AceShowbiz - Olly Murs would have "happily" returned to working in sales if his music career failed. The 38-year-old pop star was recently signed a new record deal with EMI Records and is getting back on track after he was previously forced to put touring on hold following an operation on a longstanding knee problem.

Olly - who shot to fame when he came second in the sixth series of "The X Factor" in 2009 - has insisted that his Plan B would have been to return to his sales job if he failed at music. "I would happily have gone back to doing sales," he told Radio Times magazine.

Olly was forced to abandon his football career due to his injury after playing semi-professionally in the years before he auditioned for the TV reality show.

Speaking of his new record deal, he said in a statement this month, "I'm absolutely delighted to be signing with EMI, a super label with a great roster of talent. I now have a new family, a new team and I can't wait for this exciting new chapter in my music career."

EMI Records co-president Jo Charrington - who previously worked with Olly when he first signed to Sony - commented, "I'm THRILLED to be working with Olly again. He has become one of the UK's most loved voices and entertainers, building a huge and devoted audience. His new music is stellar, full of heartfelt up-tempo bangers."

Her co-president, Rebecca Allen, added, "Jo Charrington and Olly's long-standing relationship and successes together give us the best opportunity to build and deliver an even more ambitious new chapter."