The final four acts in Orange unsigned Act with Sony Ericsson compete for the winning title, Scottish singer / Songwriters is one of FemaleFirstâs favourite to win. So with that in mind, we had to chat to the cute 19-year old before he got way too famous for interviews.
I caught up with Tommy amidst hectic rehearsals to grill him about his awesome cover of Mr Brightside, running his own cheese farm and why he could never be in a band. Tommy Reilly - we love you!
Hey Tommy, how are you and how excited are you to be in the top four?
Iâm pretty chuffed to be honest yeah, itâs all good!
Do you think you have what it takes to win?
I donât know. I hope so, the best person will win I guess. To be honest I would be happy with fourth, but anything else would also be nice!
We think you have what it takes, we love you! But who do you see as your biggest rival?
I donât know, I think people would say the other songwriter Toby Sebastian but also, Hip Parade are really good and the bands that can come back on the wildcard are also really good; everyone is just really good!
So if you were on the outside and were voting for someone; who would you vote to win?
Hip Parade. Theyâre good.
They said you! You said them, thatâs good! There is going to be an act coming back in on a wildcard next week, who would you like it to be?
I donât know. Strategically I would say a band because it would be better for me as a singer / songwriter. I would say Fangs because they are from Glasgow and they were really good. But then again, Pyrelli was a really good laugh. The Harlots are amazing too, they would be good to come back. Everyone is good so itâs kind of a shame that they all cant come back.
How much would winning mean to you?
Everything! To be able to release an album is all I really want to do, it would be quality.
How would you describe yourself in five words?
In five words? Ooh, erm, friendly, simple, honest.
Thatâs only three!
Itâs too hard to sum it up in five words, I just donât know. Iâm bad at that question.
Okay, simple but effective then. So moving on, how did you become involved in the show in the first place?
Well my mates bands entered it and they told me about it and I decided to check it out and sent a demo in. I didnât get picked out in the first round but then they asked me to go down and my parents paid for me to get a flight and I think I was the only Scottish person in the queue.
I didnât think much would come of it, especially when I didnât get picked out of the first round! But Iâm glad I did because itâs all very fun.
Weâre glad you did too! So ideally, where would you like to be this time next year?
I would very much like to have made an album and have got it out in the shops and maybe play at some of the festivals.
Woo! Will you please include your version of Mr Brightside because itâs amazing!
Haha, I donât know! If I make a record I will try. [FF: When you sang it I got butterflies it was that good!] Aww thank you. Itâs actually weird for me to sing but I have being playing it a lot recently at gigs and things.
When you are writing songs, what do you take inspiration from?
Usually things that are exciting because itâs hard to take inspiration from boring things. Usually when big things have happened itâs easier because you feel things and you can write it down. But if itâs something boring you canât write things.
So, if you could only listen to one CD for the rest of your life, what would it be?
The Midnight Organ Fight by Frightened Rabbit. [FF; We love Scottish bands] Yes, there seem to be a lot of great Scottish acts around at the moment.
Okay, so if you were to be any of the judges for a day, which would you be?
Alex James.
Because heâs amazingly fit?
Haha, no, because I think it would be fun to be on a farm. It would be a bit of a laugh. Actually they all have quite interesting jobs though - I wouldnât mind being the head of a record label for a while; that would be quite fun. Being a radio DJ would also be pretty exciting.
But overall I think Alex James; I imagine having a Cheese farm would be quite fun.
I love cheese.
It would be great. [FF; We could invent cheese together Tommy!] Yes, we can just dabble with the ingredients.
So if you could join a band, who would it be?
Any band in the industry ever? [FF: Yes] ooh, thatâs really tough. I donât think I could play in a band though, Iâd go out of time and I would keep messing up. I canât play with other people. I probably will one day, but not just yet. In fact, Iâd go for Hip Parade, because they are going to be really famous soon so Iâll just join them. Theyâre really good.
Who is the greatest artist of all time?
Bob Dylan.
Now Iâm going to ask you some âdeep and meaningfulsâ, so prepare yourselfâ¦..
Okay!
What is your most treasured memory?
I donât know.
Stop saying I donât know!
Okay, erm, well we got to go to Universal Studios once when it was shut and it was just a few people there.
How did you blag that?
The company that my dad is involved in planned this big trip at night-time and we got to go in. There was only a few hundred people there so every ride had no queue and we could go on everything like ten times. That was pretty good and is up there!
So what is your biggest regret?
Maybe not doing this sooner. I have been singing for a long time but maybe I shouldnât have left it so long to try and make something of it. I mean Iâm only 19 now, so I didnât really leave it that late, but Iâve never been brave enough to do it.
Well make up for lost time Tommy! But if you only had nine minutes to live, what would you do in those nine minutes.
I would probably get a car. In fact, Iâd rob a bank first so I had loads of money and then if I only had a few minutes left I would just go and spend it on random, fun things. I would need the money to enjoy the last few minutes. It would be anarchy in the last few minutes of my life.
Could you come up with a question for the next person I interview please?
If you ran your own farm, which animal would you pay the most attention to?
Ooh, thatâs a good questionâ¦. Mine would have to be the cows because they make milk, and they sort of contribute to cheese, and you can ride them too.
Totally.
Okay, good luck with everything. Bye!
FemaleFirst - Ruth Harrison
Read our interview with Judge Simon Gavin here
Read our interview with Fangs here
Read our interview with Klaus Says Buy The Record here
Read our interview with SleeperCell here
Read our interview with Scarlet Harlots here
Read our interview with Toby Sebastian here
Read our interview with Hip Parade here
The final four acts in Orange unsigned Act with Sony Ericsson compete for the winning title, Scottish singer / Songwriters is one of FemaleFirstâs favourite to win. So with that in mind, we had to chat to the cute 19-year old before he got way too famous for interviews.
I caught up with Tommy amidst hectic rehearsals to grill him about his awesome cover of Mr Brightside, running his own cheese farm and why he could never be in a band. Tommy Reilly - we love you!
Hey Tommy, how are you and how excited are you to be in the top four?
Iâm pretty chuffed to be honest yeah, itâs all good!
Do you think you have what it takes to win?
I donât know. I hope so, the best person will win I guess. To be honest I would be happy with fourth, but anything else would also be nice!
We think you have what it takes, we love you! But who do you see as your biggest rival?
I donât know, I think people would say the other songwriter Toby Sebastian but also, Hip Parade are really good and the bands that can come back on the wildcard are also really good; everyone is just really good!
So if you were on the outside and were voting for someone; who would you vote to win?
Hip Parade. Theyâre good.
They said you! You said them, thatâs good! There is going to be an act coming back in on a wildcard next week, who would you like it to be?
I donât know. Strategically I would say a band because it would be better for me as a singer / songwriter. I would say Fangs because they are from Glasgow and they were really good. But then again, Pyrelli was a really good laugh. The Harlots are amazing too, they would be good to come back. Everyone is good so itâs kind of a shame that they all cant come back.
How much would winning mean to you?
Everything! To be able to release an album is all I really want to do, it would be quality.
How would you describe yourself in five words?
In five words? Ooh, erm, friendly, simple, honest.
Thatâs only three!
Itâs too hard to sum it up in five words, I just donât know. Iâm bad at that question.
Okay, simple but effective then. So moving on, how did you become involved in the show in the first place?
Well my mates bands entered it and they told me about it and I decided to check it out and sent a demo in. I didnât get picked out in the first round but then they asked me to go down and my parents paid for me to get a flight and I think I was the only Scottish person in the queue.
I didnât think much would come of it, especially when I didnât get picked out of the first round! But Iâm glad I did because itâs all very fun.
Weâre glad you did too! So ideally, where would you like to be this time next year?
I would very much like to have made an album and have got it out in the shops and maybe play at some of the festivals.
Woo! Will you please include your version of Mr Brightside because itâs amazing!
Haha, I donât know! If I make a record I will try. [FF: When you sang it I got butterflies it was that good!] Aww thank you. Itâs actually weird for me to sing but I have being playing it a lot recently at gigs and things.
When you are writing songs, what do you take inspiration from?
Usually things that are exciting because itâs hard to take inspiration from boring things. Usually when big things have happened itâs easier because you feel things and you can write it down. But if itâs something boring you canât write things.
So, if you could only listen to one CD for the rest of your life, what would it be?
The Midnight Organ Fight by Frightened Rabbit. [FF; We love Scottish bands] Yes, there seem to be a lot of great Scottish acts around at the moment.
Okay, so if you were to be any of the judges for a day, which would you be?
Alex James.
Because heâs amazingly fit?
Haha, no, because I think it would be fun to be on a farm. It would be a bit of a laugh. Actually they all have quite interesting jobs though - I wouldnât mind being the head of a record label for a while; that would be quite fun. Being a radio DJ would also be pretty exciting.
But overall I think Alex James; I imagine having a Cheese farm would be quite fun.
I love cheese.
It would be great. [FF; We could invent cheese together Tommy!] Yes, we can just dabble with the ingredients.
So if you could join a band, who would it be?
Any band in the industry ever? [FF: Yes] ooh, thatâs really tough. I donât think I could play in a band though, Iâd go out of time and I would keep messing up. I canât play with other people. I probably will one day, but not just yet. In fact, Iâd go for Hip Parade, because they are going to be really famous soon so Iâll just join them. Theyâre really good.