By Cara Sulieman
THE MOTHER of Scottish X Factor contestant Storm Lee has told how her son was always determined to follow his dream of stardom even at a young age.
Arras Robertson said that she had first heard her son singing on the radio when he was just 10 years old.
And the determined youngster set off to pursue his dream in America when he was just 17 – calling his mum from a phone box in New York to tell her about his decision.
Speaking from her home in Wester Hailes, the 60-year-old said that her son was wowing people with his voice from a young age.
She said: “He was always singing around the house but the first time I heard him properly was on the radio.
“It was on Radio Forth and it was a phone in type thing.
“Lee must have been around ten and he called in and sang the Boy George song Karma Chameleon and the DJ asked him to do it again because it was so good.”
The 37-year-old, whose audition was shown on the ITV show on Saturday night, left Scotland when he was just 17 to pursue a music career in the States.
But Arras revealed that her son hadn’t told her about the plans until he was already there.
She added: “He left home when he was 17 and went straight to New York.
“He phoned me up from a phone box and told me he was in New York.
“He just said ‘I’m in New York’.
“They do it in style, my brood.
“He was trying to make it with the music.
“I think he was doing well in the end, he was doing backing vocals for Meatloaf and other bands.
“He’s got that in him, he’s got that special something.
“If you want things to happen in life you have to go for it.”
But she also revealed more about the hard family life that Storm has talked about since his appearance on the show.
Arras left the family home when Storm was just four years old and although the two keep in touch through Facebook, their relationship is still strained.
She revealed that she hadn’t even been told by the rest of the family that her son would be appearing on the popular show.
Arras said: “He told his brother and sister about the X-Factor but he didn’t tell me.
“I felt very hurt by that.
“You want to know what’s happening to them.
“I feel I’ve missed that part.
“Everybody’s probably bubbly and jolly and excited and I’ve missed it.
“He wanted to surprise me; he wanted the family to be proud of him which we are.
“I will be supporting him through the competition of course. And I think he’ll go far.”
And the proud mother dismissed claims that her son was arrogant and thought he would easily win the competition.
She said: “He’s a strong guy, if he’s having a bad time at the moment he’ll get through it.
“Everybody is saying he is flaunting the things he’s done before but I know what he’s like and he’ll strip everything down and ignore all the stuff he’s done before and just start like any other contestant.
“I know if he wants something he will do it right, he will do it because of what he believes in.
“Music is where his heart is.”
