X FACTOR star Gamu Nhengu has revealed how getting booted off the TV talent show has become her biggest break.

The singer became a nationwide hit last year after her performances won the heart of the nation.

But then judge Cheryl Cole controversially axed Gamu at the Boot Camp stage, ahead of a fight to stay in Scotland after her mum's visa was questioned.

Now Gamu is to launch her music career with a comeback appearance at our glittering Great Scot Awards.

She said: "If X Factor had gone well, I'd have been more easily swayed to do other things because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do at that stage.

"I have grown up now and know exactly what I want my sound to be.

"If I'd gone through this with X Factor, it would probably have ended up being more diluted.

"I don't regret doing the show because I learned so much from it. It's like a crashcourse in what showbusiness is like."

Despite speculation that X Factor producers would give her another chance this year, Gamu has not heard from the show.

She said: "I haven't heard from Simon Cowell, or Cheryl, but I wouldn't have expected to anyway. He didn't even call me during the show and I didn't hear from him after either.

"I wasn't expecting him to come round to mine for a Sunday roast or anything, so that's fine. I'm mature about it."

And she says she won't watch the current series of X Factor because it isn't the same without Cowell.

She added: "The judges have changed. I don't know what to think of them.

"Simon is so unique I am not sure you could ever replace him.

"The artists they have put on the board are all very respected in their own right, so I don't think it will lose any of its credibility. But without Simon, I'm just not sure if there will be the same magic."

Gamu, 19, has been in turmoil for nearly a year as Home Office officials argue over whether she and her family should return to her native Zimbabwe.

But she says she is staying positive about her family's ordeal.

Her mum Nokutula, a nurse, who moved to Scotland to attend university, had her visa renewal turned down in August 2010.

A decision to send the family back to Zimbabwe was overturned by a court earlier this year.

Gamu said: "The court have decided we can stay but the Home Office want to appeal.

"Whether they can appeal or not is up to the court. As far as we know, they haven't at the moment.

"But the lawyer and advocate have been so great and have told me there is nothing to worry about. So I hope I will be sticking around."

Writing songs was the only way Gamu sing at Awards. could cope with the stress of the ordeal  but they won't appear on her album.

She said: ""I have tried not to let it affect my songwriting and work. If anything, it has probably made it stronger because I have more to say.

"At one point, I had a lot on my mind. I thought of going to a counsellor because it came as such a shock when everything exploded. But I just started writing and wrote it all out.

"Those are songs I will keep in a little box and I will open that little box whenever I need to be reminded just how far I have come."

She describes the songs that will make up her new record as "Gamu-ised" Motown and vintage soul, listing her inspiration as everything from Diana Ross to the Noisettes.

Gamu and her management team have given themselves four more weeks in the studio before deciding which of the songs will make the final cut.

But despite her gruelling schedule, she has found time for love with boyfriend Jamie. The couple have been together for just a few months.

But Gamu says the relationship is serious, adding: "Jamie is just great. He's a guitarist in a band called The Colony and one of his friends took me to watch them play in Glasgow, so that's how we met.

"They are heavy metal, which is funny. It's a huge contrast to my music.

"When I went to see them, I was wearing a cream blazer and these very classy jeans. I walked in and everybody else was wearing Converse and ripped jeans.

"A couple of months later, I asked him if he fancied working with me on a couple of tracks. We did that and eventually started dating."

Gamu will showcase songs from her new album for the first time at an exclusive performance at our Great Scot Awards at the Hilton on Saturday, September 10, when Britain's Got Talent winner Jai McDowall will also star.

She said: "When I heard about the people being honoured, I was very excited "I'm definitely looking forward to being part of it. It'll be my first gig performing my own work.

"It will be like a sneak preview of what to expect from the album. It will be the grown-up Gamu."

Fans can find out more at www.gamuofficial.com

By Special correspondent