutor has also previously hailed Dalton to be one of the most talented vocalists to ever have appeared on the show.
He said:
“Dalton, for me it’s been evident since week one that you were probably the best singer in this competition, if not the best singer ‘The X Factor’ has ever seen.”