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Nicholas McDonald

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Not to be confused with Nick McDonald.

Nicholas McDonald
McDonald attending an event in London, 2023
McDonald attending an event in London, 2023
Background information
Birth nameNicholas McDonald
Also known asNicky McDonald
Born (1996-11-23) 23 November 1996 (age 27)[1]
Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, Scotland
OriginWishaw, North Lanarkshire, Scotland
GenresPop
Occupation(s)Singer–songwriter, recording artist
Years active2013–present
LabelsRCA
Websitenicholasmcdonald.co.uk

Nicholas "Nicky" McDonald (born 23 November 1996) is a Scottish singer–songwriter and recording artist. He was the runner-up of the tenth series of The X Factor in 2013. After the show, he signed with RCA Records and released his debut album In the Arms of an Angel in March 2014. In the Arms of an Angel peaked at number one in his native Scotland, number six in the United Kingdom and number twenty-one in the Republic of Ireland. The album spawned one single, "Answerphone" which peaked at number twenty eight in Scotland and number seventy three in the United Kingdom. In 2018, McDonald released the single "Limelight", expected to be the lead single from his yet to be announced second studio album.

McDonald continues to tour, both as festivals and private functions, with McDonald claiming in 2023 that he "roughly does about 100 to 120 shows a year".[2]

Early life

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McDonald was born in Bellshill, to parents Eileen and Derrick McDonald.[3] He has two brothers and a sister.[3] He suffers from the rare heart condition Long QT syndrome and, in an interview with the Daily Star, said that he almost died when he was eight.[citation needed]

McDonald previously attended St Aidan's High School in Wishaw.[4] He missed Sixth Year due to The X Factor[4] and quit in January 2014 after the show.[5]

Career

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The X Factor (2013–2014)

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Main article: The X Factor (UK series 10)

On 4 June 2013, McDonald auditioned in Glasgow for the tenth series of The X Factor in front of judges Louis Walsh, Gary Barlow, Nicole Scherzinger and Sharon Osbourne. He sang Secret Garden's "You Raise Me Up" and received three yeses from the judges except for Barlow, who reasoned that he was not yet ready for the competition.[6] At the arena auditions, he sang "A Thousand Years" and received four yeses from the judges, putting him through to bootcamp in the boys category, mentored by Walsh.[7] At the six-chair challenge, he was the final contestant in the boys category to perform.[8] He sang Jason Mraz's "I Won't Give Up" and afterwards Walsh said, "That was my favourite audition of the entire night." McDonald took the seat of Alejandro Fernandez-Holt and progressed through to judges' houses.[8] At judges' houses he sang "If You're Not the One" and "Someone like You".[9] Walsh later chose him for the live shows, along with Luke Friend and Sam Callahan.[10]

McDonald advanced through every week without ever being in the bottom two. On 8 December, along with Sam Bailey and Luke Friend, he made it to the final.[citation needed] He became the first Scottish contestant to achieve this feat since Leon Jackson in 2007.[11] On the 7th of December he published a song titled "Born on SouthSide", On 14 December, he duetted with former Westlife singer Shane Filan[12] and was later announced as one of the final two, advancing along with Bailey.[13] After singing "Superman (It's Not Easy)" by Five for Fighting as his winner's song, he finished as runner-up to Bailey.[14] When the weekly voting statistics were revealed after the final, they showed that McDonald and Bailey had been the top two contestants every week; McDonald won three weeks and Bailey won the other seven.[15]

In the Arms of an Angel (2014–2017)

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Main article: In the Arms of an Angel

After the show ended, McDonald quit school to concentrate on his singing career.[5] In January 2014, McDonald announced that he had signed with RCA Records[16] and would release his debut album in March.[16] McDonald said, "When I found out that I was signing to RCA I was over the moon as I knew that they worked with some of the biggest artists in the world. It feels absolutely amazing to be recording my own album and I can't wait to get it out there and give something back to all the fans who have supported me from the very start."[17]

On 22 January, he confirmed the title of his debut album, Arms of an Angel,[17] though it was later changed to In the Arms of an Angel.[18] The album includes covers of songs such as Bruno Mars's "Just the Way You Are", Adele's "Someone Like You" and Westlife's "Flying Without Wings", all of which McDonald performed on The X Factor.[17] It also contains three original tracks which he had been working on since the show-"Answerphone", "Smile" and "Solid Gold".[17][19] The album was preceded by the lead single "Answerphone", which was released on 16 March, the day before the album,[20] the song peaked at number 73 on the UK Singles Chart and number 28 on the Scottish Singles Chart. He released his debut album In the Arms of an Angel on 17 March 2014. On 23 March 2014 the album entered the UK Albums Chart at number 6 and number 1 on the Scottish Albums Chart.

McDonald recently made a guest appearance at the ChrichMelex 2016 Awards Ceremony, joined by other X Factor finalists from past seasons.

Upcoming second album (2017–present)

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In 2017, work towards a second studio album was announced via McDonald's official website and McDonald was cited acts such as Michael Jackson, Bruno Mars, One Direction and Justin Bieber as influences towards the musical sound that will be contained on his upcoming album.[21] As of August 2017, no release date has been confirmed by McDonald or by his record label.

McDonald developed a new touring show where he performs original material, covers of modern chart music, as well as "the beloved ballads".[22]

In 2023, it was announced that McDonald will perform a homecoming gig in Wishaw in October 2023 to mark ten years since his debut.[2] McDonald said that he was "excited to be going back" and that the "homecoming show [on The X Factor] was something I’ll never forget".[2]

Artistry

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McDonald has been described as being "able to make people smile with both his beaming personality and incredible performances".[23] McDonald has performed alongside Westlife frontman Shane Filan, both on The X Factor as well as being invited by Filan to join him on his Right Here tour in 2016.[24]

Elton John requested to meet with McDonald personally, and when speaking about McDonald, regarded himself as a fan of McDonald and his work.[25]

Personal life

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McDonald attended St Aidan's High School in Wishaw, but left the school early to participate in The X Factor.[2] McDonald was diagnosed with Long QT Syndrome at a young age, which is a rare heart condition that causes delayed repolarization of the heart following a heartbeat which in turn increases the risk of episodes of torsades de pointes.[21]

On 31 August 2019, he got engaged to his American girlfriend, Brandi Sommer from Florida, and has been married since 2019.[2] McDonald continues to live in Wishaw.[2]

Discography

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Albums

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Title Details Peak chart positions
UK
[26] 		IRE
[27] 		SCO
[28]
In the Arms of an Angel 6 21 1

Singles

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Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
[26] 		SCO
[29]
"Answerphone" 2014 73 28 In the Arms of an Angel
"Limelight" 2018 — — Non-album single
"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released.

Tours

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Headlining

Supporting

References

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  1. ^ Lyons, Beverley (26 October 2013). "Scots X Factor finalist Nicholas McDonald reveals star turn on ITV show has him raking in freebies". Daily Record. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Thomson, Ross (26 May 2023). "Lanarkshire star announces homecoming gig to mark 10 years since X-Factor debut". Daily Record. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  3. ^ a b Smith, Maria (26 September 2013). "X Factor favourite Nicholas McDonald says his newfound fame is 'just mad'". Daily Record. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Pride of Scotland Nicholas McDonald admits he's willing to quit school to follow his X Factor dream". Daily Record. Trinity Mirror. 19 October 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  5. ^ a b McKenna, Lynn (31 December 2013). "School's out for Nicholas McDonald". Daily Record. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  6. ^ McGarry, Lisa (14 September 2013). "X Factor 2013: Gary Barlow wasn't sure but Nicholas McDonald impressed the rest with 'You Raise Me Up' (VIDEO)". Unreality TV. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  7. ^ McGarry, Lisa (17 September 2013). "X Factor 2013: Nicholas McDonald is a little overwhelmed & pushes 'A Thousand Years' into iTunes chart!". Unreality TV. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  8. ^ a b McGarry, Lisa (29 September 2013). "X Factor 2013: Nicholas McDonald heads towards final 12 after stealing spot from Alejandro Fernandez Holt!". Unreality TV. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  9. ^ Greenwood, Carl (15 December 2013). "X Factor 2013 finalist Nicholas McDonald's route to the final in videos and pictures". Daily Mirror. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  10. ^ Rigby, Sam (5 October 2013). "'The X Factor': Sharon Osbourne, Louis Walsh pick Final 3 Overs, Boys". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  11. ^ Docherty, Gavin (14 December 2013). "Factoring in success is vital for Nicholas McDonald". Scottish Daily Express. Northern & Shell. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  12. ^ McGarry, Lisa (14 December 2013). "X Factor 2013: Nicholas McDonald & Shane Filan duet on Flying Without Wings!". Unreality TV. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  13. ^ Rigby, Sam (14 December 2013). "X Factor 2013: Luke Friend finishes in third place". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  14. ^ Rigby, Sam (15 December 2013). "Sam Bailey wins The X Factor 2013, Nicholas McDonald finishes second". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  15. ^ "REVEALED! Voting Results for The X Factor Series 10". The X Factor. itv.com. 15 December 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  16. ^ a b "X Factor star Nicholas McDonald reveals special album release date". stv.tv. (STV). 16 January 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  17. ^ a b c d Corner, Lewis (23 January 2014). "X Factor's Nicholas McDonald announces debut album Arms of an Angel". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  18. ^ Fulton, Rick (31 January 2014). "X Factor star Nicholas McDonald on track for success with plans to release two albums". Daily Record. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  19. ^ Sam M (3 February 2014). "X Factor's Nicholas McDonald to release album on March 17. Listen to debut single 'Answerphone' now. Pop Bits". Maximum Pop!. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  20. ^ Corner, Lewis (3 February 2014). "X Factor's Nicholas McDonald debuts new single 'Answerphone' – listen". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  21. ^ a b "About Nicholas". Nicholasmcdonald.co.uk. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  22. ^ "Home". Nicholas McDonald. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  23. ^ "Home". Nicholas McDonald. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  24. ^ "Home". Nicholas McDonald. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  25. ^ "Home". Nicholas McDonald. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  26. ^ a b "Nicholas McDonald > UK Charts". Official Charts Company.
  27. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Discography Nicholas McDonald". Irish Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
  28. ^ Peak positions for singles in Scotland:
  29. ^ Peak positions for singles in Scotland:
  30. ^ McHale, Kirsty (31 October 2014). "In Pictures: Former X Factor and Britain's Got Talent stars take to Liverpool stage". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  31. ^ "Home". Nicholas McDonald. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
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