Ella Henderson lyrics

Gabriella Michelle "Ella" Henderson[1] (born 12 January 1996)[2] is a British singer-songwriter. She starred on the ninth series of The X Factor in 2012 and got into the final 12 finishing in sixth place,[3] despite being a strong favourite to win.[4] She was subsequently signed to Syco Music.[5]

Henderson's first single, "Ghost", co-written with Ryan Tedder, was released on 8 June 2014 and gave Henderson her first UK Singles Chart, number 1 while remaining in the top five of the chart for eight consecutive weeks.[6] It has subsequently been certified 'platinum' for sales in the United Kingdom,[7] Australia[8] and New Zealand.[9] Henderson has released two subsequent singles, "Glow" [10] and "Yours".[11]

Her debut album Chapter One was released on 13 October 2014[12][13] and peaked at number one on the UK Album Chart.

Early life

Henderson was born and raised in Tetney to parents Sean and Michelle. She has two brothers, Patrick and Fraser and a sister Holly.[14] Henderson developed a keen interest in fashion in her youth, notably vintage fashion, which she retains.[15]

Henderson began singing at the age of three and taught herself to play the piano a few years later. She began to put on shows for her family at Christmas and developed a special bond with her grandfather Bill, who encouraged her to pursue her love of music and songwriting.[16] Her interest developed further at primary school, St Martin’s Preparatory School in Grimsby, and she subsequently decided to audition for a scholarship place at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in Hertfordshire. Henderson succeeded in gaining a scholarship and boarded at the school from the age of 11 to 16. She attended the school at the same time as Dan Ferrari-Lane of boy band District3, who was on The X Factor with Henderson in 2012.[17]

In early 2012, Henderson made a singing appearance on a celebrity Christmas special of Channel 4's Come Dine with Me, where she performed "All I Want for Christmas Is You".[18] She was a guest of Bianca Gascoigne, who is a family friend[19] and also auditioned for The X Factor in 2012.[20] The episode was filmed before Henderson's X Factor appearance.

Career

2012: The X Factor

Main article: The X Factor (UK series 9)

In 2012, Henderson auditioned for series 9 of The X Factor with the original song called "Missed" which was later included on her debut album. She reached the live shows and was mentored by Tulisa Contostavlos. Henderson and James Arthur were in the bottom two in week 7 and sang for survival, after which the judges were split on who should go. The decision went to "deadlock" and the public votes cast. Arthur got through after gaining 13.7% of the vote to Henderson's 12.1%.[21] Presenter Dermot O'Leary described Henderson's exit as "one of the biggest shocks we've ever had on the results show."[3]

During the show and following her exit, a number of celebrities came out in support and praise of Henderson, including Adele, Chloë Grace Moretz, Simon Cowell, Sarah Millican, Stephen Fry, Lily Allen, Nick Grimshaw and Cher.[22][23] In 2013, on The Xtra Factor, O'Leary named Henderson the most talented performer in his seven years on the show, in his view.[