'I was in X Factor finals – now I'm a singing tiler and customers love it'
X Factor stars come and go but one former contestant is still chasing the dream, despite working a regular job.
Joe Conaboy starred on the former ITV talent show in 2013 alongside his Kingsland Road bandmates, making it to the live finals of the programme. The band who amassed thousands of followers before even entering the competition were instantly a hit with viewers at home.
Matt Cahill, Joe, Jay Scott, JJ Thompson and Josh Zaré sadly found themselves being the fourth act to be eliminated from the competition, despite the public voting to save them. But 11 years on, the group have since parted ways and although Joe is still making and releasing music, the 29-year-old has taken a very different career path.
Joe Conaboy (left) appeared on X Factor (PA)Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Joe revealed that shortly after leaving the show, he was working in restaurants to pay the bills while the band were still making music. But during the coronavirus pandemic, his decade-long career in hospitality came to an end when he was made redundant.
"I was working three jobs, I was working in Aldi, doing takeaway bits," he said, before signing up to do an apprenticeship in plumbing alongside his brother-in-law, Steve. But Joe later embarked on a course in tiling, adding: "The rest is history – that's how I went from doing that to tiling, it's a weird old journey."
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Although his career often sees Joe out at all hours, he admits family life comes first, especially his 13-month-old son and his wife, Lisa. Discussing his hectic schedule which he fits around making music, Joe said: "I need to work to pay the bills and to feed him. And then on top of that, just finding time, being self-employed helps a bit." Nowadays though, he's known online and to his customers as "The Singing Tiler".
Nowadays, Joe is known as The Singing Tiler. While working customers noted that they loved hearing Joe sing (Mirror Supplied)
Joe admits his family come first but he's always persuing music (@singingtiler/TikTok)"I kept getting reviews on my business pages saying 'Great work, clean, tidy and considerate but I'm going to miss his singing,'" he explained before adding: "One of the plumbers I was working for said 'Why don't you just play on that a little bit as a singing tiler?' And he was he actually wanted to brand my whole business around being a singing tiler.
"I started a little TikTok to see where it takes me. I've just been doing TikTok for about four months just whilst I'm at work, certain jobs, something to keep the fire ignited." Joe went on to reveal that after leaving the show, he and his bandmates were "sitting around for about a year," waiting for Syco (Simon Cowell's label) to decide whether the band were being signed.
During this time, Joe took up a job at the London Cabaret Club, working as a VIP waiter. He said: "I was working the press night and loads of industry people were like 'Why are you here? Are you performing?' and I was like 'No, I work here now,' and they went 'Oh, ok,' so that was a bit demoralising. It's been a mad journey but I enjoy tiling, I'm my own boss."
Nowadays, Joe is releasing music under the stage name Frown while working his regular job (@joebrianconaboy/Instagram)
The band continued after the X Factor but Jay Scott made the decision to leave (ITV)Shortly after leaving the programme, Joe found himself seeking help for his mental health and was prescribed anti-depressants. " Looking back, I thought I was mature and grown as a person," he said, adding: "But now, in hindsight, I realised that probably it wasn't a great environment for a 19-year-old lad to be a part of. It wasn't great, I've found coping mechanisms now.
"Since then, I've channelled that into my music, I've had a few problems which have focused on mental health and have had a few songs synched on Killing Eve and Cold Feet." Before appearing on the show, Joe and the band had interest from record labels and performed a showcase for one major label which encouraged them to appear on the show.
Now, he acknowledges that record labels often discover talent and sign them through TikTok and although he hopes to be successful because of his solo music, he admits the platform is "great" for artists. "All I want to do is music, it's been a battle over the last ten years since the X Factor," he said.
Joe admits that while he's still working a 9-5 and being a family man, he's still chasing his dream (@frownmusic/Instagram)
The group were once due to support Shawn Mendes but the tour was pulled following the release of their album in America (SIPA USA/PA Images)But these days, Joe releases music on his own accord, under the stage name Frown, with releases including Weightless, Lay With Me and Frayed. "All I can do is try," he explained before adding: "I've learnt not to get caught up on things or get too excited about opportunities that may arise."
Despite the band officially splitting in 2015, they went on to release their debut single, Dirty Dancer in August the year before, instantly becoming a hit with fans. Several months later, they signed a record deal in America and went on to release their debut album, We Are the Young.
Although this may have seemed like a dream for most, Joe admits that things turned out very differently. "We had management in New York and we had a 12-day East Coast tour of America planned," he said before continuing: "We were going on the Amy Schumer show, we were supporting Shawn Mendes, we were doing a few Six Flags (amusement park) shows.
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"Due to events, that all got cancelled and we ended up splitting up. That knocked me a bit, that would have been incredible. Even if we split up after America, you know, it would have been cool." But to Joe's surprise, his cousin who was living in California often heard Kingsland Road's album being played at social events.
"That was mad to me, he was buzzing because he got to tell everyone it was his cousin," he said before adding: "Who knows what would have happened."
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