X Factor winners Rak-Su were told they would be the biggest stars around after winning the show in 2017, but Myles Stephenson says they’re happier than ever after leaving Syco.
The group made history after becoming the first boy group to win the former ITV talent show after performing several of their own songs.
After an intense few months of battling out week after week, they were eventually crowned the winners after receiving over 50% of the public vote.
READ MORE: Rak-Su told they’d be ‘bigger than One Direction’ before career-changing row
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Star, Myles, 30, says that the band are happier after going independent following a fallout with their former boss, Simon Cowell’s record label, Syco.
(Image: Getty Images)
He said: “It feels like a massive weight off our shoulders, it feels like the chains are off, although it’s harder in the aspect of we fund everything ourselves.
“The last few years have been quite constraining and restricting on the whole music industry and when you’re independent, it’s that as well.
“For us, it means we have to be smarter with our money and we have to run it like a business.
(Image: Sami Drasin/NBC via Getty Images)
“Although it’s making music which is our passion and it’s our hobby, we have to treat it like a business otherwise we wouldn’t be able to sustain it and I think that’s what all independent artists have to do.
“At the same time, the artists on the labels have been stitched up worse because they haven’t been earning the labels money, so it’s tough for them, it’s probably harder for them.”
The former I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! star explained that being free from the label makes the job “100%” more enjoyable.
(Image: Getty Images)
He continued: “Like [the mixtape] Finally Free says in the name, we are free to write and speak about whatever the hell we want.
“We don’t have to worry about making the next pop hit or a hit, we can speak our minds and that’s what it’s about.
“We’ve been in the industry nearly five years now and that’s a fairly long time, especially for an X Factor act and we’ve toured the UK every year since, whether it’s on our own tours, stadium tours or theatres.
“For us, it’s the freedom that we have, our own self-control, it’s just a lot nicer being able to release what you want – at the same time, it does have its stresses.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
