Stevie Tonks

Last updated

Stevie Tonks
Birth nameStephen Reuben Tonkin
Born1992 (age 3031)
Christchurch, New Zealand
GenresRock, indie pop, pop, soul
Occupation(s)Singer
Instrument(s)Vocals, piano, guitar
Years active2015–present

Stephen Reuben Tonkin, known as Stevie Tonks, [1] [2] (born 1992) is a New Zealand singer from Christchurch, who was the tenth contestant eliminated on the second season of The X Factor (New Zealand). In the boys category he was mentored by Natalie Bassingthwaighte, and before that by Natalia Kills.

Contents

Early life

Tonks was born in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1992. Prior to auditioning for The X Factor, he was a performing arts student at the Southern Institute of Technology. [1]

Musical influence

Tonks cites Sia, Jeff Buckley and Michael Jackson as his main musical influences.

The X Factor

Tonks attended the pre-auditions for the second series of New Zealand reality show The X Factor in Christchurch in November 2014 and advanced through to the judges' auditions. Tonks performed the U2 song "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" at his audition and received positive feedback from all four judges who advanced him through to bootcamp. [3] He sang "Jealous" for the "Six Chair Challenge" at bootcamp and progressed through to judges retreats with mentor Natalia Kills and then by Natalie Bassingthwaighte after Kills was fired from the show. He then sang his version of "Recovery" at judges retreats causing then mentor Natalia Kills to cry. He soon advanced to the live shows as one of the Top 13. His week one cover of "Young and Beautiful" reached No.5 in the New Zealand artists' singles chart, and his week four cover of "Crazy" also reached No. 5 in the same chart. [4] [5] Tonks found himself in the bottom two in Week 7 after his performance of "Billie Jean" failed to impress. He sang "Grenade" in the final showdown against Lili Bayliss and was saved by the judges with only Stan Walker voting to send him home. Tonks found himself in the bottom two again in week 8 against Steve Broad. He was again saved by the judges with only Melanie Blatt voting to send him home. Tonks was eliminated in the final showdown with Brendon Thomas and the Vibes, and only mentor Natalie Bassingthwaighte voting to keep him.

Discography

Digital releases from The X Factor

Title [6] Peak Positions [7] [8]
NZ Artists
"Young and Beautiful"5
"Like I Can"98
"Are You Gonna Be My Girl"86
"Crazy"5
"Give Me Love"14
"Hold Back the River"45
"Billie Jean"
"Oh My"
"Fix You"46
"Some Nights"
"-" denotes a single that did not chart.

Related Research Articles

<i>The X Factor</i> (Australian TV series) Australian TV series

The X Factor is an Australian television reality music competition, based on the original UK series, to find new singing talent. The first season of the show premiered on Network Ten on 6 February 2005. Ten dropped The X Factor after the first season due to its poor ratings. In 2010, the Seven Network won the rights to the show, and a second season went into production. The X Factor was renewed after the highly successful Australian Idol was no longer broadcast on Network Ten. The X Factor was produced by FremantleMedia Australia, and was broadcast on the Seven Network in Australia and on TV3 in New Zealand. The program was cancelled after its eighth season in 2016.

The X Factor is a New Zealand television reality music competition, originating from the original UK series and based on the Australian The X Factor production format. The show began in 2013 and was open to anyone aged 14 and over. The winner was signed to Sony Music Entertainment New Zealand.

<i>The X Factor</i> (Australian season 3) Australian season of television series

The X Factor was an Australian television reality music competition, based on the original UK series, to find new singing talent; the winner of which received a management contract and a Sony Music Australia recording contract. The third season premiered on the Seven Network on 29 August 2011 and ended on 22 November 2011. The winner was Reece Mastin and his debut single "Good Night" was released after the final. Mastin was mentored throughout by Guy Sebastian, who won as mentor for the first time. There was only a one percent difference in the votes between Mastin and runner-up Andrew Wishart. The season was presented by Luke Jacobz. Ronan Keating and Sebastian were the only judges from the previous season who returned, while Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Mel B joined the judging panel as replacements for former judges, Natalie Imbruglia and Kyle Sandilands.

<i>The X Factor</i> (Australian season 4) Season of television series

The X Factor was an Australian television reality music competition, based on the original UK series, to find new singing talent; the winner of which received a Sony Music Australia recording contract and a new car. The fourth season premiered on the Seven Network on 20 August 2012 and ended on 20 November 2012. The winner was Samantha Jade and her winner's single "What You've Done to Me" was released after the final. Jade was mentored throughout by Guy Sebastian, who won as mentor for the second year in a row. The main live shows was presented by Luke Jacobz, while season three finalist Johnny Ruffo presented the digital live streaming show The X Stream. Mel B, Guy Sebastian, Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Ronan Keating returned as judges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Collective (band)</span> Australian boy band

The Collective were an Australian boy band consisting of members Trent Bell, Julian De Vizio, Zach Russell, Jayden Sierra and Will Singe. They were formed during the fourth season of The X Factor Australia in 2012 and were the last contestant eliminated. The Collective subsequently signed with Sony Music Australia and released their debut single "Surrender", which debuted at number six on the ARIA Singles Chart. The group's self-titled album, The Collective, was released in December 2012 and debuted at number 11 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The Collective disbanded in 2015 to pursue solo careers.

<i>The X Factor</i> (Australian season 5) Season of television series

The X Factor was an Australian television reality music competition, based on the original UK series, to find new singing talent; the winner of which received a Sony Music Australia recording contract and a management deal. The fifth season premiered on the Seven Network on 29 July 2013 and ended on 28 October 2013. The winner was Dami Im and her winner's single "Alive" was released after the final. Im was mentored throughout by Dannii Minogue, who won as mentor for the first time on the Australian series, and third overall. The show was presented by Luke Jacobz, and Ronan Keating and Natalie Bassingthwaighte returned as judges. Minogue and Redfoo joined the judging panel as replacements for former judges, Mel B and Guy Sebastian.

Jackie Thomas is a New Zealand singer who won the first New Zealand season of The X Factor in 2013. Competing in the Girls category, she was mentored in the series by Daniel Bedingfield. Her winner's single "It's Worth It" was released on 22 July 2013 and debuted at number one on the New Zealand Music Charts. The song became certified Gold in its first week and eventually reached Platinum by its third week.

Benjamin Tipene is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician. He is known for his appearance on the first New Zealand series of The X Factor where he was the last contestant eliminated Competing in the Boys category, he was mentored by Ruby Frost. His debut single "Walking on Water" was released on 29 July 2013 and debuted at number two on the Official New Zealand Music Chart and was certified platinum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Clique (duo)</span> Australian pop duo

The Clique were an Australian pop duo consisting of members Jacinta Gulisano and Jordan Rodrigues. They were formed in 2013 originally as the trio Third Degree, who competed in the fifth season of The X Factor Australia and were the tenth contestant eliminated. The group subsequently signed with Sony Music Australia and released their debut single "Different Kind of Love", which peaked at number 22 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Following the departure of Kelebek in 2014, Third Degree changed their name to The Clique and were no longer signed to Sony Music. The group disbanded in 2015 to pursue solo careers.

Moorhouse was a New Zealand boy band consisting of members Jason Aileone, Brock Ashby, Rory McKenna, Marley Sola Wilcox-Nanai and Rameka Uitime-Paraki. They formed in Christchurch in 2012 and are best known for their appearance in the first New Zealand series of The X Factor where they and were the tenth contestant eliminated. Competing in the Groups category, they were mentored by Melanie Blatt. Their debut single "Mama Said" was released in August 2013, peaking at number eight in the New Zealand charts. In February 2015 the band announced it had split up.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taylor Henderson</span> Australian singer and songwriter (born 1993)

Taylor James Henderson is an Australian singer and songwriter. Originating from Ceres, Victoria, Henderson rose to fame after placing third on the fourth series of Australia's Got Talent in 2010. Three years later, he became the runner-up on the fifth season of The X Factor Australia and subsequently received a recording contract with Sony Music Australia.

<i>The X Factor</i> (Australian season 6) Season of television series

The X Factor was an Australian television reality music competition, based on the original UK series, to find new singing talent; the winner of which received a Sony Music Australia recording contract. Season 6 premiered on the Seven Network on 13 July 2014 and ended on 20 October 2014. Luke Jacobz returned as host, while Dannii Minogue, Redfoo, Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Ronan Keating returned as judges. Comedy duo Luke & Wyatt joined the sixth season as the hosts of the online spin-off show The Fan Factor. The winner was Marlisa Punzalan and her winner's single "Stand by You" was released after the final. Punzalan became the youngest winner of the show at 15 years old and was the first contestant from the Girls category to do so. She was mentored by Keating, who won as mentor for the second time after previously mentoring season two winner Altiyan Childs in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dean Ray</span> Australian singer and songwriter

Dean Pritchard, better known by his stage name Dean Ray, is an Australian singer and songwriter. In 2014, he was the runner-up on the sixth season of The X Factor Australia. Ray subsequently received a recording contract with Sony Music Australia and released his debut single "Coming Back", which debuted at number one on the ITunes Singles Chart and number five on the ARIA Singles Chart. This was followed by the release of his self-titled debut album in November 2014, which debuted at number five on the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marlisa Punzalan</span> Musical artist

Marlisa Ann Punzalan, also known simply as Marlisa, is an Australian singer. She won the sixth season of The X Factor Australia in 2014, aged 15, the youngest contestant to have won the show. Punzalan subsequently received a recording contract with Sony Music Australia and released her debut single "Stand by You", which debuted at number two on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association. This was followed by the release of her self-titled debut album Marlisa, which debuted at number six the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified gold. "Stand by You" was nominated for the ARIA Award for Song of the Year in 2015.

The second and final series of the New Zealand television reality music competition The X Factor premiered on TV3 in February 2015. Pre-auditions began in October 2014. As well as again being open to singers aged 14 and over, the series was also open to bands, which had to contain no more than five members and have at least two singers. The contestants were split into the show's four traditional categories: Boys, Girls, Over 25s and Groups.

The X Factor was an Australian television reality music competition, based on the original UK series, to find new singing talent; the winner of which received a Sony Music Australia recording contract. The seventh season premiered on the Seven Network on 13 September 2015 and concluded on 24 November 2015. Luke Jacobz returned as the host of the show. Dannii Minogue was the only judge from the previous season who returned, while Redfoo, Ronan Keating and Natalie Bassingthwaighte were replaced by former judge Guy Sebastian, as well as new judges James Blunt and Chris Isaak. The winner was Cyrus Villanueva and his winner's single "Stone" was released after the final. He was mentored by Isaak, who won as mentor for the first time.

This is a list of New Zealand television events and premieres occurred, or are scheduled to occur, in 2015, the 55th year of continuous operation of television in New Zealand.

Lili Bayliss is a New Zealand singer from Wellington who was the eighth contestant eliminated on the second season of The X Factor.

Beau Monga is a New Zealand singer/beatboxer from Manurewa, who won the second season of the New Zealand version of The X Factor.

Brendon Thomas and The Vibes is a New Zealand rock band consisting of members Brendon Thomas, Timothee Nolier, and Michael Anderson. They formed in Auckland in 2013 and was the last contestant eliminated on the second series of the New Zealand version of The X Factor. Competing in the Groups category, they were mentored by Willy Moon then Shelton Woolwright. They are the first band in the New Zealand version of The X Factor to make it into the final.

References

  1. 1 2 "Home".
  2. "Home".
  3. Slater, Caitlin (10 March 2015). "Tonks through to live shows". Southland Times. Fairfax. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  4. "23 MARCH 2015". Official NZ Music Charts. Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  5. "13 APRIL 2015". Official NZ Music Charts. Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  6. "Stevie Tonks on Apple Music". iTunes .
  7. "Top 20 New Zealand Singles Chart | the Official New Zealand Music Chart". Archived from the original on 22 June 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  8. "Stevie Tonks Chart Profile and Statistics – HOT100NZ". Archived from the original on 25 April 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2015.