On February 5, 2013, the first U.S. singles from "X Factor" winners Tate Stevens and Little Mix were released.
Country singer Stevens was the winner of "The X Factor" U.S. in 2012. His first U.S. single is "Holler If You're With Me."
Pop group Little Mix was the winner of "The Factor" U.K. in 2011. Little Mix's first U.S. single is "Wings," which was a No. 1 hit in the U.K. and Ireland in 2012.
Here's the latest news on each these artists:
Tate Stevens
As previously reported, Stevens, 37, is signed to Syco Music/RCA Nashville. In January 2013, he began working on his first album (whose title and release date to be announced), which will include songs that Stevens co-wrote. According to an RCA Nashville press release, the album will features his collaborations with Joe Diffie, Rhett Akins, Ben Hayslip, Shane Minor and David Lee Murphy. Blake Chancey is the album's producer.
As part of Stevens' "X Factor" grand prize (which includes $5 million), the Pepsi-sponsored music video for "Holler If You're With Me" will premiere during the 2013 Grammy Awards telecast, which CBS will televise in the U.S. on February 10. As previously reported, Steven filmed the video in Simi Valley, California, and he told Rolling Stone magazine that his song "Ordinary Angels" is a strong contender to be his next single.
Stevens commented in a press release: “Things are moving very fast since the finale of X Factor, and we’re already laying down tracks for my new album that will be out this spring. I truly feel so blessed to have been given this opportunity. Having chased this dream for nearly a decade, I was certainly familiar with the concept of a music video, but I had no idea what to expect. In spite of the 50 mph winds, everyone on the set had a great time. It’s a party song and so it was only fitting that we threw a party! I’m sure more than a few folks watching the Grammys at home can relate."
As for working with Diffie, Stevens said, "The moment I sat down in that room with Joe it hit me — this is my life now, this is my chance to follow in the path of my heroes and make my own unique mark on the genre — and that’s exactly what I plan to do.”
Stevens is represented by Vector Management (based on Nashville), whose other clients include Emmylou Harris, Dierks Bentley, Kings of Leon, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Patty Griffin and Trace Adkins.
Former "X Factor" U.S. judge Antonio "L.A." Reid, who quit the show in December 2012, was Steven's "X Factor" mentor" but will not be a key player in Stevens' career, since country music is not Reid's area of expertise. Reid said he quit "The X Factor" to spend more time on his main job of being chairman/CEO of Epic Records.
There is no word yet if or when Stevens will do a concert tour. He performed on Fox's "New Year's Eve Live!" special in Las Vegas on December 31, 2012.
Little Mix
As previously reported, Little Mix is signed in the U.S. to Syco Music/Columbia Records. Little Mix's first album, "DNA," will be released in the U.S. in the summer of 2012 on a date to be announced, according to Columbia. The album was already a hit in 2012 in the U.K., Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Little Mix launched a month-long U.K. tour on January 24, 2013. According to a Columbia press release, Little Mix will begin making promotional appearances in the U.S. in March 2013. (Details are to be announced.)
The four members of Little Mix are Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall, ages 19 to 21. They all originally auditioned for "The X Factor" U.K. as solo singers, but were rejected and then put into a group together by "X Factor" U.K. judge Tulisa Contostavlos, who was Little Mix's "X Factor" mentor.
Insiders are saying that Little Mix is a frontrunner to be an opening act on the North American leg of One Direction's 2013 world tour. One Direction is also signed in the U.S. to Syco Music/Columbia Records. The opening acts for One Direction's 2013 world tour (which launches February 22 in London) have not been announced yet.
Little Mix is represented by Modest! Management (based in London), whose other clients include "X Factor" U.K. alumni One Direction, JLS, Olly Murs and Leona Lewis.
Little Mix's Edwards, 19, has recently been in the news because of a sex scandal involving One Direction's Zayn Malik, 20, whom she has been dating since April 2012. In late January 2013, a 21-year-old Australian waitress named Courtney "CJ" Webb did an interview to The Sun tabloid in which she claimed that she and Malik had sex at his home in London on January 23, 2013. Webb also took photos of Malik sleeping in his bed as proof of their alleged one-night stand.
Edwards, Malik and their representatives have not commented on Webb's allegations, but Malik and Edwards have been seen in public acting like a happy couple since the scandal broke, so it seems that they are have not let the scandal run their relationship.
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