Diana Vickers - talents singer, actrees and songwriter

Diana Vickers (born 30 July 1991) is an English singer-songwriter, stage actress and fashion designer who initially came to public attention as a semi-finalist on the fifth series of British talent show The X Factor in 2008. In January 2009, Vickers signed a record deal with RCA Records and after touring with her fellow X Factor finalists until March 2009, began work on her debut album, Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree, until September 2009.

From October 2009 to January 2010, Vickers played the title role in a West End revival of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice for which she won the award for "London Newcomer of the Year" at the Theatregoers' Choice Awards. Vickers' debut single, "Once", charted at number one on the UK Singles Chart after its release on 19 April 2010 and has sold over 210,000 copies in the United Kingdom. Vickers' debut album was released on 3 May 2010 in the United Kingdom achieving number one status on the UK Albums Chart, number seven on the Irish Albums Chart and number four on the European Top 100 Albums, and has been certified Gold by the BPI.[8] Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree went on to sell over 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom.

Her second single, "The Boy Who Murdered Love", charted at number 36 on the UK Singles Chart. This was followed by her third single, "My Wicked Heart", which was released on 17 October 2010 digitally and on 1 November 2010 physically. "My Wicked Heart" peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart, making it Vickers' third consecutive Top 40 single. Vickers performed the track live on The X Factor results show on 16 October 2010.

Vickers' musical career has been commercially successful thus far, with total sales of over 500,000 records in the UK alone for her three singles and debut album. Vickers is currently co-writing material for a second album, which is planned for release in 2012.

In May 2011, Vickers unveiled her debut fashion line for Very.co.uk titled "Dee V" reinforcing her signature quirky fashion sense. Vickers' distinctive and unique boho-chic approach to fashion has achieved industry praise from prestigious fashion magazines including Grazia, Look, and Harpers Bazaar. On 30 June 2011, Vickers announced via her official Tumblr blog that she had parted company with RCA Records purely for creative reasons, by mutual consent. On 28 July 2011, Vickers announced on a Ustream web chat that she would be releasing a downloadable EP before the end of 2011 to showcase a sample of her second era of music.

Acting Career

Vickers made her professional acting debut in the title role of a new revived West End production of Jim Cartwright's The Rise and Fall of Little Voice on 8 October 2009 at the Vaudeville Theatre, on The Strand, London. She played Little Voice, who hides a talent as an impersonator of singers such as Shirley Bassey, Edith Piaf and Judy Garland.

Mark Owen of Take That wrote "Sunlight", the final song in the play for Vickers to sing. "Sunlight" was featured as a B-Side for her debut single, "Once". Vickers took a break from recording her debut album to star in the production. Vickers' performance received more positive reviews than any other show of that year.

Vickers' performance received a good review in The Guardian in which they said that "[Vickers'] singing is impressive, we were surprised at her vocal abilities." Her stint was deemed "magical" in The Daily Telegraph.[63] Quentin Letts of the Daily Mail also gave a positive review of Vickers' performance.She won the Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Award "London Newcomer of the Year" in February 2010 for her performance, with 34.5% of the vote out of 7 other competitors.

Posted in: British Celebrities