The X Factor’s Michaela: “Dannii’s My New Best Friend”

Michaela Baranov has been voted off X Factor. Photo: Seven

Michaela Baranov, 24, has tugged on our heartstrings since her emotional X Factor audition, less than a week after her father lost his battle with cancer. But despite her Oct. 27 elimination after going up against her Under 25 Girls teammate Mahalia Simpson, there’s no tears now: “The X Factor was a blessing — it gave me something to focus on and I’ve been doing what I love every single day,” says Baranov, who performed with a hearing aid in her right ear and an in - ear monitor in her left, having been born deaf in her right ear. The Sydney singer, who won a global song-writing competition at age 17 and is dating professional sailor Seve Jarvin, talks to WHO’s Alicia Neil about acting ambitions, clashing with judge Guy Sebastian and her fast friendship with Dannii Minogue.

You’ve been on an emotional journey from the start. How would you sum it up?
There is no norm for me. I was overseas gigging for three years, then came back and was living in hospital with Dad, and then X Factor started. And now I feel like I’m starting off on a new slate entirely, in terms of where I’ll be living, what I’ll be doing and where I’m at with life.

How has your X Factor experience changed you?
Oh, in every way! I’ve always had a really strong work ethic and been really determined and I don’t want to lose any momentum. I think I’ve just grown up so much this year and now I want to try to really juggle and master many things. I love being on-set, I love the TV side of it, connecting with the live audience. I want to be more than a performer. I wouldn’t mind trying acting, it’d just depend on the role.

Did your elimination come as a shock?
Mahalia [Barnes] and I had actually sat down on the morning and we both had gut feeling we’d be in bottom two, up against each other. We’ve never felt like we were competing against each other because we’re both so different. So I was ready to leave, but at the same time I was devastated.

Where do things stand with Mahalia?
We shared a room and she’s someone I could live with again outside of the show because we get along so well. We’re so different in terms of personalities, but at the same time we still think the same and got along really well. She’s the person who’s really grown the most in the competition. She was such an insecure person when she first started and now she’s getting so strong.

It came down to Michaela and Mahalia on Tuesday night's elimination show. Photo: Seven

Your fellow contestants have told WHO how determined you were to win. Were you the most competitive?
Yeah, when I do something I go into win. I might’ve been the most competitive — but it’s more with myself, than other people.

Where did you go wrong?
I felt like I did do a good job with my last performance, but I didn’t get the reaction I wanted from the judges. So I don’t know where I went wrong this week. The whole thing is, it is subjective. And I know Guy didn’t like me as an artist or as a person, so I didn’t have his vote, no matter what.

What do you mean by that?
I didn’t really connect or spend much time with him and he never articulated how I could improve. He was like, "OK, you’ve never won me over.” So I don’t take anything to heart cause it is all subjective. Like, not everyone loves Madonna! And Dannii has my back. I was up against huge singers and they’re so strong in many ways, so I think it was just my time.

Could you have done anything differently?
I feel I was still holding back with each performance. But in the moment, I was holding back for a reason — nerves, or I hadn’t grown yet. So after seeing how I came across, I want to be more open and let go a bit more onstage in the future.

Your mentor Dannii came under fire from the other judges over her song choices. Was that fair? Were you happy with your song choices?
I think the whole point of the competition is to try new things and to stretch artists. So there’s never been a decision that Dannii’s made that I said, “No, I disagree with you.” I’ve always trusted every decision she’s made.

Is there a particular song you wish you’d had the chance to sing?
I would’ve loved to sing an Adele song. I really would.

How close did you and Dannii get?
I really did connect with Dannii form the beginning. Our personalities and mind-sets are really similar. I spent the most amount of time with her backstage in her green room and we’d talk about everything — she’s really down-to-earth and really relatable. And I hung out with her son, Ethan [5], a lot — he’s such a character, oh my gosh! She’s very close with everyone in her family and I’m a huge family person and we’ve got the same interests.

Will you stay in touch with her?
She gave me her number ages ago and even drove me to my ear specialist. She literally went above and beyond throughout the whole competition and she is definitely a friend. We had champagne last night—for the first time we were allowed to let our hair down together, which is good!

Who do you tip to win?
I do want the three girls—Louise [Adams], Natalie [Conway] and Mahalia—to make it to the finals.

Tell us about your relationship with your boyfriend, Seve?
He’s just absolutely amazing, very supportive and he’s the person who’s motivating me, because he’s very driven, passionate and successful in what he does. We’ve been good friends for four or five years and last year the spark just happened. He's 29 and a nine-time world champion sailor. He’s the captain, too, so that’s very cool!

Is he "the One"?
Definitely. If he proposed, I wouldn’t say no, I’ll tell you that!

What’s next for you?
To get an agent and a manager. I don’t want to take a rest — I want to jump into it straight away and book as much gigging work as possible. But I’ve also been writing and working on an album for a few months. Writing’s always been my primary career. I used to freelance-write vocals for overseas underground EDM and House producers. No-one like Calvin Harris, so that’s my next goal!

What’s inspiring the album?
I went in to the show saying I want to become a strong, versatile pop icon like Rihanna. But after trying many styles, I now know my strength is connecting with people through emotion and singing from my heart. So the album is going to be closer to the style of Adele — raw and emotional and it will really pull the heartstrings.

What would your dad be thinking now if he were here?
I know he’d be proud. But it is certainly still weird not having him here. It’s surreal.