The usual reaction I gain from my friends when I mention Kitty Brucknell is '
does anyone even know who she is anymore? God that's a blast from the past'. Well not for me.
Three years ago, Kitty burst onto my TV screen on The X Factor, belting out Edge Of Glory to the whole of Wembely Arena. I knew she was going to make an impact on my life. Her voice captivated me and her drive to succeed never failed to amazing me. She continued to get through the stages and then one by one, the shows. I voted every week because I believed that not only was her voice a unique talent but she had an amazing personality.
Kitty was the first verified person to ever follow me and tweet me on twitter. I guess that you could say, this was when my involvement in the Kitty Diva fandom started more or less.
I interacted with Kitty through tweets and DMS and other divas too and we were and still are like a little family.
I have been a Diva since the first audition - promoting, tweeting, talking, sending letters, spreading the word. In no other fandom have I ever felt so accepted.
If someone ever came up too me and said 'Kitty doesn't care about her fans' I'd slap them, because I'd know they were lying.
Kitty cares about her fans as much as the music, we mean as much to her as her career does. We've been here - most of us - for three years, helping and working along side Kitty to finally get her the recognition she deserves. Watching her do all the things she's doing now - books, albums, singles, music videos, tours - makes me so insanely proud.
Kitty is Divas first port of call when things are wrong. She's there and she helps them. She takes her time to answer evey tweet and fan letter and DM and question that she can. She'll do anything to help us and she's an amazing women.
I have no idea where i'd be without her and she knows this. I had the amazing opportunity to tell her over FaceTime how she has changed my life and shaped it for the better. It feels great to know that someone I idolise knows how much they've influenced me.
Sure, she's not perfect - her album tiltle says it 'Glamour and Damage' we all have our glamorous days when everything is going right and it's all good but we have other days where we just wake up damaged and Kitty is no exception, she's human and that's what we, as divas, love about her.
She is a general human being with feelings and emotions. She gets drunk, she has Botox, she sometimes says the wrong things and says what she thinks but, that's okay because, well... Don't we all?
She's also not afraid to be herself. Divas who have been here a long time will rememeber the saying 'stay fearless' a motto that Kitty taught us to live by. She teaches us that different is okay and a little glitter never killed nobody, a wig here and there doesn't end the world and if you don't fit in to what society says, or what eveyone else says you have I be then, so what! You are yourself.
This is the main thing I love about Kitty.
Thank you Kimberley Dayle Edwards for teaching me that I'm okay just how I am and that I don't need to conform to the gruelling stereotypes or ridiculing of the 21st century. Thank you for showing me that hiding in the shadows is a bad idea and I need to stay fearless and embrace me.
Thank you on behalf of all the Divas xoxo
