Interview with siva! ♥

Are things starting to quieten down now for you guys in the run-up to Christmas?

"It's actually starting to quieten down a bit. We're just doing a little bit of dabbling with TV appearances and some not so heavy-duty work. We're not travelling far - just doing little gigs here and there. We were supposed to have three days off at Christmas but then they extended it to ten days. Time to party!"

How will you be spending Christmas?

"Heading home to Ireland and going out with a few mates that I haven't seen in a long time. I'll get in front of a nice warm fire, have the Irish stew, watch old family videos... you know how it is. Then go out and get plastered."

You performed on The X Factor a few weeks back. How was that?

"It didn't feel big because the studio's quite small. Our performance flew by - it felt like just a few seconds. We weren't nervous and we said to each other, 'Let's just do it and enjoy ourselves when we go on'. A few days later, we went to Ireland and did our first Dublin gig. I was shaking like a leaf! There were ten family members there and 16,000 Irish fans. I was more nervous with those 16,000 fans than I was with The X Factor, which was seen by 16 million!"

I guess you had more to think about with The X Factor too, with dodgems flying around...

"That's so funny you say that because when I got off stage, I realised I didn't look at any of the judges' faces when I was performing. I was just thinking 'OK, move left, step back, get on the dodgem, push the dodgem...'"

I imagine you guys have met Simon a few times now?

"Yeah yeah, we met him when we did The Xtra Factor and just before we went on the main show. He said, 'Good luck boys and do your best!'. We were like, 'Oooh, OK Simon! Just don't wax the floor or something and sabotage us.'"

You were on the same week as Justin Bieber. Did you get to meet him?

"Yeah, when we left. He was very quiet though - it was like he was thinking about something else. He just said, 'Good performance, nice to see you' and walked off. It was a weird situation because he had loads of bouncers around him. Then I said hello to Nicole Scherzinger but I got shunned by her bodyguards within the first six seconds - absolutely shunned."

Did you get a reaction out of her?

"She said, 'Hey', but the bodyguards got in front of me. I was confronted by a wall of muscle."

Are you disappointed that the X Factor performance didn't lift 'Lose My Mind' towards the top of the chart?

"No, because it shot up 40 places on iTunes. We're very happy with the sales figures so far. Even just to be asked to be on The X Factor, well, all it can do for us is good things."

Was Matt Cardle the right winner?

"I'm very happy with Matt winning. If any of those top three had won I would have been chuffed because they're all good performers. I haven't heard Matt's single yet, because we were at our stylist's surprise birthday party on the night of the final. There was no TV there, so I was getting info from friends on the phone. I'll have to check it out on YouTube. I've heard One Direction's song though and I thought it was mint."

You recently announced a tour for next Spring. What sort of show can we expect?

"You can expect a lot of wacky shows. We've had some big discussions with management and there's going to be a running theme to it. Let's just say we will be brought into action."

Is it a funfair theme?

"Mmmm, possibly. We want to entertain and put as much of us into the performance as we can."

You've also signed a deal in the US. What can you tell us about that?

"We went over to San Francisco and LA to meet various people. They liked us, so we got signed to Def Jam in New York. We didn't have time to do anything then, so we're going to go over next year perhaps and hopefully try to release 'All Time Low'. That said, we're definitely going to work the UK and the fans here first before maybe having a dabble in America."

Do you think you might record some new tracks for the US?

"It's a possibility. We've lined up two weeks next year with all the producers and writers in a house and we're going to start working on the next album. We're just trying to hone our skills and get a new sound. We're not thinking of a specific new sound, but we'll just try to let it come naturally."

Jay tweeted that you'd been discussing dream collaborations. What was the verdict?

"We've been thinking about Labrinth because he's got a cool sound. He's quite inspiring to talk to as well, so we all agree on him. Oh, and Tinie Tempah too."

Will there be a fourth single from the album?

"I don't think so. I think there might be a new single from the next album coming after this. That said, if there is a fourth single, hopefully it'll be one of the ones we prefer. There's a track on our album called 'Golden' that we love personally, but it's a constant battle with the management and the record label. I think maybe we'll just move on and start on the second album. We're ready to start again and create a new sound."

I saw a YouTube video the other say where Jay asked you which male celebrity you would snog and you said George Clooney. Why George?

"Basically I was being asked all these really tedious questions and Jay was so bored that he made up that one himself! I was like 'You sly devil!' had to answer it though so I just thought, 'Who's the most handsome man out there that you can believe I would snog?' George Clooney, you know, it's reasonable. Every guy wants to be him and every woman wants to be with him. That was OK, wasn't it? Or maybe I should have said Alan Carr?!"

You've obviously had a very eventful year, but what stands out as a highlight?

"Two things... no, three.... hold on, four! Singing on a boat and sailing Loch Ness with the lads. Then doing Wembley when no-one knew us. Three, getting a number one. Four, doing the ireland gig. We've been constantly busy this year, but it's a pretty good problem to have!"