Diana Vickers
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Diana Mae Vickers, born 30 July 1991, is from Accrington, Lancashire. Vickers had taken many singing lessons and participated in local competitions, but had never sung professionally.[1] Diana came to light when she entered the UK version of the X-Factor in 2008.[2] After impressing the judges Diana made it to the live show stages of the competition.[3] Prior to the X Factor, Vickers was studying Theatre Studies, Classics, and Psychology at college and her plan was to go to Drama School to study Musical Theatre.[4]
The X Factor
Vickers began her X Factor journey by singing Damien Rice's song "The Blower's Daughter" at the auditions; all four judges voted yes thus allowing Diana to progress forwards too the bootcamp stages of the competition. Vickers went on to sing "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol at the first stage of bootcamp and Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" at the second stage, receiving positive reviews from all four judges once more. In the sing-offs for the three final places in Cheryl Cole's mentoring group, Vickers sang "Nothing Compares To You" by Sinead O'Connor and "Carry You Home" by James Blunt. After the first song, Cole noticed Vickers' disappointment in her own performance, thinking this could be her downfall. However, she chose Vickers as one of her final three contestants.
On her first live show, Vickers sang U2's "With or Without You". On the second live show she covered Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror", for which she received nothing but praise with Dannii Minogue describing it as "box fresh" and Simon Cowell remarking she is "the one to beat". The following week she performed "Smile" which again received much praise. Week four's catagory was Disco which inevitably appeared as Diana's weak point yet her version of Blondie's "Call Me" recieved nothing but praise from the judges.
In week five, Vickers was excused from performing due to a severe case of laryngitis. She had wanted to perform the Mariah Carey song "Always Be My Baby" up until a few hours before the show but her doctor advised her not to, saying she could do permanent damage to her vocal chords. This was the first time the producers had excused any act from performing in the X Factor. Vickers was said to be devastated by losing the chance to meet Mariah Carey, who guested on that week's show. However on The Xtra Factor show afterwards, footage was shown of Diana at a bonfire night party earlier that week, screaming and cheering with the other contestants. This created some speculation as to the legitimacy of her illness.[5] However, Vickers released a statement to contest the claim: "I felt under the weather all last week but didn’t want to miss out on the fireworks display. On Thursday I saw the doctor and was given antibiotics and the following day was diagnosed with laryngitis by a Harley Street specialist. Up until Saturday afternoon, I was still hoping and praying that I would be well enough to perform but the producers spoke to the doctor who made it clear that I could risk long-term damage to my voice. I was absolutely devastated to be told I couldn’t perform on Saturday night and disappointed not to be able to meet Mariah Carey. I am due to see the doctor again on Friday so fingers crossed I will be able to take part in this Saturday’s show".
Vickers returned in week six and performed the Coldplay song "Yellow", prompting Simon Cowell to remark that he believed she was still unwell because she had so many "off-notes". In week seven she sang Take That's "Patience" commenting that she felt 100% once again and hoped to deliver her best performance to date. During the show, guest Gary Barlow offered to sign her if Simon Cowell didn't[6], to which Cowell responded "We will not be accepting Gary Barlow's kind offer for a recording contract. Leona has done fine with me, thank you Gary". In contrast to the comments of judges, Diana recieved her highest voting percentage of the series with 31.30% of the total vote count.
In week eight, she performed Britney Spears' "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman", which received a muted reaction from the judges, with Simon Cowell telling her it was the first week where she was in danger. Vickers returned for the second half of the show with a version of R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts", which kept her in the competition at the expense of Ruth Lorenzo.
In the week 9 semi-finals, Vickers performed Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" as her first song and received excellent comments from all the judges with Cheryl Cole saying that "she had got that sparkle back". Diana followed this performance with Dido's "White Flag" but was subsequently voted out of the competition to the shock and upset of her fellow semi-finalists Eoghan Quigg and Alexandra Burke who ran on to the stage to comfort Diana.[7]
Performances on The X Factor (UK series 5)
This table shows information regarding Diana's performances on the X Factor including her song choice, the original artist, the week's theme on the X Factor, Diana's voting position and the percentage of the total votes that were for Diana.[8]
| Week | Song choice | Original artist | Theme (if any) | Result | Percentage of Total Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | "With or Without You" | U2 | Number One Songs in UK and US | Safe | 7.35% |
| Week 2 | "Man in The Mirror" | Michael Jackson | Songs by Michael Jackson or The Jackson 5 | Safe | 16.24% |
| Week 3 | "Smile" | Charlie Chaplin | Big Band | Safe | 15.13% |
| Week 4 | "Call Me" | Blondie | Disco | Safe | 15.24% |
| Week 5 | "N/A" | Mariah Carey | Songs by Mariah Carey | Safe | 0.00% |
| Week 6 | "Yellow" | Coldplay | Best of British | Safe | 31.30% |
| Week 7 | "Patience" | Take That | Songs by Take That | Safe | 18.94% |
| Week 8 | "I'm Not A Girl" | Britney Spears | Songs by Britney Spears | Safe | 16.32% |
| "Everybody Hurts" | R.E.M. | American Classics | |||
| Week 9 | "Girlfriend" | Avril Lavigne | Mentor's Choice | Eliminated | 12.79% |
| "White Flag" | Dido | Contestant's choice | |||
| Final Performance | "White Flag" | Dido | Contestant's choice | Fourth Place |
Post X Factor
Diana performed at the X Factor Live tour, in which she sang two of her X Factor Songs: Patience, by Take That and Call Me by Blondie. On the 14th March 2009 whilst performing in the Birmingham LG Arena, Vickers' performance of Call Me was interrupted by Ant and Dec for their show Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.[9]
Vickers performed at Hamilton Park Racecourse on Saturday 11 July 2009 alongside JLS and Ruth Lorenzo where she sang Dido's 'White Flag', U2's 'With or Without You', Michael Jackson's 'Man in the Mirror' and Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' all of which she had performed previously during her time on the X Factor. Furthermore, Vickers went on to sing Beyoncé's 'Halo' before performing a duet of Snow Patrol's 'Run' with Ruth Lorenzo.
Fanbase
Diana Vickers continues to have a large fanbase well after the X Factor series has ended and she supported by numerous fan-sites such as diana-vickers.com. Furthermore, Diana updates her fans through the use of social networking websites such as Twitter (twitter.com/diana_music). Currently, Vickers' official Facebook page has over 255,000 fans.[10]
Youtube Success
Vickers' unorthodox style of singing attracted many views on youtube. Her rendition of U2's 'With or Without You' gained roughly 2 Million views before the video's deletion. Currently, Diana's interpretation of the song Hallelujah during the bootcamp stage of the X Factor is ever-increasing in views; the view-count of one of these videos stands currently at just over 830, 000 views.[11]
Album Work
It was originally announced that Vickers would be signed up by Sony BMG under the Syco label but this plan was later dropped.[12] Vickers has since been signed to the RCA label and[13] whilst being interviewed at the premiere of 17 Again, Diana confirmed that she had begun work on her debut album. Vickers commented that it wouldn't be rushed and that it would be "Diana style". Vickers has been working with Nerina Pallot[14] and former X Factor contestant, Ruth Lorenzo as well as Patrick Wolf[15] and Dev Hynes, aka Lightspeed Champion[16]. They have been asked to pen tracks, and Guy Sigsworth is set to produce the album.[17] Diana's debut album is expected to be released in early 2010[18]. The album is now listed as a forthcoming release on the HMV website[19] and is also available for pre-order on play.com[20].
A song titled "Jumping Into Rivers" from Vickers' debut album was leaked in July 2009 and quickly became available for listening to on YouTube[21]. In response to the song's rapid spread on Youtube, Vickers posted a comment on her Facebook page where she said that ' It was one of the first songs [she] ever wrote for [her] album' . Additionally, Vickers went on to say that the song was never going to be released as a single.[22]
West End Debut
Vickers is due to make her professional acting debut in the title role of a new West End production of Jim Cartwright's The Rise and Fall of Little Voice in the autumn of 2009.[23]
The producer of the play, Nica Burns, commented that 'There was no question of reviving this fabulous play in the West End until we had found our Little Voice. When Jim Cartwright, who originally wrote The Rise and Fall of Little Voice for Jane Horrocks, told me he had found the perfect girl – and then dragged me off to Wembley to see Diana Vickers perform as part of the X Factor tour, I thought he’d gone mad! But when I saw Diana I knew immediately he was right; she has a special quality. When she finally agreed – after much persuasion – to come in and read for us, we found out that not only can she sing but she was an intuitive actress as well.' [24]
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak Chart Positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | IRE | EU | |||
| 2008 | "Hero" (with The X Factor Finalists) |
1 | 1 | 8 | Charity Single |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | BRIT Awards 2009 | Best British Single | "Hero" (With The X Factor finalists) | Nominated | [25] |
External links
References
- ^ http://www.diana-vickers.com
- ^ http://xfactor.itv.com/stories/story-detail/item_100212.htm
- ^ http://www.diana-vickers.com/bio
- ^ http://xfactor.itv.com/stories/story-detail/item_100212.htm
- ^ http://www.myparkmag.co.uk/articles/television/x-factor/diana-vickers-x-scandal.html
- ^ http://entertainment.uk.msn.com/tv/realitytv/x-factor/article.aspx?cp-documentid=11157483
- ^ http://www.unrealitytv.co.uk/x-factor/diana-vickers-leaves-x-factor-eoghan-quigg-rushes-onto-stage/
- ^ http://xfactor.itv.com/stories/story-detail/item_100567.htm
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB6e4IfixOw
- ^ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Diana-Vickers/27637789620?ref=ts
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GC2jFym4eg
- ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1094768/The-Cash-Factor-Dont-fooled-real-winner-Simon-Cowell.html
- ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/a145009/vickers-quigg-sign-to-rca.html
- ^ http://www.nme.com/news/lightspeed-champion/46166
- ^ http://angryape.com/news/diana-vickers-working-with-patrick-wolf
- ^ http://www.nme.com/news/lightspeed-champion/46166
- ^ http://angryape.com/news/diana-vickers-working-with-patrick-wolf
- ^ http://broadwayworld.com/article/X_Factors_Diana_Vickers_to_Star_in_WestEnd_Revival_of_Jim_Cartwrights_THE_RISE_AND_FALL_OF_LITTLE_VOICE_20090709
- ^ http://hmv.com/hmvweb/simpleSearch.do?searchUID=&pGroupID=-1&adultFlag=false&primaryID=-1&simpleSearchString=diana+vickers&btnSubmitSearch.x=0&btnSubmitSearch.y=0
- ^ http://www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/9541077/New-Album-TBA/Product.html
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V43WTBQa0jE
- ^ http://www.facebook.com/DianaVickers#/pages/Diana-Vickers/27637789620?v=feed&story_fbid=107521450215
- ^ http://broadwayworld.com/article/X_Factors_Diana_Vickers_to_Star_in_WestEnd_Revival_of_Jim_Cartwrights_THE_RISE_AND_FALL_OF_LITTLE_VOICE_20090709 http://uk.tv.yahoo.com/09072009/19/diana-vickers-wins-west-end-role.html http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/a164394/diana-vickers-lands-role-in-west-end-musical.html http://entertainment.uk.msn.com/tv/news/Article.aspx?cp-documentid=148461486 http://www.unrealitytv.co.uk/x-factor/diana-vickers-lands-west-end-role-the-rise-and-fall-of-little-voice/ http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20090709/ten-diana-vickers-wins-west-end-role-5a7c575_1.html http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/4484963.East_Lancashire_star_Diana_Vickers_lands_West_End_role/ http://programmes.stv.tv/news-gossip/107919-diana-vickers-lands-lead-role-in-west-end-musical/ http://channelhopping.onthebox.com/2009/07/09/diana-vickers-to-make-west-end-debut/ http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/x_factor/2524787/X-Factor-star-Diana-Vickers-to-star-in-Little-Voice.html http://entertainment.aol.co.uk/tv/diana-vickers-little-voice/article/20090709073846282462897 http://www.myparkmag.co.uk/articles/television/x-factor/diana-vickers-little-voice-.html http://www.malextra.com/tv/Diana+Vicker-55017.html http://www.bollyfirst.com/tv/Diana+Vicker-55017.html http://www.londontheatre.co.uk/londontheatre/news/jl09/riseandfalloflittlevoice333139.htm http://www.whatsonstage.com/index.php?pg=207&story=E8831247163001&title=X+Factor%92s+Vickers+Stars+in+Little+Voice+Revival&ref=D http://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities-news-in-pics/09-07-2009/51915/ http://news.uk.msn.com/entertainment/article.aspx?cp-documentid=148461293&imageindex=6
- ^ http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Theatre-Review/the-rise-and-fall-of-little-voice-diana-vickers-stars
- ^ "BRIT Award Nominees". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2009-06-04.