There's a stylist on the ground tending to Ronan Keating's feet as he opens his dressing room door. She's helping him with his shoes and fine-tuning his outfit. It’s Monday, elimination night at The X Factor. His dressing room is lit with nothing more than the glow of the big-screen plasma TV. It may be dark but what Ronan and two of his three fellow Boyzone members, Mikey Graham and Shane Lynch, lack in light they more than make up for with the sound of music.

When they're asked to turn off UB40s "Kingston Town", playing inside the dressing room, the request is met with looks of playful horror. Shane reluctantly flicks it off but remains standing up – as if to protest the silence. Mikey parks himself on the couch and chows down on a slice of pizza, while Ronan continues to primp for the live results show.

This time 12 months ago it was impossible for Boyzone to fathom they'd ever pull themselves out of the grief they felt for the sudden loss of their band mate Stephen Gately, who died of an undiagnosed heart condition. Today, their sorrow is still palpable. "There's nothing easy about it, we're still just devastated," Mikey confesses. "The anniversary is a reminder of this time last year. I can't tell you how much hurt and confusion we were all feeling. We had a crazy couple of days that we never want to relive again." He pauses before positively reflecting on why they're here visiting Ronan on The X Factor Australia. "Paying tribute to Stephen will give us a little comfort," he explains. "Tonight’s performance features one of our last videos with Stephen’s vocals. There’s a comfort in turning around and seeing him there on the screen, it’s like he’s still here in some sense."

Returning to the here and now, Mikey and Shane talk about working with Ronan to select the Over 25s for the competition. Shane enthuses, "Ronan’s a pro, you know? He puts his heart and soul into everything he takes on board. He selected his three performers because that’s who he believed in." Although Ronan’s quick to admit, "I'm not doing as well as Natalie (Imbruglia) who still has three acts in the competition, but Altiyan was amazing on Sunday night. It was probably the best performance of the whole season."

With almost 20 years of experience under their collective belts, Boyzone (who for the record have no desire to grow into our suggested re-branding ‘Manzone’) are more than qualified to offer advice to the remaining contestants. "You can be the most flamboyant and the most extroverted but you have to be nice to people," Mikey offers in such a gentle tone it’s easy to forget he’s part of pop royalty. He adds, "It can be up and down at different times. When you’re down your strength of character will pull you through. The hard work is when you’re down, when nobody else believes in you. If you begin to believe them then that’s it, it’s all over.

"Secondary to being an artist and loving your music you’ve got to sell that as a product. You’ve got to be serious about what you’re doing. You’ve got to have a bit of fun as well but you’ve got to make sure you don’t lose yourself along the way." These are wise words for The X Factor Aussie contestants, whose careers are just beginning, to take on board.

You don’t survive in the industry for decades if you don’t have the 'X Factor' and the lads have had more than the luck of the Irish to maintain their long-term career success. So what exactly is the elusive 'X Factor'? Shane finally sits down – on the edge of the coffee table – and ponders before explaining, "It's about making people believe in you. I’ve been watching a lot of The X Factor acts and you can see the audience connecting with certain things they do and I think that’s the difference. If they’re really playing the part of that song then you’re going to believe it."

Inevitably, the boys are going to have a soft spot for Ronan’s acts in the competition. "Amanda is most definitely one of my favourites," Shane ironically tells us an hour before Amanda is announced as this week’s eliminated contestant. He adds, "Altiyan was again someone who I thought, ‘Yeah, 100 per cent’."

So, what happens now that Altiyan’s the only Over 25 left in the competition? "It's all about the song choices," Ronan declares.