Scott James has released his new single “Bring Him Home” which is available to buy on iTunes/Rhapsody/IMVU/Limewire/Nokia.

Click here to visit iTunes and download Scott’s single.

Scott himself has been in the studio recording a new song, Through My Eyes – a brand new original song written by an Australian mum whose daughter also has autism. He performed the single, which is scheduled for release in the New Year,  when he officially switched on the Daisy Chain Christmas lights at Calf Fallow Farm in Norton.

Scott has become very involved with the local charity, which helps children who have asperges and autism, after his stint on the X Factor earlier in the year.

Lisa Marshall, events manager at Daisy Chain,  said Scott had become the favourite of many of the youngsters. “They really look up to him and ask him for autographs. We are so pleased to have his support and he really connects with a lot of the children.”

Hundreds of pounds were raised for Daisy Chain at the lights switch on. The lights will be on next Friday from 4.30pm to 6.30pm together with Christmas gift stalls and a visit from Santa, followed by a Carol service.

The address is:

Daisy Chain
Calf Fallow Farm
Norton
Stockton-on-Tees
TS20 1PF (off Junction Road)

Daisy Chain is a unique charity established to address the needs of both children with autism and their families. They do this through providing services and activities from the 5.5-acre farm in Stockton-on-Tees where they are based.

However, Scott of Norton in Stockton-on-tees, has no regrets and says that the X Factor judges would have been “stupid” to put him through, after what happened with Susan Boyle.

Scott told the Gazette: “I didn’t go on the show expecting to get past the first stage so it was kind of a positive slap in the face when I did get through. I’m very happy I entered.”

However, Scott found the boot camp stage of the competition more daunting. Scott himself admits that he “doesn’t work well in groups” – this is related to the Asperger’s syndrome from which he suffers, which can make communication with others more challenging.

Scott, despite his misgivings about the song that was chosen for him in the first stage of bootcamp (a Katy Perry song) went through to the second stage – the final 24.

Scott said: “I honestly thought ‘that’s it I’m done’. But Simon felt they’d short changed me and put me and one of the other girls through.”

For the second stage of the competition, Scott chose the song “There You’ll Be” by Faith Hill.

He said: “I wanted to stand out a little bit and be the only guy singing that song.

“It went fantastically well in my rehearsal with Linzi, my vocal coach, but then when we were heading into Hammersmith Apollo, on the night, it was raining and they wanted to get us out of the rain so we didn’t look like drowned rats.

“They put us in a small room – an area packed full of screaming shouting, laughing, singing people and I couldn’t get out so I had a panic attack, which caused them to pull me out of the room and straight onto the stage.

“Going on stage with a panic attack caused me to completely fluff the audition.”

Scott has said that he is not disappointed at his exit from the show, and he has been chosen to sing a song that will raise the profile of The Autistic Society.

He is also still appears as a soloist in clubs around the North-east of England.

He said: “At the end of the day, the show has given me lots of confidence – and I feel like a celebrity!”

My comment:
There is a sense that whatever the X Factor production team decide – they are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. I think the solution is to understand the auditionee’s disability and make “reasonable adjustments”. Scott was up front about his Asperger’s syndrome. I am not an expert and do not pretend to be one – but presumably it could have been predicted that he would not be happy confined in a small room full of other noisy contestants. Would it not have been “reasonable” to put him in a room on his own where he would not have been unduly stressed? Then perhaps he would have been more relaxed in front of the judges and we would have seen him in the live shows. Just my 2p worth.

Scott, who has from Asperger’s syndrome, forgot the words to his song during bootcamp, which was shown on the television this weekend. It has also emerged that Scott, 22, had suffered from panic attacks before failing to make the final 24.

Scott’s singing coach Linzi Hunter told the Mirror: “It might have been different if he’d come along before Susan. I think they were worried how he’d cope with the live shows – but his future still looks good.”

Scott James was knocked out of the X Factor last night show after he forgot the words during a performance.

Ms Hunter told the Northern Echo: “There were one or two problems during boot camp and I think they were worried about ending up with a repeat of what happened with Susan Boyle.

“He had a panic attack and forgot the words. They offered him the chance to come back an hour later, but Scott did not want to be singled out, so he carried on.

“It might have been a different story if he had come along before Susan Boyle, but I think they were worried how he would cope with the live shows.”

However, Ms Hunter maintained: “I do honestly think they helped him.

Scott had his own room at Boot camp.

“People without any problems would struggle in that situation and I do not think he was ready for winning, but it would have been nice to get to the live shows.

“He is disappointed, but he is already thinking about what to do next. He has had a lot of offers. The response has been amazing, and everyone has been so supportive.

“He has a good future ahead of him and he would like to go on X Factor again one day.”

Now Scott has been seen, his talent his evident. Perhaps he won’t even need to go on the X Factor again.

Scott James, from Stockton-on-tees, is successfully through to the next round of the X Factor after singing “You Raise Me Up”, originally sung by Westlife, at his audition.

As he completed his song, the crowd rose to their feet, clapped and cheered. “That’s my boy”, said his proud mum, with tears in her eyes.

The judges were blown away by Scott’s performance. Scott, who suffers from Aspergers syndrome, had been a recluse for seven years before starting to sing.

Cheryl, the first judge to comment, said: “What a shame you have been hidden away for so long, that was absolutely fantastic”.

Louis added: “I’m totally surprised, I think you sang your heart out!”

Danni told Scott that he sang with “passion and soul” and that his audition was “really beautiful”.

Simon Cowell told Scott: “You’ve won over the whole of Manchester. You’ve won us over. You’re terrific, Scott!”

Not surprisingly, Scott received four “Yes” votes from the judges and sailed through to the next round.

Simon Cowell told Scott: “I can’t understand what it must have felt like for all those years hiding away, and now you’ve come here, you’ve just won over the whole of Manchester, you’ve won us over.

“I think you’re terrific Scott, good for you.”

Before Scott performed, he told the judges: “I have a dream. A lot of people have a lot of prejudgement against autistic people and I’m here to try and break it.”

Well Scott, you certainly did that.

Meanwhile, bookies Ladbrokes were also impressed with Scott’s performance, and are offering odds of 4-1 that Scott wins the competitions.

Scott performed at The Swan Hotel, Wolviston Road, with other local singers who received help and advice from Scott’s own singing coach Linzi Hunter, according to an article in the Evening Gazette.

Scott spoke to the Gazette before singing at the “Bring it and Sing it” event, saying that he got on well with the reality show judges – including Simon Cowell. However, he stated that he is at his happiest when performing at pubs and clubs around his Stockton-on-Tees home.

“I like the buzz of performing and the people around here are really nice.

“I was singing in a working men’s club and people said I should be on Britain’s Got Talent or X Factor, so I thought I’d go for it.

“People here have been really supportive. They’ve been absolutely fantastic and I just want to thank them. They’ve been really good with me.”

Scott suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome which affects his self-confidence in social settings. Louis Walsh has questioned as to how contestants with conditions such as Asperger’s will cope with the stress of overnight fame. However, he maintained that the choice of whether to audition or not has to remain with the contestant themselves.

In Scott’s case, Asperger’s had made him reclusive and until recently, only his mum and dad, Sharon and Ken, and a few friends had heard him sing.

Scott also suffers from stage fright and says that he has difficulty handling large crowds.

Nevertheless, his amazing audition which completely impressed the judges is helping him to conquer his fears. He admitted that appearing on the show had given him more confidence.

Scott said: “The judges were fantastic. I really liked Dannii – she was really nice and so was Simon. It’s made me more confident and has certainly helped with some of the problems I’ve had in the past with fear of crowds – here’s hoping it continues.”

Scott won’t be watching his audition on TV though, saying: “I’ll be cringing.

“I’ll be picking up on every single fault.

“I’ll leave watching it to my parents. I’ll be out on my next gig anyway.”

Scott’s vocal coach, Linzi Hunter, from Norton, organises his appearances through an agent.

Scott is not allowed to say how he did in the show before his audition, but I have it on good authority that he made it through to Boot camp. The question is, has he made it into the X Factor finals?