The stunning and inspirational musician Janet Devlin is an award-winning singer/songwriter, who shot to fame after her appearances on the eighth series of The X Factor in 2011. Her debut album, Hide & Seek, came out in 2013, and again in 2014 reworked as Running with Scissors. She has suffered from depression, alcoholism and anorexia, and gave a frank account of her experiences in the powerful BBC documentary, Janet Devlin: Young, Female, and Addicted, which was released in 2022.
Born and raised in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, Devlin grew up with a natural talent for singing. She started uploading videos of her covers to YouTube in 2006, but it was when she became a contestant on the hit reality TV talent show The X Factor in 2011 that her star really began to shine. She came fifth in the show, and quickly received offers of recording contracts. She began working on her debut album, Hide & Seek, shortly after touring the UK, and it was released as a digital download in 2013, before being reworked and given a general release in 2014 under the new title Running with Scissors. Since then she has released a number of popular singles and EPs, as well as her second studio album, Confessional, which came out in 2020.
Devlin struggled with mental illness from a young age, bravely revealing in the powerful BBC documentary, Janet Devlin: Young, Female, and Addicted, that she began self-harming at the age of 11, and was diagnosed with anorexia a year later, as well as suffering from depression. She struggled with alcoholism throughout her teens, and was addicted to sleeping pills, and despite being in a very dark place during her time on The X Factor, the show gave her a huge confidence boost, and through her music she eventually turned her life around.
Devlin regularly connects with her millions of followers and fans through TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, twitch.tv, and Facebook, posting pictures and videos of her life both in and out of the recording studio and on and off the stage. She also has a dedicated YouTube channel, Janet Devlin, and an official website, janetdevlin.com.