It's hard to believe it's two years since Journey South wowed TV audiences on the X Factor but now as twelve new hopefuls begin the battle to become Britain's newest pop star Carl and Andy are proving they were more than just a one hit wonder as they prepare to release their second album.In 2005 the Pemberton brothers were whisked away from their quiet lives in Middlesbrough to perform live on the X Factor stage every Saturday night. Journey South were narrowly beat in the show's final by Shayne Ward but went on to have a Number One double platinum selling album and a sell out tour.Now two years older and wiser Carl and Andy speak to Female First about their excitement about releasing their second album, missing home and what they really think about X Factor.Do you regret being on X Factor?
Carl: The X Factor is a really brilliant thing for us. We had a really successful album last year and off the back of that we had a sell out tour. It was also a fantastic experience that got us in the public eye and I don't regret one single thing about it.
Andy: We've gained a lot of confidence when we're on stage and a lot of faith in the British public because we got a lot of votes and it was really quite humbling. We were away from home for a while as well so we learnt how much we love being at home in Middlesbrough. We just got a lot of experience from it and learnt a lot really.
C: It gets you on prime time TV in front of like 10 million people on a Saturday night and they're your record buying public so yeah it's definitely a good thing. What do you think about the audition age being lowered to 14?
C: We've just been talking about this actually. It could be a good thing in one respect because finding more talent that might not try in the next couple of years.. You know with them being school leaving age and getting a job or whatever. But the other thing is that it maybes might be harder for kids so young. Lack of experience might mean they take the criticism a lot harder.
A:I think it's fair really. Our Carl started playing the guitar when he was 10 so he was playing in pubs when he was 14. As long as you can handle it it's OK. You get some kids now who will be well accomplished by that age but you will also get some kids who are really nervous and won't be able to handle it. As long as the parents and the kids are happy with it there's no problemDo you think the fact that stars such as Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan starting at such a young age is the reason why they have gone off the rails as they've got older?
A: I think it's down to the character of the person. Some people are more susceptible to addictions where some people aren't. Some people are more susceptible to believing their own hype and some people aren't. Some people are more grounded. Charlotte Church started when she was 11 and she's still really grounded so it might just be the family around her and the character of the person. Christina Aguleria is another one who started around the same age as Britney and she's fairly normal so far.What have you been up to for the past 2 years>
Carl: We've been over in Stockholm writing with some really great people and some some people in London too. We've just recently been recording the album over in Sweden too and working with some really great producers so we've been really busy- we haven't just been sitting on our butts.

So tell us about the album?
Andy: We're just over the moon. We're really really pleased with the outcome and just dead excited. It's all our own material and we've spent the last year writing it and we ended up spoilt for choice of what to put on it. We'd wrote over 25 songs in the last year and a half. We've picked the best ones and we're over the moon. We couldn't of gotten any better than what we've got on it now.
C: It's all our own songs. We've been writing it for the past 2 years and it's about all our experiences since we went on the XFactor. It's a really hard felt album and we're really proud to call it our own.
A: I would say the sound is like an English version of Bon Jovi. There's just some great, really strong anthemic ballads. Real rock ballads with also some straight rocky songs as well. It's just a great mix from start to finish.How does it feel to be back in the spotlight after being away?
A: I'm really nervous but excited as well. There's never really any way of telling how well it's going to do. When we're out and about and we're doing gigs we see the reception we get and that seems to be just as good as what it was when we first came out of the X Factor so fingers crossed the song will get well received and that will do all the work for us.
C: Looking forward to it but also a bit nervous too. Obviously we want it to do well so we hope people will get behind it. That will be fantastic.

Do you have a favourite track on the album?
It's quite hard because I love them all and I'm really proud of them all. The single we are bringing out 'That's What I Love About Home' is definitely one of my favourites because it's about all the things we miss when we're on tour or when we're away writing. Missing the family and the things that are familiar to us- our local surroundings and all that really so yeah I'd say that was my favourite on the album.
A: It's up tempo, quite folky and really really big and anthemic with a huge chorus. It's basically about all the things you miss when your away from home. We wrote it out in Sweden when we were sat in a hotel and we wrote this song. It's about when you stare out of a window and you think of all the people back home that you love and it's just a really really nice song and it fits really well with the kind of people we are.

What was the video shoot like?
C: It was fantastic. We shot it around locations round Middlesbrough- the football stadium and all that. In Middlesbrough there is a transporter bridge that's quite famous with North Easterners- it was in the film Billy Elliot. I sound like a right geek now (laughs) but it's also been in a Lighthouse Family video and Auf Weidersen Pet so it's quite a famous little bridge. We also did some shots around the countryside and near the coast too which was nice.

Do you get back to Middlesbrough much?
A:We still live at home and we just travel to London when we need to be here so we see our families all the time. We take them with us to gigs and all kinds too.
C: Lately I've been home quite a lot which is nice because my wife's just had a baby so it's nice to be there quite a lot and spend time with him. You only get that chance once so that's nice.

Journey South's new single 'What I Love About Home' is out this week and their album 'Home' follows on Monday 22nd October.

Caz Moss- Female First
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