BRITAIN’S Got Talent star Bailey McConnell was on top of the world when he made it to the semi-finals of the hit TV talent show last year but said that it wasn’t that long ago when he felt so low he didn’t want to go to school, reports Jemma McGuffie.

The 16-year-old singer-songwriter battled with depression but said that he doesn’t want people to think that he is using his story to get publicity for his new song.

“I got quite depressed and I got quite low to the point where I didn’t want to go to school anymore,” Bailey says.

He added: “But I don’t want it being a sob story, I want it to be about the song. I don’t want people going oh he’s using that bullying story to get him more publicity and stuff because I’m 100% not.”

The Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalist revealed that he used to think about his experience in a negative way but now he has chosen to turn it into a positive through his song-writing.

“I don’t really look at it in that way anymore because I’ve kind of spun it on it’s head, and twisted it around to a massive positive through my song writing,” Bailey says.

His five-track single, Crystalise is also set for release on September 11 and includes Crystalise, I Know You Always Loved Me, Power Within, I Don’t Wanna Lose You and Perfect Verse.

Bailey said: “Crystalise will come out as a single to start with and then the single will follow that like a mini album, to give guys a bit more of my music rather than just one track.”

“All the songs on my single  will be the songs I’m singing on my tour,” he adds.

The singer from Milton Keynes explained the meaning behind The Power Within, one of the tracks included in his next single

Bailey said: “I suppose it’s kind of like an answer to Crystalise maybe, like what are you going to do about it and stuff.”

Bailey currently works with mental health charity, Young Minds and having spoken to young people with depression feels that his latest song will inspire them to seek support.

“ I think Crystalise is a better way of hearing about it, rather than hearing about it from adults in class, like the guys who are going through it actually hear it from someone their own age, someone who’s been through it and has kind of spun it on it’s head and got out of it unscathed as such,” he explains.

Bailey added: “I’ve been told by a lot of my fans from meet and greets that the song has helped them, they’ve broke down and told me that I’ve helped them through a lot and it really puts my heart in my throat, to just have that feeling that you’ve helped someone through their hard time is very rewarding.”

The BGT star will also embark on a nine date tour of the UK this month and he will be kicking off his tour in Glasgow O2 ABC 2 on Sunday.

“It’s going to be quite different to what I usually do; I’m playing with a full band this time as opposed to performing with just my guitar.

“We’ve also got some guys coming over from the US performing as support, they’re called The Weekend Right, they’ll be playing the guitar, the ukulele.

“I actually met them on my tour of America, that’s how I kind of struck up the relationship with them and got them over here,” Bailey reveals.

He added: “We’ve also got a local act, called Angel Gold, she’s a local act in Glasgow, she’ll be performing as support as well, so that should be pretty cool and we’ve got The Taylor Maid, they’re a trio of two vocalists and a guitarist, one of them is a rapper as well but they’re really, really good, they’re actually the number one busking act in London.”

Bailey admits he is most looking forward to performing his latest single, Crystalise at his Glasgow gig.

“It would have to be Crystalise probably, just purely because we’ve got a band, it’s going to be a completely different sound to what everybody has heard and of course it is the song of the tour, so we’ve got to make it massive and it is a very emotionally penned song, I think it will be really, really cool and really emotional performing it on stage,” he says.