Ella Henderson | |
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_By_Daniel_%25C3%2585hs_Karlsson_(cropped).jpg) Henderson in 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Gabriella Michelle Henderson (1996-01-12)12 January 1996 (age 29) |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2012–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | ellahenderson |
Gabriella Michelle "Ella" Henderson (born 12 January 1996), is an English singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence after competing in theninth series ofThe X Factor UK in 2012 finishing in sixth place. She signed withSyco Music shortly after, and released her debut studio album,Chapter One (2014), which reached number one in the UK. The album spawned the chart-topping single "Ghost", as well as the top 20 singles "Glow" and "Yours". She went on a four-year hiatus in 2015, and released her second studio album,Everything I Didn't Say, in 2022. It became her second top 10 album in the UK.
In addition to solo material, Henderson recorded a string of successful collaborations, including the UK top 10 singles: "Glitterball" withSigma, "This Is Real" withJax Jones, "Let's Go Home Together" withTom Grennan, "Crazy What Love Can Do" withDavid Guetta andBecky Hill, "21 Reasons" withNathan Dawe, "React" withSwitch Disco, "0800 Heaven" with Dawe andJoel Corry, and "Alibi" withRudimental. She has received theBrit Billion Award, and nominations for fourBrit Awards and anIvor Novello Award.
Henderson was born on 12 January 1996,[1][2] the daughter of Michelle and Sean Henderson.[3] She has two brothers and a sister.[4]
She began singing when she was around three years old and taught herself to play the piano a few years later. She put on Christmas shows for her family and was encouraged to pursue her love of music and songwriting by her paternal grandfather.[5] Her interest developed further at St Martins Prep School inGrimsby, and she subsequently decided to audition for a scholarship place atTring Park School for the Performing Arts inTring.[3] She boarded at the school between the ages of 11 and 16. She attended the school at the same time asDan Ferrari-Lane, who later became a member of the boybandDistrict3 which appeared onThe X Factor alongside Henderson in 2012.[6] In 2011, she made a singing appearance on a celebrity Christmas special of theChannel 4 seriesCome Dine with Me, where she performed "All I Want for Christmas Is You".[7]
Henderson auditioned forseries nine ofThe X Factor in 2012, with the original song called "Missed", which was later included on her debut studio album. She reached the live shows and was mentored byTulisa. Henderson andJames Arthur were controversially in the bottom two in week seven and sang for survival. Tulisa andLouis Walsh voted to send Henderson through to the quarter-final andNicole Scherzinger andGary Barlow voted to send Arthur through to the quarter-final. The result went to deadlock and Arthur advanced to the quarter-final receiving 13.7% of the vote and Henderson received 12.1%.[8] She consequently was the eighth contestant eliminated, despite being a strong favourite to win.[9]
PresenterDermot O'Leary described Henderson's exit as "one of the biggest shocks we've ever had on the results show".[10] During the show and following her exit, a number of celebrities stated their support and praise for Henderson, includingAdele,Lily Allen,Cher,Simon Cowell,Stephen Fry,Nick Grimshaw,Sarah Millican, andChloë Grace Moretz.[11][12] On a 2013 episode ofThe Xtra Factor, O'Leary said that he viewed Henderson as the most talented performer he had seen during his seven years on the show.[13]
| Episode | Theme | Song | Original Artist | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Audition | Free Choice | "Missed"[A] | Ella Henderson | Advanced To Bootcamp |
| Second Audition | Free Choice | "Midnight Train to Georgia"[B] | Gladys Knight & the Pips | Advanced To Bootcamp |
| Bootcamp | Solo Performance | "Believe" | Cher | Advanced To Judges' Houses |
| Judges' Houses | Free Choice | "I Won't Give Up" | Jason Mraz | Advanced To The Live Shows |
| Live Show 1 | Heroes | "Rule the World" | Take That | Safe (3rd) – 13.1% |
| Live Show 2 | Love And Heartbreak | "Loving You" | Minnie Riperton | Safe (4th) – 9.5% |
| Live Show 3 | Club Classics | "You Got the Love" | Candi Staton | Safe (3rd) – 10.2% |
| Live Show 4 | Halloween | "Bring Me to Life" | Evanescence | Safe (6th) – 8.2% |
| Live Show 5 | Number-Ones | "Firework" | Katy Perry | Safe (5th) – 8.8% |
| Live Show 6 | Best Of British | "Written in the Stars" | Tinie Tempah | Safe (4th) – 13.0% |
| Live Show 7 | Guilty Pleasures | "You're the One That I Want" | Olivia Newton-John &John Travolta | Bottom Two (6th) – 12.1% |
| Final Showdown | "If You're Not the One" | Daniel Bedingfield | Eliminated (Deadlock) |
_By_Daniel_%25C3%2585hs_Karlsson_(cropped).jpg)
In December 2012, Henderson made an appearance on Ireland'sRTÉThe Saturday Night Show, singing "Silent Night".[16] While being interviewed on the show, she revealed that she had signed a record deal withSony Music Entertainment.[17] She also performed "Last Christmas" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" on theMyleene KlassHeart FM show that month.[18] In January 2013, Henderson confirmed she had signed toSimon Cowell's record labelSyco Music.[19] During January and February 2013, she took part inThe X Factor live tour, where she sang four songs: herX Factor audition song "Missed", "Believe", "Rule the World" and "You Got the Love". She also performed "Believe" at the18th National Television Awards in January,[20] and appeared as a special guest at the CapitalSummertime Ball in June, where she performed a duet of "Beneath Your Beautiful" withLabrinth.[21]
Henderson's debut single, "Ghost", co-written withRyan Tedder, was released on 8 June 2014.[22][23] It debuted at number one on theUK Singles Chart,[3] and remained in the top five of the chart for eight consecutive weeks.[24] It has subsequently been certified platinum for sales in Australia,[25] New Zealand,[26] the United Kingdom,[27] and the United States.[28] The song later ranked at number 84 on theOfficial Charts Company list of the 100 biggest songs of the 2010s in the UK.[29] Its follow-up, "Glow", was released on 5 October 2014 and charted at number seven in the UK.[30][31] Henderson's debut studio album,Chapter One, was released on 13 October 2014.[30][32] It was written by Henderson in collaboration with a number of writers and producers includingClaude Kelly,Salaam Remi,Babyface andTMS.[33] The album peaked at number one on theUK Albums Chart, and was the 19th and 31st best-selling album in the UK in 2014 and 2015, respectively.[34][35] It was certified platinum by theBritish Phonographic Industry (BPI).[36] The album also charted in the top 20 in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, and the United States.[37] Its third and fourth singles, "Yours" and "Mirror Man", were released on 30 November 2014 and 9 March 2015, respectively.[38] The former charted at number 16 in the UK.[31]
Henderson performed as the supporting act forTake That on their 38 dateTake That Live 2015 UK tour,[39] while embarking on her debut headlining UK tour in October and November 2015.[40][41] That July, she featured ondrum and bass duoSigma's single "Glitterball", which peaked at number four in the UK.[31] Henderson also featured on Norwegian record producer and DJKygo's song "Here for You", which was released on 4 September.[42] The collaboration achieved global-wide chart success peaking within the top 20 in the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.[31][43]
In November 2016, Henderson announced that she had finished recording her second studio album, having worked withDanny O'Donoghue fromThe Script and producerMax Martin. In April 2017, it was announced that she would be supporting James Arthur on hisBack from the Edge Tour. In June, she featured along with other artists, including fellowX Factor artistsLeona Lewis,Louis Tomlinson,Liam Payne, James Arthur,Louisa Johnson andMatt Terry on a cover version ofSimon & Garfunkel's song "Bridge over Troubled Water", which was recorded to raise money for those affected by theGrenfell Tower fire in London earlier that month. The single reached number one in the UK after only two days sales. Later that year, it was announced that Arthur had recorded a duet with Henderson, reportedly set to be included on her second studio album. While supporting him on his tour, she performed new songs that were set to be included on the record: "Ugly", "Cry Like a Woman", "Bones", "Solid Gold" and "Let's Go Home Together", her duet with Arthur.
In February 2018, it was announced that Henderson and Syco Music had parted ways. In a statement, a Syco representative stated: "Syco and Ella Henderson are parting company. We wish Ella all the best for the future and thank her for her hugely successful contribution over the years."[44] In May 2018, Henderson confirmed that she had completed work on her second studio album. Later that year, she signed a record deal withAsylum Records' imprint Major Toms operated by the British groupRudimental, and was working on new material with them, presumably meaning that the previously confirmed album was scrapped. She also supported Rudimental on their European tour that year.[45][46] Regarding the scrapped material, Henderson later toldi: "I did write an album – well, I say an album, I wrote a body of work. But I was so lost in terms of who I was as a person that I wasn't ready to release it. I knew that if I didn't know what was going on, my fans wouldn't either."[47]
On 13 September 2019, Henderson released "Glorious" as the lead single from her EP of the same name, which was released on 8 November.[48] Its second single, "Young", was released on 11 October. Henderson also featured onJax Jones' song "This Is Real", from his debut albumSnacks (Supersize), which was released as a single on 11 October,[49] and onSigala's single "We Got Love", which was released on 1 November. Both tracks charted in the UK, peaking at numbers 9 and 42, respectively.[31]
Henderson featured on Dutch DJSam Feldt's song "Hold Me Close" released on 27 March 2020.[50] She followed it with the single "Take Care of You" on 12 June,[51] which reached number 50 in the UK.[31] In July, she provided uncredited vocals for a UK top five single she had co-written titled "Lighter" by British DJ and producerNathan Dawe, featuring British YouTuber and rapperKSI.[52][53] Henderson released the single "Dream On Me" withRoger Sanchez on 2 October 2020,[54] and a Christmas song "Blame It on the Mistletoe" withAJ Mitchell on 4 December.[55]
On 19 February 2021, she released her collaboration withTom Grennan titled "Let's Go Home Together", which debuted at number 28 in the UK and peaked at 10 becoming Henderson's fifth UK top 10 single.[31][47] The song was originally a duet between Henderson and James Arthur, and they performed it together live on Arthur's 2017 arena tour, but due to a scheduling conflict Henderson recorded its single version with Grennan instead.[56] On 20 August 2021, Henderson released the single "Risk It All" with House Gospel Choir andJust Kiddin, followed by a collaboration with the French DJ duoOfenbach titled "Hurricane" the next month.[57]
On 7 January 2022, she released the single "Brave", which preceded her second studio album,Everything I Didn't Say, released on 11 March 2022.[58] "Brave" reached number 42 in the UK, whileEverything I Didn't Say debuted at number eight.[31] In April, she collaborated withDavid Guetta andBecky Hill on the song "Crazy What Love Can Do". The single charted in several countries, including the UK where it debuted in the top 20 and peaked at number five.[31] In April 2022, Nathan Dawe released a second collaboration with Henderson titled "21 Reasons", which reached number nine in the UK.[31][59] In August 2022, Henderson featured on a duet version ofCian Ducrot's song "All for You".[60] In September, she collaborated with British-German DJ duoM-22 on the song "Heartstrings".[61]
Later in 2022, Henderson performed at a number of UKPride events, and was booked at UK Music andTikTok showcases at theLabour Party Conference andConservative Party Conference.[62] The Labour conference performance was subsequently cancelled due to reported illness. Henderson's appearance at the Conservative conference attracted criticism from theLGBT Community, as some felt it was incompatible with performing at Pride Events.[63] The UK Music Industry released a statement pointing out that the events were held as part of the political party conferences to highlight the importance of the UK music industry and were not an indication of political affiliation.[62] Neither Henderson or her management team quoted the UK Music Industry statement or commented on the controversy.
In January 2023, Henderson collaborated withSwitch Disco on the song "React", which became her eighth UK top-ten single, peaking at number four on the UK Singles Chart.[64] The song heavily samplesRobert Miles' 1995 single "Children".[65] Henderson next featured onFrank Walker's single "I Go Dancing".[66] In March, she released her collaboration with DJRegard titled "No Sleep",[67] shortly followed by the song "Like I Used To" withSonny Fodera andPaul Woolford in April.[68] In June, she released "0800 Heaven" with Nathan Dawe andJoel Corry,[69] which reached number nine in the UK.[31] In August, she featured on Glockenbach's single "Lifeline".[70]
On 27 October 2023, Henderson released her second Christmas song with Irish singer-songwriterCian Ducrot called "Rest of Our Days".
In January 2024, Henderson started teasing an upcoming song titled "Alibi" on herTikTok.[71] On 10 January 2024, Henderson announced that the song would be released on 12 January 2024 and features UKdrum and bass bandRudimental. On 8 March 2024, Henderson released the song "Mamma You Were Right". On 5 April 2024, Henderson teamed up withNatasha Bedingfield to remix "Alibi".[72][73] On 31 May 2024, Henderson released the song "Under The Sun" with Switch Disco andAlok. On 17 September 2024, Henderson announced the song "Filthy Rich" as the lead single from her upcoming third studio album. The song was released on 4 October 2024. "One Door Closes", a collaboration withBreland, was released on 21 March 2025.[74] On 8 May 2025, Henderson released her third single "Me & You".
Henderson has been in a relationship with English retired swimmerJack Burnell since early 2020.[75] They became engaged in January 2023.
In July 2025, she revealed herendometriosis diagnosis.[76]
| Award | Year | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attitude Awards | 2014 | Best Breakthrough Artist | Won | [78] |
| BBC Music Awards | 2014 | Song of the Year: "Ghost" | Nominated | [79] |
| BBC Radio 1's Teen Awards | 2014 | Best British Solo Artist | Nominated | [80] |
| Friday Download's Best Breakthrough Award | Nominated | |||
| Best British Single: "Ghost" | Nominated | |||
| Brit Awards | 2015 | Best British Female Solo Artist | Nominated | [81] |
| Best British Single: "Ghost" | Nominated | |||
| 2024 | Song of the Year: "React" | Nominated | [82] | |
| 2025 | Song of the Year: "Alibi" | Nominated | [83] | |
| Brit Billion Award | 2023 | — | Won | [84] |
| Cosmopolitan Ultimate Women of the Year Awards | 2014 | Ultimate UK Music Artist | Won | [85] |
| Digital Spy Reader Awards | 2014 | Best Song: "Ghost" | Second | [86] |
| Best Album:Chapter One | Fourth | |||
| Best Female Solo Artist | Second | |||
| Electronic Dance Music Awards | 2023 | Music Video of the Year: "Crazy What Love Can Do" | Nominated | [87] |
| Best Use of Sample: "21 Reasons" | Nominated | |||
| 2024 | Vocalist of the Year | Nominated | [88] | |
| Best Collaboration: "0800 Heaven" | Nominated | |||
| Dance / Electro Pop Song of the Year: "No Sleep" | Nominated | |||
| Dance / Electro Pop Song of the Year: "I Go Dancing" | Won | [89] | ||
| Ivor Novello Awards | 2022 | Best Song Musically and Lyrically: "Let's Go Home Together" | Nominated | [90] |
| Official Top 10 Award | 2024 | — | Won | [91] |
| Popjustice £20 Music Prize | 2020 | Best British Pop Single: "Take Care of You" | Nominated | [92] |
| VH1 Artist of the Year | 2015 | — | Nominated | [93] |
| International | |
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| National | |
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