Amelia Lily Oliver (born 16 October 1994) is an English singer and television personality. In 2011, she became a finalist on the eighth series of The X Factor, where she finished in third place. In 2017, she finished as runner-up on the twentieth series of Celebrity Big Brother. In 2020, she began appearing in the MTV reality series Geordie Shore.
Amelia Lily | |
|---|---|
 Lily performing in 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Amelia Lily Oliver |
| Born | 16 October 1994 Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough, England |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | amelialily |
Following The X Factor, Lily signed a record deal with Sony, and released a single titled "You Bring Me Joy". The single peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, and number 21 in the Republic of Ireland. Lily's follow up single, "Shut Up (And Give Me Whatever You Got)", charted at 11 on the UK Singles Chart. Lily's third single, "Party Over", peaked within the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart.[1] In 2015, Lily joined the cast of American Idiot, in the lead role of Whatsername.
Early life
editThe daughter of Aranka Bradley and Barry Horowitz, Amelia Lily Oliver was born in Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough on 16 October 1994. She was educated at Chandlers Ridge Primary School and Teesside High School. Lily began her musical career as a secondary school pupil by posting videos of herself singing on YouTube.[2] Her cover of Adele's "Someone Like You" garnered over 1 million views.[3] From the age of 13, she began writing songs with her guitar, and aspired to be a country singer.[4] She was also a figure skater for 6 years during her childhood.[4] She was also working on the tills at a garden centre in Nunthorpe. In a Sugarscape interview in August 2012, she revealed that she wanted to be a nun when she was younger.[5]
Career
editIn 2011, Lily auditioned for the eighth series of The X Factor in Liverpool in front of judges Louis Walsh, Gary Barlow, Kelly Rowland and Tulisa. She sang Erma Franklin's "Piece of My Heart" and won praise from all four judges. Barlow said, "...oh my goodness, 16 years old that was incredible. That absolutely lifted the top of this arena, well done. Amazing vocals. Amelia I am blown away..."[6]
She progressed through to bootcamp and then to judges' houses, where she sang "E.T." by Katy Perry in front of Rowland and guest judge Jennifer Hudson. Lily made it to the live shows in Rowland's Girls category (solo females aged 16–24), alongside Misha B, Janet Devlin and Sophie Habibis. She performed "Billie Jean" on the first live show (Britain vs America). The judges loved her performance with Walsh saying, "Amelia, you deserve to be on that stage"; Barlow also gave her thumbs-up, commenting, "That was a really great opening to the show", but she was the first of Kelly's four girls to be eliminated from the show on 9 October by her mentor as there was no public vote in the first live show. After her surprise elimination, Lily continued to perform at clubs. Prior to the sixth live show, it was announced that Frankie Cocozza was removed from the show after breaking competition rules and that the public would be given the chance to reinstate one of the four contestants eliminated during the first live show. Lily was voted back into the competition after winning 48.8% of the vote, beating duo 2 Shoes, James Michael and Jonjo Kerr. Her comeback performance of "The Show Must Go On" received critical acclaim from all the judges. She was automatically put through to week 7 by the public vote.
In week 7, she sang "Think" by Aretha Franklin. Despite positive comments from the judges, she was in the bottom two with Craig Colton, and was saved after Barlow and Tulisa voted to send Lily home while Rowland and Walsh voted to send Colton home. The result went to deadlock for the first time in the series. Lily advanced to the quarter-final in week 8 while Colton was sent home. In the quarter-final, Lily again received critical acclaim from the judges for her two performances: "China in Your Hand" and "Since U Been Gone", with Barlow commenting that her first performance was "really nice to hear it sung in tune". She automatically advanced to the semi-final in week 9 by the public vote. In the semi-final, she performed Motown classic "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "I'm with You" to win her place in the final. The next night, she won a place in the show's final at Wembley Arena. Throughout the series, she topped the public vote twice and was in the bottom two only once before reaching the finals, where she sang "Ain't No Other Man" and performed "River Deep – Mountain High" alongside Rowland. She finished the competition in third place.
Performances on The X Factor
edit| Episode | Song | Theme | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audition | "Piece of My Heart" | Free choice | Advanced |
| Bootcamp 1 | "You've Got the Love" (group performance) | Bootcamp challenge | Advanced |
| Bootcamp 2 | "Nobody Knows" | Bootcamp songs | Advanced |
| Judges' houses | "E.T." | Free choice | Advanced |
| "You and I" | Free choice | ||
| Live show 1 | "Billie Jean" | Britain vs America | Axed by Kelly Rowland Eliminated |
| Return vote | N/A | N/A | 1st (48.8%) Reinstated |
| Live show 6 | "The Show Must Go On" | Lady Gaga vs Queen | 1st (27.4%) Safe |
| Live show 7 | "Think" | Movies | 5th (11.3%) Bottom two |
| Results show 7 | "You and I" (final showdown performance) | Save me song | Advanced to the quarter-final via deadlock |
| Quarter-Final | "China in Your Hand" | Guilty pleasures | 1st (23.8%) Safe |
| "Since U Been Gone" | Musical heroes | ||
| Semi-Final | "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" | Motown | 3rd (21.4%) Safe |
| "I'm with You" | Song to get you to the final | ||
| Final | "Ain't No Other Man" | Free choice | 3rd (26.5%) Eliminated |
| "River Deep – Mountain High" (with Kelly Rowland) |
Mentor duet |
After Lily embarked on the X Factor Live Tour 2012 which took place in cities across the UK and Ireland, it was announced that she had signed a £500,000 record deal with Sony subsidiary Xenomania.[7] In September 2012, she released her debut single, "You Bring Me Joy", which reached number one on iTunes following its release,[8] eventually charting at number two in the UK.[9] Her second single, "Shut Up (And Give Me Whatever You Got)", was released in January 2013, peaking at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart. Her third single, "Party Over", was released in April 2013[10] and reached number 40.
Her debut album was planned to be released on 29 April 2013,[11] and was to be titled Be a Fighter. Lily described the album as featuring an eclectic range of genres—"There's a bit of dubstep on there as well which I think will surprise people! The sound is all over the place but I think the record works because we've only included songs that I really connected with."[12] Lily announced in July 2013 that the album's release had been postponed to record new material for it as she wanted it to be "perfect".[13] Be a Fighter appeared on online retailers later in 2013 with a new release date of 4 February 2014, but was subsequently taken down.
Lily was the support act for Girls Aloud's arena tour, Ten: The Hits Tour, participating from 21 February to 20 March 2013.[14] Lily was also the main support act for Olly Murs's gig at the INTRO Festival.[15] She also performed at Allstarz Summer Party at Madejski Stadium in Reading[16] and later Chester Rocks at Chester Racecourse in June 2013, both of which were alongside Jessie J and Lawson.
In July 2014, Lily announced the release of a single titled "California" with Warner Music, due for release 7 September 2014. Lily released the music video for "California" on 25 July 2014. In 2016, a CD featuring the explicit version of "California" appeared online, including two new tracks, "The Best Of Me Yet (Greatest Night)" and "U Get Me".
In November 2014, it was announced that Lily would be replacing Marcus Collins in the UK tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat[17] from February 2015. In May 2015, the London Evening Standard announced that Lily would be taking on the role of Whatsername when Green Day's American Idiot came to London.[18]
In 2017, Lily competed in the twentieth series of Celebrity Big Brother. She left the house on Day 25 as the runner up behind Sarah Harding.[19] Lily returned to the musical theatre stage in the 2017–2018 UK tour of Shrek the Musical in the role of Princess Fiona.[20] In October 2019, it was announced that Lily had joined the cast of the MTV reality series Geordie Shore.[21] In September 2022, Lily started hosting her own podcast called "The Talent Factory: Inside the Music Machine", on BBC Radio One.[22]
Artistry
editLily credits Pink as her major musical influence and idol.[23] She also admires Kelly Clarkson, and cited her as her hero during The X Factor, singing one of her songs in the show's quarter final, "Since U Been Gone".[24]
Personal life
editLily is a Type 1 diabetic, having been diagnosed with the condition aged three.[25] She is the sister of Any Dream Will Do's Lewis Bradley.[26][27] Her father, John Barry Oliver, was the manager of Billingham Town.[28]
Discography
editSingles
editAs lead artist
edit| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [29] |
IRE [30] |
NL [31] |
SCO [32] | ||||||||||||||
| 2012 | "You Bring Me Joy" | 2 | 21 | 67 | 2 | Non-album singles | |||||||||||
| 2013 | "Shut Up (And Give Me Whatever You Got)" | 11 | 63 | — | 8 | ||||||||||||
| "Party Over" | 40 | — | — | 36 | |||||||||||||
| 2014 | "California" | 83 | — | — | 43 | ||||||||||||
| "—" denotes single that did not chart or was not released. | |||||||||||||||||
As featured artist
edit| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [34] |
IRE [35] |
SCO [36] | |||
| 2011 | "Wishing on a Star" (as part of The X Factor Finalists 2011 featuring JLS and One Direction) |
1 | 1 | 1 | Charity single |
References
edit- ^ "AMELIA LILY". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
- ^ "Amelia Lily". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
- ^ "Amelia Lily - X Factor - Adele - Someone Like You". YouTube. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
- ^ a b "Amelia Lily interview". Mark Meets Magazine. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
- ^ "Exclusive Amelia Lily: 'I wanted to be a nun when I was younger'". SugarScape. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
- ^ "Tellymix.co.uk". September 2011.
- ^ "'X Factor' Amelia Lily 'lands three-album record deal'". Digital Spy. 16 February 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
- ^ "Amelia Lily hits number one on iTunes with 'You Bring Me Joy'". Digital Spy. 10 September 2012.
- ^ "The Script beat Amelia Lily to score first UK No.1 single". Digital Spy. 16 September 2012.
- ^ Copsey, Robert (21 February 2013). "Amelia Lily previews new single 'Party Over' - listen". Digital Spy. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
- ^ Corner, Lewis (27 February 2013). "Amelia Lily debuts new single 'Party Over' - listen". Digital Spy. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
- ^ "Amelia Lily: 'New album has dubstep, soul'". Digital Spy. 7 August 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
- ^ Amelia Lily still working on debut album: 'I want it to be perfect' Digital Spy
- ^ Copsey, Robert (19 February 2013). "Amelia Lily to support Girls Aloud UK arena tour". Digital Spy. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
- ^ Pain, Andrew (28 February 2013). "Amelia Lily to support at Olly Murs gig in Middlesbrough". Evening Gazette. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
- ^ Barnes, Becky. "Review: Allstarz Summer Party at Madejski Stadium". Retrieved 25 May 2015.
- ^ "X Factor's Amelia Lily joins Joseph tour as Narrator". WhatsOnStage.com. 10 February 2015.
- ^ "X Factor finalist thanks Simon Cowell as she makes West End debut as". London Evening Standard. May 2015.
- ^ "Sarah Harding crowned Celebrity Big Brother winner, amid controversy and boos". The Telegraph. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
- ^ "Amelia Lily joins the UK tour cast of Shrek the Musical". whatsonstage.com. 3 November 2017.
- ^ "Amelia Lily joins Geordie Shore cast and X Factor fans are in total shock". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
- ^ "X Factor star Amelia Lily on lasting impact the show had on her life and why it'll never be as good as it used to be". Metro. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
- ^ "Amelia Lily - Bio". Heat. Archived from the original on 26 November 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
- ^ "Amelia does Kelly... Clarkson not Rowland - The X Factor 2011 Live Show 8 (Full Version)". YouTube. TheXFactorUK. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
- ^ "Amelia Lily - Diabetes UK". Diabetes UK. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
- ^ "Lewis Bradley on sister Amelia Lily's X Factor exit". gazettelive. 10 October 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ "Amelia Lily banned from X Factor romance despite Geordie Shore texts". chroniclelive. 9 October 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ "Billingham Town make X Factor star Amelia-Lily's dad club manager". 30 June 2015.
- ^ "Amelia Lily > UK Charts". Official Charts Company. officialcharts.com/.
- ^ "Discography Amelia Lily". irish-charts.com. Hung Medien.
- ^ Hung, Steffen. "Discografie Amelia Lily". Dutch Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
- ^ Peak positions for Scotland:
- For "You Bring Me Joy": "Chart Archive > 22 September 2012". Official Charts Company. 22 September 2012.
- For "Shut Up (And Give Me Whatever You Got)": "Chart Archive > 2 February 2013". Official Charts Company. 2 February 2013.
- For "Party Over": "Chart Archive > 4 May 2013". Official Charts Company. 4 May 2013.
- For "California": "Chart Archive > 14 September 2014". Official Charts Company. 14 September 2014.
- ^ "Certified Awards". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original (enter "Amelia Lily" into the "Keywords" box, then select "Search") on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
- ^ Peak positions for the featured singles in the UK:
- For "Wishing on a Star": "Chart Archive > 10 December 2011". Official Charts Company. 10 December 2011.
- ^ Peak positions for the featured singles in Ireland:
- For "Wishing on a Star": "Chart Archive > Week Ending: 1 December 2011". IRMA. 1 December 2011. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
- ^ Peak positions for the featured singles in Scotland:
- For "Wishing on a Star": "Chart Archive > 10 December 2011". Official Charts Company. 10 December 2011.