Liverpool-based legal secretary turned sensation Rebecca Ferguson is best known for being the runner-up in the British televised singing competition The X Factor, the first woman to reach that level in the show’s then seven-year run. Having been singing and writing songs since her childhood, Ferguson’s first reach for the spotlight was in 2004, when she first auditioned for The X Factor but was thwarted by shyness and lack of confidence. By 2010 she was ready for another try, this time impressing X Factor judges with her smoky, poignant voice and diverse song selections enough to land a spot on the show that year, where she wowed Nicole Scherzinger with her rendition of a Corinne Bailey Rae song at boot camp and reached the finals to duet with her idol, Christina Aguilera. Though she fell short to competitor Matt Cardle, Ferguson was signed to Henry Cowell/Sony Music Entertainment venture SYCO and began working on her debut record as 2011 began. The single "Nothing's Real But Love" reached the British Top Ten, and her album Tears in Heaven hit number three, and charted well throughout much of Europe. ~ Chrysta Cherrie, Rovi