| Steve Brookstein | |
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| Contestant Profile | |
| Birth Date | 10 November 1968 |
| Age | 56 |
| Hometown | Camberwell, London, England |
| Occupation | Singer |
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| Category | Over 25s |
| Mentor | Simon Cowell |
| Placement | Winner (1/9) |
| Gallery | |
Stephen "Steve" Desmond Brookstein (born 10 November 1968) is an English jazz and soul singer. He auditioned for Series 1 of The X Factor UK and made it all the way to the final as part of the Over 25s category mentored by Simon Cowell.
Due to the eliminations of Verity Keays and Rowetta Satchell, Brookstein was the only act left in his category. He was crowned the winner defeating G4 from the Groups category mentored by Louis Walsh.
Performances[]
| Episode | Theme | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audition 1 | Free choice | "Song for You" | Told to come back |
| Audition 2 | Free choice | "Part Time Love" | Advanced |
| Bootcamp 1 | Solo performance | "That's Why" | Advanced |
| Bootcamp 2 | Group performance | " Ain't No Mountain High Enough" | Advanced |
| Judges' houses | Free choice | "Dance with My Father" | Advanced |
| Week 1 | "When a Man Loves a Woman" | Safe | |
| Week 2 | "If You Don't Know Me by Now" | Safe | |
| Week 3 | "Smile" | Safe | |
| Week 4 | "Help Me Make It Through the Night" | Safe | |
| Week 5 | "Let's Stay Together" | Safe | |
| Week 6 | "I Get the Sweetest Feeling" | Safe | |
| "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time" | |||
| Week 7: Semi final | "Have I Told You Lately" | Safe | |
| "The Greatest Love of All" | |||
| Week 8: Final | "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" | Winner | |
| Favourite performance | "Smile" | ||
| Winner's single | "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" |
"Against All Odds" cover
Post The X Factor[]
Following the final, his winner's single was released but missed out on the Christmas #1 due to the recording of "Do They Know It's Christmas" by Band Aid 20 claiming it instead. However, the song was the first #1 of 2005, spending a week at the summit. Until 2015, it had the lowest first week sales of any UK winner's single.
In May of that year, he released his debut studio album "Heart and Soul", which also reached #1 in the UK charts. However, success was not guaranteed since his follow-up singles failed to chart, leading to Syco terminating his contract less than a year after his win.
He released a further two albums, the former which reached the Top 200. Since then, he has used his social media accounts to criticise his treatment while competing on the show as well as after his win and continues to do so whenever there has been a new series.
In 2014, he released a tell-all book called Getting Over the X and was voted the biggest reality TV flop in a nationwide poll that included Series 4 winner Leon Jackson.
Discography[]
| UK Series 1 Finalists | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Cassie Compton • G4 • Roberta Howett • Rowetta Satchell • Steve Brookstein • Tabby Callaghan • 2 to Go • Verity Keays • Voices with Soul | |||
| The X Factor UK Winners | |||
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