Luke Friend (born 30 April 1996) is an English singer and former student from

Teignmouth Teignmouth ( ) is a seaside town, fishing port and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is situated on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign, about 12 miles south of Exeter. The town had a population of 14,749 at th ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

. He started his career in 2013 after winning ''TeenStar'' and appearing as a contestant and later a finalist on tenth series of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' and later placed third on the show. After his career appearing on ''The X Factor'', he signed with RCA Records in October 2014 and released his debut single " Hole in My Heart" in March 2015. On 8 April 2016, he signed to BMG. Since 28 September 2022, he has appeared as Adam in Mamma Mia! The Party at

The O2 (London) The O2 is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, piazzas, bars, and restaurants. It was built largely with ...

Early life

He was born in Leeds and grew up in the

Chapel Allerton Chapel Allerton is an inner suburb of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, from the city centre. It sits within the Chapel Allerton ward of Leeds City Council and had a population of 18,206 and 23,536 at the 2001 and 2011 census respe ...

area of the city. He is the son of gym owner, Steve Friend. He also used to live in Shipley, Bradford, where he attended Shipley CofE Primary and

Beckfoot School Beckfoot School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, in Bingley, West Yorkshire, England. The school has previously gained Technology College status, specialist school status in the Arts, Artsmark Gold and ...

, before moving to Devon when he was 13. He then attended Coombeshead Academy.

Career

2013: ''The X Factor''

In July 2013, Friend won TeenStar 2013,defeating Sam Wilde(now GODSON) in the final. That same year, Friend auditioned for the tenth series of ''

'' in front of judges

Louis Walsh Michael Louis Vincent Walsh (born 5 August 1952) is an Irish music manager and television personality. He has managed Johnny Logan, Boyzone, Jedward and Westlife, four of Ireland's most successful pop acts in the 1990s and 2000s. He later be ...

Gary Barlow Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the British pop group Take That. Barlow is one of the United Kingdom's most successful songwriters, havi ...

Nicole Scherzinger Nicole Scherzinger (; born Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente, June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She is best known as the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, one of the best-selling g ...

and Sharon Osbourne. Friend's room audition, in which he sang " Stand by Me", was the first audition of the series to be broadcast. Walsh commented "You have your own style, your own finish, love your voice. You're different." and Friend received four yeses from the judges, sending him through to the arena auditions. Friend's arena audition saw him sing "

Too Much Love Will Kill You "Too Much Love Will Kill You" is a song written by British guitarist Brian May of Queen, Frank Musker and Elizabeth Lamers.Alone" at bootcamp, and then "

Cannonball A round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge, launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the barrel from which it is shot. A round shot fired from a lar ...

" and "

Somewhere Only We Know "Somewhere Only We Know" is a song composed and performed by English alternative rock band Keane, officially released as the first single from their debut album, ''Hopes and Fears'' (2004). The single peaked at number three on the UK Singles C ...

" at judges' houses, after which he was put through to the live shows by Walsh. In week 6, Friend was in the bottom two with Sam Callahan, but was saved after Walsh refused to vote and then Scherzinger and Barlow voted to send Callahan home leaving Osbourne's vote unnecessary but stated that she would have saved Friend. In the quarter-final, he was in the bottom two with Tamera Foster. Walsh and Osbourne voted to send Friend through to the semi-final, and Scherzinger and Barlow voted to send Foster through to the semi-final and the result went to deadlock. Friend was saved by the public vote and advanced to the semi-final. In the semi-final he was in the bottom two again, this time with Rough Copy. Walsh and Osbourne voted to send Friend through to the final, while Barlow and Scherzinger voted to send Rough Copy through to the final. The result went to deadlock and Friend advanced to the final. In the final on 14 December, Friend performed a duet with Ellie Goulding and later finished in third place.

2014-15: Début single

On 19 January 2014, Friend won "Rising Star of 2014" in the Best of 2013 awards. He signed a deal with RCA Records and on 15 October 2014, a lyric video for a new song "Take On the World" was posted on his official YouTube page. His debut single is "Hole in My Heart" and the video appeared on his official YouTube page on 8 February 2015. It was officially released on 29 March and it reached 40 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. As of 18 February 2015, his album was reportedly 90% complete. Luke has also toured Britain on his sold-out 'Hole in My Heart Tour' in Totnes, Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow, Bristol and London.

2016-2021: Current Projects

On 8 April 2016, Friend posted on social media a photograph of himself signing a contract with the caption "It's official I signed to @BMG time to show the world my music, a new chapter". He also announced via a Facebook live stream in March 2016 that he is also working with new management, TCB, and that new music is likely to be released later in 2016. The first three dates of a second headline tour have also been announced for 2,3 and 4 June 2016 in Birmingham, London and Manchester. On 10 August 2018, AZTX released a single called "Karma" featuring Friend. Friend was picked to play the part of St Jimmy in the 2019 UK tour of the musical '' American Idiot''.

2022: Mamma Mia! The Party

On 28 September 2022, it was announced that Friend would be joining the cast of Mamma Mia! The Party in the role of Adam

Discography

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friend, Luke 1996 births Living people English male singers People from Leeds RCA Records artists