SWINDON X Factor star Jahmene Douglas was contending with exhaustion and a dig from one of the judges today as he prepares for his biggest performance to date.

The shy 21-year-old had a hectic schedule of rehearsals and appearances, which included stepping out at the launch of Kim Kardashian’s new fashion line on Thursday.

He also had to contend with a negative comment from urban music star Tulisa Contostavlos, who described the Asda worker as too nice to find success in the charts.

The judge, whose remaining act is Ella Henderson, was asked if people would not bother to buy Jahmene’s music even though they had voted for him. She said: “I agree with that. That’s the way the cookie crumbles.”

Church-going Jahmene, who won Swindon Talent in 2010, has been struggling with the pressure as he prepares for a big performance at this weekend’s live shows.

He also confessed he fails to take in the constant rave reviews from the judges, including after his version of Listen by Beyonce last weekend.

“It’s the sixth week in and I am exhausted but I know this is where I am supposed to be,” he said in a video diary.

“In the car on my way back I watched my performance back and realised how many flat notes there were.

“I just started being really critical of myself, so hopefully this weekend I can just push it a little bit more.”

The former New College student added: “When I am on the stage and the judges are saying what they are saying, everything goes over my head, so I can’t really take it in.

But the vocalist, who just a few months ago was singing at a working men’s club in Gorse Hill, also told of his ambition to bring a new dimension to the ITV1 show.

He said: “I want to bring back the soul, bring back the Motown, bring back the period of Whitney Houston, Luther, Stevie.”

Jahmene is closing on Ella Henderson as the favourite to win the show and is now 15/8, compared to 6/1 two weeks ago.

  • Follow his adventure tomorrow at 8.05pm with the results show on Sunday from 8pm