Alex Parks

All Music Guide:

Winner of the BBC talent contest Fame Academy in 2003, Alex Parks was hailed as one of reality TV's most interesting and original performers. Born in 1984 in Mount Hawke, Cornwall, Parks started songwriting at the age of 13. While studying theatrical and performing arts at college, she learned to play the guitar and performed in local band One Trick Pony, where she was introduced to the music of Ani DiFranco and Joni Mitchell. Parks initially planned to move to Amsterdam to learn the art of clowning, but her career path changed dramatically when her father submitted an application for the second season of Fame Academy. Among 12,000 hopefuls, she became the youngest contestant chosen to appear on the show, which combined Big Brother-style fly-on-the-wall footage with live studio performances from undiscovered artists. While on the show, she earned rave reviews from the judges for her husky-voiced, emotional renditions of songs by the likes of Christina Aguilera, John Lennon, and Coldplay, and soon built up a loyal fan base. After performing the co-written "Maybe That's What It Takes" in the finals, she beat fellow contestant Alistair Griffin to win a record contract with Polydor and keys to a flat in Notting Hill.

Recorded in a matter of weeks, her debut album, Introduction, featuring several of the cover versions she performed on the show as well as new material, was released in December, where it charted at number five and went on to sell over half a million copies. After a second single, "Cry," Parks spent the next year working on her follow-up with the likes of Peter-John Vetesse and Judie Tzuke. The album's eventual release was delayed amidst reports that Polydor was unhappy with the lack of potential singles. (It was later revealed that Parks had turned down "Shiver," which went on to be a huge hit for Natalie Imbruglia.) Despite criticism from fans, lead single "Looking for Water" was released as a download-only single at the end of 2005, and weeks later the album Honesty charted at a disappointing number 24. After the title track second single failed to reach the Top 40, Parks announced she has parted company with her record label. Deciding to take a hiatus from the music industry, she spent the next year traveling around Australia, but in 2007 she revealed that she would be starting work on her third album.

Wikipedia:

Alex Parks (born Alexandra Rebecca Parks, 26 July 1984) is an English singer-songwriter. She is best known for winning Fame Academy in 2003, for her singles, and for the albums, Introduction and Honesty. One of the contestants of the popular BBC Television show "Fame Academy" was Alex Parks, who was supposed to go to clown school, however her father had entered her into the Fame Academy show instead. Alex went on to win Fame Academy. The grand prize consisted of a record deal, a fancy car and an apartment in Notting Hill, London. Soon after winning Fame Academy, Alex released her first album entitled "Introduction", which went double platinum in the United Kingdom and gold in several other European countries. In 2005 she released her second album entitled "Honesty". Alex had several disagreements with her record label, Polydor, UK and she decided to put a stop to her music career.

Biography

Parks was born in 1984, the youngest of four children. She was born and grew up in the village of Mount Hawke, Cornwall. She went to college at The Hub in St Austell and studied theatre studies, dance, acrobatics and clowning. In 2003 when she was 19, her father entered her into BBC television talent competition Fame Academy which she eventually won.

Recording career

Her song "Maybe That's What It Takes" was released on 17 November 2003 and peaked at number 3 in the UK Singles Chart the following week. Her debut album Introduction was subsequently released and sold over 500,000 copies.

Honesty was eventually released in October 2005, preceded by the lead single, "Looking For Water", in October 2005. The album peaked at #24 in the UK Albums Chart.