Brian Friedman: I told Katie Waissel to audition for The X Factor years ago

X Factor's creative director met Katie in LA

Brian Friedman knew Katie Waissel had potential

Brian Friedman has revealed that he met Katie Waissel years ago in California when she was trying to make it in the US.
He saw her performing at a club in LA, singing with Daniel Bedingfield, and knew she'd do well on The X Factor. 
'I was totally blown away. She was incredible,' Brian, 33, recalls.
'I suggested she ought to audition for the show. She said she wasn't sure whether she should but I thought she was great.'
When Katie, 24, turned up at this year's boot camp, though, Brian didn't recognise her.
'When I first met her she looked completely different,' he tells The Sunday Mirror. 'She had dark hair to start with and now she's platinum. It was like a totally different person.' 
Katie signed a record deal under the name Lola Fontaine in America, which should have automatically disqualified her from competing on the reality show.
But lawyers sorted out the contract so she could continue as a contestant.