Music fans, here’s Virgin Media’s V Festival 2020

When The X Factor kicked off in 2004, many thought the winners would be guaranteed plenty of record sales. And while that was partly true, it was those who made the top five in the semi finals that usually went on to more success.

The likes of JLS, One Direction, Cher Lloyd and Stacey Solomon all achieved incredible things despite not winning. Then there’s Olly Murs, a force of nature who has become one of Blighty’s best loved tunesmiths.

He’s just one of the impressive acts propping up the V Festival 2020. Obviously as this has been a year like no other, the traditional summer music festivals have either been put on hold or screened via glorified conference calls. Here the annual event returns with a virtual twist as Joel Dommett and Maya Jama present festival fun from Hylands Park in Chelmsford.

For many music fans, it’s hard to believe 11 years have gone by since Olly walked on stage at TXF’s auditions. From that first few seconds, it was clear the man had skills. His take on Stevie Wonder’s classic Superstition left Simon Cowell in no doubt that Olly should go through to the next stage. Versions of Elton John’s Your Song, and She’s the One also proved he could turn his hand to a variety of styles.

As The X Factor rolled on, the cheeky singer with bags of talent proved he wasn’t going to fade into obscurity once the show was over.

Okay, so Joe McElderry beat him to the winning spot, but it hardly mattered. Olly’s debut single, Please Don’t Let Me Go, leapt to the top of the singles charts, and marked the first of many smashes for one of Essex’s finest musical exports.

There was little surprise his eponymous debut album sold like ice cream on a summer’s day. It peaked at number two on the UK album charts, and in the decade that followed he released a string of hugely successful LPs, from In Case You Didn’t Know in 2011, to You Know I Know in 2018.

Obviously Olly isn’t the only Essex tunesmith to hit the big time in recent years. Anne-Marie Rose Nicholson caught the showbiz bug aged six when she appeared on stage in Les Miserables.

Six years later, a performance in stage smash Whistle Down the Wind did little to dampen her love of bright lights and stunned crowds.

By 2013, Anne-Marie crafted a solo album, and eventually Rudimental fell over themselves to work with her on the album We the Generation.

Fans of that LP may remember the track Love Ain’t Just a Word, which also featured fellow V Festival artist Dylan Kwabena Mills, better known to the masses as Dizzee Rascal.

While Anne-Marie scored a hit with Rockabye, Rascal’s string of smashes, including Bonkers, have seen his fanbase grow. There’s a good bet a few more folks will be converted after this feast of entertainment. It also features exclusive interviews, festival fashion, and a look back at some of the event’s most memorable performances.

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