Diana Vickers

Diana Vickers (born 30 July 1991) is an English singer, songwriter and actress.

She was semi-finalist on The X Factor in 2008.

Vickers signed a record deal with RCA Records and, after touring with her fellow finalists from The X Factor, played the title role in a West End revival of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice.

In 2008 Vickers auditioned for the fifth series of The X Factor, singing "The Blower's Daughter" by Damien Rice, after which Louis Walsh commented that she resembled a "little hippie".

Vickers was selected for the live shows and was mentored by Cheryl Cole in the girls' category alongside Alexandra Burke and Laura White.

Vickers' live show performances attracted both praise and criticism.

While on the show, she often performed with bare feet.

Vickers additionally gained attention for her hand gestures on stage coining the nickname "The Claw".

On her first live show, Vickers sang U2's "With or Without You" and in her second live show Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror", for which she received praise from Dannii Minogue, describing it as "box fresh", with Simon Cowell remarking she was "the one to beat".

The following week Vickers performed Charlie Chaplin's "Smile" and in week four Blondie's "Call Me", which again received praise from the judges.

In week five of the live show stages, Vickers did not perform due to a bout of laryngitis.

She had wanted to perform the Mariah Carey song "Always Be My Baby", but her doctor advised her not to, saying Vickers could do permanent damage to her vocal cords.

This was the first time on the show that the producers had excused any act from performing.

In week six, Vickers returned to the programme performing Coldplay's "Yellow", which received a negative reaction from the judges; Dannii Minogue commented that she didn’t "love the song choice", while Cowell suggested Vickers was still not well enough to perform.

In week seven, Vickers performed Take That's "Patience" commenting that she now felt 100%.

In the semi-final of the competition, Vickers performed Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" as her first song and received positive comments from the judges, including Cheryl Cole's comment that "she had got that sparkle back".

Vickers followed this with Dido's "White Flag" but was voted out of the competition.

She performed a reprise of "White Flag", where her fellow singers joined her on stage in a memorably emotional moment.

She became the ninth contestant eliminated overall.

Following the end of the series, she went on tour with the rest of the top eight contestants on The X Factor Live tour between February and March 2009.

Vickers signed to Sony Music's RCA Records.

She began work on her debut album in January 2009, commenting that it would not be rushed and that it would be "Diana style".

She worked with Cathy Dennis, Eg White, Nerina Pallot, Ellie Goulding, Guy Sigsworth, Chris Braide, Savan Kotecha, Starsmith, Patrick Wolf, and Dev Hynes.

Vickers' 2010 debut single, "Once", charted at number one on the UK Singles Chart and her debut album, Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree, achieved number one status on the UK Albums Chart.

Her follow-up singles, "The Boy Who Murdered Love" and "My Wicked Heart", reached the top 40 and top 20 respectively.

In March 2010, Vickers' first leg of the Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree Tour took place,

followed by a second leg in May 2010 to coincide with the release of her debut album, Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree, which charted at number one on the UK Albums Chart.

Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree has since been certified gold by the BPI for sales of 100,000 copies.

Vickers' debut single, "Once", was written by Cathy Dennis and Eg White and produced by Mike Spencer.

The track was released in the United Kingdom in April 2010 and playlisted on Radio 1, where Vickers performed an acoustic version of "Once" and a cover of Snow Patrol's "Just Say Yes" for the Live Lounge.

"Once" entered the UK Singles Chart at number one.

"The Boy Who Murdered Love", written and produced by Chris Braide (with lyric contribution from Vickers), was released as the second single and charted at number 36 in the UK.

During mid 2010, Vickers performed at numerous music festivals such as the Freedom Festival, iTunes Festival, Oxygen Festival, Radio 1's Big Weekend, Summer Sundae, T in the Park, T4 on the Beach, and V Festival.

Vickers also supported Mika at the Eden Sessions in June 2010.

Vickers unveiled her debut fashion line in 2011, and her boho-chic approach to fashion has received praise from British fashion media.

Vickers' second album, Music to Make Boys Cry, followed in 2013, accompanied by the singles "Cinderella", "Music to Make Boys Cry", and "Mad at Me".

She made her film debut in "The Perfect Wave" and her television acting debut in the comedy series Give Out Girls, both of which premiered in 2014.

Vickers was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, England.

She studied for A Levels in Theatre Studies, Classics and Psychology at Westholme School in Blackburn.

Vickers has been singing since the age of 11, taking singing lessons and participating in local competitions, but did not sing professionally before adulthood.