For those who tuned in to Netflix’s “Building the Band,” there’s no denying that Alison Ogden was the narrator of the season — if not the outright main character. Despite her band Sweet Seduction falling short of making the finals, the singer made her presence known with her drive, talent and divisive personality.
Following last week’s Season 1 finale, Alison opened up to TheWrap about where she stands with her (former) Sweet Seduction bandmates, her fellow competitors, the people who didn’t get picked and even the judges, including late One Direction singer Liam Payne.
“Obviously, he was just — it actually feels so horrible to say ‘was’ — but he was such an incredible artist and creative force in the industry from such a young age, and he really shaped so much of what we expect from boy bands. He played such a transformative role in the music industry, in my opinion, and I know he influenced me heavily growing up, as well as millions and millions of people,” Alison shared. “He had a lot of really incredible insight to provide. And I thought it was really cool that he and Nicole [Scherzinger] were on the show together, because she was there helping create One Direction. Full-circle moment. He was just so nice and so humble and normal to talk to, as normal as can be.”
“The kind of advice that he was able to provide us with was really different from the other judges. All of them had incredible advice, but I really enjoyed his perspective on things,” she added. “A lot of the notes were on, like, the technicality of things and the vocals and the outfits and the wardrobe and the choreo, but he really honed in on being you and forming strong connections and that being the foundation to lay the groundwork on.”
Indeed, Payne got his start in music on “The X Factor” Series 7 in 2010 when he was put into 1D alongside Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Harry Styles and Zayn Malik, all of whom had auditioned as soloists.
“His perspective and his life experience, with how he got started, is so similar to ours, I feel like we were all able to connect with him in that way, which was really, really valuable,” Alison said. “I was absolutely heartbroken to hear about the news, just devastated for everybody that knew him personally and loved him. I didn’t know him as well as anyone that was in his day-to-day life, but it was very impactful to get to work with him, and I feel really blessed to have been able to do so.”
In addition to Payne and Scherzinger, “Building the Band” also featured Kelly Rowland and AJ McLean. In the end, their expert advice helped Brianna, Nori and Wennely win the competition as 3QUENCY. But where does Alison stand with Elise and Haley nowadays?
“Sweet Seduction, unfortunately, is no longer going to be a band. I know in our last episode where we got sent home we said it would be silly to think that we wouldn’t stick together – and I really did, truly have hopes of staying together. They’re both such incredibly talented women, so I definitely did want that to work out, but it’s OK that it didn’t,” she revealed. “I mean, I had been pursuing a solo career prior to wanting to be in a band, so I’m just going to continue on with that and take new strides and learn from the experience. I feel like it really did unlock a new side of myself with performing as a whole and feeling so much more comfortable on stage and really being me on stage, so I feel more safe to authentically pursue my artistry. There are some new collabs coming, and some are a little surprising, so I’m excited about that.”
One collaboration already occurs on her new single, “sweet surrender,” which she wrote with fellow cast member Mandy.
“I’m very much an ‘everything happens the way that it’s supposed to’ kind of person. So I wouldn’t say that I would change the band that I formed by any means, because there were so many lessons to be learned from the band that I did end up forming. I’m just trying to learn from the experience as a whole, and move forward and be better at every aspect of everything – that’s all we can really do for ourselves at the end of the day,” Alison explained. “But, I mean, I adored Mandy and Cece. We all went to the club the other day together and I’ve been hanging out with Mandy a lot because she lives so close to me. Cece’s in New York, so I don’t get to see her as often. But, I love working on music with them, so I don’t think that that’s going to stop anytime soon, regardless if we’re in a band.”
The singer’s friends from the show include Mandy, Landon, Cameron, Aaliyah, Cece, Malik … and even Conor, believe it or not.
“I do wish that more of the positive interactions between everyone in Sweet Seduction got to be shown, because there were so many really sweet, fun, girly, kiki moments. Especially with Haley, I felt very, very, very close to her. So I wish that you guys got to see a little bit more of the deep conversations that we were all having and the bonding moments,” Alison said. “I also wish they had shown a little bit more about Conor and me, because I feel like it looks like we hung out one time and then we were, like, smitten kittens. But no, there was a lot more going on behind the scenes.”
“We’ve decided just to be friends now. We live so far away from one another, but we both have a lot of respect for each other and everything on the show was entirely genuine,” she continued. “I was 100% not expecting to get any sort of relationship out of going on the show. Being the kind of person I am — being so eye on the prize — I was very surprised by myself for even just opening up to that. It takes me a really, really long time with relationships to feel comfortable, I’m not a huge dater, I don’t always have a boyfriend, that’s just not me. I don’t know, I’m very picky with people that I like, I’ll be honest. I think that’s a good thing. But no, it was all entirely genuine. I just felt really seen and heard by him, and I hope that he felt the same way with me. I mean, we got really close really fast, and I promise I was not trying to distract him. I just genuinely liked him.”
And, yes, they tested out their connection away from the cameras (and away from their Sweet Seduction and Midnight ’til Morning bandmates).
“I was trying my best to compartmentalize everything so I could stay focused. Obviously, Midnight ’til Morning was next to get sent home after Sweet Seduction, so at that point I was like telling him that I’m going to go around Europe on vacation by myself,” Alison recalled. “Paris first, then Germany, and then Italy. I made my little Europe tour. I invited Haley and Elise, but I don’t think [they’re] actually going to go, so like, I guess I can go alone, dropping the breadcrumb.”
“I’m, like, praying that he would ask, and then he was like, ‘I mean, I would love to go to Paris, not to sound too forward, but can I come?’ So then I just got a hotel in Manchester after we finished filming and then went to Paris,” she further noted. “I don’t remember the exact amount of time, but it was really fun. We talked the whole time that I was in Europe.”
“Eventually, things fizzled a little bit just because we live so far and the time difference is really difficult, but we’ve spent a lot of time within the past few weeks in group settings, so that’s been really nice to get to reconnect and catch up,” Alison concluded. “We’ve decided to just be friends, because I think that’s probably, mutually, the best way to move forward. But we both have a lot of respect for each other and want the best for one another, so I’m happy with the way that things fell.”
“Building the Band” Season 1 is now streaming on Netflix.
