50 facts about Rebecca Ferguson

Rebecca Ferguson's 50 things.

1. Rebecca Caroline Ferguson born 21 July 1986, is a British singer and songwriter.

2. Rebecca Ferguson came to prominence in 2010 when she became the runner-up of the seventh series of The X Factor, losing to the winner that year, Matt Cardle.

3. Rebecca Ferguson subsequently signed a joint record deal with Syco Music and Epic Records in the UK.

4. Rebecca Ferguson later signed in the United States to Columbia Records.

5. Ferguson's debut album, Heaven, was released in December 2011 to commercial and critical success, peaking at number 3 in the United Kingdom. Co-written by Ferguson, it was certified two times platinum in the UK and platinum Ireland.

6. The album yielded six singles including lead single "Nothing's Real But Love", which enjoyed commercial success throughout much of Europe and Oceania, entering the UK Singles Chart at number 10.

7. Ferguson's second studio album, Freedom, was released in December 2013, being met with positive reviews from critics and commercial success in the United Kingdom where it charted at number 6 and has since been certified Gold by the BPI.

8. The album's lead single, "I Hope", peaked at number 15 in the UK; whilst "Light On" was released as the lead single in mainland Europe.

9. Rebecca Ferguson cites Aretha Franklin, Kings of Leon, Christina Aguilera and Amy Winehouse among her influences.

10. Rebecca Ferguson has endorsements with Nescafé and Walkers.

11. In 2012, she was nominated for two MOBO Awards and one MTV Europe Music Award.

12. Rebecca Ferguson was born on 21 July 1986, at Mill Road Hospital, Liverpool to Jamaican immigrants.

13. Rebecca Ferguson spent the first two years of her life in Huyton.

14. Rebecca Ferguson has a younger brother, Sam.

15. The family then moved to a house on an estate in Woolton Village when her parents separated.

16. Rebecca Ferguson received her primary education at Woolton Primary School and her secondary education at secondary school and sixth form college Gateacre Community Comprehensive School.

17. As a teenager she later moved to Anfield. That was when she became pregnant with her first child Lillie May.

18. Two years later she had her son, Karl.

19. Rebecca Ferguson has said her family supported her ambition to become a professional singer and helped her through two previous X Factor auditions.

20. Rebecca Ferguson also revealed that she was "bullied as a kid because my family was poor and I never had the right clothes or toys."

21. Despite having a difficult start in life, the hopeful insisted she wanted people to focus solely on her talent.

22. Rebecca Ferguson also revealed that as a child she always wanted to be a pop star.

23. Rebecca Ferguson is a qualified legal secretary, having studied at Hugh Baird College, Bootle.

24. Rebecca Ferguson later commented, "when you have kids, you become a mum and forget about you as a person so I put my dreams of singing aside. There is only so long you can chase the dream when you are a mum. I wanted the kids to see me do well and be a better role model. They were always seeing their mummy fail. That was why I started college."

25. Rebecca Ferguson had previously unsuccessfully auditioned for The X Factor and for P. Diddy's Starmaker in New York. She later commented "I went to other auditions, I was invited to New York to audition for P Diddy's Starmaker and I was told 'no'. It was really upsetting because I spent money to get there. I also tried out for The X Factor but it did not turn out too well, maybe because I did not have the confidence. I thought I would try Britain's Got Talent or The X Factor again and if that did not work out, I would have to think about what I was going to do."

26. Ferguson sang "A Change Is Gonna Come" during her initial audition.

27. At her bootcamp audition, she sang "Like a Star" to which Cowell said "That is a recording voice!" and Nicole Scherzinger said, "I told you first time I saw her, she is our generation's songbird."

28. She sang "Fireflies" at judges' houses and made it through to the live shows.

29. In the final, she performed a duet with Christina Aguilera, performing Aguilera's hit single "Beautiful". Ferguson's winner's song was a cover of Duffy's "Distant Dreamer", but she finished as the runner-up to Matt Cardle, making her the first female runner-up on The X Factor.

30. After the final, it was announced that Ferguson had been signed by Syco Music. In January 2011, it was reported that Ferguson had signed a joint record deal between Syco Records and Epic Records.

31. Rebecca Ferguson and nine other contestants from the series participated in the X Factor Live Tour from February to April 2011. The tour saw Ferguson performing for 500,000 people throughout the UK.

32. Rebecca Ferguson released her debut single "Nothing's Real but Love" on 20 November 2011, which was written by Ferguson and Eg White.

33. Her debut album Heaven followed and was released 5 December 2011 in the UK. The album features Ferguson collaborating with Eg White, Steve Booker, Fraser T Smith, Xenomania, Paul Barry, Mark Taylor and Brian Higgins.

34. Cowell also praised the album tweeting on 21 November how proud he was of Ferguson, "I am absolutely blown away by Rebecca Ferguson, her album and by her performance. Congratulations!".

35. The album was certified platinum for shipments of 300,000 units by the British Phonographic Industry in its first two weeks of release.

36. On 18 November 2011, Ferguson announced her debut headlining UK and Ireland Tour, spanning 14 dates from 20 February to 13 March 2012. Due to high demand, Ferguson had to add more dates to her tour, all of which have sold out.

37. Rebecca Ferguson dueted with Lionel Richie on an ITV1 special entitled This Is Lionel Richie, in which she performed "Endless Love".

38. Starting in February 2012, an excerpt from Ferguson's "Nothing's Real but Love" was used in a television advertisement campaign for Nescafé Gold Blend coffee.

39. In April 2012, Ferguson broke her left leg during a night out, which kept her wearing a cast for several weeks. During performances on Britain's Got Talent and Alan Carr: Chatty Man, she performed while sitting on a stool.

40. On 29 May 2012, Ferguson made her American television debut when she sang "Nothing's Real but Love" on The Today Show. She also performed the song on The View.

41. On 13 July, Ferguson revealed via Twitter that she would be taking her management team to court, after they made her work until she collapsed.

42. In an interview in March 2012, Ferguson stated that she expected to release her second studio album in 2014, that she would start writing the album in 2013 once promotion for Heaven had finished, and that she expected to take a more up-beat approach to the album.

43. Rebecca Ferguson performed Backtrack on the second The X Factor results show on 14 October

44. Rebecca Ferguson features on the charity record He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother including other singers such as Paloma Faith, Paul McCartney and Robbie Williams.

45. In October 2012, Ferguson stated she would embark on a US tour in January 2013 and that she had already begun writing new material for her second album.

46. Rebecca met the father to her children, Karl, on holiday in Tenerife, but had previously met and known each other for some years. Rebecca and Karl dated for four years and had two children named Lillie May and Karl.

47. Rebecca Ferguson previously dated fellow The X Factor contestant and One Direction member Zayn Malik, which caused controversy due to the six-year age difference. The relationship ended after four months together. In November 2011, Ferguson addressed the media interest, saying: "When I was in a relationship with Zayn it was quite hard, but it comes with it. Me and Zayn just grew apart. I wish him all the best."

48. Ferguson's first album is of the soul, pop, blues and R&B genres, with lyrics describing heartbreak and relationships. Her debut album's music was compared to work by Aretha Franklin and Macy Gray.

49. Rebecca Ferguson cites Aretha Franklin as one of the artists who had the biggest influence on her.

50. Rebecca Ferguson became the new face of Walkers crisps Sunbites as of June 2011. She starred in an ad that features her visiting her hometown. Created by AMV BBDO, the ad was launched across press, online, social media and TV.

Source: Wikipedia.org