Steve Brookstein

Steve Brookstein

Steven "Steve" Desmond Brookstein (born 10 November 1968) is a British jazz and soul singer, who rose to fame in the United Kingdom after becoming the winner of the first series of The X Factor in 2004.

Biography

The X Factor 2004

In early 2004, Brookstein auditioned for the first series of The X Factor , a new television talent show that aimed to discover a star recording artist in the UK. His audition failed to impress two of the judges, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh, but the third, Simon Cowell asked Brookstein to return the next day and sing again. This time Brookstein managed to impress the other judges and was put through to the next stage of the competition. when he reached the televised finals, Brookstein and the other two contestants in his category (25 years old and over) were mentored by Simon Cowell. He managed to make it to the grand final alongside G4, having never been in the bottom two throughout the entire contest. On 11 December 2004, he was announced as the winner of The X-Factor with two-thirds of the viewers' votes.

X-Factor Performances

• Top 9: "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge
• Top 8: "If You Don't Know Me By Now" by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes
• Top 7: "Smile" by Charlie Chaplin
• Top 6: "Help Me Make It Through The Night" by Gladys Knight & the Pips
• Top 5: "Let's Stay Together"" by Al Green
• Top 4: "I Get the Sweetest Feeling" by Jackie Wilson
• Top 4: "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time" by R. Kelly
• Top 3: "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?" by Van Morrison
• Top 3: "Greatest Love of All" by Whitney Houston
• Top 2: "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" by Jackie Wilson
• Top 2: "Smile" by Charlie Chaplin
• Top 2: "Against All Odds" by Phil Collins - Declared 1st X-Factor Winner

Post X-Factor Career

2004-2005: Heart and Soul

After winning The X-Factor, Steve was immediately signed to the Sony BMG record label through which he released his first single, a cover of "Against All Odds" on December 20 2004. The song debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number-two and then rose to number-one on January 8 2005, and stayed there for one week. The music video for the song was a montage of clips from his time on The X-Factor, from his initial audition to his final performance after being declared the winner.

Brookstein released his debut album Heart and Soul on May 9 2005 through Sony BMG, five months after his first single reached number one. The album was an immediate success, also debuting on the UK charts at number-one and going on to sell approximately 250,000 copies. Although Brookstein continued to perform tracks from his album on shows such as CD:UK, a second single failed to materialise. In August 2005 it was announced that Sony BMG had dropped Steve from their line-up only eight months after he won The X-Factor and despite the success of his debut single and album. The decision to drop him reportedly came after Steve refused to record a second album of covers, instead arguing that his next release should be made up of original, self-penned songs. By November 2005, he was once again singing in pubs.

2006: 40,000 Things

After being dropped by Sony BMG, Brookstein spent the next year writing his own material and forming his own record label. On October 2 2006, he released his second single (and first from his upcoming album) "Fighting Butterflies" independently. Although accompanied and promoted by a music video and a success with critics, the song failed to crack the UK Top 75, peaking at #193. Undetered, Brookstein released his sophomore album 40,000 Things on October 9 2006. However, the album also failed commercially, peaking at number #165, despite that fact that it too was a critical success.

From September to November 2006, Brookstein embarked on a nationwide tour of small venues in order to promote his new album. Many of the shows were sold out, but several had to be cancelled due to low ticket sales. In June 2007, Brookstein appeared as a cabaret act on the P&O Portsmouth to Bilbao ferry, alongside series 2 X-Factor alumni Chico Slimani and Journey South.. In October 2007, Brookstein recorded and contributed the track "Head Over Heels" for Ian Levine's Disco 2008 album. He is currently writing more of his own material and is set to embark on his new Great American Soul Book tour in September 2007, with dates and venues to be announced.

Discography

Albums

Statistics	Singles
Heart and Soul Released: May 9 2005 Peak chart positions: #1 U.K U.K. sales: 250,000 BPI certification: Gold	"Against All Odds"
40,000 Things Released: October 2006 Peak chart positions: #165 U.K U.K. sales: 30,000+ BPI certification: N/A	"Fighting Butterflies"

Singles

Year	Song	UK	Album
2004	"Against All Odds"	1	Heart and Soul
2006	"Fighting Butterflies"	193	40,000 Things

Tours

• The X Factor Live! Tour 2005
• 40,000 Things Tour 2006
• The Great American Soul Book Tour 2007

TV appearances

Steve Brookstein appeared on GMTV, CD:UK, Top of The Pops, The Paul O'Grady Show, This Morning, The Frank Skinner Show and has always performed live. He also appeared on The Match, where he was joined by Big Brother 6 winner Anthony Hutton and Philip Olivier from Brookside, ex cricketer Phil Tufnell, and Patrick McGuinness ("Paddy" from 'Phoenix Nights'). He survived a few matches but was eventually put on the bench with two other celebrities and voted off. Steve has also appeared on 'The Wright Stuff' and 'Loose Women'.

External links

• Official website