Gary Barlow warned as Ne-Yo says: 'Nicole Scherzinger isn’t afraid to say what she wants'

EXCLUSIVE! Marie Claire online spoke to Ne-Yo about what the X Factor judge is really like

Gary Barlow recently soaked up all of the X Factor attention after he stormed off the results show on Sunday when his act, Carolynne Poole, was voted off leaving Nicole Scherzinger’s Rylan Clark in the competition for another week.

And while it was Gary and fellow judge Louis Walsh who broke into an argument, Ne-Yo, who helped Nicole select her final three acts at Judges' houses, believes it’s Nicole who should be feared by the other judges.

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Ne-Yo told Marie Claire online: ‘The thing I love about Nicole is what you see is what you get. She is very genuine and very sweet but at the same time she knows what she’s looking for and she’s not afraid to say so.’

Most X Factor viewers will have seen that side of the star but Ne-Yo assures us it’s not an act, adding: ‘Nicole being involved in this show was the perfect match for her, she’s not putting anything on for the camera.’

X FACTOR FASHION 2012

Ne-Yo, who was in the UK to launch his new drink Malibu Red, was keen to move away from the celebrity judges and instead focus on this year’s contestants telling us:

‘I’m not extremely familiar with the whole singing contest gig and I wasn’t expecting anyone to be bad per say but I was surprised by the level of talent some of those guys have.’

When pushed we managed to ask who Ne-Yo’s favourite of the final 12 was, to which he simply answered: ‘Jahmene was definitely a favourite. There’s something very real about him. That’s what I was looking for, a genuine, an honesty, to the artistry. That’s what I call it.’

Although he does have one gripe regarding the show and it’s nothing to do with feuding judges, Ne-Yo told us: ‘One of the things I find difficult about the X Factor is that as an artist you’re going to have days that are incredible and you’re going to have days where it’s not so good. On those days you have to pray those days aren’t when you see the judges.’

Or face the public vote...

Ne-Yo is the creative director behind Malibu Red, a new drink featuring a blend of the iconic spirit with tequila. For more information see facebook.com/malibuuk

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