Former Scots X Factor, contestant Gamu Nhengu, whose time on the show was disrupted when she was threatened with deportation, has revealed she is now happy she was kicked off the show in 2010.
Ms Nhengu, whose talents prompted 250,000 people to sign a Facebook campaign within days of her being ejected from the ITV series, says that if she had been successful on the talent show she might not have enjoyed the experience.
"I wouldn't have been doing what I wanted," she said yesterday.
Ms Nhengu, originally from Zimbabwe and now living in Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire, has finally launched her first single, Shake The Room.
And she has no regrets she was not chosen by judge Cheryl Cole to contest the final rounds of the show.
She said: "It could have been a very interesting, fun ride. I would have learnt a lot, and it would have gone massive for two, three years.
"But doing this gives me the chance to do it a bit more slowly and get what I want from it, and maybe I'll last a bit longer than three years."
Ms Nhengu, a teenager in 2010, was accused of being an illegal immigrant after her mother's request for a renewal of her visa was declined. The family was even accused of benefit fraud.
This summer the singer, now 21, releases her debut album A Love Like This.
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