| Ben Haenow | |
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| Contestant Profile | |
| Birth Date | 6 January 1985 |
| Age | 39 |
| Hometown | Croydon, London, England |
| Occupation | Former van driver Singer |
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| Category | Over 26s |
| Mentor | Simon Cowell |
| Placement | Winner (1/16) |
| Gallery | |
Benjamin Bernard "Ben" Haenow (born 6 January 1985) is an English singer from Croydon, south London who won Series 11 of The X Factor. He was a part of the Over 27s category, mentored by Simon Cowell.
The X Factor[]
Haenow auditioned in Newcastle for the eleventh series of The X Factor. After singing Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" in his room audition, he received four "yes" votes and progressed through to the arena auditions. He sang The Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses" at the arena and progressed to "bootcamp". Haenow was placed in the "Over 26s" category at "bootcamp" and was mentored by Simon Cowell. He successfully made it through to "judges' houses" and was later chosen by Cowell for the live shows, along with Jay James and eventual runner-up Fleur East (as well as eventual wildcard Stevi Ritchie).
Along with East, he was never in the bottom two and eventually made it to the live final. Haenow was announced as the winner on 14 December 2014. When the voting statistics were announced, Haenow was revealed to have received the most public votes from week four to ten.
Performances[]
| Episode | Theme | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audition | Free choice | "Ain't No Sunshine" | Advanced |
| Arena audition | Free choice | "Wild Horses" | Advanced |
| Bootcamp | Free Choice | "Hotel California" | Advanced |
| Judges' Houses | Free Choice | "With a Little Help from My Friends" | Advanced |
| Week 1 | Number ones | "Bridge over Troubled Water" | Safe (4th) |
| Week 2 | 1980s music | "Jealous Guy" | Safe (4th) |
| Week 3 | Songs from films | "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" | Safe (3rd) |
| Week 4 | Halloween | "Highway to Hell" | Safe (1st) |
| Week 5 | Queen vs. Michael Jackson | "Man in the Mirror" | Safe (1st) |
| Week 6 | Big band | "Cry Me a River" | Safe (1st) |
| Week 7 | Whitney Houston vs. Elton John | "I Will Always Love You" | Safe (1st) |
| Week 8 | Songs chosen by other artists | "Come Together" | Safe (1st) |
| Jukebox | "Thinking Out Loud" | ||
| Week 9: Semi final | Christmas | "Please Come Home for Christmas" | Safe (1st) |
| Song to get you to the final | "Hallelujah" | ||
| Week 10: Final | No theme | "Demons" | Safe (1st) |
| Celebrity duets | "Thinking Out Loud" (with Ed Sheeran) | ||
| Song of the Series | "Man in the Mirror" | Winner | |
| Winner's Single | "Something I Need" |
Post The X Factor[]
On 15 December 2014, the day after he won the show, Haenow released his winner's single, a cover of OneRepublic's "Something I Need", via digital download. It entered the Irish Singles Chart at number two, finishing behind Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk", making Haenow the first X Factor winner not to get Ireland's Christmas number one in nine years. On 21 December, the song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart ahead of "Uptown Funk", after selling 214,000 copies in its first week, and became the Christmas number one. The release also became the second-fastest selling single of the year, behind Band Aid 30's "Do They Know It's Christmas?", which sold nearly 313,000 copies in its first week back in November 2014.
2015–2016: Ben Haenow and departure from Syco[]
On 6 January 2015, his 30th birthday, it was announced that he had been signed by Syco Music. He then spent several months of the year in Los Angeles recording his self-titled debut album, Ben Haenow. The lead single from the album, "Second Hand Heart", a duet with Kelly Clarkson, was released on 16th October 2015 and peaked at #21. The album peaked at #10 on the UK charts.
On 28 January 2016, Haenow confirmed that he and Syco had parted ways by way of mutual agreement.
2017: New music[]
In July 2017, he returned with his first single since departing Syco called "Alive" with an EP set to follow later in the year.
In 2023, Haenow performed upon Stath, Al, Katia and Sophie from "Stath Lets Flats"'s charity single for "Comic Relief" entitled "Comic Release" alongside Andy Abraham, Stevi Ritchie. and Honey G.
Discography[]
Studio albums
- Ben Haenow (2015)
Singles
- Something I Need (2014)
- Second Hand Heart (with Kelly Clarkson) (2015)
- Alive (2017)
| The X Factor UK Winners | |||
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| Series 11 Finalists | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrea Faustini • Ben Haenow • Blonde Electra • Chloe Jasmine • Fleur East • Jack Walton • Jake Quickenden • Jay James • Lauren Platt • Lola Saunders • Only The Young • Overload Generation • Paul Akister • Stephanie Nala • Stereo Kicks • Stevi Ritchie | |||