WATCH: Jahmene Douglas says X Factor was ‘traumatising’, urges singers to avoid it

"Being forced to do a cover album shattered my whole singing dream."

Jahmene Douglas has warned singers against taking part in The X Factor.  The former contestant, who came second in the 2012 instalment of the show, said that he was misled about work following his time on the series, and eventually dropped from his label prematurely. Jahmene told Esther Bonsu and Kayne Rose on their new YouTube show, X Factor Exposed, that he hadn't wanted to share details of his personal life on the series, but he soon realised that the programme isn't about talent. “X Factor isn’t a singing competition, it’s a reality TV show," he said. "They didn’t care about my singing, they care about the story behind you." “When I went on the show, it wasn’t about the story that I had, it was about my voice. That’s what I wanted to push. "I don’t like to say I regret the experience because its made me who I am as a singer now. I’ve learnt a lot of things (...) It’s like a crash course in the industry. “Traumatising? Yes. Would I recommend X Factor to a singer? No.” Jahmeme was mentored by judge Nicole Scherzinger during his time on the show. After coming second, he was signed to Simon Cowell's label Syco as part of a five album deal. He was dropped from the label after his first album - a series of covers that he did not want to record. https://www.instagram.com/p/B8wzH9dhNPQ/ "It’s hard to talk about. Being forced to do a cover album shattered my whole singing dream of what I had done growing up and what I had dreamt of,” he said. "They forced me to make a cover album and it was so soul destroying. My heart broke and in that moment I realised that no one cares.” The X Factor returned this year in a new format, Celebrity X Factor, in the hope of increasing ratings and saving the show from being taken off the air. The series suffered its lowest ever ratings as a result. You can watch Jahmene's full interview here: