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Shane Gilberto Jenek, better known under the stage name Courtney Act, is an Australian drag queen, singer and television personality. Courtney first came to prominence competing on the first season of Australian Idol in 2003. After the show, she signed to BMG Australia, and she released her debut single, "Rub Me Wrong", which peaked at No. 29 on the ARIA Singles Chart and eventually gained a gold certification, ten years after its release. While auditioning for Australian Idol, she also became the first LGBTQ contestant to openly appear on a reality TV talent show. In 2014, Courtney was one of the runners-up in season six of RuPaul's Drag Race. In June 2019, a panel of judges from New York magazine placed her third on their list of "the most powerful drag queens in America", a ranking of 100 former Drag Race contestants.
Leona Louise Lewis is a British singer, songwriter, actress, model and activist. She was born and raised in the London Borough of Islington, and she attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieved national recognition when she won the third series of The X Factor in 2006, winning a £1 million recording contract with Syco Music. Her winner's single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This", peaked at number one for four weeks on the UK Singles Chart and broke a world record by reaching 50,000 digital downloads within 30 minutes. In February 2007, Lewis signed a five-album contract in the United States with Clive Davis's record label, J Records.
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The fourth series was broadcast on ITV from 18 August 2007 and was won by Leon Jackson on 15 December 2007, with Rhydian Roberts finishing as the runner-up and Dannii Minogue emerging as the winning mentor. Dermot O'Leary presented for the first time, replacing Kate Thornton, who had been presenting the show since series 1 in 2004. Fearne Cotton replaced Ben Shephard as presenter on the spin-off show The Xtra Factor. The original judging panel consisted of Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne, Brian Friedman and Minogue. Friedman left the panel halfway through the first audition episode and was replaced by former judge Louis Walsh.
Spirit is the debut studio album by English singer Leona Lewis, released by Syco Music in November 2007 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, followed by a worldwide release during early 2008. The album made Lewis the first UK solo artist to debut at number one with a debut album, in the US, on 26 April 2008. Spirit became the fastest-selling debut album in the UK, at time of release. It also became the fastest album to sell one million copies by a solo female in the UK. The album remains the best-selling debut album by a female artist in the UK, and is one of the best-selling albums in UK chart history. Spirit is officially the best-selling debut album by a female artist in the 21st century, according to the Official Charts Company
Syco Music is a defunct division of Syco Entertainment founded by British entrepreneur and record executive Simon Cowell. Originally founded as S Records, the label launched while Cowell was still employed by BMG, the label oversaw music releases by Robson & Jerome, Five, Westlife and Teletubbies. A year later, BMG, now named Sony BMG, bought Cowell's share in both Syco Music and Syco Television. Later in 2010, Cowell and Sony Music entered a joint venture agreement that would see Cowell and Sony each own 50% of the new Syco Entertainment company which encompassed both the previous Syco TV and Syco Music divisions. The brand had multiple well-known acts signed such as Fifth Harmony, Camila Cabello, One Direction and Little Mix. In July 2020, Sony sold the rights to the television formats and assets back to Cowell, effectively divesting all of Syco's non-music divisions. As part of the venture, Syco Music, its current roster and back catalog remains with Sony Music as a wholly owned subsidiary. However, as of September 2020, and according to industry magazine Music Week, the label is now defunct, with staff either leaving or being redeployed elsewhere within the Sony Music group.
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The fifth series was broadcast on ITV from 16 August 2008 until 13 December 2008. Dermot O'Leary returned to present the main show on ITV, while Fearne Cotton was replaced by Holly Willoughby as presenter of spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2. Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, and Dannii Minogue returned to the judging panel. Sharon Osbourne left after four series and was replaced by Cheryl Cole. The series was won by Alexandra Burke, with Cole emerging as the winning mentor. Auditions in front of producers were held in April and May, with callbacks in front of the judges in June. The number of applicants for series 5 reached an all-time high with a reported 182,000 people auditioning. A number of well-established music acts from around the world, such as Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Girls Aloud, Take That, Il Divo, and series 3 winner Leona Lewis, performed during the live stages of the show.
JLS are an English boyband, which consists of members Aston Merrygold, Oritsé Williams, Marvin Humes, and JB Gill, originally formed by Williams. They initially signed to Tracklacers production company New Track City and then went on to become runners-up of the fifth series of the ITV reality talent show The X Factor in 2008, coming second to Alexandra Burke. Following their appearance on The X Factor, JLS signed to Epic Records. Their first two singles "Beat Again" and "Everybody in Love" both went to number one on the UK Singles Chart.
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The sixth series started on ITV on 22 August 2009 and was won by Joe McElderry on 13 December 2009. Cheryl Cole emerged as the winning mentor for the second consecutive year, the first time in the show's history that a mentor has won back-to-back series. The show was presented by Dermot O'Leary, with spin-off show The Xtra Factor presented by Holly Willoughby on ITV2. McElderry's winner's single was a cover version of Miley Cyrus's "The Climb". Public auditions by aspiring singers began in June 2009 and were held in five cities across the UK. Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, Dannii Minogue and Cole returned as judges. This season was the first to be sponsored by TalkTalk after they took over the sponsorship from The Carphone Warehouse. For the first time, auditions were held in front of a live audience. Following initial auditions, the "bootcamp" stage took place in August 2009, where the number of contestants was narrowed down to 24. The 24 contestants were split into their categories, Boys, Girls, Over 25s and Groups, and given a judge to mentor them at the "judges' houses" stage and throughout the finals.
"Happy" is a song performed by British singer Leona Lewis for her second studio album Echo (2009). It was written by Lewis, Ryan Tedder, Evan Bogart, and produced by Tedder, and it premiered on UK radio on 6 September 2009, and officially released on 15 September 2009, by digital download in the U.S., serving as the album's lead single. Lyrically, it talks about a protagonist, that wants to be happy and seize the day.
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The eighth series commenced airing on ITV on 20 August 2011 and ended on 11 December 2011. The winner was Little Mix, a four-piece girlband known earlier in the series as Rhythmix, consisting of members Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, and formerly Jesy Nelson. They entered the competition as soloist, and later put together as a group. They became the first act in the groups category to win in the UK show's history with new judge Tulisa emerging as their winning mentor. Dermot O'Leary presented the main show on ITV, while Caroline Flack and series 6 runner-up Olly Murs co-presented the spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2, replacing Konnie Huq from the previous year. Louis Walsh returned to the judging panel and was joined by Gary Barlow, Kelly Rowland and Tulisa. Barlow, Rowland and Tulisa joined the panel as replacements for former judges, Simon Cowell, Dannii Minogue and Cheryl Cole. Series 5 winner Alexandra Burke served as a guest judge for week 4 of the live shows due to Rowland having a throat infection.
"Collide" is a song performed by British recording artist Leona Lewis and Swedish DJ and record producer Avicii. It was written by Tim Bergling, Simon Jeffes, Arash Pournouri, Autumn Rowe, Sandy Wilhelm, with production helmed by Wilhelm under his production name Sandy Vee and Youngboyz. "Collide" is a house-inspired love song with instrumentation consisting of piano riffs and a guitar. The song was recorded for Lewis' third studio album Glassheart, but was not included on the album's final track listing.
Glassheart is the third studio album by English singer Leona Lewis, released on 12 October 2012 by Syco Music and RCA Records. The album is Lewis' first under RCA Records after parent company Sony Music Entertainment closed J Records and relocated its artists. Glassheart was conceived in 2010 shortly after the completion of Lewis' first headline tour, The Labyrinth. Recording and production took place in Denver, Los Angeles and London; originally the album was due for release in November 2011 but was pushed back several times to accommodate new recording sessions and allow more creative time. The album was the first – and so far only – of Lewis' albums not released in North America.
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The ninth series began airing on ITV on 18 August 2012 and ended on 9 December 2012. Dermot O'Leary returned as presenter of the main show on ITV, whilst Caroline Flack and Olly Murs returned to co-present The Xtra Factor on ITV2. Louis Walsh, Gary Barlow and Tulisa returned as judges. Nicole Scherzinger was confirmed as the fourth permanent judge after Geri Halliwell, Leona Lewis, Rita Ora, Mel B, Anastacia and Scherzinger herself stood in as guest judges for the vacant position left by Kelly Rowland. After the show of 8 December, two of Scherzinger's acts, James Arthur and Jahméne Douglas, became the top two, meaning that Scherzinger was guaranteed to win. Arthur was announced as the winner on 9 December, and released a cover of Shontelle's "Impossible" as his winner's song. As of 2016, it is the most successful winner's single in the show's history.
"Trouble" is a song recorded by British recording artist Leona Lewis and American entertainer Childish Gambino for Lewis' third studio album, Glassheart (2012). Inspired by Lewis' break-up with childhood sweetheart Lou Al-Chamaa, "Trouble" is a mid-tempo R&B and trip hop ballad, with a piano and strings-driven melody. It was written by a British writing collective consisting of Lewis, Donald Glover, Hugo Chegwin, Harry Craze, Shahid Khan, James Murray, Mustafa Omer, Emeli Sandé and Fraser T Smith. Production came courtesy of Khan under his production name of Naughty Boy and Smith, along with co-producer Chris Loco and additional producer Jahlil Beats. Music critics noted that the urban production marked a new direction for Lewis, particularly by featuring Gambino during the song's middle eight breakdown with a poetic rap verse. A version excluding Gambino is also included on Glassheart.
"Lovebird" is a song recorded by British singer-songwriter Leona Lewis for her third studio album Glassheart (2012). It was written by Bonnie McKee, Joshua "Ammo" Coleman and Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, and produced by Josh Abrahams, Ammo and Oligee. "Lovebird" was recorded at Pulse Recording in Los Angeles and is a power ballad, incorporating a piano and synth-driven melody. The lyrics consist of Lewis informing her past lover that enough time has passed since their relationship for her to have moved on and to have developed as a person. Critics praised Lewis' vocal performance, likening her technical abilities to those of Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. The musical structure of the song was heavily compared to one of her previous singles, "Bleeding Love", along with songs performed by Adele. The accompanying music video shows Lewis trying to escape from a giant bird cage.
"One More Sleep" is a song recorded by British singer Leona Lewis for her first Christmas album and fourth studio album, Christmas, with Love (2013). It was written by Lewis in collaboration with Richard "Biff" Stannard, Iain James, Jez Ashurst and Bradford Ellis, and produced by Richard "Biff" Stannard. It was released in the United States on 5 November, in Ireland and the United Kingdom on 29 November and many parts of Europe on 2 December. "One More Sleep" is recognised as one of the biggest recent Christmas songs in the UK according to the Official Charts Company. The song is certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. "One More Sleep" is also one of the most-streamed Christmas songs in the UK, with over 93 million streams as of 2021.
Christmas, with Love is a Christmas album and the fourth studio album by English singer Leona Lewis. It was released on 29 November 2013, by Syco Music and RCA Records. Work on the album began in February 2013, during which Lewis began writing "immediately" after the release of her less-commercially successful album Glassheart (2012). In June 2013, it was revealed that Lewis' fourth studio album would be a Christmas album, based on the recommendation of Syco boss Simon Cowell. Lewis enlisted two producers for the album: Richard "Biff" Stannard and Ash Howes, with Lewis herself contributing to the album's production. This is Lewis' first album to be released in North America since 2009's Echo, as her 2012 album, Glassheart was not released there.
I Am is the fifth studio album by English singer Leona Lewis. It was released on 11 September 2015, by Island Records after Lewis took leave from Syco Music in June 2014. Recording began in mid 2013, during the production of Lewis's first Christmas album and fourth studio album, Christmas, with Love (2013). Recording sessions resumed in January 2014 with producer Poet, Toby Gad and Wayne Wilkins. I Am is preceded by the release of "Fire Under My Feet" and the album's title track except for in the United States where "Thunder" precedes the album. The album reached top 40 in multiple countries, including US, United Kingdom, Spain and Germany.
The X Factor: The Band is a special edition of British reality talent competition The X Factor, which premiered on 9 December 2019 on ITV. The format for the series was announced on 4 November 2019 as a last-minute replacement for a planned All Stars spin-off series, which was originally supposed to air following The X Factor: Celebrity in late 2019. The format is an accelerated version of The X Factor whereby solo artists auditioned in front of Simon Cowell and Nicole Scherzinger to try to win a place in a boyband or girlband. The new bands would then compete for a chance to join Cowell's record label and launch their careers.
References
- ↑ Routledge, Rebecca (21 November 2018). "Courtney Act given her own show". Digital Spy . Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ↑ French, Dan (23 November 2018). "Channel 4 confirms Act's own TV special". Digital Spy . Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ↑ O’Boyle, Claire (17 December 2018). "Courtney Act is performing with Leona Lewis". Daily Mirror . Retrieved 20 December 2018.
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