Ben Haenow: The X Factor champion with a big voice and an even bigger heart

With his handsome good looks and authentic raspy vocals, it’s no surprise that Ben Haenow won The X Factor in 2014. As well as taking a look back at the singer’s incredible journey so far, we’ve decided to take a look forward to see what we can expect from his future.

Before auditioning for The X Factor, Ben Haenow was employed as a van driver but he still had a huge passion for music even back then. The talented rocker used to be in a band called The Lost Audio with his brother Alex and their two friends: Kieran and David. The group often gigged around the country but they never quite got their big break. That doesn’t mean that their songs weren’t awesome though – get listening to ‘Shine’ and ‘Burning Bridges.’

Then, one day, Ben decided to audition for The X Factor as a solo artist. We’re so glad he did. Wearing a red jacket, he impressed the judges and melted hearts with a smooth rendition of ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ by Bill Withers. That’s when the nation fell in love with Ben. With his infectious personality and a wonderfully gritty voice, it was impossible not to support the Croydon-born singer.

On the show, Ben performed tons of outstanding covers. He put his own spin on everything from ‘Highway To Hell‘ by AC/DC to ‘Man In The Mirror‘ by Michael Jackson. Week by week, Haenow was showing his versatility and building a fanbase at the same time. His rendition of ‘Demons‘ by Imagine Dragons was a personal favourite of ours.

On the 14th December 2014, Ben was crowned the winner of The X Factor. Impressively, voting figures show that Ben topped the polls on seven of the ten live shows. He released his winning single ‘Something I Need‘ on the night of the final and unsurprisingly, it went straight to the top of the charts. The track managed to secure the much coveted Christmas number one spot.

Ben Haenow may have just won The X Factor but he didn’t let that go to his head – he still stopped for photos and signed autographs on every possible occasion. That’s one of the reasons why we love Ben so much – he clearly appreciates his fans and genuinely has a lot of time for them.

As the winner of The X Factor, Ben earned himself the top bill on The X Factor Tour. The talented 31 year old performed at huge arenas across the United Kingdom alongside Fleur East and his other fellow X Factor finalists. Not many singers can say that they’ve headlined numerous arena shows – that’s a massive achievement for anyone. Ben seemed to enjoy every second.

Once the tour was over, Ben headed out to Los Angeles. It was time to make music. Whilst in the United States, Ben worked with tons of huge names in the industry including: J.R. Rotem and Julian Bunetta. He also, of course, recorded ‘Second Hand Heart’ with Kelly Clarkson. The pair’s duet served as the lead track from Ben’s debut solo album and he even returned to The X Factor stage to promote the single as a special guest.

Ben Haenow finally released his eagerly anticipated self-titled record on the 13th November 2015 – it entered the charts at number 10 in the UK. Once again showing his big heart, Ben made sure that he saw as many loyal supporters as he could during the week of the album’s release. He travelled across the country for a number of HMV album signings. Since then, the album has been certified gold in South Africa and it continues to sell copies to this day.

On the 28th January 2016, Ben announced that he had parted ways with Simon Cowell’s record label Syco. The collaboration brought us a brilliant album so we’re glad to hear that everything ended on good terms. That partnership may now be over but when one door closes, another one opens. A record label is just a record label at the end of the day. We all fell in love with Ben’s voice and talent – thankfully, those won’t be disappearing anytime soon.

Interestingly, in an interview with Subtv, Ben revealed that he originally recorded a selection of heavy rock tracks for his debut album – but he didn’t release them as he didn’t want to alienate fans. Maybe that’s the route that Ben will take next? We’ll have to wait and see but we certainly wouldn’t complain if he did decide to rock it up a bit more on his next record.

We’d also love more songs in a similar vein to ‘Greatest Mistake’ – that track fast became our favourite from Ben Haenow’s eponymous album. ‘Lions’ and ‘Brother’ would complete our top three but the whole record is amazing – there’s literally not one bad song on it.

So what’s next for Ben Haenow? The ‘Slamming Doors‘ singer has a string of gigs lined up this month and then he’ll be hitting the road for his very own headline tour next month. Ben will be kicking off proceedings in Manchester on the 15th April and the closing show will be in Sheffield on the 23rd April. Make sure you grab tickets while you still can – it’s ‘One Night’ that you won’t want to miss!

Here at CelebMix, we’re genuinely excited to see what the future holds for Ben Haenow. As huge supporters of Ben, we’re looking forward to the next chapter of his successful career.

Which is your favourite track from Ben Haenow’s debut solo album? Let us know over on Twitter @CelebMix or leave us a message in the comments section below!

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