WA's Reigan rules out sex factor
She was first seen as a frizzy-haired teenage finalist on Australian Idol and later appeared in short-lived pop duo Scarlett Belle with Kyle Sandilands' ex-wife, Tamara Jaber.
But eight years on from her Idol journey and four years since the end of Scarlett Belle, which was signed with US label Def Jam Recordings, viewers will see a very different side of Reigan Derry when she steps up to audition for The X Factor.
Now 25, the Perth singer-songwriter has spent the past eight years performing around Sydney but felt as if she needed to throw herself back in the deep end by trying out for the Seven reality giant.
But this time around, Derry tells Access All Areas she has left her overtly sexualised girl group past behind and gone back to her alternative roots.
"Scarlett Belle was a great thing to do and it opened so many doors in the industry but it was not completely who I was," she explains.
"It was someone I was trying to be because I thought that by being that, it was how I would be successful.
"I have definitely stripped back. I put a lot of love into my songs that I write and I want it to be all about the music this time, the stories and my voice, rather than anything else. I don't want to get caught up in the smoke and mirrors of commercial music."
With the ultimate goal of Derry's X Factor journey being to win a recording contract, the former *Perth Modern *student admits she was nervous when she first walked out on the stage.
She says she did not know how much being in the competition would mean to her until she began singing for the judges.
"It just shows that I really care about this and I really have so much to prove to the people who never got to hear an album from me," Derry confesses. "I want this to be my opportunity to do that."
Scarlett Belle was Tamara Jaber (left), Reigan Derry (right). Picture: Supplied
Though Derry is happy with her new life in Sydney, WA is still where her heart is.
Originally from Maida Vale, the performer comes back home a few times a year and will next return in October for her mother's wedding.
"I am always back in Perth - last year I spent $7000 in domestic flights to get back," Derry laughs.
"Even though I am all the way over here, my family still looks after me."
The X Factor returns on Sunday at 6.30pm on Seven/GWN7 and continues on Monday and Tuesday at 7.30pm.
