| Matt Terry | |
| Birth Name: | Matthew James Terry |
| Birth Date: | 1993 5, df=yes |
| Instrument: | Vocals |
| Years Active: | 2016–present |
Matthew James Terry (born 20 May 1993) is an English singer and songwriter.[1] [2] In 2016, he was crowned as the winner of the thirteenth series of The X Factor.[3] His debut single, "When Christmas Comes Around", which was released on 11 December 2016, peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart. His debut album, Trouble was released on 24 November 2017 and charted at 29 on the UK Albums Chart.[4]
Terry auditioned for the thirteenth series of The X Factor in 2016, singing a cover of Ben E. King's "Stand by Me", which earned him four yes votes from the judges.
Terry was placed in the "boys" category and reached the live shows, where he was mentored by Nicole Scherzinger. Following the eliminations of Freddy Parker in week 2 and Ryan Lawrie in week 7, Terry became Scherzinger's last act left in the competition.[5] In the semi-final, he ended up in the bottom two and faced the sing-off against Emily Middlemas. Scherzinger, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne voted to send him through to the final.[6]
On 11 December 2016, he was crowned as the winner of The X Factor 2016, over Saara Aalto,[1] making him the second winner, after James Arthur, to be in the bottom two at any given stage of the competition. He immediately released his winner's single, "When Christmas Comes Around", an original song written by Ed Sheeran.[7] It is the second time that the winner has released an original winner's song, the first being the second series winner Shayne Ward, who released his debut single "That's My Goal".[8] Following his win, Terry signed withRCA Records.[9]
| The X Factor performances and results | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Show | Song choice | Theme | Result |
| Auditions | "Stand by Me" – Ben E. King | Through to bootcamp | |
| Bootcamp | "See You Again" – Charlie Puth (with Tom and Laura, and Aeron Smith) | Through to six-chair challenge | |
| Six-chair challenge | "When I Was Your Man" – Bruno Mars/"Secret Love Song" – Little Mix (sing-off song against Christian Burrows) | Through to judges' houses | |
| Judges' houses | "She's Out of My Life" – Michael Jackson | Through to live shows | |
| Live show 1 | "You Don't Own Me" – Grace | Express Yourself | Safe (1st) |
| Live show 2 | "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" – Marvin Gaye | Motown | Safe (1st) |
| Live show 3 | "I'll Be There" – The Jackson 5 | Divas & Legends | Safe (1st) |
| Live show 4 | "I Put a Spell on You" – Screamin' Jay Hawkins | Fright Night | Safe (2nd) |
| Live show 5 | "I'm Your Man" – Wham! | Girlband vs Boyband | Safe (1st) |
| Live show 6 | "Best of My Love" – The Emotions | Disco | Safe (3rd) |
| Live show 7 | "Writing's on the Wall" – Sam Smith | Movies | Safe (1st) |
| Quarter-final | "Secret Love Song, Pt. II" – Little Mix | Louis Loves | Safe (2nd) |
| "Alive" – Sia | Contestant's Choice | ||
| Semi-final | "Silent Night" – traditional | Christmas | Bottom two (3rd) |
| "Say You Love Me" – Jessie Ware | Contestant's Choice | ||
| "Hurt" – Christina Aguilera | Sing-off | Safe (majority vote) | |
| Final | "Take Me Home" – Jess Glynne | New song | Safe (2nd) |
| "Purple Rain" with Nicole Scherzinger | Celebrity duet | ||
| "Writing's on the Wall" – Sam Smith | Song of the Series | Winner | |
| "One Day I'll Fly Away" – Randy Crawford | No theme | ||
| "When Christmas Comes Around" | Winner's Single | ||
In 2017, Terry featured in a new version of "Súbeme la Radio", with Enrique Iglesias and Sean Paul. The single peaked at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart, and sold 200,000 certified units, scoring a Silver BPI certification.
Following that, he released the first single from his debut album, "Sucker For You". The single peaked at 51 on the UK Singles Chart. A second single, a ballad called "The Thing About Love" was released afterwards. He performed the single on The X Factor as a guest performer. After the performance, he confirmed that the album would be released on 24 November 2017. The single peaked at 51 on the UK Singles Chart. Upon release, Terry's album peaked at 29 on the UK Albums Chart. His album is the lowest charting debut album from any The X Factor winner.[10]
In June 2018, Terry was dropped by RCA Records.[11] The next month, he made his acting debut in the UK production of Madagascar – The Musical.[12] In 2019, he returned to the Madagascar musical, portraying the role of Alex the Lion.[13] [14]
On 1 October 2023, Terry announced his first single in over 4 years titled "You Don't Know Nothing" available on 13 October 2023 on all platforms. On 9 February 2024, Terry released his new song "Ghost of me". His single, "His Car", was released on 22 March 2024. The single dealt with the singer opening up about being gay.[15] [16]
On 22 March 2024, Terry revealed he is gay.[17]
See main article: Matt Terry discography.