Louisa

Louisa Johnson was born on January 11, 1998, in Thurrock, Essex, England. Her musical journey began early, influenced by her father, a construction worker, and her mother, a driving instructor. She attended St. Thomas of Canterbury primary school and The Harris Academy secondary school in Chafford Hundred. In 2015, at the age of 17, Louisa auditioned for the twelfth series of The X Factor UK, where she impressed judges and audiences with her rendition of The Jackson 5’s “Who’s Lovin’ You.” She advanced through the competition under the mentorship of Rita Ora, performing various songs including “Proud Mary,” “Lay Me Down,” “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” and “Respect.” Her performances led her to the finals, where she ultimately won, becoming the youngest winner in the show’s history and the first female winner since 2008.

Following her victory on The X Factor, Louisa released her winner’s single, a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young,” which debuted at number nine on the UK Singles Chart in December 2015. This marked the lowest chart entry for a debut single from an X Factor winner, partly due to a chart day change. In 2016, she collaborated with the British band Clean Bandit on the single “Tears,” which achieved commercial success, reaching the top five in the UK and Scotland and earning platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). She performed “Tears” at the Summertime Ball and also collaborated with Nathan Sykes on a new version of “Over and Over Again.”

Louisa continued to release solo material and collaborate with other artists. Her second solo single, “So Good,” released in November 2016, peaked at number 13 in the UK and was certified gold by BPI. In March 2017, she released her third single, “Best Behaviour,” which charted at number 48 and received silver certification. She featured on Olly Murs’ single “Unpredictable” in 2017, which reached number 32 and was certified silver. In March 2018, she collaborated with rapper 2 Chainz on “Yes,” peaking at number 65. Later that year, she announced her departure from Syco and released “Between You & Me” with One Bit. In 2019, she partnered with Sigma on “Here We Go Again” and released “Ain’t Got You” with Steve Void. Her recent work includes “Like I Love Me” in 2020 and “Always Be There” with Jonas Blue in 2022.