Lucy Spraggan

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Lucy Spraggan
Birth name Lucy Spraggan
Born (1991-07-21) 21 July 1991 (age 32)
Origin Sheffield, Yorkshire, England
Genres Folk, acoustic, hip hop pop
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter
Instruments Vocals, guitar
Years active 2011–present
Labels CTRL Records, Columbia
Website lucyspraggan.com

Lucy Spraggan (born 21 July 1991) is an English musician, currently signed to CTRL Records, who describes her music as 'A-Flop', a mixture of acoustic, folk, and hip hop.[1] In July 2011, she was announced as the runner up of the Urban, Pop & Acoustic category of Live and Unsigned at the age of 20.[2] In June 2012, she performed alongside Razorlight at Osfest at the Oswestry Showground in Shropshire.[3] She independently released her album Top Room At The Zoo in November 2011,[4] with associated music videos released on YouTube. Spraggan was previously signed to Columbia Records

She auditioned for The X Factor in 2012, performing her own composition, 'Last Night'.[5] On 3 November 2012, it was announced she would be quitting her run on The X Factor due to illness, so she subsequently finished in ninth place, and second in her category. She was the first contestant in the show's history to score a Top 40 single and album before the live shows even aired with her independently released album Top Room At The Zoo. Her debut major label album, Join The Club, was released on 7 October 2013, reaching number 7 in the UK charts.[6]

Her third album, We Are, was released on 4 May 2015. It is preceded by lead single "Unsinkable", released 13 April 2015.

Music career

2011–12: Live and Unsigned, Open Mic UK and Top Room at the Zoo

In July 2011, Spraggan was announced as the runner up of the Urban, Pop & Acoustic Category of Live and Unsigned, placing third place overall in the competition.[2] Spraggan's prizes awarded by Live and Unsigned for her progress in the competition consisted of a festival slot at Osfest,[7] and a slot at Australia's 'Go Connect' Festival.[2] When the festival was later cancelled, Live and Unsigned provided Spraggan with a series of replacement prizes, including: a string of guest act spots at Live and Unsigned and Open Mic UK shows across the country,[8][9] a new website,[10] and a music video shoot for her single Last Night, which received over 455,000 views.[10][11]

On 20 October 2011 Spraggan independently released her album Top Room at the Zoo.[4] In an interview she said that the majority of her album's lyrics were inspired by a short-lived romance with an older woman of 27 that occurred when Spraggan visited America at the age of 18.[12]

Spraggan performed as a guest act at a large volume of Live and Unsigned and Open Mic UK shows across the country during this time,[8][9] on Open Mic UK, Spraggan said in an interview: "Open Mic UK is a great way to build your fan base to thousands of new fans whether you are a guest act or a competitor in the show."[8] As a result of performing at these shows, Spraggan was scouted by several festival organisers to perform at their festivals,[8] amongst which included London Summer Jam,[13] Osfest,[3] Strawberry Fields Festival[14] Whaley Bridge Water Weekend and Cockermouth Rock Festival.[15][16]

2012: The X Factor

On 13 July 2012, she released the single "Tea and Toast". Spraggan auditioned for the ninth series of The X Factor, which was shown on 25 August 2012, singing her own song "Last Night" from Top Room at the Zoo. She won herself a place at bootcamp after performing the song, which left the audience at the Manchester auditions chanting for more. Her second song, which was a rendition of "Halo" by Beyoncé, was shown on The Xtra Factor. Shortly after the audition was screened, the song climbed to Number 70 in the Official UK Singles Chart,[17] and reached Number 2 on iTunes. However, it was soon removed from iTunes by request of The X Factor producers.[18] On 29 August 2012, Greg James announced that "Last Night" was at number 5 on the Official Chart Update despite the song being removed from iTunes, her album Top Room at the Zoo was at number 7 on the Official Chart Update as well.[19][20] On 2 September 2012 "Last Night" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 11 and Top Room at the Zoo entered the UK Albums Chart at number 22.[21]

Spraggan sang "Moves like Jagger" by Maroon 5 at bootcamp but the performance was described as "awkward" and "messy". She returned to the stage with a mix-up of songs that she really liked and meant a lot to her. Tulisa Contostavlos then said that she wanted to hear one of her tracks so Spraggan decided to sing "Tea and Toast", stating that the song was about a real couple. After she performed the song she burst into tears when she received a standing ovation from the audience and the judging panel.[22][23]

She made it through to the live shows as one of the three female singers selected by mentor Contostavlos. In week 4, Spraggan was ill so she automatically got through to week 5. On 3 November, Spraggan decided to leave the competition because she felt that it wouldn't be fair to get another free pass to the next round, as she was still too ill to compete.[24]

Performances on The X Factor

Episode Theme Song Result
Audition Free choice "Last Night" (original song) Advanced
Bootcamp 1 Group performance "Moves like Jagger" Advanced
Bootcamp 2 Solo performance "Tea and Toast" (original song) Advanced
Judges' houses No theme "I Will Always Love You" Advanced
Week 1 Heroes night "Mountains" (original song) Safe (5th)
Week 2 Love and heartbreak "Gold Digger" Safe (5th)
Week 3 Club classics "Titanium" (version with original lyrics) Safe (7th)

2012–13: Join the Club

Lucy Spraggan announced her signing to Record Label Columbia Records in March 2013. Her debut studio album Join the Club was released on 7 October.

About the album Spraggan said "I wanted to put my own take on events that happen to everyone by telling these stories. I have been writing this album for as long and I can remember and I hope people will be able to relate."[25] The lead single "Lighthouse" was released 14 July. About the single Spraggan explains 'Whenever I'd run out of money or get on the wrong bus, I'd see a lighthouse and things would start to getting better'.[26] Spraggan confirmed the second single lifted from the album would be "Last Night (Beer Fear)" was released on 30 September.[27]

Spraggan announced a headline UK and Ireland tour in support of the album which starts at Margate Winter Gardens on 21 October and concludes at The Academy in Dublin on 16 November.[28]

2014–present: We Are and Home EP

November 2014 Spraggan showcased new music she'd been working on since The X Factor. On 17 January on Facebook she announced the title of her sophomore album entitled We Are, to be released on 4 May 2015, and the first single "Unsinkable" being released on 12 March 2015. Following the album's release Spraggan will embark on "The Unsinkable Tour". As of 2015, Spraggan wrote and sang the "catchy" lyrics for the TV advert for online fashion store Simplybeyou. In 2015 Spraggan was signed to CTRL Records. It is believed that the song "Uninspired" was written about the termination of Spraggan's contract with Columbia Records.

On 3rd February 2016 Lucy Spraggan announced, via social media, that her new EP will be called Home and will be released on February 9th. It will contain 3 new songs called Home,Yes, This One's For You and Skylights. It will also include a new version of Tea and Toast, and will explain the story behind the song.

Personal life

Before music, Spraggan trained to be a fire fighter. She attended the University of Derby in her hometown of Buxton doing something which she felt passionate about: public services. She also has had a variety of jobs: a plumber's apprentice, a cave tour guide at the Poole's Cavern, and a magician. She also attended Buxton Community School where she often performed in front of the school of 2,000 students. [29] She also worked in demolition and once broke her leg when a cherry picker she was working on fell to the floor. Spraggan then moved to Sheffield once she had left school, which she now calls her hometown, still keeping in touch with family and friends in Buxton, Derbyshire.[30] Spraggan currently resides in Cheshire, UK and got engaged to girlfriend Georgina Gordon in April 2015. Their wedding date is believed to be sometime in June.[31]

Her mother, Anstey, is a freelance journalist and has written about their family life as a stepfamily.[32]

Discography

Albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
UK
[33]		 IRE
[34]		 SCO
[35]
Top Room at the Zoo
  • Released: 20 October 2011 (UK)
  • Label: Independent
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
 22 72 19
Join the Club
  • Released: 7 October 2013 (UK)
  • Label: Columbia Records
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
 7 14 6
We Are
  • Released: 4 May 2015 (UK)
  • Label: CTRL Records
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
 17 — —
"—" denotes an album that did not chart or was not released.

Singles

As lead artist

Year Title Peak chart positions Album
UK
[33]		 IRE
[34]		 SCO
[36]
2012 "Tea and Toast" 50 — — Join the Club
2013 "Lighthouse" 26 21 14
"Last Night (Beer Fear)"[A] 11 16 11
2015 "Unsinkable" 78 — — We Are
"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released.

As featured artist

Year Title Album
2014 "Give Me Sunshine"
(Santa Maradona F.C. featuring Lucy Spraggan)		 N/A

Other charted songs

Year Title Peak chart positions Album
UK
[33]		 IRE
[34]
2012 "Someone" 137 — Top Room at the Zoo and Join the Club
2013 "Butterflies" — 61
"'91" — 67
"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released.
  • A ^ Originally charted in 2012, after Spraggan's The X Factor audition, it peaked at number 2 on the chart update, but was subsequently removed from sale. It, however, had accumilated enough sales to debut at number 11 in the UK. The same was true in Ireland, where it charted at number 16. It was re-released in September 2013, by her new record label, Columbia and reached number 18. It was included first on debut album Top Room at the Zoo, and later on her major label debut Join the Club. Top Room at the Zoo reached #7 on the UK chart update before being removed from sale, as well.

Music videos

Year Title Director[37] Funded by[10]
2011 "Dreamer" (featuring J-Mac) Ollie Green & Daniel Entwistle Live and Unsigned
2012 "Last Night" Damien Reeves
2013 "Lighthouse" N/A Sony Music Entertainment
2013 "Last Night (Beer Fear)" Damien Reeves
2013 "Mountains" Michael Baldwin
2013 "Tea And Toast" N/A
2015 "Unsinkable" Damien Reeves CTRL Records

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "spraggan_osfest_2012" defined multiple times with different content
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Little Mix, Rita Ora lead midweek chart. Digital Spy
  20. ↑ Little Mix’s Wings soaring towards Number 1. Official Charts Company
  21. ↑ X Factor’s Lucy Spraggan bags Top 20 hit despite track being pulled. Official Charts Company. officialcharts.com/
  22. ↑ 'X Factor': Tulisa requests Lucy Spraggan original song at Boot Camp - X Factor News - Reality TV - Digital Spy. digitalspy.co.uk/
  23. ↑ Lucy's Bootcamp performance - Tea and Toast - The X Factor UK 2012. YouTube
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ "X Factor's Lucy Spraggan proposes to girlfriend Georgina on day her single comes out", Mirror Online, 13 April 2015
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 Peak positions in the United Kingdom:
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    • For "Someone": Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Peak positions for albums in Scotland:
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    • For Join the Club: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Peak positions for singles in Scotland:
    • For "Last Night": Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
    • For "Lighthouse": Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
    • For "Last Night (Beer Fear)": Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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