It's been 10 years since Joe McElderry was crowned winner of the X Factor – and he hasn't stopped performing since.
Now, he's celebrating a decade in showbiz by heading out on a new tour, dubbed The Impossible Dream.
Joe, 28, took a break from rehearsing to reflect on his career in an exclusive chat with Mirror Online.
Since winning the show, the South Shields lad, who was mentored by fellow Geordie Cheryl, has released five albums, also won Popstar to Operastar and The Jump, starred in musicals Tommy, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Club Tropicana, toured the UK relentlessly and starred in panto too.
Life has been pretty crazy since he beat Olly Murs in the X Factor live final in 2009.
Looking back, he told us: "It feels like a lifetime ago but at the same time I've crammed so many things into that time, and so many different things.
"We're doing a special interactive show in my hometown and with that, looking back over the time, I'd forgot that I did some of the things I've done.
"In the music industry, 10 years is a long time so I'm just glad to still be doing it and going out on a tour to celebrate it, it's lovely."
Joe says he'll be forever grateful for the platform X Factor gave him, but when they asked him to take part in Simon Cowell's new All Stars spin-off, he felt it wasn't the right move for him.
He explained: "I was asked to be a part of it and we had a conversation and I was flattered that they asked me to be part of it, but you know I'm heading out on this tour next week.
"I felt like I had a great time on X Factor the first time around, I loved the show, I loved the experience, I've got a great platform from it, it's given me a great career that I'm very thankful for and I'd never ever diss that or try to move away from it or shake it off.
"I'm very appreciative of the platform I was given but I felt for me, it's 10 years being in the industry and I wanted to celebrate with the people who've come to the shows over the years and bought the albums.
"I wanted to do a face to face celebration and it didn't feel right for me, I didn't have a good instinct about it because I didn't want to go back a second time and not enjoy it as much as the first time."
He added: "At the minute it's tied in a lovely little bow, it was a great experience and I can look back on it with fond memories.
"I'm a lot more experienced in the industry now, I don't think I would go onto it and be able to be as naive and enjoy it as much as I did the first time, so I just felt it was right to kind of do my own tour and celebrate with the fans."
Joe said his new tour will celebrate the last 10 years of his life, and will include songs from his X Factor days right through to songs from his upcoming album, which he's due to release next year.
To get ready, he looked back at old clips of himself and admits he feels like a different person now.
He said: "I look and sound like a completely different person, it's actually frightening, I was a child [on X Factor]. I even changed from the beginning to the final because I was a teenager growing up.
"It's really weird for me, I feel like a completely different person, I've grown up in the industry so and it's mad some of the stuff I've been through."
He added: "I'm in a lucky position that I still have a career 10 years down the line because it is cutthroat, it is a tough industry to stay a part of.
"I said 10 years ago that I hope I'm still doing it 10 years later, so maybe I should say that again. I'll do it as long as I enjoy it, if I woke up tomorrow and I hated it I'd stop doing it."
* Joe is starring as The Spirit of the Mirror in panto Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Birmingham Hippodrome this year
* His The Impossible Dream tour kicks off on November 3 and his new album is due for release next year
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