Stevie Tonks
| Stevie Tonks | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Stephen Reuben Tonkin |
| Born |
1992 (age 22–23) Christchurch, New Zealand |
| Genres | Rock, Indie Pop, Pop, Soul |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals, piano, guitar |
| Years active | 2015-present |
Stephen Reuben Tonkin, known as Stevie Tonks,[1][2] (born 1992) is an New Zealand singer from Christchurch, who is currently competing on the second season of The X Factor (New Zealand).
Early life
Tonks was born in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1992. Prior to auditioning for The X Factor, he was a performing arts student at the Southern Institue of Technology.[1]
Musical influence
Tonks cites Sia, Jeff Buckley and Michael Jackson as his main musical influences.
The X Factor
Tonks attended the pre-auditions for the second series of New Zealand reality show The X Factor in Christchurch in November 2014 and advanced though to the judges auditions. Tonks performed the U2 song "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" at his audition and received positive feedback from all four judges who advanced him through to bootcamp.[3] He sang "Jealous" for the "Six Chair Challenge" at bootcamp and progressed through to judges retreats with mentor Natalia Kills soon changing to Natalie Bassingthwaite due to Kills' firing.[4] He then sang his version of "Recovery" at judges retrears causing then mentor Natalia Kills to cry. He soon advanced to the live shows as one of the Top 13. His week one cover of "Young and Beautiful" reached No.5 in the New Zealand artists' singles chart, and his week four cover of "Crazy" also reached No. 5 in the same chart.[5][6] Tonks found himself in the bottom two in Week 7 after his performance of "Billie Jean" failed to impress. He sang "Grenade" in the final showdown against Lili Bayliss and was saved by the judges with only Stan Walker voting to send him home. Tonks is currently competing in the Top 5.
Performances on The X Factor
| Episode[2] | Theme | Song choice | Original artist | Order | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audition | Auditioner's Choice | "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" | U2 | N/A | Advanced |
| Bootcamp, Part 1 | Group Performance | N/A | N/A | N/A | Advanced |
| Bootcamp, Part 2 | 6 Chair Challenge | "Jealous" | Nick Jonas | 12 | Advanced |
| Judges Retreats | Contestants Choice | "Recovery" | James Arthur | 6 | Advanced |
| Live Show 1 | Judges Choice | "Young and Beautiful" | Lana Del Rey | 9 | Safe |
| Live Show 2 | Biggest Records Right Now | "Like I Can" | Sam Smith | 2 | Safe |
| Live Show 3 | Songs of Summer | "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" | Jet | 10 | Safe |
| Live Show 4 | One Hit Wonders | "Crazy" | Gnarls Barkley | 8 | Safe |
| Live Show 5 | Ed Sheeran vs Taylor Swift | "Give Me Love" | Ed Sheeran | 6 | Safe |
| Live Show 6 | Celebritites Choice | "Hold Back the River" Chosen By JayJay Harvey | James Bay | 2 | Safe |
| Live Show 7 | Musical Heroes | "Billie Jean" | Michael Jackson | 1 | Bottom Two |
| Final Showdown | Save Me Song | "Grenade" | Bruno Mars | 2 | Safe |
| Live Show 8 | Iconic NZ Artists | "TBA" | TBA | TBC | TBC |
Discography
Digital releases from The X Factor
| Title[7] | Peak Positions[8][9] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ Artists | |||||
| "Young and Beautiful" | 5 | ||||
| "Like I Can" | 98 | ||||
| "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" | 86 | ||||
| "Crazy" | 5 | ||||
| "Give Me Love" | 14 | ||||
| "Hold Back the River" | 45 | ||||
| "Billie Jean" | - | ||||
| "-" denotes a single that did not chart. | |||||
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.tv3.co.nz/Stevie-Tonks-Pop-Quiz/tabid/3925/articleID/109248/Default.aspx
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://www.tv3.co.nz/Shows/TheXFactorNZ/Contestants/StevieTonks.aspx
- ↑ Slater, Caitlin (10 March 2015). "Tonks through to live shows". Southland Times (Fairfax). Retrieved 13 March 2015.
- ↑ https://www.change.org/p/tv3-take-natalia-kills-off-xfactor
- ↑ "23 MARCH 2015". Official NZ Music Charts. Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ↑ "13 APRIL 2015". Official NZ Music Charts. Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ↑ https://itunes.apple.com/nz/artist/stevie-tonks/id975939590
- ↑ http://nztop40.co.nz/chart/nzsingles
- ↑ http://www.hot100nz.com/artists/stevie-tonks/
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