Emma Johnson meets the X-Factor finalist who has his sights set firmly on global domination

RAYMOND QUINN is covered in bruises. Don't worry, he has not been mugged by jealous thugs or jumped by a gang of over-excited schoolgirls, the bruises come from how often he has to pinch himself these days.
 
Barely two months after he lost out to Londoner Leona Lewis in the X-Factor final, he has just returned to the UK after recording his debut album in the Los Angeles sunshine.
 
For the past few weeks, he has been singing his heart out at the studios where his idol Frank Sinatra laid down his original vocals and he even got to croon into the same microphone used by Ol' Blue Eyes in his '50s heyday.
 
No wonder the 18-year-old, from Childwall, keeps thinking he is dreaming.
 
"Every day I get good news. I am not dreaming the life any more. I am living the dream," he says.
 
Millions of fans tuned in back in December to support Ray as he went head-to-head with Mariah Carey soundalike Leona on ITV's flagship talent show.
 
In the end he missed out on the £1m winner's record contract, with Leona stealing 60%of the whopping 8m votes cast on the night.
 
However, he took it like a man, praising Leona's talent and performance.
 
Little did he know as the confetti rained down on screen, Simon Cowell had a surprise in store when the singer returned to his dressing room. A record deal of his very own.
 
"On the night, obviously I felt a little bit gutted inside, but my feeling of being gutted was minute compared to the feeling that I had of wanting Leona to enjoy her moment," says Ray, of missing out on the X-Factor title and the inevitable Christmas Number One.