Stephen Desmond Brookstein^[1] (born 10 November 1968) is an English singer, who is best known for winning thefirst series ofThe X Factor in 2004.^[2]

Brookstein was born in Dulwich, London, England, the son of Malle, a council worker, and Errol Brookstein, a lorry driver.^[3][4] His father is South African and his mother is of Estonian descent. In 1997, seven years before his breakthrough onThe X Factor, Brookstein was a finalist on theITV seriesThe Big Big Talent Show, hosted byJonathan Ross.^[5]

In early 2004, Brookstein auditioned forthe first series ofThe X Factor, a talent series aiming to discover new recording artists in the UK. His audition failed to impress two of the judges,Sharon Osbourne andLouis Walsh, who thought he lacked the motivation and confidence to succeed but the third,Simon Cowell, asked Brookstein to return the following day and sing again. At the second audition, Brookstein managed to impress the other judges and was put through to the next stage of the competition. He reached the live shows, where contestants are put to the public vote, as one of three contestants in the Over 25s category mentored by Cowell. He reached the grand final on 11 December 2004 alongsideG4 and won, despite him mixing up words and lines in his winner's song and a controversial outburst against him from Osbourne.^[2] However, according to Osbourne's subsequent autobiography, he had gained the most votes in every single one of the live shows. For five years, he held the record for the largest number of votes ever received in the final - 6 million, but this is now held by series 6 winnerJoe McElderry, who received over 6.1 million votes.^[6]

After winningThe X Factor, Brookstein was signed to theSony BMG record label through which he released his first single, a cover ofPhil Collins' 1984power ballad "Against All Odds", on 20 December 2004. The song debuted on theUK Singles Chart at number two and then climbed tonumber one on 2 January 2005,^[7] going one better than Collins' original and staying there for one week. In Ireland, the song peaked at number 11. The music video for the song was a montage of clips from his time onThe X Factor, from his initial audition to his final performance after being declared the winner.

Brookstein released his debut albumHeart and Soul on 9 May 2005 through Sony BMG. Although Brookstein continued to perform tracks from the album on television shows such asCD:UK, a second single failed to materialise. In August 2005, it was announced that Sony BMG had dropped him from their line-up only eight months after hisX Factor victory and despite the success of his debut single and album. Brookstein maintains that the decision to drop him reportedly came after he was offered a second album and to come back on the show, which he declined as it was to be another album of covers and he preferred a mix of old and new.^[8] In August 2005, eight months after being dropped from his record label,^[9] Brookstein publicly attackedThe X Factor, claiming the show was "one big theatre... turning music into theWWE" and that it was "killing music".^[10] Brookstein has publicly feuded withSimon Cowell andThe X Factor, claiming "there is absolutely no way he would want me within 100 miles of him"^[11] and admitting spending years feeling bitter about the way he was treated on the show.^[12]

Although Brookstein enjoyed fleeting success with both his debut album and single both reaching number one – "Heart and Soul" and"Against All Odds" respectively – he was dropped by Cowell's management after the latter was accused of refusing Brookstein creative freedom.^[13]

In June 2007, Brookstein appeared on theP&OPortsmouth toBilbao car ferry, alongsideThe X Factor series 2 alumniChico Slimani andJourney South.^{[citation needed]} In 2008, he played 'the father' in a touring production of the musicalOur House.^[14]

In December 2009, when aFacebook campaign was launched to stopThe X Factor's winner from achieving the coveted Christmas number 1 spot, Brookstein backed the campaign to seeRage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name" reach the top of the chart,^[15] targeting Cowell in an online rant.^[16] He further attacked Cowell, claiming the latter "ruined Christmas" and that he was dropped from his record label because he "wouldn't play the game".^[17] Brookstein also claimed the show was staged and the winner was fixed, and was subsequently removed from the officialThe X Factor website following those comments.^[18] Despite Brookstein's bitterness towardsThe X Factor, he signed up to critique the show weekly onLondon 24 in 2010,^[19] where he labelled the judges "ridiculous" and questioned the standards of several of the finalists,^[20] includingOne Direction band memberLouis Tomlinson, and the vocal coach.^[21]

In 2013, Brookstein announced that his new album would be calledForgotten Man and would be released on 23 March 2014.^[22]

Brookstein released a book on 21 November 2014,^[23]Getting over the X,^[24] that describes his journey from winningThe X Factor to having the press and industry turn their backs on him.^[25]

Since 2014, Brookstein has occasionally performed live including at Bowdonbury Festival in 2023^[26] and in Morpeth in 2024.^[27]

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

• 1968 births
• Living people
• English male singers
• People from Dulwich
• Singers from the London Borough of Southwark
• The X Factor (British TV series) winners
• English people of South African descent
• English people of Jewish descent
• English people of Estonian descent
• British anti-Zionists

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