After a grueling seven weeks of rehearsals and performances, Team Bruno contestants Phoenix, Claire, Marie, Marcquelle, and Rana took home first place in last week’s nerve racking final. “I still can’t believe we won!” exclaims Phoenix 25. “I was so shocked. I didn’t think we were going to get it. I was sure Arlene’s team was going to win. Even though there was a lot of support for us on MySpace and in forums we started out as the underdog so I was really surprised.”

Although Team Bruno bear the ‘shake the booty crown’ (if you will) they have also been awarded with a record deal from Gut Records and will be touring around the UK with R&B singing sensation Rhianna. Phoenix exclaims, “Can you believe it?” He gushes when asked how he felt about winning the prizes. “A record deal and a tour with Rhianna! I met her on the show and she’s really cool and absolutely beautiful.”

With a busy schedule ahead, the group’s first single, entitled DanceX Winners “Dancing In Repeat” is to be unleashed, “It's really slinky and poppy with a nice underlying bass going on there - I really enjoyed performing it, Phoenix trills.  “I was a bit worried because sometimes the show got a bit cheesy and I didn’t really like that part of it, but I’m really happy with the way the single has turned out.”

Just a couple of hours after winning, the group performed at renowned London nightclub G.A.Y, which Phoenix describes as a “crazy high.” The whole experience has been as steep learning curve for him as he had never performed in front of anyone before the show. “I hadn’t sung in front of people, not even my family or in a karaoke club and then this guy came up to me in the gym and suggested I should try out for the show. So I kind of got into it by accident. As I kept going it became a challenge and I got deeper and deeper into it and started to really enjoy it.”  He adds,  “We were really knackered after rehearsing all day and after all the excitement of winning. I was still in shock when we were performing but I had a great time.”

As fame and fortune looms over the DanceX winners, Phoenix still holds a flame for his fellow dancers “It's natural if you're sharing a space with people you're going to clash, especially when you've got a group of creative people together - that's what happens. We were all from different backgrounds and lifestyles so it’s normal and healthy to have arguments. But it is a reality show so you only see some of what’s really going on.

The two teams became so close that Phoenix says he felt terrible for them when they lost.
“Their dreams were shattered,” he says apologetically. “And I hope they see it as a being a great opportunity. We got along really well with them so I can imagine how they must have felt.” But Phoenix certainly hasn’t let his sympathies shadow his excitement for the future. “I’m really content and happy now and absolutely loving the single,” he explains. “We don’t really know what the future will bring especially when you're coming off a reality TV show. But we’re a really tight unit so we’re just taking it day by day and enjoying everything.”

By Katie Elles

‘Dancing in Repeat’ is out now

MyVillage, 04th September