Wow, first up I just want to say a massive thank you to everybody who has been supporting me and has bought the album. It was such a competitive week musically as well so it really means a lot to have your support.

Last week was so busy, I was doing promo all over the place, appearing on shows like This Morning which was great. I got up at 7am which was a more civilised hour than I expected. I’ve got GM:TV coming up and that will be a 4am start! On This Morning I met Michael McIntyre and Joanna Page from Gavin and Stacey who was really nice. Yesterday I went for dinner with Hayley Westenra, she’s become a good friend since we met at Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 60th birthday.

Saturday was incredible as I went to watch Wales beat Australia in the rugby which was a momentous day. I was also honoured and privileged to be invited as a guest of honour, they even did a speech about me in the VIP meal. All my rugby heroes of past and present were there and I had a chinwag with Bryn Terfel too, one of my vocal heroes.

I’ll check in again soon and answer some your questions in the forum. Keep them coming I love seeing them!

Love Rhydian. x

Hope you’re well. I’ve recently been in Sheffield to turn on their Christmas lights, which was great. It was the first time I’ve ever switched on the lights anywhere and I had a really nice reception. There were a few other artists there - the Saturdays, Only Men Allowed and some of the stars from Coronation Street too.

Before that I had a gig with Katherine Jenkins, Girls Aloud and the cast of Strictly Come Dancing at a private event in London. I did a duet with Katherine, which was fantastic, and it was really nice to meet up with the Girls!

I’ve also been around most of the UK on the radio tour, going to places I’ve never been to before! On one occasion I was in the studio and one of my childhood heroes was in the room next door! It was Simon Fowler, the lead singer from Ocean Colour Scene - I really admire and respect him so it was a big thing for me, and was the first time I’ve ever really been star-struck. He was really nice, and the radio station gave me a recording of his acoustic performance of The Circle, so that was brilliant. Today I’m heading to another radio station to do an interview with Steve Wright.

Recently, I met a lovely fan called Lu, who makes me fantastic handmade cards. I’d like to say thanks for your generosity and your creativity and support, you’re a beautiful young lady. Please mail me at rcalabelgroup@sonybmg.com (with proof that it’s you!) and I’ll make sure the guys on my label send you a treat!

I met with William Baker in the week to go through the staging of my X Factor performance. He’s Kylie’s stylist and also styled Leona for her performance last week. It’ll all start coming together in the next few days so it’s all very exciting - I really enjoy working on the look and feel of a performance, especially when it’s with someone like William Baker!

Looking forward to hearing what you all think

Love Rhydian

It was good to be back there as I have very fond memories of it all. I met some of the contestants, like Rachel, and watched them all perform ‘Hero’ on the monitors in Simon’s room. I thought they were amazing, awesome. There were lots of loyal X Factor fans waiting outside, lots of who had been there last year too so I got to catch up with them and have a few photographs.

I’ve actually just had a suit fitting for my X Factor performance with Ozwald Boateng himself. He’s very nice and I’m extremely lucky to be able to sit down with a designer who I’ve long admired and who is now a friend of mine. I’ve also been filming some more footage for a documentary which is going out on Welsh TV the week of the album release.

I’m heading off to Wales tomorrow to play a gig for the Prince’s Trust, and will be visiting my mum while I’m there. Then we’re off to Belfast for a concert straight after and then it’s back to Cardiff!

Love Rhydian

It was my first time there and was actually very close to how I expected it to be, although what I didn’t realise is that is has only 300,000 inhabitants. The greatest thing was going in a helicopter on the first day, as I’d never been in one before. I was really nervous beforehand, but once we were up there I was very relaxed because I had one of the top pilots in Iceland who did loads of the James Bond movies. I was really enjoyed it, but unfortunately the cameraman got airsick and threw up out of the helicopter!

Whilst in Iceland we decided to kill two birds with one stone and do a photoshoot there, so hopefully we’ve got some really good snaps. I went on a snowbike too and absolutely loved it.

I did try some Icelandic delicacies, one of which I was a bit reluctant to sample… the guy offering it said, ‘Oh it’s really nice’, and it turned out to be sheep’s eyeball, tongue and brain in jelly! I did try it and in all honesty I’d like to say I enjoyed it but it smelt like dog food and tasted awful. One eyeball and half a tongue was enough for me!

We got back on Monday evening and I went straight to Liverpool to do a concert for Crossroads, the charity I support. I’d like to say a big thank you to all my fans who’ve raised money for it over the year.

One of my fans came along and presented a cheque, so that was a very special night. I’ve basically been on-the-go since I got back, but in a good way. I couldn’t watch X Factor on the Saturday night because I was in Iceland but I saw a recording of it, and I can’t believe a year has gone by since I was on it!

Bye for now

Love Rhydian x

The next few weeks are packed with various events and video shoots. We are filming a tv commercial next week possibly in a country that I have never been to before which is very exciting. One thing I love doing is visiting new countries. I would tell you where it is but, unfortunately, for now anyway, it’s a secret!!

Hope you all have a great week.

With love as always

Rhydian x

This was followed by an appearance on ‘The Charlotte Church Show’ for her Christmas special show. It was lovely to perform with Charlotte. She was incredibly sweet to me and made me feel right at home.

The highlight for me though had to be performing at Andrew Lloyd Webber’s birthday bash at Hyde Park! Thank you to everyone who came to support. I hope you all had as memorable a day as I did!

We are currently seeking out places to film my video and some fantastic places have been mentioned. It’ll be a real surprise.

Much love and thanks to you all. ‘Til next time Rhydian x

The past few days have been spent working in the recording studio with a living legend who goes by the name of Walter A. He was responsible for writing and producing hits such as ‘Hero’ for Mariah Carey and various songs for Celine including ‘My Heart Will Go On’, which he produced. We have, over a relatively short period of time become great friends, and I for one am extremely excited about writing new material with him. Last Saturday I flew to Ireland to perform in Dublin for an event with Mick Hucknell. I have had an amazing time and everyone I’ve met has been so genuine and lovely; I’ve loved me time over there. I also love you guys for making this all happen for me! I’m so enjoying recording in the studio making music, which is all I have wanted to do! Hope you all have a satisfying week. All my love. Rhydian