CHAPTER 120
Finn, Ella and Union J spent practically the whole night celebrating and partying in a nearby nightclub. It was an amazing final night and a great final hoorah with Union J. However, the fun ended abruptly at 7 am the next morning, when Finn felt the end of his bed being kicked.
"Finn! Get up!" He faintly heard Nicole. Finn groaned and slowly got out of bed and rubbed his eyes.
"Nicole? What are you doing here?" He asked.
"Wow! You look like crap!" She laughed. Finn rolled his eyes. They had just gotten in at 5 am so Finn had only really gotten 2 hours of sleep, and he was still wearing the clothes he was wearing from the night before.
"Whatever. What's up?"
"We've gotta start preparing, Finn! The finals are in 6 days and we have to prepare 4 songs, two of which are supposed to be duets. Also, me and you are going to Lima on Wednesday for your hero's welcome and your homecoming concert so we lose about two days there."
Finn leapt out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom to get dressed. 10 minutes later, Finn and Nicole were on their way to the studio. They were being driven in an SUV by one of the X Factor drivers, and Finn was so thankful for the tinted windows that blocked out the sun. Nicole noticed his discomfort.
"So what exactly happened to you last night?" Nicole asked, curiously. Finn laughed.
"I'm sorry. What happened with the semi finalists stays with the semi finalists. All I can say is that it started with Ella, Jaymi and I competing against Josh, JJ and Jacob at who can handle more tequila shots and it ended with you roughly kicking me awake."
"Wow, sounds like a fun night." She remarked. "So, let's get talking about your songs for the final. They have to be epic."
"No! Really? I was planning on singing Itsy Bitsy Spider." Finn remarked sarcastically. Nicole rolled her eyes.
"Anyways, like I said. 4 songs. The first can be anything you want. The second is a mentor duet so you and I are dueting."
"Wait! I get to duet with you?" Finn asked, incredulously. Nicole nodded. "Well, that's going to be nerve wracking."
"It'll be fine. And that's probably the least stressful of the four performances. You've also got a duet with a mystery celebrity, and then of course, your winner's single."
"So the winner's single and the first song is a solo of anything I want right? Like no theme?"
"Yeah, that's right." Nicole confirmed.
"And the mystery duet? What's going on with that? Who am I singing with?"
Nicole beamed widely.
"Well, you Mr. Hudson are a popular man. I sent out a note to a bunch of my friends and asked who would be interested in singing with you. They told their friends, and then their friends told their friends, and so on and so forth. Moral of the story is you have half the industry wanting to sing with you."
"LIke who? Hit me with some names." Finn asked. Nicole took out her phone.
"Well, here are just the names at the top of the list. There are plenty more. First off, Ed Sheeran was very keen. Also, Camila Cabello, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, John Legend, Calum Scott, Bruno Mars, Labyrinth, Emile Sande, Charlie Puth, One Direction."
"Jesus, that's so many people!" Finn exclaimed. "They all want to sing with me?"
"I'm just getting started, honey! There's also Bruno Mars, Beyonce, Ellie Goulding, Michael Buble…"
"Hold on, hold on, hold on!" Finn said, raising a hand. "Buble wants to sing with me?"
"Yeah, he was very interested actually. He's a real cool guy too, and I think, with the right song, you two could put on an amazing performance. Although technically, your winner's single is meant to be your best song, the audience cares more about the celebrity duet so it has to be epic. So Buble?" She asked. Finn grinned and nodded.
"Hell yeah! And now for the song. I kinda want a song that shows that I'm here, and I'm about to take the music industry by storm. The era of Finn is beginning." He said. Nicole thought for a moment and then smiled.
"Oh, so like it's a new dawn?" She asked, smirking. Finn, not catching onto her stride yet, nodded obliviously.
"Yeah, exactly."
"A new day?" She asked. Finn raised an eyebrow.
"Um… yeah, we just agreed about that." Finn remarked.
"A new life for you?" She persisted. Finn finally caught onto what she was hinting at.
"No, no, no, no, no. And did I mention no? And also, no. I'm not… I'm not."
"Come on, dude! You'd do great!"
"Look, Nicole, I'm all for taking risks. But that's a bit much even for me. I can't risk screwing it up. There's too much to lose."
"Come on! You're singing with Buble! What else are you going to sing?"
Finn thought for a moment and then reluctantly sighed and nodded.
"OK, fine. I'll do it."
Nicole's face lit up. Before she could say anything more, they pulled up at their destination. Finn looked out the window and at the unfamiliar surroundings.
"Um… Nicole? Where are we? This isn't the studio." Finn remarked.
"Wow, how astute of you to point that out." She remarked, rolling her eyes. "This is not the X Factor studio. This is the Radio 1 studio. You and I have a quick interview with them. Then we can get right to work, I swear."
Finn smiled and nodded. He loved interviews. It made him feel like his life was actually interesting and people around the world who were watching genuinely cared about what was going on in his life.
"OK, let's do it."
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Forty minutes later, Finn and Nicole were sitting opposite Grimmy and the interview just started.
"Good morning everybody. I hope everyone listening is having a great day so far. With me today are two very special guests. We have X Factor finalist Mr. Finn Hudson and his mentor, Ms. Nicole Scherzinger! How's it going guys? Finn, how did it feel to make it to the finals?"
"Well, it was just incredible. All of the hard work I've done, not just in the past nine weeks, but my whole life, has actually paid off."
"That's good. Congratulations, by the way. You know what? You know how they do those sob stories in the media where they talk about the present and past of various celebrities and the hardships they went through?"
"Yeah, what about them?" Finn asked.
"Well, I don't know if I'm heartless or something but I never cry at them. But the thing that set me over the edge with yours was your skype to your friends to tell them that you were through to live shows."
"And did you see when his best friend came in and surprised him?" Nicole piped in. "Oh my god, she tackled him! Real love!"
"Yeah, real love right there." Grimmy agreed. "How are all your friends feeling? They must be pretty excited. How was it telling the family and speaking to them after you got through?"
"Oh, it was overwhelming. I called them the minute I got off stage. And I'm going to see them soon so I can't wait for that. I'm just so glad they actually feel proud of me now."
"Did you ever think when you started, when you went to that first audition, that you'd be able to make it this far?"
"This far?" Finn asked. "No. No way. I thought that the furthest I could possibly get was to the judge's house round. What I was thinking about was how many thousands of people had auditioned and how lucky I'd be to get through that first audition. It was just a sense of acceptance when all four judges gave me a standing ovation and told me that I was good at what I do."
"And Nicole, how is it mentoring Finn?"
"It's amazing, not going to lie. We have so much fun messing around with all the equipment in the studio, but we also buckle down and get the job done. And he was a fantastic artist before we even got him. He has everything. He has all the tools. And for me, it was just about protecting him, you know? Because he brings such integrity to music and real authenticity. He's so original and really puts his thumbprint on everything he does and I wanted to make sure that we didn't conform him."
"Right, and make him do a dance routine or something?" Grimmy chipped in. Nicole nodded.
"Yeah, we tried the dance shoes but it didn't work. You just have to, with raw talent like that, play to his strengths and not make him camouflage into the same web as all of the other pop stars in the world. He's different."
"It's quite good that you had someone like Finn, but also someone like Rylan. So you had such different acts."
"Yeah, and Jahmene too! Three completely different voices."
"Right. I guess you could do all that traditional, X Factor silliness with Rylan and let Finn be Finn. Finn, were you ever tempted to slip into a pair of Rylan's neon slacks?"
Finn laughed.
"Everyday, man. Everyday. It was great having Rylan around because A: he's an amazing influence and morale booster. And B: it gave me and Jahmene the chance to just sit there and pretend we're cool."
"Yeah!" Grimmy laughed. "I like that you and Rylan struck up an unlikely friendship."
"Well, I mean he's such a nice guy. Polar opposite to me, but that's what makes hanging with him so fun."
"Yeah, I love it because all three of my boys were all completely different but they were all really close." Nicole added.
"Right, and how is it feeling towards the final? You've got 5-6 days. Are you going to go home and do your hero's welcome tomorrow."
"Yeah, that's going to be really exciting!" Finn exclaimed. "All of my old high school friends and a bunch of Army buddies all flew into Lima for it. I'm coming home and I'm so excited."
"And I'm going to Lima!" Nicole exclaimed. Finn laughed.
"You're way too excited." Finn laughed. "If I'm totally honest, the place is kind of a dump."
"Wow, that's reassuring given that I'm the one coming with you tomorrow." Nicole remarked, sarcastically.
"So, where are you going to take Nicole in Lima?" Grimmy asked. Finn shrugged.
"I mean, like I said, there isn't much to see. I can show her the bar I used to always play at, my old high school, my old bedsit. She can go pretty much anywhere she wants, but if we're going into my old neighborhood, it's best we have some security with us. It's a pretty rough neighborhood and Lima is already a very rough city."
"Again, you always know just what to say!" Nicole commented, rolling her eyes. Finn laughed.
"And the final on Saturday and Sunday. I know you're doing the Sunday duet with Nicole (provided you make it to the Sunday round), but who are you doing the mystery duet with?"
Finn and Nicole looked at each other.
"Well, we actually just decided in the car on the way over here. I'm going to leave it a surprise but all I can say is that it's going to be the best performance I've ever done."
"And will you be nervous dueting with Nicole the next day, given that she was your mentor?"
"Yeah, it's nerve wracking! It's Nicole Scherzinger! When live shows just started, I could barely look any of the judges in the eye because I was so overwhelmed that there were so many musical icons just walking around casually in the hotel. And I feel like as the weeks have gone on, Nicole's become not just my mentor but also one of my closest friends. But at the end of the day, it's still a massive pop sensation!"
"You know, as nervous as you might be, trust me, I am so much more nervous!" Nicole exclaimed. "Because, Grimmy, in case you haven't noticed, that man is kinda genius." She said, pointing at Finn.
"Well, Finn and Nicole, good luck to you on Saturday. We can't wait to see what you have in store. And thank you so much for coming in."
"Thank you so much for having me." Finn said. "I've been on this show twice now - first with the Secret Busking and now with this interview - and it's been so amazing. I never imagined that I'd be speaking on National radio."
"Well, I feel like we haven't seen or heard the last of you. Thank you so much for coming in. That concludes our segment. Have a great day everyone. Drive safe."