Dear hard-working, humble Danyl Johnson,

Congratulations! After quitting your job (isn’t teaching supposed to be a vocation?), you’ve ended up fourth on The X Factor. Your exceptional ability to open your mouth very wide and bellow a melody line that in no way resembles the original (sorry, “make the song your own”) has won you legions of fans, who are already very excited indeed at your tenuous hint that you might fancy a foray on to the West End stage.

Admittedly, it’s a very vague suggestion, centring on your admiration for last year’s roller-skate-wearing, claw-hand-waving, diva-palely-imitating Diana Vickers, who also left the competition prior to the final. But do you really think you’re equipped for the West End?

We already know that you’re very down-to-earth; Simon Cowell reminded us enough times. But just in case you forget yourself and allow your rapid rise to fame to inflate your ego, remember that theatreland is no place for budding prima donnas. That’ll be knocked out of you soon enough when you’re made to rehearse a dance routine a dozen times in a row without breaks, or when you’re told that you have to do your own make-up rather than having a fawning team of Syco minions to satisfy your whims, or when you’re offered a flat Equity minimum fee to do high profile but off-West End work (Olivier Award-winners do it – you’ll have to as well).

Oh, and that casual disregard for music as it is written? Yeah, that’ll have to go. Even those famously riffing Elphabas have to stick to the tune by and large.

Having said that, your voice certainly has power. Get some decent coaching and begin to differentiate between “volume” and “emotion”, you could do quite well. What do you fancy? Do you think you could make a decent Billy Flynn? Or do you yearn after some hefty self-irony by appearing in the talent show-mockery of We Will Rock You?

Still, good luck with it all. People often think that musical theatre is a closed shop and cliquey, and it’s really not. It just has a funny way of brutally highlighting who has genuine talent. If you do – and I mean proper talent, not the X Factor version of it, hidden behind the Brian Friedman gloss – you will soon find out.

Merry Christmas!

All the best,

Carrie.

Tagged as: billy flynn, brian friedman, chicago, danyl johnson, diana vickers, jls, simon cowell, stage, the rise and fall of little voice, we will rock you, west end, x factor

Got an opinion on this? Leave a comment and let us know.

Name ( required )

Email ( required )

Website

Please note: comment moderation is enabled and may delay your comment. There is no need to resubmit your comment.