As people might know if they watch The X Factor, I’m really keen on singing. I entered the year after winning my pommel horse bronze in Beijing and managed to reach the televised rounds before they got rid of me.
• I had never sung in front of an audience like that and I spent about an hour warming up. By the time I went on, my throat was sore and I was so nervous. The judges weren’t horrible — in fact, Cheryl Cole said I should come back — but they felt my voice wasn’t strong enough.
• I didn’t go on the show to prove what a good singer I am. For me it is completely a recreational thing. I can carry a tune, but I’m no Craig David. I do sing quite high notes, though. I’ve been called a soprano.
• One of my friends, Aston Merrygold, has been more successful on The X Factor. He was runner-up as part of JLS in 2008. My mum has been friends with his parents for ever.
• I will happily bellow Whitney Houston numbers in the shower for 20 minutes, or maybe a bit of Jackson 5. Their song Who’s Loving You is one of my favourites.
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• I had the chance to go to a private school on a choral scholarship when I was 7, which would have meant singing regularly in Peterborough Cathedral, but I turned them down. I was doing gymnastics every day and they said I had to choose between it and singing, so I made my choice. I had a few singing lessons when I was 13 or 14 but my sport always came first.
• I sang in front of Robbie Williams last year at Sport Relief and I was crooning away and he passed by. He said I was a good singer.
• I’ll often sing in the gym to keep spirits up, but I get teased for it. Dan Keatings [the all-around silver medal-winner at the World Championships in 2009] doesn’t sing but he’s a great dancer.
• Louis Smith was the first Briton to win an individual Olympic gymnastics medal for 100 years when he took pommel horse bronze at the Beijing Games in 2008. He was speaking to Patrick Kidd at an event to promote the Kinect Sports Superstars interactive game for Xbox 360.