Kerry is 31 years of age and comes from West Lothian. She is a full time mum having a son, Joshua who is 18 months. Kerry is very close to her mum and her mum and grandfather were singers too. Kerry is a paraplegic using a wheelchair and crutches after falling off a tree at the age of 13. Kerry came second in 'A Song For Europe' in 1997 with her tune ‘Yodel In The Canyon Of Love’ after losing out to the UK Entry by Katrina & The Waves, 'Love Shine A Light'. Kerry has had a previous record deal and has played the part of Carol-Ann in the Channel 4 show The Book Group in 2003. During the competition, Kerry performed ‘Show Me Heaven’ by Maria McKee in the Glasgow auditions. From then, she went on to the Boot Camp stage to perform ‘Something’ by The Beatles on the first day and then ‘You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me’ by Dusty Springfield on the second day. She was given a chance to perform in the Judges' Homes stage having sung ‘You’ve Got A Friend’ by Carole King.
Q&As
What would winning The X Factor mean to you?
“Winning The X Factor would be a great sense of achievement because my life has been a bit of a toil and I’ve always fought against difficulties in my life. It would mean so much to me – it would almost be like the proof is in the pudding by winning The X Factor. It would prove to me that everything that I’ve ever done has been worth it and that I’ve always been fighting in the right direction”. If she does find herself in the position of winner she says that she’d buy her mum a house, “It would be so close to Christmas so I’d probably spoil my wee boy a bit that Christmas” she adds.
What do your friends and family think about you getting through, and what will you miss?
“I’ll miss my son, my family, my friends and I’ll also miss my parrot Sonny. The parrot doesn’t get on with everyone so it will be hard to clean him and feed him while I’m away. But my friends and family are ecstatic. They have seen me striving for this career so they are so excited for me. They are absolutely over the moon. I’ve never been so far away from family and friends before and had to get on with it myself without their help. I’d probably say I’m looking forward to the independence that it will give me as well as appearing on the live shows and getting the opportunity to sing in front of all those people at home. So getting the chance to come down there, being independent, being with everyone in the house would be one of my biggest accomplishments yet I suppose.”
Have you had any brushes with fame in the past?
Kerry has had a couple of brushes with fame before. She acted in Channel 4’s The Book Club and came runner up on Song For Europe behind the Katrina And The Waves. She says “I performed on the National Lottery so that was probably my five minutes of fame but nothing came from it as I was just the session singer on it.”
Where did you go to school?
Kerry went to West Calders High School in West Lothian where her favourite subjects were music and english. She says that she comes from a very musical family. “We’ve all been vocalists throughout the generation. My Grandfather was classed as Scotland’s Bing Crosby and my Mum was a fantastic singer and sung on the circuit and had opportunities to take it further but was always too nervous. She never had the confidence to grab and run with it but I think each generation gets that little bit more experience so hopefully I can pick up and fly the flag for them and maybe achieve something for all of us.”
What is your proudest achievement to date?
She says that one of her proudest achievements was when she won the Child Of Achievement Award. “It was my school that put me forward and I had to go to The Guild Hall in London to collect my trophy. That was quite a momentous time for me because it proved to me that everyone realised how hard I’d strived to get back to my old school because they wanted to put me into a school that was specially designed for disabled people. I could cope with the disability but I really needed to be surrounded by people who I’d always been surrounded by. So that was quite an achievement in itself to fight my way back to school that had no disabled facilities at all and also be recognised for it.”
Who are your musical influences?
Kerry has varied musical tastes. She cites her influences as including Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, Talking Heads, The Eurythmics, Barbra Streisand and Whitney Houston. “Pink Floyd have great depth and The Eurythmics are one of my all time favourites.” Her favourite album is ‘The Division Bell’ by Pink Floyd and her single is ‘Summer Sun’ by fellow Scots, Texas. To wow the Judges she’d love to sing ‘Woman In Love’ by Barbra Streisand.
What are your hobbies/passions?
Her hobbies also include painting, drawing and craft. She says “I made a dolls house with all the furniture for a little girl. I just love making things. I play a little of the guitar. A five chord wonder!” But singing is her first love. She explains, “Before I broke my back I always believed I would be on the stage dancing but after I broke my back things obviously changed. I still saw myself on the stage but couldn’t really do much dancing so I’d say from 13 onwards I always saw myself as a singer because that was the way of getting myself to the stage again.”
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