Andrea Faustini

Andrea Faustini (born 17 June 1994) is an Italian singer. He is best known for his role as a contestant on the eleventh series of The X Factor in 2014. In 2015, Faustini released his debut studio album, Kelly, which peaked at number 14 on the UK Albums Chart.

2008: Ti lascio una canzone

In 2008, at the age of 13, Faustini appeared on the Italian show Ti Lascio Una Canzone (Leaving You a Song),.

2014: The X Factor

Faustini, who sang The Jackson 5's "Who's Lovin' You" for his first audition was well received by the four judges present that day. Simon Cowell even commented that Faustini "could be really special" in the competition, before receiving a "yes" from all of the judges. Faustini was part of the 114 other acts who successfully got through the Arena Auditions at the The SSE Arena in London that year. Together with other male contestants up to the ages of 25, he was later placed into the "Boys" category, mentored by Mel B. Faustini got through the "six-chair challenge" during bootcamp, replacing Hayden Leeman, who had initially been given a seat for his rendition of Joan Jett's "I Love Rock 'n' Roll". Faustini's performance of Whitney Houston's "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" during bootcamp moved judges Mel B and Cheryl Fernandez-Versini to tears as well as earned him praises from Louis Walsh and Cowell. For judges' houses, Mel B brought the "Boys" category to Cancún where Faustini performed Jennifer Hudson's "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" for her and fellow Spice Girls member Emma Bunton. Faustini was one of the four finalists selected to perform at the live shows which began on 11 October 2014.

Faustini performed Michael Jackson's "Earth Song" for the first live show, and quickly became the bookies' favourite to win the show. He was in the bottom two in week 7 with Stevi Ritchie and semi-final with Lauren Platt, but was saved by the judges both times even though he would've been eliminated if the judges sent the result to deadlock either time. Faustini ended up finishing third, behind runner-up Fleur East and winner Ben Haenow.

2015: Kelly

On 22 February 2015, it was announced that Faustini had signed a record deal with RCA Records and would be heading to Los Angeles to record his debut album, due for release later in 2015. His debut album Kelly was released on 17 July 2015.

Albums

Singles