Cyrus Villanueva (born 20 June 1996), also known

mononymously A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. In some cases, a mononym selected by an individual may have originally been from a polynym, a word which refers to one o ...

as Cyrus, is an Australian singer from

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wate ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. He is best known for winning the seventh season of ''

The X Factor Australia ''The X Factor'' is an Australian television reality music competition, based on the original UK series, to find new singing talent. The first season of the show premiered on Network Ten on 6 February 2005. Ten dropped ''The X Factor'' after ...

'' in 2015. His debut studio album ''

Cyrus Cyrus ( Persian: کوروش) is a male given name. It is the given name of a number of Persian kings. Most notably it refers to Cyrus the Great ( BC). Cyrus is also the name of Cyrus I of Anshan ( BC), King of Persia and the grandfather of Cyrus ...

'' was released on 9 December 2015.

Career

2015–2018: ''The X Factor'' and ''Cyrus''

In 2015 Cyrus took part in the seventh season of ''

''. He made it through to the Grand Finale and won the show after singing "

Wicked Game "Wicked Game" is a song by American rock musician Chris Isaak, released from his third album, '' Heart Shaped World'' (1989). Despite being released as a single in July 1989, it did not become a hit until it was featured in the 1990 David Lynch ...

". denotes a performance that entered the ARIA Singles
denotes winner After winning the competition Villanueva received a recording contract with

Sony Music Australia Sony Music Entertainment Australia is the predominant record label operated by American parent company Sony Music Entertainment in Australia. SMEA also formerly published and distributed video games in Australia & New Zealand on behalf of Sony ...

and released his debut single "

Stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

" co-produced by TMS and

Bobby Andonov Bobby Andonov (born 28 August 1996), known by his stage name BOBI, is an Australian singer, songwriter and producer. Early life Bobby Andonov was born on 28 August 1996 in Melbourne, Australia to Macedonian parents originating from Strumica, ...

and co-written by TMS,

and Sean Douglas. Villanueva's self-titled debut album ''

'' was released on 9 December 2015, and features studio recordings of selected songs he performed on ''The X Factor''. Between 2016 and 2018, Villanueva released five singles with Sony Music, before leaving the company following "Blah", released in September 2018.

2019–present: Independent artist and ''Had, Lost''

In July 2020, Cyrus released "I'm Sorry", his first single as an independent artist. On 5 November 2021, Cyrus released the EP ''Had, Lost''. Of the EP, Cyrus said: "I see this EP as a new refreshed, refined project. It’s the first batch of music that I'm releasing that I've fully written and produced. I'm just so much more self-aware now both personally and creatively — reviously I was thrown into the deep end and a lot happened quicker than I realised. I just sat in the passenger seat, whereas now everything I do is deliberate and much more thought out".

Personal life

Villanueva is of paternal Filipino and maternal Australian descent and comes from a musical family; his father is a retired professional entertainer. His father, Isagani Villanueva, is from

Cotabato City Cotabato City, officially the City of Cotabato ( Maguindanaon: ''Kuta nu Kutawatu'', Jawi: كوتا نو كوتاواتو; Iranun: ''Bandar a Kotawato'', بندر ا كوتاواتو; fil, Lungsod ng Cotabato), is a third class independent co ...

, Philippines, and his mother, Tracie Villanueva, is Australian. Cyrus was inspired to sing by his father who is a professional singer. Prior to entering ''The X Factor'', Villanueva was studying graphic design at the

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...

and performing gigs in bars, cafés and at weddings during his spare time. Aside from singing, he also plays the guitar and piano.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Other charted songs

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Villanueva, Cyrus 1996 births 21st-century Australian singers 21st-century Australian male singers Australian people of European descent Australian people of Filipino descent Living people Musicians from Sydney Sony Music Australia artists The X Factor (Australian TV series) contestants The X Factor winners